ISAAC MACALLISTER'S life revolves around building his business and doing his best to give his daughter Sara a strong sense of family. Over the years he's had to learn how to keep their little family together on his own, but this Christmas Isaac is g...
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Isaac surveyed the damage to the living room. The blanket fort had collapsed at some point, and the girls were curled up on the floor in front of the fireplace, haphazardly covered with blankets. Sara had nestled in and was sleeping, with Jenna's arm wrapped around her.
They looked so beautiful together. It made his heart hurt for Sara that she would never have that with her own mother. But he was glad she had this magical Christmas with Jenna so that she would know how things could be.
He didn't want to disturb them, but it was Christmas Eve, and Santa needed the room cleared so he could get on with the business of bringing Christmas to the MacAllister household.
He gently extracted Sara from Jenna's arms, and carried her off to her own bed. Once she was settled, he returned to the living room to find that Jenna was no longer on the carpet. He heard her bustling around in the kitchen, and with the comforting knowledge that she was feeling at home, he set about putting out the stockings and getting things ready for morning.
There were packages to put under the tree, and stockings to fill. And then he had a couple of other items on the agenda that needed seeing to.
*
Jenna watched from the kitchen door as Isaac hung Sara's stocking and his own from hooks above the fireplace. She felt her stomach fill with butterflies when he hung a third one beside the two that were already there. Judging by the barely recognizable snowman on it, the stocking had been made with a lot of love, and it had her name on it. At that moment, she truly wished that this was her family. That she didn't have to leave when her time was up, and that she could stay and make a life with these two beautiful people.
But the reality was that she was moving into her new place in a week, and the new life she was starting was several hours away, in Vancouver. Jenna's family was nothing but trouble, and Sara and Isaac had had enough disruptions already. The last thing they needed was her brother and mom thrown into the mix. It was better for everyone if she just left when her vacation time came to an end.
Maybe one day she would have her own family. When that time came she hoped it would be just like this one.
Isaac finished tucking small packages into the stockings, and turned to see Jenna watching from the doorway. "You're standing under the mistletoe."
Before she could say a word, he crossed the room and swept her up in a kiss that removed all thoughts from her head.
All she could do was kiss him back, and she poured everything she was feeling into it.
This time, neither of them pulled away.
*
Jenna was ripped rudely back to reality when she unthinkingly put her weight on her bad leg.
Isaac took one look at her grimace of pain and swept her into his arms. "We need to get you off your feet. This time, we're going to make sure there aren't any pint-sized interruptions."
