Kisses on Her Christmas List by Susan Meier Read Free Book Online

watched Finley and Rory plod back up the hill. When they reached the ledge, she stooped down and hugged Finley. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”
    Her eyes rounded with joy. “It was great!” She turned to her dad. “Let’s go again.”
    â€œHey, I just slogged up that hill three times. I need a break.” He headed up the slope again. “But you can ride your saucer down the little hill as much as you want.”
    Surprisingly, Finley said, “Okay,” and followed him up the slope. At the top, she set her butt on the saucer and sent herself lobbing down the hill.
    Rory dropped to the snow. “I am seriously tired.”
    Shannon plopped beside him. “After three little rides?”
    He tweaked a curl that had escaped from her knit cap. “Three little rides? You try walking up that hill three times in a row with no break.”
    Finley’s final whoop of laughter as she slid to a stop on the ledge reached them. Shannon’s heart swelled again, filled with warmth and joy. This was what it would feel like to have a real family. A loving husband. An adorable child.
    Watching Finley trudge up the slope with her saucer, Rory said, “This is why I love having a kid. The fun. When Finley’s not in a mood, she can be incredibly fun.” He peeked at Shannon. “And spontaneous. The things she says sometimes crack me up.”
    She glanced down the hill at Finley, saw the joy on her face, the snow on her tummy, and she laughed. “Yeah. She’s cute.”
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    Shannon’s laughter filled Rory with peace. The whole afternoon had been fun, even though he’d told her about his ex-wife. Or maybe because he’d told her about his ex-wife. She seemed to feel enough sympathy for Finley that she’d gone out of her way to make his little girl happy.
    â€œYou really love Finley, don’t you?”
    Her question surprised him so much that he glanced over at her again. The sun sparkled off the snow that clung to her. Her full lips bowed up in a smile of pure pleasure as she watched his child—his pride and joy—pick herself up and head up the hill.
    â€œI adore her. I love being a dad.”
    Her smile trembled a bit. “I bet you do.”
    He snorted a laugh. “You’ve seen the bad side of parenting in the past twenty-four hours. Most of the time Finley makes me laugh, fills in my world.” He shrugged. “Actually, she makes my world make sense, gives all the work I do a purpose.”
    â€œYou’re a great dad.”
    â€œYeah, too bad I won’t have any more kids.”
    Her face registered such a weird expression that he felt he needed to explain. “When a spouse leaves the way mine did, no explanation, no trying to work things out, just a plain old ‘I don’t love you anymore and I certainly don’t want to be a mom…’” He shrugged again, forced his gaze away from her, over to the blue, blue sky. “Well, you’re left with a little bit more than a bad taste in your mouth for marriage.”
    â€œMarriage doesn’t have anything to do with having kids.”
    He laughed. “You’re right. Not in this day and age, with adoption and surrogate mothers.” He caught her gaze again. “But it’s difficult enough to handle Finley—one child—without a mom. I couldn’t imagine adding another. So it’s just me and Finley for the rest of our lives.”
    â€œEven though you love kids, you wouldn’t try any of the other options?”
    â€œNope. But if I had a wife I would. Of course, if I had a wife I could have kids the old-fashioned way.” He waggled his eyebrows, but the truth of that settled over him and he stopped being silly. “If I could commit again, I’d love to have more kids. My kids. A little boy who’d look like me. Another little girl who might look like her mom.”
    When he caught her gaze again, her