One Special Christmas & Home for the Holidays by Irene Hannon Read Free Book Online Page B

“Kate” to him. In fact, he’d had to remind himself to call her “Mrs. Nolan.” So this switch would be no problem at all.
    â€œAll right, Doct— Eric,” she corrected herself.
    They settled on a time, and as Eric replaced the receiver and leaned back in his chair, he experienced an odd combination of emotions. Relief. Satisfaction. Anticipation. Uncertainty. And last, but certainly not least, guilt.
    He frowned over that last one. Why did he suddenly have this niggling sensation of guilt? He wasn’t doing anything wrong. Professional ethics kept doctors from dating patients, but he knew of no such sanction against mommies of patients. And he hadn’t exerted too much pressure on Kate. If she’d resisted too much, he would have backed off. The last thing she needed in her life was more stress. Finally, while it was true that he refrained from dating because he believed that in the eyes of the Lord he was still married, this wasn’t a real date.
    So why did he feel guilty? After all, he was doing this for her. Out of compassion. As a friend. He felt sorry for her. It was as simple as that.
    Or was it? he asked himself. Because if his motiveswere so noble and unselfish, if he was only thinking of her, why was he looking forward to the barbecue so much?

Chapter Three
    K ate glanced in the mirror behind her bedroom door and absently adjusted the strap on her sundress. She’d been so taken aback by Dr. Carlson’s—Eric’s, she reminded herself—invitation that she hadn’t thought to ask about attire. Was she too dressed up? What did people wear to a barbecue these days? It had been years since she’d been to one. To any purely social function, in fact. It actually felt odd to be dressing up for a night out. Odd—and a little uncomfortable.
    Kate frowned. Even though Eric had made it clear that this wasn’t a date, it had all the trappings of one. And that made her conscience twinge, as if she were somehow cheating on Jack. Which was ridiculous, of course. She loved Jack absolutely, with a devotion that was undimmed by the years. She was simply doing a favor for someone who had gone out of his way to be kind to her. There was no reason to feel guilty, she admonished herself sternly.
    Resolutely she picked up her purse and stepped into the hall. Sarah glanced up from her perch on the couch and smiled as Kate approached.
    â€œYou look pretty, Mommy.”
    â€œThanks, honey.”
    â€œI wish I could go to the party, too.”
    Kate’s heart contracted and she sat down beside Sarah. She already felt incredibly guilty about leaving her daughter with a sitter—even if it was Anna—on a weekend, and Sarah’s innocent comment was enough to send a pang through her heart. For just a moment she was tempted to back out on Eric. But she owed him this, she reminded herself. Just as she owed Sarah as much time as possible on her days off to make up for all the hours during the week when they had to be apart. It was a perennial dilemma, this conflict between her daughter’s needs and other obligations. But she had promised Eric. And Sarah would be fine for one night with Anna, she assured herself.
    â€œI wish you could, too, honey. But it’s a grown-up party. And when Dr. Eric asked me to go with him I thought I should, since he was so nice to us. If it wasn’t for Dr. Eric, we would never have met Aunt Anna,” Kate reminded her, using the affectionate title for the older woman that she and Anna had decided upon.
    â€œI like Aunt Anna,” Sarah declared. “She said we would make cookies tonight and watch Mary Poppins. Have you seen that movie, Mommy?”
    â€œUh-huh. You’ll like it. And I might even be back before it’s over.”
    The doorbell rang, and Kate reached over to give Sarah a quick hug. “That’s Dr. Eric now. Run and get your sweater and then we’ll take you over to Aunt