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Chapter One
    December Twenty-fifth
    Did he live in hotel rooms, airplanes, or on
stage? After two months away from home, he couldn’t tell. Every the road has gone too long song he’d ever heard was running
through his mind. Just in a span of twenty-four hours, he’d flown
from Russia to Toronto to Virginia. Thank God for Christmas. The
holiday meant no one argued much with the detour he took before the
Vancouver concert tomorrow.
    The car pulled up at a cute small-town house
decorated in multi-colored lights. Jacob Lindsey thanked the driver
and got out with his carry-on. It was after eight in the morning,
but the clouds above weren’t letting a lot of light through. He
knocked twice on the door with a soft touch.
    The man that answered the door was tall and a
bit older than him. “Wasn’t expecting you.”
    “Who’s at the door?” a woman asked.
    “Jake.”
    “Well, for goodness sake, Andrew, let him
in!” She pushed her husband aside. “Merry Christmas. Please come
in.”
    “Darcy, yes? Nice to meet you,” Jacob said.
Beth’s brother wasn’t quite as welcoming, but Jacob offered his
hand and they shook.
    “They don’t have a phone where you came from,
Jake?”
    “Andrew! Go give Sarah her bottle.” She
glared at him and he walked away. “I’m sorry. He’s just protective,
though as long as you’ve known Beth, you probably already know
that.”
    “Quite.” He set his luggage down, took off
his scarf and gloves and coat, and hung them on the coat rack. “Has
Beth been up?”
    “Not yet, which is unusual. I hope she slept
well.”
    “Why wouldn’t she?”
    “Mr. Lindsey, I think you can guess.”
    “Jake, please. I don’t follow.”
    She shook her head, a bit of a smile on her
face creating one of those looks women gave men. “Have you eaten?
Do you drink coffee?”
    “No, and yes, please. When do you think Beth
will wake?”
    “Have a seat. Is your tour over?”
    “No, unfortunately. I have to be in Vancouver
tomorrow.”
    “Hey, somebody? Escapee baby in here!” rung
out from down the hall. His lady’s sweet voice. Like a siren call,
it drew him to his feet and toward the sound.
    Andrew had let the baby in Beth’s room. She
toddled back to her father as Jacob slipped through the doorway.
Her back was to him. He closed the door.
    “Too early for Christmas,” she mumbled.
    “It’s nearing nine, lazy bones.”
    “I’m dreaming…”
    “In Rudolph pajamas?” Adorable, by the
way.
    “It’s possible.”
    “Is it possible to dream with you, love?”
    “Ohmigod.” She rolled over to be face-to-face
with him. “Are you here?” she whispered.
    “You tell me.” He kissed her with all the
longing of two months away. Wetness soon brushed his cheek and he
wiped her tears away with his thumbs. She dropped off the bed onto
his lap and wrapped around him. Her body was a bit lighter than the
last time he held her; her hair at least an inch longer.
    “How?” she gasped.
    He pulled back just far enough to speak. “I
had to come. We’re on traveling days, and I finally said screw
it —we’re going to see our families one damn bloody day out of
the year. You have me for twenty-four hours.”
    “I’ll take it! God, I’ve missed you!”
    He kissed her again. “Missed you, too…so
much. I love you.”
    “I love you, too.”
    What? “ Bethie …” The words he’d waited
ten years for. “Again?”
    “I love you, Jacob. I have for so long. I
just didn’t have the words.”
    “Think your dad would kill me if I shagged
you right now?”
    She giggled. “Save it for later, big boy. I
don’t want an audience.”
    He sighed, then smiled as wide as his face
would go. “Happy Christmas, sweetheart.”
    “Mmm. Best Christmas ever.”
    He could’ve stayed reveling in her scent, her
touch, forever, but they didn’t get long before someone coughed in
the hallway.
    She moved off his lap and opened the door.
“Something I can help you with?”
    “Nope, just passing by,” Darcy