Chapter 69

Evelyn's smile faded, obviously afraid of what he was going to say. "Is she all right?"
He nodded. "Yes, she'll be fine."
Evelyn sighed in relief. "What happened?" A crease formed between her eyes. "I mean, I just saw her last night-."
He bit his lower lip and released it. "Her house burned down last night, but we got there in time." He couldn't imagine what would have happened if they had arrived just a few minutes later.
"Thank goodness for that." Evelyn took a sip of her coffee and swallowed, lost in thought. "She's such a sweet girl."
Taren smiled. "Yes, she is." He looked into her eyes. "Do you know that we had study hall together in high school?"
A smile lit her lips. "No, I didn't know that. I knew you two went to high school together, but I didn't know you knew her."
Taren chuckled. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but when we got bored, we pulled pranks on Mrs. Li."
"Oh?" Evelyn laughed, placing her hands on her hips as she raised an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell did you two do?"
"Nothing damaging," he replied. "One day, we got there early and hid everything that was on Mrs. Li's desk." He chuckled at the memory. "She was so mad she was yelling in Chinese! It was hilarious. Another time, we glued all her pencils and ink pens together and we even glued them to the cup! You should have seen Mrs. Li's face when she reached for a pencil and the whole cup came off the desk."
Evelyn laughed. "You didn't!"
Taren nodded. "She shook it, trying to get the pencil out of the cup, which made it even funnier. And the more she shook it, the redder her face got."
Evelyn smiled, shaking her head. "The poor woman."
Taren shrugged. "That's probably why she retired the next year."
His mother laughed aloud. "I can't believe you two did that! Why didn't you ever bring Kiki over?" She shrugged. "Sounds like you two got along well."
Taren sighed. "Well, we were just friends then and Scarlett, and I were together- I don't know. Kiki was always such a good friend and, since I was with Scarlet, it never crossed my mind."
One corner of His mother's lips curled into a smile. "But it is now?"
"Mom, stop it." Taren laughed as he took another sip of his coffee.
Evelyn's eyes grew wide, feigning innocence. "What?"
"Match making."
Her mouth opened wide as she placed a hand innocently on her heart. "Would I do something like that?"
Taren laughed at her expression. "Yes!"
"Well, Kiki's a nice girl and it wouldn't hurt to date." His mother patted his shoulder.
Taren smiled. "In high school, she used to dye her hair black, but she was still cute. If I would have brought her by to meet you and Dad then, you would have had a heart attack."
"Really?" His mother's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "Her hair was black?"
He nodded. "She must have been going through some Emo thing at the time."
"Kiki? Really?" Evelyn laughed. "I can't imagine that."
"Yes, she wore the black eyeliner and black lipstick, too." He sighed. "But she was an artist and it suited her well."
Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure we're talking about the same girl?"
Taren chuckled. "Yes, of course. But now that she let the black color grow out and got rid of the black makeup, she's really quite beautiful. When I walked in and saw her on the couch, I didn't even know it was her until I turned her over and saw her face."
Evelyn gasped. "Is she okay?"
At that moment, Taren knew he had said too much. "She's in the hospital with smoke inhalation and she's on oxygen, but she'll be out soon."
His mother nodded. "I'll have to go by and visit her."
His eyes brightened. "You can go with me to see her, if you like."
"No, I'll let you go alone." Evelyn gave him a knowing look as she took another sip of coffee.
Taren narrowed his eyes as one corner of his lips curled into a smile. "And what was that look?"
Evelyn blew across her coffee. "What look?"
"Merry Christmas!" Abby yelled as she ran into the room and jumped onto her father's lap! "Santa came!"
Taren swung her into his arms. "He sure did! Want to go find out what he brought?"
Abby nodded vigorously, wrapping her arms around her father's neck. They walked over to the tree and Evelyn followed. But when he set her on her feet, she ran over to her grandmother and gave her a big hug. "Merry Christmas, grandma!"
Evelyn stroked her hair. "Merry Christmas, darlin'." Then she bent down to her level and took her hands. "Now. Why don't you see what Santa brought?"
Abby nodded and then ran over to the tree. They spent the rest of the morning passing out gifts and enjoying the holiday together. But throughout the celebration. Taren couldn't stop thinking of Kiki, and wondered where she was going to go. He made a mental note to visit Liam to see what he could do for her. Liam White was the general manager of the North Pole Lodge, but he was also a good friend. He and Liam were on the football team together in high school and had stayed friends since. He just hoped that Liam could help.
After they saw what Santa brought, Taren bundled Abby up and took her sled riding.
There was a large hill in the back of their house, perfect for sled riding. He spent the afternoon playing with his daughter in the snow, enjoying his time with her. But as the day wore on, he couldn't help thinking of Kiki, about what could have happened- and what could be yet to come. But he couldn't let his guard down and let her in, could he? He chuckled to himself as he shook his head, knowing it was probably a moot point. She had enough to handle at the moment without him adding to it- and so did he.