Reunited At Christmas. Belle Calhoune

Try as she might to convince herself that he was a stranger to her, he made her feel things she hadn’t ever felt before. Or at least not since she’d woken up as an amnesiac.

      Once she left the bedroom, the delectable aromas of breakfast food emanating from the kitchen were even more enticing. Before she had even managed to take a step, Aidan stood from his spot on the floor outside her door. Right next to him was a fire engine set he’d been playing with as he’d waited. He sent her a smile that made her heart do flip-flops.

      “Daddy said I should let you sleep.”

      “That was mighty nice of him,” Ruby said, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

      Big brown eyes that looked a lot like her own gazed up at her. “Are you hungry? We’re having bacon and flapjacks.”

      She rubbed her tummy and let out a contented sigh. “Bacon. I love bacon.”

      “Me, too,” he said, his voice ripe with enthusiasm.

      She winked at her son. “And flapjacks ain’t so bad, either.”

      “Daddy made them specially for you. And I helped stir the batter.”

      “That’s wonderful. I always say it’s all in the stirring.” She smiled at him, noticing the way he was staring at her with a hopeful expression on his face. She felt a burst of sympathy for him. He was so little. Way too young to wrap his head around his mother unceremoniously showing up in his life after having been presumed dead for two years. She wished there was a manual for how to deal with this situation with grace and wisdom. As it was, she felt scared to death about saying or doing the wrong thing.

      She bent at the waist and peered into his perfect little face. “Is there anything you want to ask me?”