2

HAILEY

Pick yourself up, Hailey. Be strong.

I repeated the words in my head over and over again as I walked slowly to the car. I could see Aiden seated in the back seat, hands crossed on his lap. He slowly looked up at me when he felt me coming. The tears he held in his eyes caused my heart to twist in my chest.

It was all my fault. If I had left Jared sooner, he would have been too young to feel the pain. He would have only grown to know that things didn’t work out between his mother and father, and that’s okay. Instead, Jared and I had allowed him to see the ugly side of things. I was never going to put him through that again.

I pulled the car door open and settled into the driver’s seat.

“Is this goodbye to Daddy, mummy?”

I gripped the steering wheel tighter. It was impossible to turn to him without breaking down into tears, so I peeped into the rear view mirror.

“Yes, sweetie. This is goodbye to Daddy.” I couldn’t lie to him. I was never going to let Jared see him again if he didn’t sober up and prepare to apologize for taking away all the money we had planned to put in Aiden’s trust fund. The boy deserved that much.

At one turn of the key, the car’s engine roared to life, and the journey to my hometown began. Aiden and I spent the night at a motel and continued the drive the next morning.

I loved to travel by road when it was possible, and it was a good thing Aiden shared the same love. The journey wasn’t easy due to the snow, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t cope with.

I hadn’t been to Seattle in a long while. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t been back since I married Jared. Salt Lake City wasn’t exactly very far, but I knew he wouldn’t want me to see family, especially when my brother - the Adrian Kings - didn’t think he was good enough for me. It was the reason I hadn’t spoken to Adrian in years. Still, when I called him to ask if I could come stay for the holidays just to clear my head and plan how to pick up myself ahead of the new year, he was more than delighted to have me around.

“Are we there yet, mummy?” My boy was tired. We had been on this journey for almost twenty hours.

“Yes, sweetie. Just one more turn…and there. Here we are.”

I stopped the car in front of the villa just in time to take it all in. I hadn’t expected anything less from my brother, but this? This was simply magnificent.

“Woah! Mummy!” Aiden’s jaw dropped to the ground.

“Does Uncle Adrian really own all this?” He poked his head into the front seat, and with a smile, I reached to ruffle the light strands of his hair.

“Everything the light touches on this very ground.”

“That’s amazing! I’m going to build a house like this when I grow up!”

I laughed and got out of the car. Adrian had told me he wouldn’t be home till evening, but he had a key underneath the door mat. When I had pulled our two suitcases to the front door, I used the key to let myself in.

The interior was as beautiful as the exterior, even more. Aiden was so excited looking around. We moved into the first room in the corridor upstairs. The others had been locked.

“Aiden, put that down.”

He giggled and dropped the ceramic flower vase down on the table.

“This place is so pretty, mummy. What do we do next?”

“Hmmm,” I tapped my chin in thought.

“Would you like to go skiing? We could have fun until Uncle Adrian gets back in the evening. What do you think?”

He jumped and clapped his hands in excitement. It brought me so much joy to see my baby boy bubbling again.

“Yay! Skiing!”

I made sure we were both dressed properly, fully covered up in merino wool pants, a fleece jacket, a pair of gloves, and a scarf around my baby boy’s neck. The last thing I wanted was for either of us to catch a cold.

The drive to the nearest resort was for only thirty minutes, and Aiden sang along to Christmas songs on the radio all the way.

It was Christmas Eve, and everything was supposed to be perfect.

The snow fell here gently and coated the world around us in soft, sparkling white. If it wasn’t so crowded, I would have made snow angels on the ground with Aiden. I made sure to keep him glued to my side by holding his hand. My boy could be hyperactive sometimes, and it always got him in trouble.

By the time I had gotten us the necessary tools, I had Aiden with me, his little skis strapped on, bundled in his puffy ski jacket.

He was still little and quite young for this. But was anyone ever too young for a bit of adventure?

I wasn’t prepared for what came next.

“Watch me, Mom!” Aiden called in between laughter. He was so excited.

I smiled at my little bundle of joy. He was moving slowly and steadily right by my side.

When I looked ahead, something in the pit of my stomach twisted. The slope ahead was steeper than I thought, and Aiden was still learning. His tiny ski poles wouldn’t do much if push came to shove.

I should’ve said something, told him to slow down, but I told myself it was fine. As long as he was by my side, he would be fine.

Then it happened.

I heard a scream from behind me and looked away for a second, just one second, and when I turned back, my entire world came crashing down in front of my very eyes.

Aiden. My darling boy was no longer beside me.

“Aiden!” I screamed as my eyes frantically searched for him around.

I saw him. He was already off the rails, skidding too fast toward the edge.

“Aiden!” I screamed. My voice cracked. A knife of panic sliced through me. My fear bled out through my tears.

He didn’t hear me. He couldn’t stop.

I tried to move as fast as I could to get to him, but it was of no use.

“Somebody, help him! Please!”

He was falling, spinning, his little legs tangled in the skis. He had lost his balance, and his body was twisting, out of control.

I could hear his cries from a distance.

My heart stopped.

No. No, no, no.

Somebody, please.

I tried to speed up, but the closer I got, the farther he became.

Why? Why couldn’t I reach him?

“Aiden!” I screamed again, but my feet slipped beneath me. I couldn’t get to him fast enough.

He was already too far down the slope, going faster, heading toward a sharp drop-off at the side.

I watched, helpless, as my baby flew toward the edge of the hill.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.

Tears blurred my eyes. My heart slammed against my chest, threatening to break free, wanting to burst open.

Was this it? Was I going to lose my only reason for living on Christmas Eve? Was the universe going to take everything away from me just like that?

My knees buckled underneath my weight, and I was ready to cave in when I saw him.

Through my blurry vision, he was like a shadow cutting through fog of white snow.

A man.

He was flying down the slope with sharp and controlled movements.

I could barely see him until he was right on top of Aiden. His ski poles outstretched, and his arms steady.

I watched, wide-eyed, as the man reached Aiden, scooping him up in one swift motion. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t stumble. He caught him, lifting him off the ground and cradling him like a doll.

My frozen shoulders melted immediately. The relief that washed over me was warm enough to get my frozen feet moving.

I didn’t even realize I was running toward them until I was almost there.

The man was steady, holding Aiden against his chest as he slowly slowed, bringing my son back toward me. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

For a moment there, I thought I lost…

I couldn’t allow myself to think of it.

Finally, the man stopped in front of me. Aiden’s tiny face was flushed, but he was breathing, safe in the man’s arms. My knees went weak, and I reached out.

“My boy! My baby boy!”

The man handed Aiden to me, but his eyes didn’t soften.

I took Aiden from his hold and engulfed my son in a tight embrace as tears rushed down my eyes.

“Don’t ever do that to mummy again. Do you hear me?”

Aiden nodded as he sobbed quietly. He was still shaking, so scared.

“Perhaps you should be more careful when you bring a boy as little as he is to places like this.”

The man’s rich baritone filled my ears, causing me to tilt my head up to give him a good look.

Blonde hair and with amber - almost brown - eyes that leered at me. He was tall, I had noticed when he walked up to me, but now that I was looking up at him, I could see it.

He had his nose scrunched in disgust. Was he…was he judging me?

I knew men like him, alright? And I disliked them with everything in me. If being a parent was so damned easy, where were his own kids? That’s right. He probably didn’t have any. Men like him were the type to talk.

“Excuse me. Who are you? And what gives you the right to question me like that?”

He c****d his left brow as he tucked both hands into his pockets.

“I believe I’m the man who just saved your son’s life. Do you know how many of these accidents occur every year? The little percentage of survivors his age? I could file a report about this, and…”

I held my right hand out, and it silenced him immediately.

“Listen, mister. Thank you so much for saving my son. But if you think that gives you any right to stand here and police my parenting skills or so much as insinuate I’m a terrible mother, then you are sorely mistaken. You don’t know me, you’ve never met me, so don’t talk like you do. In the spirit of Christmas, I’m going to walk away from here right now like we never met. I’m hoping you’ll be polite enough to keep your mouth shut while I do so we don’t have to make this a whole thing. Think you could do that? In the spirit of Christmas?”

His annoyed face made way for a slightly amused one.

Oh. Did I suddenly look like a clown?

I didn’t want to get out of character in front of Aiden, so I took my son by the hand and brushed past the tall man.

I heard him mutter “seriously?” Under his breath, and I frowned.

Yeah. Seriously, when did people in Seattle become such assholes?