“What? Who is it?”
In answer, Sly reached for the door and pulled it inward.
There, standing on her front porch, were two people. A tall, lean man with rich, dark hair parted particularly on the left. A small, slender woman, dwarfed in an oversized coat, holding something close to her chest. Two large suitcases sat at the man’s feet.
Only they weren’t guests, or outsiders looking to rent a room—even if the woman had done that the last time she was in Hamlet.
They weren’t guests—they were family.
For once, Maria was speechless. While she hoped to see Lucas again and soon, she never expected him to pop up unannounced two days before Christmas. Though, just maybe, she did expect that, when he did come home, he wouldn’t be alone.
And he most definitely wasn’t.
From just behind Lucas, Tessa offered up a tupperware container full of home-baked cookies. “Surprise.”
Lucas glanced past Sly toward Maria before returning his attention to the man that stood in front of her. Though a polite smile curved his lips, his icy gaze had narrowed when he spotted the familiar way Sly guarded her from whoever was at the door.
“Yes,” Lucas said, his voice flat. “Surprise.”
3
It didn’t take long for Maria to find her voice. After letting out an excited stream of Italian that made Lucas wince and Tess stare at her in confusion, she moved in front of Sly and, turning back toward him, slapped him playfully in his side.
“Pay up, Sly. I told you, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did,” he said. Shaking his head, Sly reached into the back pocket of his uniform slacks and pulled out his wallet. “I should’ve known better than to go up against you.”
Lucas clicked his tongue. “A bet, Maria? Really?”
“Well, yes,” she admitted, taking the twenty Sly held out to her. She slipped it into the pocket of her jeans and grinned up at her brother. “And I’ve won.”
“You bet that Lucas would be home for Christmas?” asked Tess.
“Not quite. I bet that when Lucas left home, he was heading straight to you, sweetie.”
“Oh. Then, yeah. I guess you did win.” With an impish grin, Tess gestured to the cookies in her hands. “I know you weren’t expecting either of us, but I brought cookies.”
Cookies wouldn’t be enough to distract her, even if Maria did have a weakness for chocolate chip. With a look that promised that she would be after more details later, Maria glanced back up at her brother. “Lucas, fratello mio. It’s so good to see you.”
Lucas’s jaw had gone tight. She didn’t know if it was because of her slip into Italian—or because of the tall dark-skinned man now standing at her back.
Though he addressed her when he spoke, Lucas only had eyes for Sly. “What’s the sheriff doing here? Is there trouble?”
Oh, yeah. It most definitely had to do with Sly.
Sly took the icy note in Lucas’s voice with grace. Moving past her easily, he approached the other man with his hand extended. A peek revealed that Sly’s face had gone expressionless, with only a glint of determination in his copper-colored eyes to act as a warning to what he was preparing to do.
Maria knew it was time. She couldn’t stop it if she tried.
He offered his hand to Lucas. Maria held her breath, but no need. Lucas grasped Sly’s firmly and the two men shook.
“Welcome back, Doctor. And no trouble,” said Sly smoothly, drawing his hand back. “I visit Maria as often as I can when the job allows.” Turning to Tess, he held his hand out to her, too. “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Sullivan.”
Maria’s attention immediately returned to her brother. At first, when he tensed, she thought it was because of that name. Considering how obviously close he had become to Jack Sullivan’s widow, calling her by that name had to be a dreadful reminder of the fate the man met in their own beloved village.
But that wasn’t it, she realized. Lucas’s hands were drawn to the point where Tess’s fingers lightly accepted Sly’s. His lips thinned as she gave a half-hearted shake; he relaxed again only when Sly stepped away from the woman.
Lucas immediately wrapped an arm around her petite shoulders, drawing Tess into his side. Like he was shielding her from everyone else, just like he had done following her husband’s shocking murder.