Holiday Havoc (17 page)

M
aria dug her toes in a little deeper, letting the silky sand slide over her feet. The Gulf of Mexico was almost smooth today, a rare green-flag day. She drifted close to sleep, listening to Caden's squeals of laughter as Ben chased him through the slow rolling surf.

They'd come back to stay at the Emerald Island resort, renting a plain old condo this time. Their stay in the penthouse seemed like a long-ago dream, though in reality it had only been a few months.

A whirlwind Christmas courtship had turned into a New Year's wedding for friends and family. And for someone who had been so unsure of herself in this arena, Maria found herself newly enchanted every day with her husband and son.

Cold water dripped onto her sun-warmed stomach. She squealed and ripped off her sunglasses, pointing at Ben, who held a dripping Caden over her. “Oh—you are in so much trouble. I promise, I
will
get you back.”

“Like you promised you'd get even with the guys at the precinct for setting you up on the date weekend with me?” He dropped onto the towel beside her while Caden dug his dump truck into the sand.

She chuckled. “It's almost better not to do anything. They're scared every time they open their lockers. And forget coming into my lab.” She stretched in satisfaction. “It's much quieter in there these days.”

Ben spread his fingers across her stomach. “How's peanut?”

“Hungry, as usual. I'm not even showing yet and I'm eating twice my body weight. This should be fun.” She looked over to see Caden carefully constructing something out of sand. “Hey, Capo, whatcha working on?”

Their five-year-old didn't even look up. “It's a fingerprint fuming chamber.”

Ben raised one eyebrow at Maria.

“Hey, you're the one who told me to show him the lab.”

Caden plowed over the square he'd just built. “Oh no, it just got hit by a tornado. It was an EF-5, Dad.”

Maria struggled not to smile as Ben choked out his response. “Impressive.”

A little while later, as they packed up their things and headed back to the condo, Ben put his arm around Maria. “I think, from all evidence, you definitely believe in love. What do you think? Come up with any conclusions about that hypothesis yet?”

She snorted. “
Pshh
—love. It's chemistry. Pheromones and dopamine. PEA. Adrenaline.” She glanced at him under her lashes to see his reaction. His mouth dropped open.

Then he smiled and said, “Yep. And then there's the HEA.”

She made a face. “What are you talking about?”

He pulled her close for a kiss. Her knees went weak. That silly chemistry.

Ben whispered in her ear. “And they lived Happily Ever After.”

Dear Reader,

From the first day Maria walked onto a crime scene, I knew she was a character to be reckoned with. She would need a very special hero because Maria didn't really believe in love—at least not for her.

It took some meddlesome coworkers and the love of a very special child to bring Ben and Maria together under the Christmas tree.

I pray that your Christmas season is blessed with love and laughter. And that, like Maria, you have found that God's love isn't really scientific or rational, but that it's His gift to you, all the same.

Please visit my Web site at:

www.stephanienewtonbooks.com

for more information, or e-mail me at

[email protected].

I love hearing from readers!

Merry Christmas,

1. Maria thinks she's got life figured out, but a surprise by her coworkers sends her reeling. Describe a time when you were surprised by life and had to scramble to figure out your next step.
   
2. How do you handle life's surprises—the good ones or bad ones?
   
3. Maria blamed Ben for her losing the scholarship that would've sent her to college. How does she later take responsibility?
   
4. Ben had to make a difficult choice, but chose to put his child in front of his career. How did his faith make it easier to make that choice?
   
5. Maria sees Ben's tattered Bible and thinks that he must be all right. What do you think? Is a man's dedication to studying the Bible an indicator of what kind of man he is?
   
6. Ben learns that he can open his heart to love. What does Maria learn at the end of the book that makes it possible for her to have a future with Ben?