She feared they'd arrived too late, but from the looks of it, they'd made it in time. The lot attendant was about to hang a Closed sign on the gate when a Land Rover parked right in front of him.

"Got a Noble fir?" the man behind the wheel asked. "We need a six-footer."

The attendant set down the sign on a rickety table next to him and dusted his hands against his parka. "Sure do. They're in the back."

The man behind the wheel turned off the engine. "Great. We need one for the kids to decorate," he said before he and the woman sitting next to him got out of the vehicle.

Cameron slipped into the lot behind the couple as they followed the attendant. Behind her, a small group of people walked past the tree lot, talking about the ugly sweater party they were attending. Their laughter brought back memories of the years when Cameron used to host similar parties, but she pushed the thought away. No use in dwelling in the past, she reminded herself. Tonight, she needed to find a tree.

Cameron tightened her grip on her son's hand and approached the attendant who stopped as the couple walked toward a row of tall trees.

"Excuse me, how much for that tree over there?" She pointed to a four-foot tree by the counter where an old-fashioned cash register sat next to a credit card terminal. Two of its branches hung limply to one side.

"Forty bucks," the attendant replied absently, pulling his knit cap lower down his head as he eyed the couple. When Cameron didn't answer, he rubbed his gloved hands together and continued, "I ain't got all day, lady. You want it or not."

"Will you take twenty? It's all I have, and a few of its branches are already broken." Cameron figured she could turn the side with the broken branches toward the wall. The rest of the tree looked good.

The man thought for a moment, exhaled, and nodded as the couple indicated they found what they wanted. "Twenty then. But look, I can't carry it to your car until I help those other guys first," he said. "But if you don't mind waiting right here, I'll come back and help you."

Beside her, Jeremy tugged her sleeve. But I want a big tree, like last Christmas, he signed to her, pointing to one of the bigger trees at the back.

We agreed we're getting one your size this year, remember? She signed back before handing a twenty-dollar bill to the attendant. "My son and I will carry it to the car ourselves. Thanks."

The man glanced at Jeremy. Seven years old and small for his age, he looked too slight to help her, but Cameron couldn't blame the attendant for needing to take care of a bigger sale first. She had no problems carrying the tree to her car. She wasn't as fragile as she looked.

"On second thought, lady, it's free." He pushed her hand away and grinned. "That's why it's over on the corner anyway. Too many broken branches as it is, but you can point that side to the wall. I'll be back to help you when I'm done with–"

"No, no, go ahead and help those other people. My son and I will manage." Cameron tucked the money back in her coat pocket. She should insist he take the money, but she'd learned during the past year to accept such small acts of kindness–or pity–with grace. Besides, she needed the money to buy their food for the week. "Thank you so much, sir."

"Merry Christmas, Miss... and you, too, young man." His face cracked a broad smile. "Stay warm, you two."

As the man walked away, Cameron led Jeremy to the four-foot-tall tree. It was small, but it would still work since she didn't have the room for anything bigger anyway, the converted garage they called home barely big enough to fit both of them. With Jeremy taking over the bedroom, Cameron slept on the futon in the living room which served as the couch during the day. They didn't have much, but for now, it was home. And their home needed a tree.

Beggars can't be choosers, Cameron, and this is what charity is, she told herself as the man walked away. Maybe he recognized her; maybe he didn't. But then, why wouldn't he?

After all, she was Cameron Thomas, ex-wife of former city treasurer Edwin Thomas who fled the country after embezzling millions of dollars from the city coffers. Forget he'd done it while the city was going through a tough time after a giant computer company moved their corporate offices to another state with better incentives.

Worse, Edwin left her and Jeremy alone to face the Feds with their evidence, the District Attorney with the charges leveled against him and his assistant, and the condemnation from the public who believed that surely, being Edwin's wife, she knew what was going on.

Complicit.

But Cameron hadn't known a thing, not when her marriage to Edwin had been one of convenience, an arrangement between two families who had since turned their backs on her, refusing to be associated with someone whom they believed should have been aware of what her husband had been up to. Cameron sighed. But they couldn't be any more mistaken. If she were guilty of something, it was agreeing to the wedding in the first place, abandoning all reason and most of all, her heart.

Yet through it all, Cameron had kept it together for her son's sake, even when the news reporters followed her as she picked Jeremy up from daycare. They left her alone only when she had her son with her, and for that, she was grateful. Some took pictures anyway, blurring Jeremy's face for the final copy plastered all over newspapers and social media.

The whole ordeal was made more challenging when she learned too late who her real friends were. Worse, just because one was considered "family" didn't mean they'd stand by her side at all. Who knew Cameron's mother would value her social standing more than her relationship with her daughter and only grandson? But she did, and Cameron was left alone to weather the scandal.

At least, there was a silver lining. She grew stronger through it all. She stopped relying on others for help, not that there was anyone to turn to. From the personal assistants who fled in droves to the servants who ran straight to the tabloids to report things they'd suspected about the marriage of the handsome Edwin Thomas and his stunning wife, Cameron Blake. Some things were unusual, they said. Although the couple appeared so loving in public, they slept in separate rooms.

Cameron could have countered each allegation to save face, just as her mother told her to do. Tell them you have a condition that makes it difficult to sleep in the same bed, she'd told her daughter. But Cameron didn't say anything. What would it accomplish? Nothing that would help her and Jeremy.

And so she left everything behind, from the fair-weather friends to the old family connections that once granted her automatic access to the many parties she and Edwin attended for appearances' sake. The dashing city treasurer and his shy and beautiful heiress of a wife–even if there was nothing financial to inherit. The only things left of the Blake furniture empire were their social and political connections, the very things Edwin needed to advance his career.

And so she and Jeremy fled to the East Coast, to a small town where once upon a time she'd spent the happiest summer of her life. Here, she could start over. And she did. No longer having assistants to rely on, Cameron learned to do everything herself. She got Jeremy enrolled in school and got a job as a temporary caregiver to the elderly. She attended PTA meetings even when she knew that the other parents would start to ask among themselves before long, wait, isn't she the wife of...?

Cameron pushed the thoughts aside, and letting go of Jeremy's hand, she grabbed a roll of twine from the table.

Can you help me with this, please? she signed to him. You can push up the branches on one side while I tie the twine around it.

But this tree is too small, he signed back, lowering his chin before adding, why can't we get a big tree like Daddy got last year?

Because Daddy bought it with stolen money, that's why, she almost said out loud, but Cameron bit her lip, her hands paused in mid-air. Because it won't fit in our house, love, she signed instead, sighing when she saw his expression grow sadder. It tugged at her heart, but there was nothing she could do.

She tapped his shoulder again, getting his attention again before adjusting the hood of his jacket and his scarf. Remember when we talked about getting you a tree your size this year? You said you wanted a Charlie Brown tree. Remember?

Jeremy didn't answer, lifting the nearest branches instead. Some days he understood what she was going through, and other days, he was simply too young to understand any of it. And why should he? Jeremy was just a child, an innocent victim to Edwin's greed and her naïveté.

What kind of a wife are you not to know what Edwin was doing all along? Her mother had asked the moment the news broke all over the big networks. This from the same woman who years earlier shut down Cameron's first love so she could steer her only daughter to the wealthier, more dashing Edwin Thomas before turning her back on her daughter when things went south. Cameron had barely been able to get out of the house with Jeremy's clothes and his favorite Legos before the Feds came in to lock the place up.

State evidence, ma'am, she remembered them saying. Is there any place you can go? Friends or relatives? Social services can also help you.

"Cameron?"

She froze, her arms wrapped around the upturned branches of the tree. The voice was familiar, deep and warm, yet she knew it couldn't possibly be true.

"Cam, it's me, Talon," the man continued as he stepped to her right so she could see him. "Here, let me help you with that."

As Jeremy took a step back, looking startled as the tall man entered his line of vision, Cameron let go of the tree to grab her son's arm before he could run away. Ever since the scandal broke and the world descended on their doorstep with their cameras and phones, Jeremy had grown deathly afraid of strangers. Once, he bolted away from her at the supermarket after a reporter approached them. Cameron had to chase him through the parking lot, swearing never to let go of his hand ever again.

It's okay, Cameron quickly signed even as her heart thundered inside her chest. His name is Talon and he's an old friend. We've been friends since we were your age.

Jeremy's eyes narrowed, his gaze moving from her to the tall man standing behind her. He didn't believe her. And why would he? She couldn't believe it herself. Eight years.

Would you like to meet him? she continued although she spoke the words, too, like she always did. Talon grew up with your daddy and me.

Then how come I've never met him before, if he's daddy's friend, too? Jeremy signed angrily, his movements brusque.

He's– Cameron paused. How could she tell a 7-year-old that sometimes grown-ups got themselves caught up in complicated situations?

"I've been out of the country," Talon said in a deep voice, though his hands and fingers moved to sign the words he spoke as well. Cameron stared at him, her gaze following the deft movement of his hands as he signed in American Sign Language.

Jeremy moved to stand behind Cameron and peered at the tall man standing before them, his brow furrowing. Standing a head taller than Cameron, Talon sat on his haunches and grinned, revealing a row of perfect white teeth set against days old stubble and a firm jaw.

Though she hadn't seen Talon Michaels in over eight years, Cameron would recognize him anywhere. He still had the same magnetic eyes, dark blue and beautiful. She wanted to run into his arms and feel him hold her there and keep her safe... but she didn't. She couldn't, not after the eight years that lay like an ocean between them.

So, what was he doing in front of her now?

You know sign language! Jeremy signed excitedly before facing his mother. He knows how to sign like me.

"Is it all right for me to help your mother?" Talon asked as he signed the words. Jeremy grinned and nodded as Cameron found herself smiling. Apart from his aides at school, it wasn't every day Jeremy got to meet someone who signed as well as Talon was. It meant that right then, Talon had become his best buddy.

Even Edwin hadn't bothered to learn, choosing instead to enunciate his words so Jeremy could read his lips. Edwin had always been distant to Jeremy, blaming a busy work schedule for his long absences from home. But Cameron couldn't blame Edwin for acting that way. Such had been the price of their marriage: Edwin got the name and recognition he needed from her parents' connections, and Jeremy got a father by name only.

Will you help us with the tree? Jeremy signed to Talon excitedly.

Of course.

Cameron shook her head. "Talon, you don't need to–"

"It's no problem," Talon said as he took the ball of twine from her hands. "I worked at a Christmas tree lot when I was high school, remember?"

"I do, yes." Of course, she remembered. They'd been dating then.

Why did she dump him again? Ah, yes, Cameron's mother had decided that dating the mechanic's son was a big mistake, not when she had Edwin, the son of the town's richest man, madly in love with her. Forget that the three of them had gone to school together, with Edwin and Talon one year ahead of her and used to be good friends. But some decisions had to be made with the mind, not the heart. Besides, at sixteen, her mother had insisted, how could Cameron possibly know what was best for her?

"I appreciate this, Talon. I mean, it's been years since we've seen each other, and the first thing you end up doing is this. It's embarrassing–"

"What's embarrassing about helping you with a tree? It's Christmas." He wrapped the twine around the tree branches, now all neatly swept upwards.

As the lot attendant was closing his big sale of a Noble fir at the back of the lot, Talon hoisted the bundled-up tree over his shoulder. Wearing a thick parka, he looked huge next to her petite frame, and she could tell it wasn't all goose down underneath. There was some serious muscle to go with the perfect square jaw.

"Where's your car?"

Oh, crap, her car. Cameron almost hesitated, but she scolded herself. It's only a car, Cameron. It's not like it's going to change his perception of you, whatever it may be. At least you've got a car.

"It's over there." She pointed to a Volkswagen Beetle three spaces away. Once upon a time, she drove a Mercedes-Benz, complete with heated seats and a rear-view camera.

Once.

"Let me get it onto your roof," Talon said as Cameron followed him toward the car, Jeremy's hand in hers.

Ten minutes later, he secured the tree to the roof of the car, and Jeremy laughed at how Talon had to improvise by wrapping the rope through the windows so the tree would stay in place on the drive home. At least, it was a short drive home, so it didn't matter. What mattered was that she saw a smile on her son's face for the first time.

Between the two of them working to secure the tree to the roof of the car, Talon had struck up a conversation with Jeremy about Legos. As Talon took a step back to make sure the tree was safely secured, Jeremy tugged the sleeve of his parka.

Can you help us take the tree to the house? I don't think my mother can do it alone.

"Oh no! No!" Cameron exclaimed, embarrassed. "Talon probably has to go somewhere–"

"Oh, no problem at all. I don't mind," Talon said. "I'd love to get it into the house for you if you want."

Afterward, would you like to build a Lego airplane with me? Jeremy signed before Cameron could tell Talon–without having to sign the words–that he didn't have to. She wasn't quite sure about wanting him to know where she and Jeremy now lived.

"I'd love to," Talon said as he signed, before glancing at her, "but only if your mother says yes."

Jeremy tugged her arm. Please say yes. Please...

Cameron sighed. How could she say no to such a sweet face, her son's deep blue eyes imploring her? Cameron sighed and turned to face Talon, the streetlight behind her making his blue eyes sparkle. She couldn't understand why she was making it so hard for herself.

"Yes, of course, he can come."