This Christmas (16 page)

“Seriously, man? Her daughter has been giving Charlie a hard time.”

“It’s no wonder. Marissa is a handful.” Tilting his can of soda toward the table for a little emphasis. “Talk about timing. Something’s going on.”

Jake glanced over and sure enough he saw Charlie with her head dropped and her little shoulders shaking. Marissa Lake and her mother were saying something that had her so upset she bolted from the gym.

Jake didn’t waste a second and went after her. He thought for a moment about doubling back and ripping into Amanda, but Charlie had to be his first concern. He found his daughter sitting on a step near the cafeteria. All he had to do was reach out, and she lunged at him, holding on with all she had. Breaths were coming in little gasps and when he felt her wet cheeks against his neck, Jake could barely contain his rage.

“Shhh. Shhh. It’s okay. I’m here. Whatever happened, I’m here for you.”

“They’re so mean, Daddy. Why are some people mean?”

“I don’t know. What did she say to you?”

“That you weren’t my real father. And... and she called Mommy a bad name, I think.”

What was wrong with some people? It was the holidays, this was a child. Why would any adult say something about a kid’s mother? “You stick with me. Killens don’t back down from bullies. Got it?”

She pressed her lips together tight and nodded, but tears flooded her eyes, breaking Jake’s heart. “I’ll try.”

Jake could see his little spitfire was hurting. It was interesting that when Charlie was on the ice, nothing fazed her. If she had to play against a boy who was bigger than she was, she dealt with it. But he was coming to a quick realization that mean ten-year-old girls were something else altogether.

Kneeling down on one knee so he could be closer to her, he could see she just wasn’t up for a confrontation.

Pure instinct took over and Jake pulled her close, holding tight so Charlie knew she could count on him. “Are you going to tell me what they said?”

Charlie shrugged. “Why did Marissa’s mom say that? That you weren’t my dad?”

“I have no idea. Adults can be dumb sometimes.” He said dumb, but he wanted to say something a lot stronger. In fact, if he could get her alone, he would have gotten right into Amanda Lake’s face and told her exactly what he thought of her and her kid. “It’s up to you. Are we staying or going?”

“I want to go home.”

Jake wished Charlie had opted to stay, but he could see how upset she was, so he wouldn’t push it. He hated feeling like the bad guys won, but he wasn’t prepared to make Charlie feel worse. No, he’d shelter her now, and deal with the bitch and her daughter another time.

“Let’s go then.”

“Okay,” she sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

What? “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything.”

“Well, not sorry so much. I’m... I’m scared.”

Jake sat next to her on the step and pulled her on his lap. “What’s going on, sweetheart?”

Charlie rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes and looked up. “I don’t want you to leave.”

“Wait, what? Why would you think I’m leaving?”

A big, fat tear trailed over her cheek. “That’s what Marissa’s mother said. Marissa said you weren’t really my dad because you’d never been here before. Her mom got mad at her for saying that but then she told me I shouldn’t get too attached because you’d leave us again.” Charlie sniffled and went on. “She said the truth was hard to hear sometimes, but it was better if I knew now.”

The only thing Jake saw was red. Pure red. If he wasn’t so worried about Charlie, he’d go and rip Amanda Lake’s head off. Who made a kid feel like that? Who played on a ten-year-old’s insecurity? He was at a loss what to do about Sabrina, but holding their little girl against him, he had a thought. Maybe he should ask the person who knew Sabrina best what exactly he should do.

“I need your help with something,” he whispered in her ear. “But first you have to promise to keep a secret.”

Charlie nodded. “Okay. What’s the secret?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re not?”

Jake smiled at her wide-eyed hope. “I love Mom, honey. A lot. And I want to marry her.”

Charlie’s eyes sparkled and it took a second, but a smile bloomed across her face. “You do? That’s awesome!”

“Yes, so if anyone ever insults you or tries to scare you again, tell them to stuff...” he stopped himself. “You tell them they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

She nodded and kept her eyes locked on him.

“I need your help. I have to figure out some way to show Mom what she means to me.” It was truth time. He just hoped Charlie was mature enough to hear what he had to say. “Charlie, I did leave Mommy. It was before you were born, probably before she knew she was even carrying you.”

“Why would you leave her?”

“It’s complicated. I thought there was someone who needed me more and that leaving was the right thing to do. Your mom was young and I thought she’d forget about me and move on.”

“She has the box of stuff you gave her. The jersey and the t-shirt. Some sunglasses. There was some jewelry, too. And the pictures. It’s all back in her room now. Except the jersey and the sunglasses. I got to keep those.”

Talk about a Christmas gift. Charlie just gave him hope.

“She still cries for you, I think.”

“Why do you say that?”

Charlie shrugged. “Before you came back it only happened once in a while. I’d wake up and hear her. Since Thanksgiving, I don’t know, she’s been different. I hear her at night.”

Jake could relate. He wasn’t crying, but he thought of her all the time. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since he’d seen her again.

He set Charlie back on her feet and took her tiny hand back in his. “I need to show your mom how important she is to me. It’s easy to say words but I want to show her.”

They walked out of the school into the dark night and it took a second for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. He came from a fairly small Canadian town and it seemed Holly Point was the darkest place on earth. Fortunately, there was a moon out tonight, but without that, he’d be tripping over his own feet. It was too bad the lighthouse wasn’t still operational. He didn’t think it would do a heck of a lot of good, since the school was a good distance away from the coast, but it couldn’t hurt.

“Mom doesn’t like things,” Charlie said while climbing into the truck. “I mean she does, but that’s not important to her. People are important.”

That much about Bree hadn’t changed and Jake was glad.

S
abrina’s heart broke as she listened to Charlie tell her about the dance. Jake had texted her that he was so pissed he might need bail money, but he wasn’t angry as much as helpless as they both listened to Charlie’s story. “I hated listening to what Marissa’s mom said. Why did she call you a slu—”

Jake cut her off. “Don’t repeat it, Charlie. It’s bad enough what they said to you and about your mother. Don’t keep feeding that monster.” He leaned in and kissed her goodnight. “Just remember, you have two parents who love you. I may have been a little late to the party, but you have nothing to worry about.”

Bree’s heart warmed, listening to Jake talk to their daughter. He was such a good man, kind and considerate, as well as a wonderful father. She’d missed seeing him over the past couple of weeks, and she had no one to blame but herself.

Stupidly, Bree thought keeping Jake at arms’ length would help her get grip on her feelings. She couldn’t have been more wrong—the longing grew worse by the day. He’d been back in her life less than a month, and already Bree didn’t want to think about life without him.

Charlie asked him to read with her and after the night they’d had, there was no way he would say no. Jake sat against the headboard, and with Charlie tucked safely in the crook of his arm, he opened her copy of
Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets
and launched right into a section featuring Moaning Myrtle, British accent and all.

Bree slipped out of the room and made it to hers before allowing herself to entertain thoughts that were going to send her right to hell. She wanted him.

She wanted him bad.

And Bree was considering seducing him.

Her parents had made their annual trip into the city with Aunt Joanne and Uncle Roger. They were out for the night, leaving her in the house with her daughter and her daughter’s big, sweet, gorgeous father. The love of Sabrina’s life.

Sabrina took out her phone and shot off a quick group text to the girls. She didn’t know who was going to answer—hell, she didn’t know why she was sending it—but she needed help.

“Parents are in the city. Jake’s here. I’m thinking I might do something stupid.”

“You think?”
Kara was the first one to respond.
“Just jump the guy, would you?”

After that it was a floodgate of texts, all the girls had an opinion, but it was Cass who finally broke the cycle and called. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure.” Bree opened a drawer in her dresser and stared at a long, red satin chemise adorned with delicate matching lace. She didn’t know why she’d bought it the other day, but it looked so pretty and sexy, and red was a Christmas color, wasn’t it?

“This could be a huge mistake, Cass.”

“It could. But if you don’t go for it, that could be a mistake, too.”

“I know. Why am I such a chicken?” Reaching for the chemise, her hand grazed the fabric, and Bree thought about how it would feel to wear it for Jake.

“You have good reason to be. But I think deep down you know it’s not going to end like it did last time.”

That was certainly what she hoped. The future hadn’t proved easy to predict. “Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Remembering Cass had her own drama going on, she didn’t end the call. “How’s it going, by the way?”

Cass giggled. “It’s going.”

Bree heard a deep voice in the background. “You should go.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow. Good luck.”

The call ended and left Bree with a decision.

Pulling the chemise from her drawer, Bree went into her bathroom, slipping out of all her clothes and letting the silky fabric slide over her body.

She spritzed on a little perfume, fluffed her hair, and took a deep breath. God, she was nervous. In all this time, there hadn’t been anyone else and the idea of making love with him was new all over again. But that was exactly what she wanted.

Cass was right. Looking back at the texts, all the girls had said pretty much the same thing. Hiding from her feelings, playing it safe, hadn’t worked out for her. Now she had a second chance with the only man she’d ever love. If she wasn’t sure of that before, she was now.

Was it a risk? Yes. But staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, Bree didn’t want the reflection that stared back at her for the rest of her life to be one full of regret.

She heard Jake’s footsteps in the hallway and then on the stairs. He was looking for her. It was now or never, and Bree didn’t want it to be never.

It was the longest walk of her life. The house was so big and, as she walked past the photos, she was reminded of how she felt when she would take this same route all those years ago to meet him. It had been thrilling, terrifying, and being with him was something she would never regret.

Sabrina promised herself, no matter what happened, she wouldn’t regret it now either.

Instinctively, she knew where to find him, and once she got to the bottom of the big staircase, the flared bottom of her gown teasing her feet, she turned into the living room and lost her breath.

He was beautiful.

Standing by the Christmas tree, which provided the only light in the area, he’d shed his jacket, his sleeves were rolled up and his broad shoulders filled out the blue dress shirt he’d worn to the dance. But it was his face, his kind face that got her. His right hand reached out and touched an ornament on the tree, then another, and finally he touched the bell she’d bought for Charlie’s first Christmas. It filled the room with the most beautiful sound—clear and light.

Jake bent his head and looked out the side window and must have noticed it had started to snow and it was coming down pretty hard.

“It must have started right after you got here,” Bree said.

She was glad she’d finally found her voice, but didn’t know if she’d be able to speak again. Everything in her stomach started to flutter when she thought about the step she was about to take.

Jake turned and his lips parted, like he was going to respond, but nothing came out. His eyes widened and he walked to her, leaving the slightest space between them. The heat coming off his body warmed her and Bree reached out and laid her hand flat on his chest. Jake immediately covered it with his.

He still hadn’t said anything, but his eyes were glazed over with emotion and Bree had never been so happy in her life.

“You’re a dream come true, but what about...”

“My parents are in the city for the night.”

He grinned and nodded toward the window. “It’s a good thing they aren’t driving in this.”

She nodded and leaned into his hand when it caressed her cheek. “You shouldn’t either.”

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. It felt like an eternity, but his lips finally touched hers and the world spun out of control.