by Debbie Mason
Teddy ignored him and kept talking.
“Advent. A. D. V. E. N. T. That’s my word for the day. Dad, hurry up. We can’t be late.” Teddy tried to open the door. “We don’t want to miss the lighting of the pink candle. It means hope. H. O. P. E. I hope Mallory and Oliver and Brooks are here too.” He grinned, pleased with himself.
How had Gabe missed that? He should’ve known Mallory was behind Teddy’s newfound desire to go to church. Now Gabe really didn’t want to be here. It was bad enough his side was sore and the thought of sitting in a hard pew for an hour gave him a bad case of indigestion. Not to mention the church on Main was a senior magnet. But worse than being on the receiving end of the seniors’ angry glares was being on the receiving end of Mallory’s. She’d do her best not to let Teddy know she was angry at him, but his son was smart. The last thing Gabe wanted today was to answer questions about why Mallory hated him.
“Yay, she’s here,” Teddy cheered, pointing at the black Jag four cars over from them.
“You’re so annoying,” Cody said to his baby brother.
“I bet Gabriella is here,” Teddy said, knowing full well his brother had a crush on one of the girls from the neighborhood.
“All right, let’s get going, boys,” Gabe said. “We’ll be here an hour max.”
“Can we go to the diner after?” Dylan asked.
“Nope, we have to go to the Christmas bazaar in the church hall after the service. Don’t worry, they’re going to have even more treats than after the parade. You can buy some, too, Dad. Did you bring your wallet?” Teddy asked.
This day was going from bad to worse. “Yes, I brought my wallet,” he said, unable to stifle a pained groan as he got out of the SUV.
“You okay, Dad?” Teddy asked, looking worried.
Gabe ruffled his hair. “I’m good, honey. Overdid it playing touch football yesterday, that’s all.” His hand felt sticky, and he looked from his palm to Teddy’s hair. “Did you put gel in your hair?”
“Yeah.” He touched his head. “Did you mess it up?”
Gabe fought back a grin. “Nope, you’re styling, honey.”
He took Gabe’s hand, looking him up and down as they crossed the road. “You’re not, Dad. You should’ve dressed up. Look.” Teddy lifted his chin at a well-dressed couple walking up the cement stairs to the front doors. The church sat on the top of a hill framed by the blue mountains behind and towering pines on either side.
“No one will notice what I have on. They’ll all be looking at you and your brothers.” He hoped, because Teddy was right. Gabe wore a pair of black leisure pants that in his mind passed for dress pants if no one looked too closely and a black V-neck sweater that concealed the bulky bandage on his left side. Both had been easy to put on and were comfortable, which had been all Gabe cared about. He should’ve given his outerwear more thought. The brown leather bomber jacket he wore rubbed against his side if he moved in a certain way.
He stifled a groan as he began the long climb up the cement stairs.
“Dad, you’re walking like an old man.” Dylan mimicked him stiff-walking up the stairs.
“No, Dyl, he’s walking like this,” Cody said, walking like a bowlegged cowboy.
“It’s okay, Dad. I’ll help you.” Teddy guided Gabe up the stairs like he was ninety.
A dark-haired man in his early thirties stood greeting the parishioners wearing a purple robe and a white stole around his neck. He did a double take when he saw Gabe and the boys.
“Chief Buchanan, this is a nice surprise. Boys,” Pastor James greeted Gabe’s sons with a smile and shook Gabe’s hand. “Are you looking for someone in particular?” he asked Teddy, who’d gone up on his tiptoes to search the pews.
“Mallory. She’s our neighbor, and she’s really pretty with shiny gold hair and blue eyes that sparkle.”
The pastor’s eyes twinkled. “She really is pretty, isn’t she?”
Teddy’s eyes narrowed on Pastor James and so did Gabe’s.
“And she’s as smart as she is pretty,” Pastor James added. “I went to grade school with Mallory.” His face clouded. “Shame what happened to her and her family. It’s good to have her home.”
“She’s my dad’s girlfriend,” Teddy said, and Gabe, Dylan, and Cody turned to stare at him.
“Is that so?”
Gabe couldn’t tell whether the pastor was disappointed or amused. “No, it’s not so,” Gabe said. “Someone has a vivid imagination.”
Teddy opened his mouth, but something caught his attention, and he said bye to the pastor as he dragged Gabe into the sanctuary. Gabe was thinking he got off lucky until he saw where Teddy was headed. A pew on the left, four from the back, where Mallory and her stepsons sat.
Gabe tugged on Teddy’s hand to get him to stop. “We’ll sit here, buddy.” He was just about to nod at the pew on his right when Teddy let go of his hand and took off to Mallory’s side.
Teddy waved him over. “Mallory saved us a seat,” he said loud enough that everyone in the church turned. Including Mallory, who very clearly had not saved them a seat.
But no matter how she felt about Gabe at that moment, she smiled at Teddy and held out her hand. Except instead of his son sliding into the pew beside Mallory as she had intended, he gave Gabe a push that he hadn’t been prepared for, a push that caused him to jar his side so hard that he actually cursed, in church. Mallory’s sons and his thought it was hilarious. The seniors who sat in the surrounding pews did not. He got loudly tsked.
“Sorry,” he murmured and took the seat beside Mallory. She reached in her bag, shook out a pill, and passed it to him without looking at him. “Thanks,” he said and dry-swallowed it.
Teddy leaned around him to smile at Mallory. “You look really pretty today,” he said.
He was right, she did. Her hair cascaded down the shoulders and back of her purple winter coat.
“And you look very handsome.” She smiled at his son.
“I put gel in my hair.” He opened his jacket. “I’m wearing a tie too.”
Gabe frowned. “Is that my tie?”
Beside him, Mallory’s shoulders shook as she struggled to hold back her laughter. But when Gabe glanced at her to share a smile, she wiped the amusement from her face and stared straight ahead. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I’m sorry. I—”
She and the two older women in the pew in front of him shushed him. He sighed; it was going to be a long morning. Except not nearly as long as he’d anticipated. He’d fallen asleep, and he knew he had when Mallory nudged him on one side and Teddy did on the other.
“Gabe, you’re snoring,” she whispered.
“Wake up, Dad. You sound like a bear, and the old ladies in the pew in front of us are getting mad,” Teddy said in a voice that everyone around them heard.
“So are the old ladies in the pew behind you,” said a familiar voice from behind. “A fine example you’re setting for your children, Chief. Falling asleep in the Lord’s house.”
“At least he brought them to church,” Mallory said to Dot. “He was up half the night keeping the residents of Highland Falls safe.”
Gabe raised an eyebrow at her.
She shrugged, clearly still angry at him but angrier at the diner’s owner for taking him to task in front of his sons.
“Yeah, and he got shot doing it,” Oliver said, then his eyes went wide. “I mean stabbed. I mean, hit. Beaten up. Hurt, he got hurt.”
It took ten minutes to get his sons calmed down, and nearly the same amount of time to get out of the pew because of the crowd that had gathered around them, anxious to hear about the shooting.
As Gabe made his way out of the pew, Mallory apologized, explaining why she’d told the boys. Oliver apologized too. Gabe was just glad she hadn’t told her stepsons who’d accidentally shot him.
He managed to keep the identity from Dot and her merry band of seniors, although he heard them speculating as they walked ahead of them. Gabe had hoped that he’d ga
rnered enough sympathy from his sons to earn himself a reprieve from the church bazaar. No such luck. The twins had spotted friends from school, and Teddy had heard his two favorite words: Christmas and crafts.
Gabe was about to ask Mallory if she’d consider forgoing the church bazaar in hopes he could convince the boys to leave when he spotted Abby at the doors to the hall. “Hey, guys. Hey, Gabe.”
“My dad got shot. He’s a hero. You should interview him for your show,” Teddy said to Abby, who stared at Gabe.
“Seriously? Someone in Highland Falls shot you?” She took him by the arm and gently led him into the crowded hall. “Here, sit down.” She pulled out a chair from a table and then turned on her friend. “Mal, you’re a doctor. What is this man doing out of bed?”
“He’s fine, Abby. It’s barely a flesh wound.”
“That’s not what you said last night,” he grumbled, because she made him sound like he was being a baby.
“Hmm, I sense a story here. Who’s going to share?” She looked from him to Mallory and sighed. “You’re no fun. Okay, well, no time to waste. You’re going to die when you see the crafts, Mal. I saw at least ten pillows and blankets that would look amazing in your living room. And the cutest reindeer decorations. I thought maybe, for our first episode of Christmas on Reindeer Road, we’d do a segment of you decorating the house for the holidays, and then maybe we could do a couple crafts that you could incorporate into the segment.”
“I love crafts. Can I help too?” Teddy asked. “Maybe we can decorate our house?”
“For sure. As long as your dad is okay with it. You good, Gabe?” Abby asked.
“Yeah,” he said, because how was he supposed to say no? Two hours later, he decided he should’ve said no and dragged his youngest out of the hall. Gabe had escaped the senior contingent by trailing after Abby, Mallory, and Teddy, and if he had to listen to them ooh and aah over one more holiday decoration, he was going to throw himself on the mercy of the seniors manning the table.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me. This is the third time you’ve watched the wreath-making demonstration.” He held up his hands when the three of them gave him pursed-lipped looks. It was a little scary that his son had the expression down pat. “Hey, Teddy, your friends from school are at the baked goods table.” Gabe dug his wallet from his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill. “Get yourself a cookie and hot chocolate.”
“Dad, can’t you see I’m busy? We have to figure out how to make the wreath before we do our video.”
Mallory pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.
“Fine. I’ll get a cookie and a coffee.” He looked for the twins as he walked away. The last time he’d seen them, they’d been playing charades with a bunch of kids from school. Pastor James had kicked them into the room off the hall when the game got too loud and rowdy. Oliver and Brooks were playing it cool, sitting at a table just down from the one Ainsley and her girlfriends occupied. The girls were making holiday cards with the younger kids.
Gabe ducked into the other room to check on the twins, then found a quiet corner to drink his coffee and eat his cookie undisturbed. Mallory walked by with her arms loaded down.
“You need a hand?” he asked as he tossed his empty cup in a recycle bin.
“I’m good, thank you,” she said.
“You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Gabe, I am. And you know why I am so don’t look surprised.” She backtracked and lowered her voice. “I know what you’re doing. You’re foisting Owen off on me so you don’t have to deal with him at the station.”
Now that she mentioned it, it was an added benefit. “No, I—”
“Please, give me some credit.”
“Maybe you should do the same. You and your dad—”
“I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“Damn, you’re stubborn.”
“I—” Mallory began, only to be cut off by Teddy.
“Why are you and my dad mad at each other?” Gabe hadn’t even noticed him standing there. The poor kid looked crushed.
“We’re not mad at each other, sweetie.” Mallory forced a smile, but even Teddy would be able to tell it was fake.
His youngest looked from him to Mallory. “I’ll be right back,” he said and ran off.
“Listen, if it doesn’t work out with Owen and Boyd, I’ll talk to Winter and we’ll come up with something else. I just think you should give it a chance. I have no idea why, but the seniors love Owen. Clearly, as today proved, it’s going to take more than you saving Ruby to win over Dot and her gang. I’m betting Owen can help you out with that.” Gabe frowned when Teddy dragged over a chair.
He stood up on it and held out a sprig of mistletoe. “Okay, kiss and make up.”
“Teddy, your dad and I aren’t fighting,” Mallory said, her color high.
“Are too,” his son said with a familiar glint in his eye.
Gabe sighed. “He’s as stubborn as you are.”
“I’m not kissing you in the middle of the church hall, Gabriel Buchanan,” she whispered, shooting a panicked glance around her.
“Fine. I’ll kiss you.” He bent his head and touched his mouth to hers. Her lips were soft and sweet, and in that moment, he knew he’d made a fatal mistake. And it wasn’t because his son was watching with a big smile on his face or that, out of the corner of his eye, Gabe saw Abby filming them or that Dot and her friends looked shocked and horrified. It was because Gabe wasn’t thinking that he’d betrayed his wife. All he was thinking about was Mallory and how much he wanted her in his life.
* * *
“Teddy, what are you…” Gabe began as he walked into the kitchen a few hours later. His youngest had been too quiet, and now he knew why.
“Hey, Mom and Dad,” Gabe said to the couple smiling at him from the computer screen. His parents were in their late sixties and could easily pass for a couple in their late forties. And they were as in love now as they had been when he and his brothers were growing up.
Like most kids, they hadn’t realized what a gift it had been living in a home with two loving adults. Thanks to their dad’s proclivity for PDA, they had been grossed out plenty of times. Still, Gabe had hoped to have a marriage just like theirs, and, for the most part, he had. Only it had ended far too soon.
“Hi, honey,” his parents said at almost the same time. The amusement in their eyes and knowing smiles made him nervous but he supposed it was better than panic or concern. His son had obviously not shared about the shooting.
“Teddy tells us he finally found you a match, and he didn’t need one of those dating apps to do it. Santa helped him.”
“Teddy,” Gabe grumbled, “you know better than to talk to Nana and Pop Pop about your old man’s dating life.”
“A dating life, now is it?” his dad said. “Good job, Teddy. We should’ve thought to ask for Santa’s help before.”
“I’m going to ask for Jesus’s help too,” Teddy said. “We don’t have a lot of time, and Dad says Mallory’s stubborn.”
That’d teach him not to speak before looking around. “I didn’t say Mallory was—”
“Yes you did, Dad.” He leaned forward on the chair. “They were fighting but I got them to kiss and make up.”
“Really?” his mother said, giving Gabe an intrigued look that promised he’d be getting a phone call later. Probably a conference call with his entire family on the line.
“No, not really,” Gabe said.
“Dad, I need your cell phone.”
“Why?”
Teddy dug in Gabe’s pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’m going to send Nana and Pop Pop the link to Abby Does Highland Falls. That’s my friend. She’s famous, and she put up the pictures of our family and Mallory’s with Santa on her YouTube channel last night. She might even have the video she shot at the church this morning up, and you can see Dad kissing Mallory,” he said as he typed on Gabe’s phone, better and faster than Gabe d
id. At the sound of a swoosh, Teddy told Gabe’s parents to check out the link.
“Which one of us did you send it to, honey?” Gabe’s mother asked as she checked her cell phone.
His dad did the same. “I didn’t get it either, Teddy Bear.”
Teddy frowned and swiped through the screen. Then his eyes went wide, and he looked up at Gabe. “Uh-oh, I sent the link to the wrong grandma.”
Chapter Sixteen
Bright and early Monday morning, Mallory sat in her parked car in the driveway with Brooks, waiting for Oliver to grace them with his presence. It was the first day of school for the boys, and the first day of work for her.
“Brooks, do me a favor and text your brother. We’re going to be late,” Mallory said, applying her pink peppermint lip gloss in the rearview mirror. As she did, she found herself thinking about Gabe’s kiss. In the middle of the church hall with everyone looking on, including her best friend, who had her smartphone in hand.
Mallory didn’t know what he’d been thinking. The last thing either of them needed was the town gossiping about them. They had enough problems without Kayla or Gabe’s mother-in-law hearing about the kiss. And Mallory had enough to deal with today without worrying about how that brief and completely unromantic lip-lock had made her feel. She shouldn’t have felt anything, but she did. And it wasn’t just anger.
She tossed the lip gloss in her bag. If Oliver was as nervous for his first day at school as she was for her first day at the senior center, he might need some added support. “Never mind. I’ll go check on him myself,” she told Brooks.
“He’s okay, Mal. He’s just changing his shirt again. He does that when he gets nervous.”
“You’re not nervous?” she asked him.
“No, I’m kinda looking forward to it. The kids we met yesterday at church seemed nice.”
“Did Oliver like them too?”
“He likes Ainsley, but she has a boyfriend. He’s the captain of the football team and a real wanker.”
Mallory held back a smile. She imagined, with his cute accent and good looks, Brooks would be a popular new addition at school. He was easier going than his brother and didn’t give off the arrogant vibe. But as Mallory was beginning to discover, Oliver was the more sensitive of the two and used the attitude to protect himself.
