Christmas on Reindeer Road

by Debbie Mason

  “Maybe Oliver will meet someone else who’s just as nice as Ainsley.”

  “Let’s hope so. Otherwise, he won’t be much fun to live with when he finds out Marsha gave boarding school the thumbs-down.”

  Mallory turned to stare at Brooks in the backseat. “You heard me on the phone with Marsha last night. I wish you would’ve told me. We could’ve talked about it. I don’t like to think of you going to bed upset.”

  “I wasn’t upset. Ollie’s the one who wants to go back to England. I kinda like it here.” He glanced at her from under his lashes, a flush causing his cinnamon freckles to join together. “With you.”

  “Oh, Brooks, I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that. I just wish Oliver felt the same.”

  “Sometimes I think he does but he’s afraid to admit it.” He looked out the window. “When we found out our dad died and we were going to live with Marsha, Ollie contacted our mother.”

  Mallory’s mouth dropped. “I didn’t think you guys had any contact with her.”

  “We didn’t. We don’t. But Ollie found her on the Internet. He asked if we could come live with her or if she’d pay for our school. We thought she had lots of money, but Ollie says she’s broke now. Anyway, she didn’t want us either.”

  “I want you, Brooks. I want both of you.”

  He smiled. “I know.” Then he glanced out the window again. “Here comes Ollie. Don’t tell him what I told you. He’d be embarrassed. And maybe wait a couple days to tell him Marsha said no. Gabe’s going to talk to the football coach, and Ollie was pretty excited about it. Even if he doesn’t act like it, he was.”

  “Okay. You can tell me when would be a good time to let him know.” She smiled when Oliver got in the backseat. “You all set?” she asked him.

  He gave her a clipped nod. In the past, it would’ve bothered her, but now she knew he was just nervous. She wished she could take away his worries like his brother had taken away hers. Okay, she thought when her stomach dipped, maybe she was still a little nervous at the idea of seeing her father for the first time in seventeen years. Her father who had shot Gabe, she thought as she started the car and went to back out of the driveway.

  “Mallory!”

  She slammed on the brakes. “What?”

  Oliver looked at her with wide eyes. “You nearly hit Gabe’s SUV.”

  She glanced in the rearview mirror. He was right. Gabe had parked at the end of their driveway, and she’d nearly backed into him.

  He got out of the SUV. He was wearing his uniform, and her mind inconveniently reminded her what was underneath his navy uniform shirt. Her cheeks warmed, and she fought the urge to fan herself. He tapped on the driver’s-side window.

  “Rough morning?” he asked when she powered it down.

  “Sorry. I was worried we were going to be late and didn’t check behind me.”

  He raised an eyebrow, then reached inside his jacket, pulling out three envelopes with their names printed in big block letters. “From Teddy for your first day on the new job and for the boys’ first day at Highland Falls High.”

  “Aww, he is just the sweetest.” She reached back to hand the boys their cards.

  “He is,” Gabe said but she couldn’t help but notice he was staring at her lips. He drew his gaze from her mouth to look at the boys. “Have a good day, guys. I’ll give the coach a call, Oliver.”

  “Thanks, Gabe, and I’m sorry again about blurting that you got shot in front of the kids. Mallory warned us to keep it to ourselves,” Oliver said.

  “Hey, you were defending me. Besides, I should’ve told the boys.” He patted the car. “See you guys later.”

  “Thank Teddy for our cards,” Mallory said and powered up the window. She ended up following Gabe to the school. He beeped his horn as she pulled into the high school parking lot and he continued on to the elementary school next door.

  Oliver groaned when she took off her seat belt. “Mal, you don’t have to come in with us.”

  “Sorry. I know it’s not cool, but I have paperwork to fill out. I promise I won’t embarrass you,” she said as she walked to the entrance doors with them. “I used to go to school here, you know.”

  The boys shared a look. Someone must’ve told them she’d been put in foster care. “I thought you left Highland Falls when you were twelve,” Oliver said.

  “I did, but I’d skipped a couple of grades.” She’d lived up on the mountain and didn’t have friends nearby to distract her. The teachers had tried to get her to join the after-school clubs, but her mother had needed her. “They used to have lots of extracurricular activities and clubs, and the sports teams always did really well in the surrounding counties. If you guys want to join anything, I don’t mind picking you up later or dropping you off earlier, so don’t let the fact that we’re a little out of the way stop you from joining.”

  An older woman looked up from the group of teenagers she’d been speaking to. “Mallory Carlisle, is that you?”

  “Mrs. Jones?”

  The older woman nodded with a wide smile creasing her lined face. “I’d heard you were moving back to town, and I’d hoped you’d stop by.” She came over and hugged Mallory. “Are these your boys?”

  She nodded. “My stepsons, Oliver and Brooks. I’m registering them today.”

  “How wonderful. Welcome to Highland Falls High, boys.” She shook their hands. “Let’s go to my office and get you registered. I’m the principal now. Your stepmother was my favorite student,” she told Oliver and Brooks while patting Mallory’s arm. “I just wish we would’ve had her here longer. We heard all about you saving Ruby. None of us who taught you were surprised. We always knew you’d do great things.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. I’m a medical doctor, but I didn’t finish my residency. I haven’t practiced medicine since then, and that was years ago now.”

  “You kinda did, Mal. You took care of Dad,” Brooks said.

  “Did she? Well, your father was a very lucky man, then,” Mrs. Jones said at the boys’ nods. “Mallory won’t tell you this, but she looked after her mother from the time she was barely this high.” She held a hand to her hip. “She cared for her right up until the day she died. How is your father doing? I heard he came back to Highland Falls about six years ago, but I never see him. Is he still living up on the mountain?” Mrs. Jones asked, ushering them into her office.

  Oliver and Brooks looked surprised. They must’ve assumed her father had died. “As far as I know, he does. We lost contact after I went into foster care.” She smiled, ready to end this part of the conversation. “I probably should get the paperwork done. I’m starting work at the senior center this morning.”

  “Someone mentioned that they thought Winter had hired you for the position. I have no doubt you can help turn this crisis around. It’s a shame how some of our seniors are living. And it’s only going to get worse.” She hunted around on her desk. “Here we go,” she said, placing the papers in front of her.

  Mallory glanced at the boys. She had to tell Mrs. Jones about social services. “Would it be possible for Oliver and Brooks to go to their homerooms? I don’t want them to be late on their first day.”

  “Certainly. I’ll take them myself.” She rested a pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose and looked at her computer screen. “I see you took care of the preregistration. Oliver, I have you in eleventh grade, and Brooks, you’re in ninth. Off we go, now. Don’t you worry about them. I’ll take good care of your sons, Mallory.”

  “I know you will, Mrs. Jones. Thank you.” She hesitated and then stood, giving each of the boys a quick hug. Oliver held himself stiff, and Brooks awkwardly patted her back. “I’ll see you guys after school. Text if you need me.”

  * * *

  Mallory pulled into the recreation center’s parking lot with twenty minutes to spare. She turned off the engine and leaned her head against the headrest. She needed a few minutes before facing her father and Owen. Her stomach flip-flopped with nerves. It pr
obably didn’t help that she’d been worried about telling Mrs. Jones about Kayla McPherson. Her former teacher had been offended on Mallory’s behalf. As Mallory was leaving, she’d actually been on the phone with social services. Mallory appreciated her support, but she doubted it would be enough to change Kayla’s mind.

  She leaned over to take out Teddy’s card from her bag. She opened the envelope and nearly cried. He’d drawn a picture of her walking into the recreation center with what looked to be Gabe and the boys, hers and his, cheering her on. He’d included several seniors with big smiles on their faces welcoming her inside.

  Someone knocked on the passenger-side window, and she hurriedly wiped at her eyes. It was Gabe. She unlocked the door, and he opened it to slide into the passenger seat beside her. He looked from the card to her. “He made you cry.”

  “No. Yes,” she admitted. “But they’re appreciative tears.”

  “Unlike his father, who makes you cry sad tears.” He wiped her cheek with his thumb.

  “Angry tears,” she said, unable to contain a shiver. And her reaction just then had nothing to do with anger. She held up her hand when he went to apologize. “I’m still not happy about what you did, but your intentions were good. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’ll just deal with it.”

  He opened his mouth then closed it and nodded. “How did it go at the school?”

  She told him about Mrs. Jones calling social services.

  “Okay, that it explains it, then.”

  “Explains what?”

  “I got a call from Kayla. She said you’re trying to ruin her good name. I probably didn’t help matters. I went over her head and talked to her boss about the conflict of interest. She didn’t know Kayla had applied for the job so that didn’t go over well. And I gather Winter had called her too.”

  “So now Kayla’s really out to get me, isn’t she?”

  “Let’s just say you and the boys should be on your best behaviors for the next week or so. I gather she also heard from Marsha Maitland.”

  Mallory shook her head. “I don’t believe it. Marsha told her I asked her to pay for the boys to go to boarding school, didn’t she?”

  “She did. Kayla said it was because she was concerned about the boys. But you gotta wonder what is Marsha’s endgame. It’s not like she wants Oliver and Brooks.”

  “No, it’s not. She was more than clear about that last night. Just like I was equally clear I would prefer the boys stay with me but I wanted them to be happy.” She told him what Brooks had said that morning.

  “That’s great.” He glanced to his right and groaned. “Winter didn’t tell me Dot and her friends were coming.”

  “Well, they are seniors.” She frowned. “You’re not coming in with me today, are you?” she asked, feeling a little like the boys must have.

  “Winter put me on the senior committee. She’s hoping it will help improve my relationship with Highland Falls’ seniors. I gather she got several complaints about my swearing and snoring in church yesterday.” He narrowed his eyes when a small laugh escaped from her.

  “Sorry, but at one point you were snoring so loud we couldn’t hear Pastor James’s sermon. You’re just lucky Winter didn’t hear that you kissed me in the middle of the church hall.”

  “I’m pretty sure she did hear about it. She just chose not to say anything to me.”

  She groaned. “Honestly, could this day get much worse?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Really?”

  He told her about Teddy sending the link to Abby’s YouTube channel to Diane instead of his mother.

  “Did you explain that I was mad at…No, I guess you wouldn’t explain that, would you? But she must’ve been able to tell it wasn’t a real kiss.”

  “She didn’t actually say much about the kiss. She had more of a problem with who I was kissing.”

  “She watched the other videos, didn’t she?”

  “Yep, and she knows that I arrested you last summer.”

  “Thank goodness she doesn’t know that my father shot you.”

  “Yeah, that’s definitely something we should keep on the downlow.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Gabe glanced at Mallory as they walked into the recreation center together. She had her hand raised to her ear, twisting her pearl earring. “Don’t be nervous. It’ll be fine,” he reassured her.

  If he hadn’t felt guilty about forcing the reunion between father and daughter before, he did now. It had seemed like a no-brainer at the time but maybe the loss of blood had affected his thinking. Or maybe it was because of his own relationship with his parents. There was something special about knowing they’d always be there for him no matter how badly he’d screwed up. They’d always love him.

  He wanted to give his boys the same. He wanted them to know that they were the most amazing little humans on the planet in his eyes. It killed him that this sweet, loving, and generous woman beside him had felt unloved and unwanted for even five minutes. If things were different, if they’d met under different circumstances, he’d spend a lifetime proving to her that she was loved and wanted.

  He drew her hand from her ear and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “I’ve got your back.”

  “Thanks.” She freed her hand from his with a strained smile. “As much as I appreciate your support, we should probably forgo the hand holding and kissing. The last thing either of us needs is people gossiping about us.”

  He hadn’t meant to keep holding her hand. He’d fully intended to let it go after giving her fingers a brief, reassuring squeeze. Obviously, his brain hadn’t gotten the memo. Or was it his heart? Brain, definitely your brain. “I couldn’t agree with you more, and I probably should’ve apologized for kissing you yesterday. You knew why I did, right?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “The magic of mistletoe?”

  “You felt it too?” he asked, relieved that it wasn’t only him. Then he realized she was probably teasing and winked at her as if he’d been doing the same.

  To think there’d actually been a time when he’d been good at this sort of stuff. Now his sons were probably better at playing the flirting game than he was. Okay, maybe not the twins, but Teddy definitely.

  “Of course I knew you’d only kissed me because Teddy was upset that we were fighting.”

  “We weren’t really fighting though.”

  “You’re right, we weren’t. I was just mad at you, and Teddy is a sensitive little boy who picked up on my feelings. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

  “Me too. And trust me, that’s the last time I try my hand at a family intervention.”

  She hesitated at the open double doors and scanned the room. Rows of blue chairs had been set up for the meeting, and the majority of them were filled. The Christmas trees had been moved to the side of the hall near where a refreshment table now stood.

  Santa’s chair was gone, although fake Santa was in the audience. Owen sat at one end of the front row, and Boyd sat at the opposite end. The mayor sat at the center of a long table facing the audience with three chairs on either side of her. The three chairs on her right were empty, while out of the three on her left, two were occupied. Elsa Mackenzie, the owner of Three Wise Women Bookstore and Owen’s best friend, sat beside the mayor, and then there was Mallory’s favorite social worker, Kayla McPherson, occupying the chair beside Elsa. Gabe figured Winter had offered Kayla a place on the committee as a peace offering. Besides that, social services dealt with many of the seniors Mallory would be trying to help.

  He wasn’t sure if Mallory’s soft groan was because she’d spotted her father or Kayla. As they walked into the room, people turned to look at them.

  Mallory glanced at him. “You know how you said Owen could help me win over the seniors of Highland Falls?”

  “Yeah,” he said, pretty sure he knew where this was going, considering the animosity in the seniors’ gazes was aimed at him, not her.

  “I think you could use h
is help more than me.” She hefted her Mary Poppins magic carpet bag over her shoulder.

  “Except he’s the reason they hate me,” he said under his breath as they walked toward the table. “And the only way to change their minds would be for me to give him back his job.”

  “Or to find him another one.” With her eyes focused on Winter, Mallory walked straight to the table without sparing her father a passing glance. Gabe didn’t say anything, but he didn’t think ignoring the elephant in the room was going to make this any easier on her.

  They both said hello to the committee members, and Kayla gestured for Gabe to take the chair beside hers. Since he didn’t want to make an already difficult situation worse, he took the seat. He didn’t miss the smug smile Kayla gave to Mallory or that Mallory rolled her eyes before moving to the other end of the table.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Abby called out as she hurried down the aisle with her Yorkie in her bag and Wolf loping after her.

  “Abby, slow down before you—” Mallory began, then gasped when it looked like her best friend was about to take a header into the table. An older woman on the inside aisle reached for Abby, but Wolf was quicker. He latched on to the back of Abby’s jacket, saving her from falling on her face.

  Gabe wouldn’t be surprised if Hunter had trained his dog to protect his fiancée from falls. Abby was an accident waiting to happen, and it wasn’t because she did everything at full speed or was a klutz. It was because she’d suffered a stroke and traumatic brain injury when she was twelve and to this day had issues with her balance when she was tired or stressed.

  “Isn’t he just the smartest?” she said to everyone while turning to love on the white dog. “Did anyone happen to get that on video? No?” She tapped her finger on her lips.

  “No, you’re not reenacting it for your channel. Come sit down,” said Mallory, who obviously knew how her best friend’s mind worked. She patted the chair beside hers.