Second Chance eX-mas

by N. D. Jackson

  A smile lit up her face. “Glory? Oh, she is just perfect. Talkative, smart and so inquisitive. She’ll question you to death if you let her. So bossy too.” She looked…in love, he realized and his own heart stuttered to a stop and wilted a little before kickstarting into a limp beat.

  Glory? The kid. His kid. His…, “She? I have a daughter.” It wasn’t a question. The love in his mother’s eyes told him it was all true. He’d had a kid with Ally, the only woman he’d ever loved, and he hadn’t known it. He hadn’t felt any different, but he should have. Right? “Why am I just hearing about this now?” That question settled him and let his anger rise.

  “I didn’t want you distracted while you were off fighting in a war or two,” she shot back defensively, matching his tone. “Ally has her own reasons for not telling you but once I told her you were coming home, she knew I would tell you.”

  “Which meant she still wasn’t going to tell me.” That stung like hell. Hell, he shouldn’t be surprised since he was the one who left, but he was.

  “I can’t answer that and I won’t get in the middle of your personal drama.”

  He would have laughed if she weren’t trying so hard to look serious. “Ma, you live to meddle and you put yourself in the middle. You could have said nothing since Ally had no plans to tell me.”

  “That I know of,” she added hastily. “Being a single mother is hard. The last thing on her mind is the man who walked away.”

  His nostrils flared. “Where is she?”

  “I’m not telling you. She has a child, Archer. You can’t just storm over there yelling and screaming. You’ll scare her.”

  “I will find her, Ma.” He was trained to hunt for people. To seek them out even in the best hiding places. “Blissful isn’t that big.”

  “Maybe not, but you left and you never came back. You don’t get to storm over there and make demands. Ask questions.”

  “The hell I don’t! That’s my kid.”

  “And right now, it will be up to her if she wants you in her daughter’s life.”

  Her daughter. Those words were like a knife to his heart. “Why, after everything, did she let you in?”

  “She needed someone to be there for her, and she let me be that person.”

  He sent a hard stare to his mother, harder than he’d ever looked at her, as fury swamped him. Pushing out of his seat, Archer stalked through the house and out the front door, hopping in his truck and kicking up enough gravel to create a sand storm on his way up the drive. He needed a drink which meant he was headed to see the only other person who probably hated him as much as Ally. Her mom.

  Tori was tough and she might punch him in the face first, but Archer needed more information and since his own mother refused to help, maybe she would understand. As a parent. I can’t believe I even thought that. He pulled open the door, bathing a large swath of the dim bar in light, scanning the room for the familiar head of jet black hair.

  “Take a seat anywhere, hon.”

  He nodded at the passing waitress and took a seat at the bar. Patience wasn’t his strong suit when his emotions were engaged, as evidenced by his nonstop finger drumming on the sturdy wooden bar.

  A shadow passed over and he looked up, and up into the eyes of a bearded guy in a flannel. “What’ll it be?”

  “Whatever IPA you have. Is Tori around?”

  He frowned, the move shifted his brows and his beard so barely any face was actually visible. “You from around here?”

  “I am,” he sighed, hating all these damn questions. “Born and raised. Left for college then the Marines, just now getting’ back.”

  He nodded, accepting the truth of his answer. “Then you don’t know. She was killed a few years ago when some tweaker robbed the bar.”

  “Shit,” he grumbled into the pale ale that sat in front of him. He hadn’t just left Ally, hadn’t just abandoned her. He’d left her pregnant and completely alone with a small child. And I didn’t even realize it.

  Merry fucking Christmas.

  Chapter 2

  “Mama, what color are my daddy’s eyes?”

  Ally sighed, barely suppressing a groan her daughter couldn’t hear over her stream of questions. They were headed to the post office to stock up on packing materials. They went once a week, usually stopping for lunch or a treat along the way. “Big blue ones. The exact same shade as yours.” She glanced in the mirror at Glory, wishing she could say good things about her dad the way other mothers did.

  “Really?” She smiled when her mother nodded, looking just like Archer. There were so many ways, physical and in demeanor, she was like her father. Whenever Ally paid too much attention to those similarities, she ached. “What else?”

  She’d hesitated sharing this particular detail with Glory because it would make it clear as day if Archer ever set foot in town again. “That dimple in your chin, he has one just like it. That same crooked line like you have right there,” she looked up and grinned at the little girl trying to see for herself. She hated to remember but lately Glory wanted to know more about him and she wouldn’t deprive her daughter of that. “You’re like him in so many ways. Your stubborn streak is the perfect example. Your dad would fight over the last slice of pizza, win and then give it to me anyway.”

  She giggled and Ally felt her shoulders relax knowing she’d done the right thing.

  “You have his same confidence and fearlessness. I might go gray early with you as my daughter, but that’s what moms are for, right?”

  “That’s right,” she shot back, rocking her head back and forth in an exaggerated nod. Her expression sobered. “I’m sorry looking at me makes you sad sometimes Mama.”

  Ally gasped and twisted her arm behind her to touch her daughter, to make sure they were connected when she spoke. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me little girl. I love you more than I love waffle bacon sundaes. You just remind me so much of your dad and sometimes when I look at you, I miss him. That’s all.” And it was the absolute truth. They went inside the post office and loaded up on a week’s worth of materials and got in line. “Please don’t ever doubt that Glory.”

  “I won’t,” she promised, smiling over the package of small boxes she held. “Can we make pizza for dinner?”

  Ally grinned widely at her daughter. The resilience of kids astounded her, something Ally had learned to simply roll with as a mom. “Sure. A big one or two smaller ones?”

  Her nose twisted adorably, one pigtail bouncing loosely as she contemplated. “Whatcha gonna get?”

  “That depends, what vegetable will you get?” Her little girl was perfect as far as Ally was concerned but she had an aversion to vegetables.

  “Mama,” she whined while Ally strapped her into the car seat. “Please.”

  Ally pulled out of the parking lot and went towards their next stop. The grocery store, where Glory delighted in riding around the store in the cart, mostly because she could sneak things into the cart when her mother’s head was turned. “We’re in the vegetable section honey, choose.”

  She whined but Ally was unmoved as she grabbed what she needed for pizza. “Mama, look!” She turned and found Glory waving an orange flyer like it was on fire.

  “The Winter Parade is coming up.” Every year right before Thanksgiving, the whole town pretty much shut down for the parade that did a loop around the main square in town. There would be cider and mulled wine, hot cocoa and plenty of food. “Want to go?”

  She nodded again. “Yes, please! I want to be one of the dancing turkeys,” she pointed to the image of Tom Bruno doing his special version of the funky turkey on the float.

  “I guess I better get started on your costume.” The thing was next week so she’d have to stay up late a few nights. One of the reasons she’d chosen to come back home was because the people of Blissful always rallied when they were needed. She knew there were a dozen old ladies, the Blissful Brigade, who would happily pitch in. Maybe next year. This year she wanted them t
o do it together.

  Twenty minutes later they were headed out of the store. To Ally, it felt like an hour. “Mama, why is that man staring at us?”

  She knew what face she would see when she turned around because only one person would openly stare at a child. The father who’d never laid eyes on her. But she turned slowly, steeling herself for seeing him for the first time since he’d broken her heart. The atmosphere changed, grew charged as their gazes connected. So familiar but not quite, not anymore. It was hard to breathe, which was nothing new when it came to the man standing not ten feet from her, and she cursed herself for feeling that way. He didn’t get to make her feel that way, not when he was the one who’d broken her to begin with. The same rush of emotions she used to revel in, now disgusted her. She shook off his magnetic spell and turned to Glory. “Probably because he’s never seen such a pretty little girl.”

  “But I’m not dressed up, Mama.”

  “You’re still the cutest girl I’ve ever seen.” She giggled and her focus moved to the dress up chest Cindy had bought for her birthday this year. Or maybe Ally let her hope run away with her good sense, because she swore her daughter’s gaze had been focused on the man staring after them.

  Unable to look away from his daughter.

  He’d finally done it, and it had only taken two days before he’d mustered up the courage to seek her out. He’d spent most of the morning hanging around town hoping to accidentally bump into her on purpose. He’d finally given up and thought he’d get some beer and chips to take to his mom’s only to hear that voice he’d know anywhere. Soft and velvety, one hundred percent feminine.

  Archer drew closer to the sound, hoping to steal a glance without making his presence known, out of fear he realized, because he had no clue how she would greet him. But after his creepy stalker act, he knew exactly how.

  Like a complete fucking stranger.

  Still, he’d seen her. Both of them, actually. He hadn’t seen Ally in seven long years, but he could never forget her face or that petite body with the deceptive curves. She always looked so tiny in the clothes she wore, but he’d learned she had more than enough to please a man. After a few clumsy attempts, they’d both gotten the hang of it and he would never forget how she looked with that long black hair spread out behind her as those big violet eyes looked at him filled with love. But now, now she was all woman. She had a few more curves and carried herself with more confidence, an easy sexy confidence he found appealing.

  And his daughter. Glory. She was just beautiful and not simply because she could have been his twin at that age. A little angel, she was the perfect blend of them both, in his humble opinion.

  Curious too. She hadn’t been able to look away from him as the car left the lot and turned to an unknown destination. Archer knew he could stop any person on the street and have her address in under a minute, but he hadn’t done it. Yet.

  He didn’t know what he’d say. ‘Sorry’ didn’t seem like it would be enough for all he’d done. But it was a good place to start. It would at least get him in the door, and when he was he could figure out what came next.

  His feet began to move on their own, straight to his own vehicle where he fired up the engine and turned the corner, parking in one of the five spots behind Blissful Bakery. Looking for parking this time of day on the main street would be pointless and he needed to accidentally overhear some vital information.

  “Well look who’s home!” Mysti Hansen still ran the place, only now she was a little grayer and little rounder. “Come on in, boy. Have a cup of coffee and breakfast on the house. You served your country well.”

  He grinned, feeling a blush creep up his face at her praise. “Thanks, Mysti, it is so good to be home. No place in the world has coffee as good as yours.”

  “I see your muscles aren’t the only thing you’ve worked on since you been gone.” She rolled her eyes with a smile as she turned to grab the fresh pot of coffee. “Drink up and let me know what you’ll have. Be back.”

  Archer grinned as he looked at the menu that had changed more than he expected in his absence. He went for a Spanish omelet, hash browns and fruit, because though he’d been given an honorable discharge, Archer still woke up early and did PT like he hadn’t. “What’s new Mysti?” He gave his most charming grin but she wasn’t fooled a bit.

  “Right. I’ll go put this in and come back so you can ask what you really want to know.” She smirked and sauntered off, though how a woman her age managed to saunter he would never know.

  Archer thought of her ominous tone, or was it a threat? Did the whole town know Glory was his? That he hadn’t seen her or provided for her at all since she was born? Not that Ally could hide it if she wanted to, not when Glory had the famous Black baby blues, or the dimple in her chin. Just like mine. He couldn’t even imagine how hard it must have been for her, to leave school pregnant and alone. Coming back to a small town, even if it was home. Shit.

  He’d just realized the gravity of what he’d done to her. What he’d stolen from her when he made a decision about their future.

  “So,” Mysti sat and filled his mug and hers with more coffee. “You want to know about Ally.”

  “That obvious?”

  “Oh please, you two thought you were invisible sitting in that back booth making out like the world would end if you didn’t suck face.”

  Archer laughed, instantly seeing them in that back booth. Ally in short cutoffs and a billowy top that hid everything, while he kept it simple in cargo shorts and rock tees. Both of them wore flip flops as they sat on the same side of the booth, making out because they just hadn’t been able to get enough of each other. “Seems like a lifetime ago.”

  “It was.”

  “How is she?”

  “You’ve seen her?”

  He nodded. “And Glory. That was a surprise.”

  “From what I hear you didn’t stick around to find out what’s what. Didn’t really look back, not a once.” There was no venom in her words, just a simple retelling of facts as she knew them.

  And Archer couldn’t deny them, which stung like hell. “Well?”

  Her lips twitched. “She’s doing as fine as any other single mother. She’s got her business and that little girl is the sweetest thing, got a love for my cherry pie.”

  “Good taste.”

  “She’s single if that’s the information you want, but you should know it’s by choice.”

  He didn’t doubt it for a second. Even the small glimpse he’d seen of her had shown she had only gotten more beautiful over the years. Her five-foot frame was no longer wispy, it had filled out giving her lush curves a man could really enjoy. Expressive eyes had been filled with shock and then memories before finally settling on cool detachment. “Does everyone know?”

  She nodded. “No one talks about it, but we’d all have to be blind not to see who she favors.”

  “If I asked you how to find her, what would you say?”

  “Order’s up!”

  His shoulders slumped when Mysti shot out of her seat and grabbed the plates, laying them out before him silently. “I’d say the yellow cottage over on Jefferson. And don’t mess with either of them if you intend to leave again.”

  Message received.

  Chapter 3

  “We should make a gingerbread house, Mama.” Glory sat at the table slowly making her way through the final spear of broccoli because she liked to get the yucky stuff out of the way first so she could enjoy the rest of her meal in peace.

  “We can practice different styles and then we’ll be ready to enter the coolest gingerbread house contest during the Winter Parade.” The town had named the weeklong celebration after the parade that closed it out. It was just another quirk of living in Blissful. “What do you think?”

  “What if we our house is the worst one and we lose?” She angrily stabbed that broccoli, taking much longer than any person should, while her blue eyes shot her mom a sad look.

  “First of all, our
house could never be the worst, do you know who your mama is?”

  She pretended to think about it for a second and frowned. “The bestest?”

  Ally nodded. “Thanks kiddo. Our house will look awesome, don’t doubt that. But we might still lose. I’m okay with that, are you?” She’d learned years ago that life rarely turned out how you thought it would or how you expected. She learned to adapt.

  Glory thought about it for several long moments. “I’m okay with it Mama. Can we do a gingerbread castle?”

  “We can try. But that means we really have to practice.” Not that either female would find it a hardship to have to eat more gingerbread. She wondered if she could turn some of the attempts into gingerbread cereal.

  “Okay Mama. If you say so.” With a brave look on her face, Glory gave herself a mental pep talk and shoved the picked over broccoli spear into her mouth. She groaned and chewed, looking relieved when she choked the last of it down. “All done.” A quick tongue check and she picked up her turkey burger and took a big bite.

  The doorbell rang and Glory shot out of her chair, with Ally struggling to catch up to the energetic little girl. “Don’t you even think about opening that door Glory!”

  Moments later Ally heard the squeak of the door hinges she’d been meaning to oil for weeks now, and then her daughter’s friendly voice. “Who are you?” Still full of turkey burger.

  Great, a stranger. “My name is Archer. Is your mother home?” She froze at the sound of that familiar, yet all too unfamiliar voice.

  “My name is Glory.” There was a long pause and then her daughter’s exasperated voice again. “You’re ‘sposed to shake my hand.”

  Archer chuckled and Ally suppressed the urge to join in as her feet began to move again. “Sorry, I forgot my manners. It’s nice to meet you, Glory.”