Take Me Home for Christmas

24

Ted had never expected Sophia to turn him down. He figured a woman in her situation would be desperate enough to accept almost any invitation—just to get out of the house, if for no other reason. What fun had she had since her husband jumped off that damn yacht?

He couldn’t believe she’d had any. But if not for Alexa, begging her to agree, Sophia would’ve sent him away. As it was, she came but kept to herself.

“Thanks for inviting us over.” Alexa was almost enthusiastic enough to compensate for her mother. Almost, but not quite. Although she seemed to have none of the qualms Sophia did about sitting next to him, Sophia tried to coax her off the couch. Did she think Alexa might be crowding him? Or getting on his nerves? Or...worse?

He couldn’t figure it out, so when Alexa asked him to pause the movie so she could go to the bathroom, he waited until she was out of the room and asked Sophia. “Why do you keep telling her she can’t sit on the couch? Is it because I’m on the couch, too?”

“There are other chairs.”

“But a couch is meant for more than one person, so what’s the big deal? It’s not... I would never do anything to hurt her. You know that, right? You don’t think I’d ever act inappropriately with your daughter....”

“God, no!” she said, dismissing his concern. “It’s just...her father really let her down.”

Ted didn’t immediately see the connection. “What’s that got to do with me?”

“Quite a bit. She likes you—a lot. I don’t want her to latch on to another man who—whom she’ll lose contact with when we move.”

“You’re trying to make sure she and I don’t become friends even though you’ll be living here for months?”

“We might not be here that long.”

“It’ll take time to save up the money you need to relocate.”

“I just feel bad. I know Eve doesn’t want us here, and that could change our situation. Why set my daughter up to be disappointed?”

Sophia had a point. Eve was a wonderful person, but she felt threatened, and he couldn’t expect her to put up with that for long. Still, there was a part of him that believed he should have the right to befriend anyone he wanted to, especially a child who was lonely and needed him.

Unsure of how it would sound if he said that, he hesitated. Then Alexa came back, so he let it go and started the movie.

“Where’s your girlfriend tonight?” Alexa asked during a slow part of the show.

Blinking, he drew himself out of his thoughts. “Eve?”

“Do you have more than one girlfriend?” she teased.

He pretended he’d needed clarification because he’d been engrossed in the movie, but even after sleeping with Eve, it was difficult to think of her as his girlfriend. “She’s out of town.”

“I bet you miss her.”

When he made a noise he hoped would pass for agreement, Alexa spoke in a conspiratorial manner. “Too bad you don’t still like my mom.”

“Lex!” Sophia nearly gasped her daughter’s name. “Eve wouldn’t be happy to hear you say that, would she?”

Chastened, she shook her head.

“That’s in the past,” Sophia said firmly.

But she’d finally told her daughter. Ted wondered why.

Lex turned back to him. “So...are you going to marry her?”

Sophia jumped in again. “Come on, honey, don’t ask such personal questions. That’s none of our business.”

Feeling pensive for no particular reason, Ted shrugged it off. “No worries. I’d answer, but...our relationship is relatively new. No one can say what will happen.” Especially since even thinking about marrying Eve felt odd. Shouldn’t he be missing her? Shouldn’t he be craving the touch and feel of her?

Maybe that wasn’t happening because he’d just seen her this morning. There hadn’t been enough time to miss her....

Or maybe he was expecting too much from love. Chances were good that you didn’t experience the same heady rush at thirty-four as you did at seventeen. Emotions often grew more subdued as a person aged.

But, God, he wasn’t old yet. He kept coming to the same conclusion: something was missing. He just hoped, with enough effort, that would change.

“Sorry,” Lex said. “Didn’t mean to be rude.”

He smiled. “It’s not a problem.” It would’ve been even less of a problem if those questions had come from anyone other than Sophia’s daughter. And if this evening in front of the TV was turning out to be as placid and relaxing as he’d intended. But he and Sophia were never meant to be friends. He was coming to the conclusion that, with her, it had to be all or nothing. There was so much tension between them he could hardly keep his knee from jiggling with nervous energy.

Fortunately, that tension eased as the minutes ticked away. At least for Sophia. She fell asleep about halfway through.

Alexa started to wake her, to tell her she was missing the movie, but Ted shook his head. “Let her sleep. She can watch it tomorrow if she’s really interested,” he said, but by the end of the movie they were all asleep. When Ted woke up, the TV was looping the intro music, and he had no idea how long it had been playing.

He got up and turned off the TV. Then he considered what he should do with his guests. He could throw a blanket over them, but he was sure they’d sleep much better in their own beds. So he opened the back door of his house and the front door of the guesthouse before carrying Alexa over. She didn’t wake up, even as he placed her carefully on the downstairs bed. Then he came back for Sophia.

“I zonked out? I’m sorry,” Sophia muttered, but she was so groggy that she didn’t fight him when he lifted her into his arms.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” She didn’t weigh much more than her daughter, so it wasn’t hard to carry her. But he hadn’t bargained on the ten steps leading to the second story of the guesthouse, which he’d have to climb to get her to her room.

He was exhausted by the time they were halfway up, and that was when she began to rouse in earnest.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Where are we? Wait, I can walk. I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“Relax.” He tightened his grip so her wriggling wouldn’t send them both crashing down the stairs. “We’re almost there.”

“Put me down! I’m too heavy.”

“And you’re getting heavier by the minute,” he joked. “But now that I’ve started this, you have to let me finish or it’ll wound my male pride.”

Surprisingly, she stopped fighting and laughed like she used to laugh when they were younger. She also made his job easier by slipping her arms around his neck, which helped him keep his balance.

“I may not be the athlete Noah is, but I can carry a girl to bed,” he muttered. He didn’t realize how bad that sounded until it was out of his mouth, but she pretended not to notice the double entendre. At least she didn’t comment on it.

“This is so gallant of you,” she teased. “Not many employers would be so kind.”

“It’ll be gallant if I get you there in one piece. I doubt it’ll be seen that way if we both break our necks.”

“I have absolute faith in you.”

She sounded genuine when she said that, which he found oddly gratifying. But he was staggering so badly by the time they reached the top that they were both laughing.

“It’s harder to carry someone up a flight of stairs than I thought it would be.”

“And that’s a long flight of stairs—not to mention that you had to cross the lawn first.”

“I’ll have to get more serious about my weight-lifting.” He nudged her bedroom door open with his shoulder. “But we made it. Here you are, my lady.”

He put her down on the bed, but before he could withdraw, her arms tightened around his neck.

For a moment, it felt like the warmest embrace—as if they’d never meant to be parted for all these years.

He almost allowed it, almost responded to the passion he sensed in her—which scared him. No way did he want to be the kind of man who would cheat. He knew how low he’d feel afterward.

His muscles tensed, but before he could break her hold, her mouth found his ear and she whispered, “I’m sorry, Ted. I’m so sorry.”

The entreaty in her voice left no doubt that she wasn’t making a move on him as he’d first thought. She was apologizing for the past. The fact that she immediately released him confirmed it. She didn’t even look at him again. She rolled over and buried herself in the blankets as if she couldn’t bear to look.

Ted wasn’t sure how to react. The way she’d clung to him had nearly taken his legs out from under him—had flooded his system with so much testosterone he couldn’t think straight.

He forgave her, didn’t he? Of course he did. Or he wouldn’t be helping her. But it wasn’t what he wanted to say that held him fast; it was what he wanted to do. The desire to feel her under him once again—to claim her mouth and her body as he had many times before—was so powerful he felt himself go hard in an instant.

But what about Eve?

“Damn it!” He tore down the stairs before temptation could get him in such a chokehold he no longer cared about his integrity.

Ted seemed eager to avoid her after that. Although it made Sophia sad to find the friendship that had started between them suddenly gone, she was also relieved. It wasn’t easy to maintain a friendship when she wanted more. Maybe she could’ve done it with someone else, but not Ted, and their new boundaries helped keep her hopes and thoughts in check. She hadn’t been trying to steal him from Eve when she’d clung to him long enough to apologize. She’d just wanted him to finally understand that she was sincerely sorry. Now that she’d said her piece, he could go on with his life, and she could, too—hopefully without the regret that had eaten at her for so long.

“Do you think Ted’s mad at us?” Alexa asked Sophia one morning while they were having breakfast. Fortunately, she was doing better in school. Connie seemed to have lost interest in fighting with her, Royce was walking her to class almost every day, and the other kids didn’t want to take her on when she had Royce’s support. But this proved she was disappointed that Ted no longer paid her much attention.

Sophia added some brown sugar to her oatmeal. “No. He’s busy trying to get his book done.”

“He’s always busy. I wish he had more time.”

“I do, too,” Sophia said, but she was just playing along. Deep down she believed they couldn’t be hurt if they were careful not to get too close to him. They had to remember that they were merely putting in time in Whiskey Creek. They wouldn’t be staying much longer, especially now that she was beginning to work through the worst of her financial problems. Thanks to Skip’s many debts, she would have to file for bankruptcy as soon as she could afford it, but she was doing a “deed in lieu of foreclosure” on the house so it would be out of her hands soon. The Ferraris were already gone. She and Alexa had driven by one day after school to check on the house and found that someone had broken the side door on the garage and taken both cars. Sophia hoped it was the repo company and not someone else, but that was out of her hands, too.

She still had her Mercedes—but she was pretty sure that was only because the repossession people couldn’t find it. The lienholder had been calling her more and more frequently, so she knew they were stepping up their search. No doubt someone in town would eventually point the repo man in the right direction, and then she’d no longer have transportation.

Knowing she was living on borrowed time, she held her breath every day she came out of the house to take Alexa to school, fearing this would be the morning her vehicle would be gone, but so far, so good.

Besides that one nagging worry, she was beginning to feel as if she was pulling her life together—and it was Ted who’d made that possible. What he’d done for her, and was still doing, made her love him even more. But she knew that if she was really thinking of him and not herself, she’d stay out of his personal life as much as possible.

So she cooked and cleaned and ran Ted’s errands with very little oversight or direction for the next two and a half weeks. During that time, he didn’t ask her to do any clerical work. Maybe Eve was taking care of it for him. Sophia didn’t know because she hadn’t heard a word from Eve other than the few polite exchanges that occurred if they happened to bump into each other. Sophia hated that their friendship had stalled, but she couldn’t blame that on Eve. Sophia hadn’t called her, either. She couldn’t bring herself to pretend they weren’t in love with the same man.

Cheyenne had checked in a few times, which was nice. But Cheyenne was Eve and Ted’s friend, and Sophia knew they wouldn’t appreciate her joining the group, so she kept their conversations cordial but distant.

As the days passed, Ted and Eve seemed to be getting closer and closer. Eve came over quite often in the evenings. Occasionally Sophia would see her passing by a window, or she’d go out to run an errand and find Eve’s car parked next to her own. Sometimes Ted went over to Eve’s place instead; at least that was where Sophia assumed he went when he left at night.

It wasn’t until Thanksgiving that he trudged out to the guesthouse to talk to her about something besides a menu choice, a grocery run or to ask where she’d put his shirt.

She’d managed to keep her phone service so he usually texted her if he needed anything. Because he hadn’t visited since the night he’d invited them over to watch a movie, Sophia was surprised by the knock at the door and was obliged to answer it herself. Alexa wasn’t up yet. She had the week off school and was sleeping in.

“Morning,” he said when Sophia swung open the door.

He looked better than ever, but she tried not to notice. She’d just rolled out of bed and hadn’t had a chance to put on any makeup. “Morning.” She shaded her eyes from the sunlight streaming in around him. “I’m sorry, was I supposed to do something for you that I forgot? I thought you told me I have the day off.”

“Relax. Of course you have the day off. It’s Thanksgiving. I didn’t come because...I needed something. I was just wondering what you had planned for today, if...if you had somewhere to go for dinner.”

“Of course. We’re going to Alexa’s grandparents’,” she said, but really it was only Alexa who’d be joining them. Sophia’s relationship with the DeBussis had grown so strained that she didn’t want to be around them. She’d spent a lot of time with Alexa since she’d been out of school, so she didn’t begrudge her former in-laws Thanksgiving afternoon. But she preferred to stay home alone rather than sit at their table feeling unwanted and unaccepted. “And you’re going to your mother’s?”

“To Eve’s parents’ and then my mom’s.”

“Just a sec.” She went into the kitchen and got one of the pumpkin cheesecake strudels she’d baked. It was a new recipe she hadn’t tried before, but it looked and smelled delicious. “I was going to bring this over, but since you’re here...”

His eyebrows jerked up. “This is really...nice, but not necessary. I didn’t expect it.”

“I thought you could take it to your mom’s. I was making one for me and Lex, anyway—to share with the DeBussis—and decided I might as well make one for my boss. And his girlfriend,” she added to fill the uncomfortable silence.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

She nodded and was about to shut the door, but he didn’t get off her stoop.

“Sophia?”

“Yes?”

“There is another reason I came over.”

The concern in his voice worried her. Had he proposed to Eve? Would her job end sooner than she’d expected? “I hope it’s not that you’re letting me go.”

“No, nothing like that.”

She started digging at her cuticles again, which was stupid because they’d just about healed. “Then what?”

He shifted to his other foot. “I heard...some clanking noises a few minutes ago. So I looked out the window to see what was going on and—”

“My car!” She tried to slip past him, but he cut her off.

“It’s too late. I tried to stop them. Asked if I could make up a few payments, thinking you could always pay me later, but...he wouldn’t agree. I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep such an expensive car for much longer anyway.”

She’d known she’d lose the car—so why did this make her feel sick? “I wonder how they found it.”

“I asked. They said they stopped by the police station.”

“And Chief Stacy told them.”

“He’s a prick. We already know that.”

She drew a deep breath. There was no reason to get upset. She’d worked things out so far; she’d get through this latest setback. But did it have to happen on Thanksgiving?

“Thanks for letting me know,” she said.

He nodded. “So...can I give you and Lex a ride over to the DeBussis? Would that help?”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll have them pick us up. No need for us to impose on a holiday.”

“I don’t mind.”

But Eve probably would, and she didn’t want him to know she wasn’t really going to the DuBussis’. “Really. We’re fine,” she said and closed the door.

“Who was that?” Lex asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she stumbled into the hallway.

“Ted.”

“What’d he want?”

“You’re going to have to ask your grandma to pick you up.”

“You can’t take me anymore?”

Sophia drew a deep breath. “The car’s gone.”

“Oh, no. That means you’ll be here all day and you won’t be able to go anywhere.” She sighed as she used her fingers to comb through her tangled hair. “I won’t go to Grandma and Grandpa’s. I’d rather stay with you.”

“Are you kidding? It’s been weeks since you’ve seen them. And your uncle and cousins will be there. Go have fun. I’ll be fine. I can spend the time catching up on my sleep.”

She rolled her eyes. “That sounds about as much fun as saying, ‘I’ll spend the time throwing up with the flu.’”

Sophia laughed in spite of her repossessed car. “Sleep sounds wonderful to most adults. You’ll understand when you grow up. Besides, I don’t have a turkey to bake or anything else to feed you for dinner. What will you eat if you stay here?”

“I’ll eat whatever you eat.”

Now that her Mercedes was gone, Sophia had no idea what that would be. Although she hadn’t told Alexa this, she’d been thinking about going to Sacramento to visit her mother. She figured that if she could marshal the resolve, they’d eat the special Thanksgiving feast prepared by the cafeteria—or she’d go out and bring something in, if her mother had a special request. And if it went well, if she felt encouraged, maybe she’d start taking Alexa over for regular visits. Skip hadn’t been willing to expose his daughter to Elaine, but now...things were different.

It all depended on how her mother behaved. Sophia couldn’t take Alexa back there if Elaine insisted on acting inappropriately, as she so often did since succumbing to her disease. “I’d rather you went, really.”

Still unconvinced, Alexa shuffled over and gave Sophia a hug. “Are you sure you won’t come with me?”

She’d rather stick a fork in her eye. “I’ll have a better time here, promise.”

“Okay...I’ll call Grandma.”

Sharon said she’d come, but asked if Alexa could stay the night. Because the cousins were also staying, and Sophia felt Alexa needed a night to just forget and have fun, she agreed. By two o’clock her daughter and Ted were both gone and Sophia had the whole place to herself.

She called her mother, hoping for a small glimmer of recognition—anything that might connect her with the positive memories she had of her childhood. But Elaine was so drugged she barely said anything. When she did talk it was to claim that she had spiders and snakes in her bed.

At her mother’s insistence, Sophia spoke to a nurse, just so she could convince Elaine that she’d done all she could to make sure there were no spiders or snakes—but she already knew there wouldn’t be. Her mother had been having the same delusion for years.