Three days had passed with no other incidents. No unwelcome visitors, no calls.
To Hendrix, that only ramped up the expectation. He knew her ex was out there, and eventually he’d be a problem.
That didn’t mean they’d wasted the peace and quiet. Nope. His house now sported multi-colored Christmas lights around the front porch and door. He didn’t hate them as much as he’d expected to. Actually, seeing Ryder’s pleasure whenever it got dark enough to turn them on made them more than worthwhile.
And honestly, seeing them from the beach after an early evening stroll with Joey and Ryder added a little magic to the day. Ryder would cheer when they flickered on and Joey would smile with pleasure.
Same with the live tree that took up space between the kitchen and living room. A big tree that he, Ryder, and Joey had cut themselves during a fun outing. The house now smelled of pine, and often Christmas cookies, too. It was nice. Little boy laughter was more than nice.
Having dinner each night together, getting “good morning” hugs from not only Joey, but Ryder, too? It was the kind ofstuff that filled a man’s heart and made him think he’d won the lifetime lottery of joy.
The awful memories were still there, but they’d been crowded into the corner, leaving room for his heart to swell, for his lungs to breathe more easily, for happier emotions to take up space.
More than ever he was determined to protect this special peace he’d found with Joey and Ryder.
Over coffee that morning, he made the decision to better prepare them. “Tonight we’ll discuss a plan, just in case Ted shows up.”
She nodded. “Sounds good.”
Without any recent issues, and in the safety of his home, she’d grown... if not complacent, then comfortable. He wanted that. If he could remove her every worry, he would. “You and Ryder both, hon.”
Her head lifted from her phone where she’d been online shopping.
“I don’t want to scare him, Hendrix.” She reached for his hand. After a moment, she sighed. “But I do want him prepared.”
“I’ll do my best not to alarm him. We had a protocol when talking to school kids to help prep them for emergencies. Tornadoes – and active shooters. I’ll handle it like that. Just prep work. No accusations against his father or anything too specific.”
Those beautiful green eyes of hers softened. “You’re good with him. Far better than Ted ever was.”
Not much of a comparison, as far as Hendrix was concerned. She might as well compare him to a cockroach.
Just then, her phone rang and it startled her so badly, she almost dropped it.
Concern narrowed his eyes, until she looked at the screen and smiled. “It’s one of the moms I know. I tutor one of her sons. Just a second.”
Relief, along with frustration, went through him. To give her a moment, he stood and walked to the edge of the deck, his nearly empty coffee cup still in his hands. The ocean seemed more turbulent today, and off in the distance he could see a storm blowing in. Typical wet weather for December.
The soft murmur of Joey speaking slipped around him like a hug. Did she understand how much she brought to him? Yes, her finances were strained, but he didn’t need money from her.
Everything he actually needed, everything he wanted, she gave. Minus the sex, but he knew that would eventually happen, too. Each day, Ryder got more familiar with the new surroundings.
When Joey’s arms slipped around him, something felt different. Sensing her anticipation, he turned and drew her against him. He’d gotten used to her early-morning look with her curls tumbled and her eyes puffy. Leaning down, he teased his mouth over hers. “What’s up?”
“Ryder has received an invitation.”
With his never-ending carnal thoughts, that sounded a lot like:we’ll have some time aloneand damned if he didn’t almost get hard. “Details?”
“It’s a Christmas party at noontoday. A spur of the moment thing, she said, because she’s watching her cousin’s kids and a neighbor boy is visiting, and she decided she might as well make it a party.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “You’re okay with this?”
“I’m thrilled. The boy I tutor is a year-and-a-half older than Ryder, but she has another son who’s a year younger. The other kids are all of a similar age, she said. They’ll be playing games indoors, eating cookies, and each kid is asked to bring a gift toexchange.” At that, she bit her bottom lip. “I can stop at the store to let Ryder pick out something. There’s a price limit so all the gifts will be similar.”
Avoiding town had been his go-to for December, but now he checked his watch. “Mind if I go along?”
Her eyes went comically wide. “You want to go into town? To the store?” Worried, she blinked and whispered, “Hendrix, there will be music and decorations. There’s a big tree in the town square and the Seaglass Saloon is decked out with an inflatable Santa and lights. There’s even–”
“You and Ryder.” And that’s what mattered most. He couldn’t protect them if he wasn’t with them. “I’d like to go along if you’re okay with that.”
