Page 33 of All I Want for Christmas

“Okay,” I said softly. “I’ll be happy to do it. Do we have a deal?”

He stuck out his hand and when I reached mine out to his, he engulfed it in a strong, but not crushing shake.

When I pulled my hand away, I said, “I would have given you the letter for nothin’, you know. I know what you gave up to protect ’em. And not just from Kate.”

“Water under the bridge,” he grunted, then got to his feet.

I stood too. “Thank you, Skeeter.”

“Don’t be thankin’ me,” he said gruffly. “It’s a business deal, no more, no less.”

I nodded, because I had more mushy things to say, but I knew he wasn’t interested in hearing them.

“The letters will go to Carter,” he said. “Never,under any circumstances, will you send them to me or attach my name to them.”

I was caught by surprise, but it quickly faded. He was still protecting them. “Yeah, okay.”

He nodded, then moved to the door on his side and pounded. The door opened almost immediately, revealing the guard who’d been there before. I supposed he’d been there waiting.

Skeeter started to walk out, then stopped and turned his head halfway so I could only see his profile. “For what it’s worth,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, “I knew you were right for him the first time I saw you givin’ him hell.”

Then he walked out the door and it closed behind him.

And that’s when I knew Skeeter’s betrayal hadn’t been a betrayal at all.

He’d pushed Jed away to save him.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JOE

Ididn’t want to be here.

I’d left Bruce Wayne with some lighting jobs, and my wife and kids would soon be waiting for me in our cozy farmhouse. The last place I wanted to be was in El Dorado, meeting my mother at a coffee shop.

But here I was.

Neely Kate had called me a few days ago and told me that my mother had dropped in at the landscape office to try to coerce me to talk to her. Funnily enough, while Rose had mentioned it, she never put any pressure on me to meet with her. It was Neely Kate who convinced me I’d likely regret it if I didn’t.

“I can come with you,” she’d said. “I know you want to protect Rose from her, but that woman has no power over me. Not anymore.”

I wanted to ask her what thenot anymoremeant, but I was too dead set on defending the reason for my refusal. “You of all people should understand why I don’t want to see her.”

“Do I think she’s changed?” Neely Kate asked. “Not a chance, but years from now, you’ll wonder. So, give her one last chance—let her know it’s her last chance—then let her show her true colors and be done with her. And then you’ll truly be free of her.”

She was right, and I told her so. She gloated just as much as I’d expected, and I still marveled that we were this close after knowing we were siblings for less than a year.

I’d told Rose about our conversation, and she’d said she agreed with her best friend, but it was ultimately my decision, no one else’s, and she’d respect whatever I decided.

I called my mother and suggested we meet for coffee so we could “chat.” She suggested she could come to the farmhouse or somewhere in Henryetta, but I didn’t want her anywhere near where I lived, so I said I’d come to El Dorado. I figured there would be people around who might know her and fear for her reputation would keep her from causing a scene. Only, as I sat at the table waiting for her to show up, I wondered if I’d screwed up. If I wanted her true colors to come out, I should have picked a place where no one knew her.

Too late now.

She walked in a few minutes late, stopping in the doorway to scan the small dining area. Her eyes landed on me and a warm smile lit up her face. My heart gave a little sputter, remembering how hard I tried to get her to give me that smile when I was growing up. And how infrequently my mother gave it to Kate. I reminded myself that it wasn’t real. That smile was just another weapon in her arsenal for getting what she wanted.

She walked over to the table and glanced down, smiling even more when she saw the teapot and cup on the table in front of the empty chair. “You got me tea.” The pride in her voice was unmistakable.

“Don’t read too much into it,” I said, catching her gaze and holding it. I almost told her that I’d gotten her a drink so I wouldn’t have to wait for her to order and prolong this meeting any longer than it needed to be. But that seemed too antagonistic. I needed to play this neutral for now.

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