Page 35 of All I Want for Christmas

That gave me pause, because I knew there was some truth to that statement. The question was, how much? Kids never saw their parents the way they really were. They were either too self-involved or their parents hid it from them. With my family, it was probably a little of both.

“Yes,” I conceded. “You were a victim too.”

A small look of triumph filled her eyes but then it was gone.

“What do you want, exactly?” I asked. “Did you show up at my door because you want to spend Christmas with us? Stay in the spare bedroom so you can be there to watch the kids open gifts on Christmas morning?”

“Kids?” she asked, then her eyes lit up. “Is Rose pregnant again?”

“What? No.” I shook my head. “Her niece and nephew live with us part time. Rose’s sister died a year ago and their father … isn’t available.”

“Oh.” She looked disappointed. “I was hoping a Joseph Simmons the third was on the way.”

I gritted my teeth. “No child of mine will ever be named Joseph the third.”

She patted my hand. “Of course not. We wouldn’t want the poor baby to be saddled with your father’s scandalous reputation.” She retracted her hand then asked stiffly, “When will Rose’s niece and nephew’s father return?”

“Not for some time.”

She cocked her head. “Which means you’re stuck raising children that aren’t your own?”

I set the mug down harder than I’d intended. If only she knew the truth about Hope—but she never would. I’d make damn sure of it. “It’s ablessingto have Ashley and Mikey in our home. We love them, and we’re tryin’ to get full custody.”

She gasped. “Do you really want to saddle yourself with such a responsibility?”

I let out a sharp laugh that drew attention from the two young mothers with babies at a table next to us. “I love those kids. Insult them again and this meeting will be over without so much as a goodbye.”

She bit her bottom lip then leaned closer. “I’m sorry. I can see that you care about them. I just don’t want you to feel trapped.Rose has such a good heart, I can see how she might take in her dead sister’s children and not give you a choice in the matter. And you have such a good heart, you’d go along with it whether you wanted to or not.”

I drew in a breath to restrain my anger. “How would you know if Rose has a good heart? You don’t know the first thing about her. You and Dad never gave her a chance. You decided she wasn’t good enough for me and dismissed her.” I narrowed my eyes. “I believe you might have called her Fenton County Trash.”

She had the good sense to look genuinely embarrassed. “I regret saying those awful things, but your father?—”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t want to hear it. You meant every word. You both were worried about my political campaign.”

“Joe…” She started to reach for me again, then stopped. “Joe. I was a fool. I’ll admit that I wanted certain things for you—certain people—and even though you protested, I thought we knew better. We were wrong.” She paused. “Iwas wrong. I’m sorry. Truly I am. I would love to make it up to you both.”

My curiosity got the better of me. “How?”

Her face went blank. “Excuse me?”

“How do you plan to make it up to us?”

“Well … I …”

I snorted. “Yeah, I figured.” Sitting back in my chair, I held her gaze. “I’m still not sure why I’m here. You said you want to spend Christmas with us. What does that entail?”

She took a moment then clasped her hands on the table. “I’ve met someone.”

I suspected I knew what she was hinting at, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on her. “You mean you’ve made friends with your new coworkers?”

“Well, itwasthrough my new job,” she said with a coy look. “His name is Marvin and he’s an investment banker. He bought a new house after his wife died and he needed help decorating it.”

“You want Marvin to come to our house for Christmas too?” I asked in confusion.

“No…” She took a breath. “I’d love for you and your family to come for dinner on Christmas Day. You can meet Marvin’s children too.”

“Why?” I blurted out.

---