Page 1 of Havoc for the Holidays

Chapter one

Ollie

The love of my life was mad at me, so my day was pretty much ruined. Utterly ruined. A complete and absolute mess all around. A catastrophe the likes I wouldn't soon recover from. The time on my watch had me wincing as the desk phone rang yet again. The need to answer it forced me to put down my messenger bag and garnered me another scathing glare from my disappointed darling.

“Law Office of St James and Associates, this is Oliver speaking. How can I help you?” I peeked toward my daughter andmouthed an apology that resulted in an eye roll. The ire of a child cut so deeply sometimes.

“Yes, Mr. St James was supposed to return my call today. I've yet to hear from him.” Alas, I wasn't a mind reader, so I had no clue who the disappointed party on the other end of the line was.

“Could I have your name, ma’am?” I searched my chaotic desk for a scrap of paper and pen.

“Lucinda Stiles. We're supposed to be closing this week. This. Week.” She stressed the words more pointedly. “Please put him on.”

“Mr. St James is unavailable at the moment, but I'll let him know you called. The paperwork is all in order and the closing is scheduled this week, like you said. There's no need to worry, ma’am.” I scribbled the name on my scrap paper and tried to keep the waver from my voice. Agitated clients were the worst to deal with.

“Ugh! See that he returns my call!” Muttering faded away before the click of the phone disconnecting filled my ears with dead air.

The phone dropped into the cradle with a rattle. Without even a moment to breathe, Becs pounced.

“Dad! Wehaveto leave now. You don't understand how important this is!” She stomped her ballet slipper-clad foot with a huff, just to make me feel even worse for ruining everything. Her words, not mine.

“I know, love. I'm sorry. You know I have to work. We’ll get there on time, I promise.” I snatched my bag from the chair and held out a hand toward her. “It's all going to be fine.”

“It's not! Nothing's fine. We’re already late and today is the day they decide the show!” She grabbed my hand despite her scornful glare and followed along as we left my office. Technically, it was more of a reclaimed dining room in my employer's home, but it had been my office for years now.

“Richard! We’re headed out now! Lucinda called again!” I paused long enough to shout up the stairs of Richard St James’ private home turned private practice.

“Of course she did. Have a nice night, Ollie. See you tomorrow, Becs!” Richard’s head poked over the railing to peer down from the second floor. “Remember to send the settlement proposal to Jenkins tomorrow, Olls.”

“Yessir. First thing.”

“Daaaad!” Becs somehow turned a monosyllabic word into one of the longest I'd ever heard in a pitch I could never imagine hitting.

“Yes, yes. We’re going now.” Flustered and frazzled, I let her drag me to the door as I double-checked my pockets and bag. The last thing I needed was to forget something.

Once we made it to the car, she grumbled and groaned the entire time she climbed into the backseat and secured the seatbelt. My worries made me check that it was secure and earned me another dour glare. She relaxed her tense posture as soon as I was in the driver's seat and the car was in motion. My feisty little redhead was fickle in that way—one moment, spitting mad. The next, her angelic smile would return in full force.

“What show do you think they'll pick this year, my darling?” I peeked in the rearview mirror and smiled at the crinkle in the greenish-grey eyes that matched my own.

“Miss Judy said maybe Nutcracker. I hope it's that. I wanna be a sugarplum!”

“You're already my sugarplum.” I blew a kiss as she giggled and pushed the curls from her face.

“Miss Judy says her baby is coming today too. He’s gonna be our teacher now.”

“Baby? I didn't realize she had children.” My gut sank as I pulled into the small parking lot behind Little Stars Dance Studio. Every single spot was taken save for the space in frontof the back door. I'd completely forgotten that today was a mandatory meeting for all the students and parents. Windhaven might have been an exceptionally small town, but the residents, part and full time both, took their dance studio very seriously. Unfortunately, we were painfully late.

As soon as the engine clicked off, Becs was flying from the backseat. It took all my effort to get my gangly legs to keep up as I chased after her, nearly catching the door with my face as it bounced off the stopper with a loud bang. My dress shoes slipped on the smooth surface of the lacquered dance floor and I barely remained upright after a mortifyingly comical floundering of my limbs.

“Laney! Miss Judy! Hi!” Rebecca clamored through the packed studio and plopped beside her best friend where her classmates sat criss cross style around the center of the room. “Dad made me late. Sorry, Miss Judy.”

Every eye in the room snapped toward me as I tried to recover some sense of decorum. No one appeared all that surprised that I was a hot mess disaster. To be fair, it was sort of a running joke around town. My face radiated the heat of a thousand suns as I crept around the periphery of the room in an attempt to disappear into the woodwork. My embarrassment subsided only a few degrees as Laney’s father Lincoln, my best friend, waved me over.

“Good to see you, Ollie.” He inched to the side to make space for me, keeping his voice low.

“Sorry I'm late. Work.” I pushed the chaotic curls from my eyes and exhaled the first full breath since I'd left the office.

“It happens. You missed the introductions.” He gave a little jerk of his chin toward the front of the room. “That’s Ezechiel. Did you know she had a kid?”

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