Page 9 of The Christmas List

“My freshman year in college. I started tutoring outside of class to bring in extra money, and I realized how much I loved it and how much I didnotlove finance. I changed my major shortly after. I’ve always known how much I loved children, so the rest was a no-brainer.”

We made so many plans together back then. Once upon a time, we lay in the middle of a field together on the ranch, an old blanket that Wyatt had in the back of his truck beneath us, talking about all of our hopes, our dreams, and what the future looked like. I remember how the only future I ever wanted included him.

Until it didn’t.

The only bad memories I have with Wyatt Owens are the ones when he left. The ones where we couldn’t make it work. Everything that we ever did before that, every moment we ever spent together as a couple, was full of so much happiness that I constantly felt like my heart would explode.

“I think it’s a perfect fit for you, Jos. I’m glad you found something that you loved,” he says sincerely, his gravelly voice breaking through my thoughts.

I nod, pasting on a smile as I pull out the barstool and slide into it, leaning against the high back. “Thank you.” It feels strangely good to have his praise directed at me. “Um… what about you? What have you been up to for the last eight years?”

“Besides being a single dad?” he teases, arching a brow. “I’m a consultant for an oil company, so I can do my job virtually. It’s the only reason I was able to come home to the ranch and help Papa out. I’m sure you heard about the injury…”

When he trails off, I nod.

It was impossible not to hear about what had happened during my freshman year of college. Wyatt was practically a celebrity in our small hometown, on a full-ride football scholarship to one of the best colleges in the country. He was destined to play professionally once he graduated. He was so good he had scouts coming to watch him play when he was still in high school.

But then he tore his rotator cuff his junior year of college, and his football career ended in the blink of an eye.

I was devastated for him because I knew that was his dream. And I’d even thought about reaching out, but I was young and still heartbroken and didn’t think that my heart could handle it.

“Later that year, I found out Brianna, Lucy’s birth mom, was pregnant, and everything changed. I no longer had football, and unexpectedly, I was going to be a father by the time I turned twenty-three. So, after healing from surgery, I put my head down and focused on school. I knew that I had to have a way to provide for my kid, and that’s all that mattered.”

I watch as he stirs the cocoa powder into the warm milk inside the mug, his long, thick fingers curled around the small spoon. It’s comically tiny in his grip.

“Can I ask… where Lucy’s mom is?” I ask quietly.

His gaze lifts to mine, and a beat passes. I’m about to apologize for prying when he clears his throat, nodding. “We were young. Still kids ourselves. Honestly, we barely knew each other. We never dated or anything, just hooked up a few times. She decided that she wasn’t interested in being a mom. Signed over all her parental rights of Lucy over to me when she was just three months old and then went back to LA. She didn’t want to be a part of Lucy’s life.”

A sinking, heavy feeling forms in my lower stomach at the thought of anyone walking away from that sweet, freckle-faced little girl who lights up a room. I truly can’t even fathom her mother not wanting to even know her. It makes me want to pull her into my arms and hug her.

“Yeah, even after all these years, I can still read you like the back of my hand, Josie Girl,” Wyatt murmurs softly, his voice taking on a familiar tone that nearly makes me ache. My heart is a traitorous thing lately. “Bri hasn’t seen her since that day. Never even reached out or tried to contact her in any way.”

“I’m sorry, Wyatt,” I whisper thickly.

“Don’t be. She’s the happiest girl I know. Every day, she teaches me something new about myself, about life. Lucy’s surrounded by people who love her enough for what she’s missing. And to her? She’s not missing anything. “

I blink up at Wyatt. “You’ve raised an amazing little girl, Wyatt. Truly. I’ve only been around her for a short while, but that’s evident.”

He opens his mouth to reply when there’s a loud wail from the living room, followed by, “Daddddddyyyy!”

Dropping the spoon, he runs out of the kitchen, with me following so closely behind him that I nearly collide with him once we make it to the living room and he abruptly stops in front of his daughter.

Without pause, he drops down next to Lucy, who’s clutching her index finger in her other hand, a tiny drop of blood beading at the tip.

Wyatt’s eyes soften. “Oh, bug, what happened?”

Her chin wobbles as a tear slips down her cheeks, which are rosy pink from the fire. “I… I got a paper cut. Ithurts, Daddy.”

“I know, baby. Let’s get you all fixed up, okay?” His tone is soft and soothing as he scoops her up into his arms, cuddling her tightly against his broad chest. Lucy sinks into the softness of his embrace, and he tightens his arms around her.

The entire time it takes to walk to the guest bathroom, I watch as he gently rocks his daughter, smoothing a large palm over her hair. It may just be a paper cut, something easily fixed with a Band-Aid, but he gives her the attention and care that she needs, never once complaining.

He carefully sets her on the counter, distracting her with a cheesy Christmas joke that makes her grin as he gently wipes away the tears on her cheeks and places the sweetest kiss to the tip of her nose. Tenderly, he wraps a heart Band-Aid around her finger, and at the very same time, I worry that the old bandages on my heart may be giving way.

If I thought that Wyatt was attractive before, it’s a dimly lit candle to the inferno of attraction that burns seeing him with his daughter. Being an incredible father does nothing for my already thawing heart.

And I realize I might be inserioustrouble.

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