Page 44 of Once Upon a Holidate
“Once Chandler’s home and his leave is done, we’ll get a new assignment and new housing.”
“It must be hard to feel settled when you don’t know where you’re going to end up.”
“It is.”
Wynn drove through the streets of town. Joylyn had a vague idea of where the doctor’s office was and appreciated that she didn’t have to worry about finding it.
“Are you going to stay with your dad until then?”
Joylyn glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
“I just wondered if you were going to stay in town here, rather than moving back with your mom. There will be three of you and from what I understand, the house is already full.” Wynn smiled. “I think your dad would be happy to have you stick around.”
Stay here? Joylyn had never considered that. She’d assumed they would leave the second Chandler got back, which was a week before the baby was due. Wynn’s point was a good one though—there wasn’t all that much room at her mom’s place. But staying here?
“He doesn’t want me here.”
“Your dad?” Wynn shook her head. “You’re wrong about that. He’s excited you’re staying.” She smiled. “He’s lived next door to me for about a year, but we never really said much more than hi until he found out you were going to be moving in. He came over and asked me to help get the house ready so you’d be comfortable. He had the bedroom set, but not any of the linens, and his empty kitchen was a total disaster.”
Joylyn didn’t know what to say to that. While she wanted to believe her dad was glad she was around, she just couldn’t.
“I used to be important to him,” she admitted. “Just not anymore.”
“Why would you say that? Your dad loves you, Joylyn. He’s so proud of you. I don’t know what happened before, but I would suggest you at least talk about it. Ask questions. The answers may surprise you.”
Joylyn didn’t want to fight, so she nodded, as if she would take Wynn’s advice to heart. The truth was, she didn’t care about questions or answers. Not when it came to her dad.
She put her hand on her stomach. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about being alone when you were pregnant. How did you handle that?”
“I didn’t have a choice. There wasn’t anyone else. I tried to save as much as I could so I could take off for three weeks after the birth, but I had no idea how much everything cost. Have you priced diapers? They’re really expensive.”
“I know, and babies need a lot.”
“More than you think—that’s for sure.” Wynn made a left turn. “I had a small inheritance from an old lady in our building. Ms. James. She’d never married and she didn’t have much when she died, but she left it all to me. She used to tell me I could make something of myself if only I’d put in the effort.It broke my heart to use that money to pay for food and rent. She’d wanted better for me.”
Joylyn glanced at her. “Like going to college?”
“Something like that. Certainly more than me getting pregnant the way I did.” Something flashed in Wynn’s eyes. “She would have been very disappointed with me.”
“What happened? How did you end up here?”
“Hunter’s father died. I didn’t know until a lawyer showed up at my front door to tell me there was a life insurance policy. I was three weeks away from being evicted, and when the man told me about the money, I couldn’t stop crying.”
“What did you do with it?”
“Paid my rent.” She glanced at Joylyn and grinned. “Bought diapers.” Her smile faded. “I got myself into a two-year graphics program at a local community college, and I worked my butt off to be the best student I could. After I graduated I got a job in the business and continued to learn the industry. When I found out about a business for sale in some little town I’d never heard of, I came to check it out. That was ten years ago.”
“You’re really brave.”
“No. I was scared every second, but I recognized the chance I’d been given. I was determined not to blow it. I wanted more than I had, and I was going to make it happen.”
Joylyn was pretty sure that was the definition of being brave. That if you weren’t scared, then there was no courage in the act. She wondered if she’d been in the same circumstances if she would have acted the same or if she would have crumbled and given up. She couldn’t think of a single time in her life when she’d been the least bit brave. Or even determined. If she were honest with herself, she had a feeling she would have to admit that when the going got tough, she found a place to hide until all the bad stuff went away.
Chapter Eight
Thanksgiving morning Garrick got up early to make the Waldorf salad. He’d gone to the grocery store the day before, shocked at the crowds and the long lines to check out. But he’d wanted to have all their traditions in place. He had ingredients for the salad and the blueberry pancakes he always made on the special morning. He’d also bought yellow roses—Joylyn’s favorite—for the kitchen table. He knew her plans were to return to Phoenix as soon as Chandler was home, so the week before Christmas she would be leaving. This was the only holidayhe was going to get to spend with his little girl.
By seven the salad was assembled and in the refrigerator, ready to take over to Wynn’s later that afternoon. He had batter ready for the pancakes and coffee brewing. As he wasn’t sure what time Joylyn would get up, he busied himself going online to study patterns for bassinets.
