Page 25 of Christmas in Kentbury

This kid is on a roll.

“And if she’s a mom…” She pauses, looking at me seriously. “Well, she can be my mom too.”

She gives me a sharp nod and smiles widely. It’s like she solved the crisis. She stopped the end of the world.

“That’s what I’m going to ask Santa for. To keep Lee with us and make her my mom.”

I grab one of the frames that she has on her nightstand. It’s a picture of Lee holding Cassie when she was only a month old. She stands right next to the Christmas tree at her father’s house. The day my daughter came into our lives, Lee didn’t just welcome her, she loved her from the first moment she held her.

“Let me worry about that, okay?” I kiss her forehead. “Your job this week is to be on your best behavior. Promise?”

She pushes herself up and jumps into my arms, hugging my neck. “I promise, but please, don’t let her go. Santa doesn’t always bring me what I want, I trust you more.”

ChapterEleven

Knightly

Bishop and Damianhave a list of instructions on what to do while I’m gone. It’s just a week, but that’s all the time they need to fuck up my guests, my gift shop, and their lives. Not that I should care.

When did I become the oldest of the three?

I swear, I was the baby. Now, they need me to hold their hands every single day. From this point forward, I’m just going to focus on me—well at least until next Saturday. I’m sure while I’m in Kentbury, they won’t leave me alone.

If everything goes as planned, I’ll arrive in New York around ten or eleven. That should give me plenty of time to find a salon to fix my messy hair and maybe get my nails done. At three o’clock I have my appointment at the fertility clinic. It’s just a consultation where the doctor will explain the process and the cost of going through artificial insemination.

On Tuesday, I have an all-day interview. If that goes well, on Wednesday, I’ll have another round of interviews.

Damian doesn’t like the idea of having a child without a father, but I want to know my options. Ideally, I would love to meet a guy and fall in love. But if that doesn’t work, I can adopt or just have a baby.

“You got this, Lee, who needs fucking Landon Miller?” I say, dragging my bags toward the living room.

“I hope you do,” he answers.

The man himself stands by the door, wearing his winter gear.

I need to start locking my door.

Where is he going?

“Why are you here?”

“There’s a big storm coming. It’s snowing already. But if we leave now, we might reach Manhattan before they close the roads.”

“We?” I cross my arms, looking at him defiantly. “You’re not coming with me.”

“Lee, you drive like a pro. However, a blizzard is about to hit us. The roads are going to be bad, and neither your father nor I would be able to breathe knowing that you’re out there alone.”

He uses a dirty trick. My father and the snowstorm. Mom died in these same conditions. I was just three months old. I could fight him, but this isn’t about him or me. It’s about Dad.

“Okay,” I yield.

He nods and walks toward me, taking my bags. “I’ll load them in my truck. Let’s go.”

But as I’m about to step out of the house, I suddenly remember his kid. “Wait, what about Cassie?”

“Your Dad’s already at my place. He’s taking her for the week,” he says reassuringly. “Everything is under control. We’ll be away, enjoying New York for a week, and Kentbury will remain in one piece.”

“This isn’t a vacation, Miller,” I warn him.

---