My Ex’s Dad is Coming to Town (Bringing Home Trouble)

13. Winter

CHAPTER 13

WINTER

I sat on the front porch swing with a blanket wrapped around my legs and stared down at the ornament Cole had given me last night. He looked so different in the photo than the grumpy guy in a suit I’d run into at the airport. Both of us were smiling directly into the camera. If I’d been looking at a picture of two strangers, I might have thought they were a cute couple, maybe even on their honeymoon based on the way the man’s hands possessively wrapped around the woman’s waist and her butt pressed back against him. It was too bad we couldn’t be newlyweds, but I needed to stop wishing for something that could never happen.

The front door creaked and my mom stepped out onto the porch with a carafe of coffee in her hand. “Need a refill before we start baking?”

“Sure.” I tucked the ornament under the blanket and held out my mug. “How many cookies are we making today? ”

“As many as we can until we have to leave for the carnival.” She smoothed her hand over my hair. “Are you feeling okay, sweetie? You haven’t seemed like yourself since you got home last night.”

“I’m fine. There’s just a lot on my mind.”

She sat down next to me on the swing. “It’s only been a few months since you and Ryan broke up. Go easy on yourself. These things take time to pass.”

I forced a smile. It might be easier to let her think I was upset about Ryan than to tell her what was really going on. That my heart wasn’t broken because my ex just got engaged, but because I’d fallen hard for his dad.

“It’s not really about Ryan. I’ve known for a long time he wasn’t the one.”

Mom tilted her head and gave the swing a gentle push with her foot. “Then what’s got you moping around like Santa just canceled Christmas?”

I sighed, wishing I had a friend to talk to instead of my mother. But Ryan got most of our friends in the breakup, even the women I thought would stand by my side in solidarity. “Actually, I met someone.”

“Honey, that’s great. Is it serious?”

My stomach churned. As much as I wished it could be, Cole and I would never be able to share more than the couple of nights we’d already had together. “No.”

“Well, why not?”

“It’s complicated.” I needed to watch what I said. Mom had a way of picking up on things, and I didn’t want to come completely clean. “He’s not really in a place where it’s possible for him to have a relationship.”

“Is he married?” Her lips pinched with disapproval.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “No, he’s not married.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

My fingers curled into fists, and every muscle in my body tensed. I didn’t want to talk about it, but I also felt like I needed to. “We have a mutual, um, friend who would be mad if things went any further with us.”

My mother clucked her tongue. “Well, if this person is a true friend, I’d think they’d be happy for you in the long run. You’re doing yourself a huge disservice by letting someone else’s feelings keep you from something that could be the best thing that’s ever happened to you, honey.”

If only it were that easy. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll be okay.”

“I know you will. I’m always here for you if you want to talk about it.”

Talking wouldn’t do any good. Some lines should never be crossed and falling for my ex’s dad was one of them. Even though Ryan was a selfish asshole who didn’t deserve a dad like Cole, I’d never put Cole in a position where he had to choose between us.

“We’d better get going on those cookies.” I grabbed my mug from the porch railing in one hand and the blanket in the other. When I stood, something fell to the ground. Oh, crapola. I’d forgotten about the ornament .

Mom leaned down and picked it up. “What’s this, Winter?”

“It’s nothing.” I tried to grab it from her, but she’d already flipped it over.

“That’s Ryan’s dad, isn’t it? What’s his name again?”

I closed my eyes for a long blink and tried to slow down my pulse before my heart exploded out of my chest. “His name is Cole. We ran into each other at O’Hare, and he’s the one who helped me get home.”

She squinted at me, then looked back at the picture. “The two of you look pretty cozy together.”

“Can I have that back, please?” I bit down on my lip to keep myself from saying anything else. The less she knew, the better.

But Mom wasn’t about to let it go at that. “He’s the someone you met, isn’t he?”

“Why would you think that?” I tried to swallow past the huge lump in my throat, but my mouth had gone bone dry.

“Honey, he’s twice your age. He’s your ex boyfriend’s father.” Her hand shook as she passed the ornament back to me. “What do you think your dad is going to say about this?”

“Nothing. Because nothing is happening between me and Cole Calvin.” We stared at each other, both of us uncomfortable in our own way.

Then Mom led the way back into the house, apparently done grilling me, at least for the moment .

A few hours later, the three of us loaded my mom’s minivan with too many cookies to count. We’d listened to Christmas carols while we baked, though every single song reminded me of Cole. With Christmas just two days away, I’d lost my holiday spirit. It was probably still curled up under the gingerbread flannel sheets back at the Cozy Little Christmas Inn.

Hoping that helping out at the cookie decorating station at the holiday bazaar would bring it back, I climbed into the backseat. Maybe I’d even pep up enough to string a few lights around the porch when we got back or set out the Frosty the snowman statue I’d had since I was a kid. As my dad backed out of the driveway and pulled down the street, I swore I caught a glimpse of the big SUV Cole had rented. Then I saw a huge Christmas tree sticking out of the back. Just someone down the block making final preparations for the holiday. How long was it going to take for my heart to heal?

At least time passed quickly while I filled bags of frosting and bagged up the sugary treats everyone decorated. I’d even caught myself smiling a few times as I turned plain sugar cookies into festive snowmen, red-nosed reindeer, and trees full of colorful ornaments.

Just as we were wrapping up, I grabbed one of the Santa cookies. If I mixed a little white frosting with a tiny bit of black, I could give my Santa a salt-and-pepper beard just like Cole’s. I added green eyes with a hint of brown to make them look more hazel, then held the cookie up to admire my creation .

“Honey, you’re not fooling anyone about your feelings for Ryan’s dad.” Mom’s voice came from over my shoulder. I immediately pulled the cookie into my chest, smearing frosting all over my sweatshirt in the process.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.

“Is he a good man?” she asked, her voice low enough that only I could hear her.

Nodding, I cursed the tears that formed in the corners of my eyes. “The best.”

“Does he feel the same way about you?” Her hand landed on my shoulder and she slowly spun me around to face her.

The back of my throat prickled as I nodded. I was barely holding myself together and didn’t want to start bawling in the cookie booth. “At least he did.”

“Something tells me he still does.” Mom put her arm around my shoulder and turned to face the window. Two huge horses had stopped right outside. They were attached to a bright red carriage and had big candy-cane striped bows tied to their necks.

“What the…” I squinted, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

“Must be Santa,” Mom said with a smile.

A man dressed like Santa hopped down from the back of the carriage. Only it wasn’t Santa. I mean, I knew it wasn’t Santa because Santa didn’t really exist, but this Santa had eyes the same color as Cole’s and I could see a hint of gray and black whiskers under the fake snowy white beard .

“Why are you still standing here with me when you could be out there with him?” Mom teased as she gave me a nudge toward the door.

I didn’t have a good answer, so I slowly made my way through the front doorway and met Cole on the sidewalk.