“Whatever. I hope I’m around to see the day when you go nuts over a woman.”
“Not happening. I learned from you and I’m not following you down the crazy road. I think my sister’s just as crazy. I don’t know why she’d put up with you.”
“Just shut it. Watch your damn TV and let me think.”
Tim spent the next couple hours watching basketball games, replays of football games, and hockey games he found on, while Kevin alternated between pacing behind the couch and sitting on the edge of it. All he could focus on was trying to figure out what he could do to show Rachel she meant the world to him.
After several of the games were over, Tim found a UFC fight on. An interview with one of the fighters gave Kevin an idea and he snapped his fingers.
“What?”
“I think I’ve got an idea on what I can do.”
“About what?”
“About proving to Rachel what she means to me.”
Kevin filled Tim in and before he left Tim’s, got him to promise to have his sister watch the press conference, as well as make sure she showed up for her shift at the community center tomorrow.
“We’ll be there. We always help with that program.”
“I’ll be there too.”
“Good luck getting everything done.”
“Thanks, I’ll need it.” He had a ton of shopping to do before three o’clock tomorrow.
* * *
Kevin drove by her house again first thing the next morning to see if by some chance he could catch her at home. He saw her getting out of Karen’s car and he quickly parked and jumped out to catch her.
“Rachel!”
She turned at her name, but then turned back to her front door.
“Please let me explain.” He caught up to her. “Paige was under a huge misunderstanding.”
She held the door open for him and he took it to mean he was allowed in.
“She thought we had something, but it was all in her mind.”
“Why would she think that?”
He wanted to be honest with her, but he was already on shaky ground and he didn’t want to lose her over this.
“She took some of my actions to mean one thing and didn’t realize they meant something completely different. It was a misunderstanding.”
“No. Six o’clock versus eight o’clock is a misunderstanding. ‘I’ll meet you there’ versus ‘you’ll pick me up’ is a misunderstanding. That woman thinking you’re her man when she worked for you is more than a misunderstanding.”
She was right. Of course she was right.
“Remember me telling you about the drinking binge I’d gone on when I figured out the whole jealousy thing?”
She narrowed her eyes at him and he looked away, tried gathering his courage to continue with the truth she deserved so much.
“And? I’m not hearing the misunderstanding.”
“She’d called me that night and asked if I could meet her about a marketing campaign my agent was setting up with a product endorsement. I’d started drinking and wasn’t in the mood to talk with her about business. The team was in New York that week and she was in town already for another client, so she came to the hotel to see me.”
When he stopped, Rachel raised an eyebrow, daring him to go on.
“She called up from the lobby and I finally agreed to meet her in the hotel restaurant. I had some more to drink and one thing led to another.”
“One thing led to another. You slept with her?”
“I did, but I thought that was because you were—” he waved his hands around, “—and...”
“You slept with her the night you finally figured out you had feelings for me.”
Crap. That sounded really bad.
“I’d been drinking—”
“Yeah, I got that part. Just explain to me what the misunderstanding could possibly be at this point.”
“A week or so later, after I found out you and David were kaput, I gave Paige instructions to keep the groupies away from me when we were out and about. I gave Laura the same instructions.”
“Did you sleep with Laura too?”
He cringed. “Hell, no. She’s almost sixty and been happily married for more than thirty-five years.”
“Then when you went out to meet with Laura, how did she manage to keep all the women away?”
“She told them something like I was in the middle of a business meeting and I needed a clear head or undivided focus or something like that.”
“And what did Paige say?” She said Paige’s name with disdain dripping from it.
“I don’t know. I asked her, but she always just said she was good at her job.”
“Uh-huh. And did you ask her what she said to me last night?”
“Yeah, I pushed her on it. I’m so sorry, Rachel. I had no idea what she was telling people.”
She looked away from him and he put his hand under her chin to bring her gaze back to him.
“I’m sorry. I really am. I don’t know what else I can say to make you understand.”
“Oh, I understand, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to forgive you. You slept with her. A woman who worked for you. You know how I feel about that and why. When you had the chance to tell me about it, you chose not to. You could’ve come clean, but you didn’t. Then you hid me from her. She had no clue that you have feelings for someone. You’ve been known as a ladies’ man for a long time and I’m having a very hard time trying to figure out if I can ever trust you. Lying to me, keeping secrets and keeping me hidden are huge problems.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shook her head and Kevin’s heart sank.
She didn’t trust him and he couldn’t blame her. She’d been ripped apart by her ex and now she was dealing with...him. Only time would prove to her he could be trusted, but she’d need to be willing to be around him for time to do its thing. If she wasn’t willing to spend time with him, she’d never learn to trust him. And she’d never know that she was the only woman for him. He didn’t deserve her, but he loved her and wanted her.
“What can I do?”
“There’s nothing you can do right now. I need to think. Alone. I need you to leave.”
She walked over to her front door and opened it.
“Will you at least call me?”
“We’ll see.”
That was all he was going to get and it killed him to have to leave her on this note. He had a press conference to do. And a Christmas miracle to pull off.
Chapter Fifteen
Rachel arrived at the community center with minutes to spare before the Giving Tree ceremony began.
The place was packed as usual, and she looked all over trying to find her family. She caught her mom’s gaze and waved. Her brother turned at that moment and made a beeline straight to her.
What could she have possibly done to get in trouble now?
“Mom was starting to worry and almost made me drive to your house to get you. It would help if you’d actually turned on your phone at some point today.”
Rachel had turned off her phone as soon as she’d left the restaurant last night and hadn’t thought about turning it back on for her parents to contact her.
“Mom’s threatening to pay for you to get a landline installed so she can get in touch with you. You could’ve at least called them or texted to let them know you were going to be late.”
“Sorry.”
Tim didn’t get a chance to respond, because a huge commotion started up on the other side of the room. The children ran squealing to where Santa Claus himself walked through the back door. The adults in the room tried to lower the chaos level but that only made the children even more excited.
Rachel hadn’t realized they were getting someone to be Santa for the kids. They’d never done that before.
He was dressed in his traditional red suit stuffed to the gills, and fluffy white hair for his beard and hair that stuck out from his hat. He held a pack on his back that looked e
xtremely full.
She glanced over to the Christmas tree. The presents that had come in as donations were still overflowing under the tree. So what presents was Santa carrying? Maybe more had come in and those were the ones he carried.
Santa continued moving toward the front of the room, his progress hindered by the many children who were hanging around him. Rachel made a mental note to let her mom know this was a great idea. They should’ve done it years ago. Obviously the children wanted some kind of connection with the jolly old man.
Santa got close enough for Rachel to hear his “ho ho hos” and she froze.
No freaking way.
She heard him belt out “Merry Christmas” and Rachel felt certain she was hallucinating.
Kevin Ganlin was here, dressed up as Santa, and there wasn’t a soul around, except for herself and her family, who would guess that was who was standing in front of all these children getting ready to pass out presents.
“Ho ho ho! Could I get some help passing out some of these gifts?” Kevin turned to her. “What about you, young lady?”
Why was he doing this?
Tim leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Stop shaking your head and go help him. Trust me on this. I’m not steering you wrong.”
“I’ll kill you later,” she whispered back and worked to put a smile on her face. She glanced out and saw Mindy and Jackson, and her smile melted into a real one before she could stop it.
She stepped forward and began taking the packages Kevin handed her. Each one had computer-printed tags matching the handmade ones that had hung on different Giving Trees throughout the county. The tags had a child’s name, their age and their clothing sizes.
The boxes were slightly heavy and rattled when she shook them. Several kids opened Kevin’s gifts while she was still passing others out and she was able to see what he’d given them.
He’d taken the age of each children and gotten the building blocks set appropriate for that age. Each child received a set along with a group of gift cards from local businesses—clothing, toy, and most importantly, food stores.
Rachel’s thoughts tumbled around in her brain as she continued to help. Why had he done all this? Just to throw his money around? That didn’t make any sense. If anything, he was the most generous person she knew, giving on a fairly regular basis, and he never let anyone know about his money situation.
To buy himself back into her good graces? He had to know better than to think she’d fall for something like that, because that kind of behavior bled into other areas of a person’s life, and Kevin didn’t show those characteristics. Ever.
And she wasn’t the one directly benefiting, so it didn’t make sense that he’d be doing all this just for her.
The smile on the kids’ faces were real. The smile on Kevin’s face was real.
The smile on Kevin’s face was...real.
She almost dropped one of the packages when the realization hit her like a wrecking ball. Every single picture she’d seen, every single camera shot of him disappearing from the field with a baseball groupie, every single event he attended—they all had one thing in common. Kevin’s smile wasn’t true. It was nice enough, and the world thought it was real. But Rachel and Tim knew what Kevin’s real smile looked like. They’d even teased him about it years ago.
He was truly happy here. With her.
When the kids gathered around Santa to get their pictures made with him, Rachel let her mind process as much of what she’d seen and heard over the past week as she could.
Kevin had only purchased condoms the day the two of them got together that first time. He’d been a bit upset with her when she accused him of having women over in his house. It’d been fine with him that she’d won at air hockey in front of a crowd at Celebration Station. There hadn’t been a hint that he wanted to keep their date hidden from anyone and he wasn’t annoyed when her students had come over to talk with her. No matter how much his supposed private life had been blasted all over the public arena, his true private life had remained protected. His and Tim’s adventures over the winters were never intruded on by the press. Tim wasn’t under constant scrutiny because of his friendship with Kevin.
If he hadn’t been in a habit of sharing his personal life with the people he worked with and who worked for him, then he probably wasn’t going to start when something as important as his heart was involved. And for someone who’d never been in a true relationship before as an adult, he probably had no clue as to what he was supposed to do.
Hmmm. She wondered just how many men were clueless when it came to relationships, at least until a woman came along who’d put up with their crap and teach them what the man needed to know.
Rachel caught her breath. He’d been showing her how much he cared for her all along. There were just a few bad choices he’d made along the way. It was her turn to show him how much she cared for him by forgiving him and seeing him through the mistakes he would inevitably continue making.
A small voice reminded her that he’d need to see her through the mistakes she’d be making as well. She wasn’t quite sure whether that small voice belonged to her internal devil or her internal angel, but either way, it was right.
As the last of the presents were handed out, Rachel helped her mom and the other volunteers pull the lids and aluminum foil and plastic wrap off all the different dishes lining one of the long tables. While helping direct the first few families through the line and getting them seated, she kept an eye on Kevin. He was still playing the role of Santa and she wanted to catch him before he left.
Before she knew it, he was making his way to one of the exits. She quickly rushed after him, trying not to break into a run, but not wanting him to get away before she at least got the chance to thank him. Bursting through the hall door, she caught a glimpse of him rounding the corner to leave the building.
“Kevin!”
He stopped and turned toward her, and she ran to catch up to him.
“What’s up?” His eyes gave her no clues as to what he was thinking, and the rest of his face was covered with fake whiskers. They even hid his mouth since he wasn’t smiling.
“I wanted to say thank you. For everything. The gifts. Being Santa. Bringing joy to so many people today.”
“Can we go somewhere to talk?
She’d never wanted to ditch her responsibilities before and she was extremely tempted to do so now. “I...can’t. I need to help with food clean-up. I can’t leave yet.”
Kevin brought his hand up and cupped her cheek. She felt his warmth, even through Santa’s glove. “I’ll go change and come back in to help. We’ll take off when you can.”
Rachel couldn’t hold her need to touch him back any longer. Reaching her arms around his full belly, she stretched to reach Kevin’s body. She made it to his sides. In return, he engulfed her in a huge bear hug.
Looking up into his eyes, she tried to infuse everything she was feeling into two little words. “Thank you.”
He squeezed her one last time and backed away. “I’ll see you back in there.”
She watched as he exited the building and realized she’d never been so sure of him as she was right then.
Chapter Sixteen
Kevin followed Rachel back to her place, desperately wanting to spend some time alone with her. He’d had a blast all day, but tonight was the true test.
He was so wound up with wondering what Rachel would say to him that he couldn’t sit still waiting for her to change her clothes. He got up and began pacing the small space that made up her living area.
Had too much damage already been done? Would she ever be able to let her guard down again and trust him? Everything in him hoped so.
She came in and his heart leaped, a tightness in his chest he never wanted to lose each time he saw her. She wore a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of soft pants that couldn’t possibly rival the softness of the skin underneath.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
For
a long moment, the only sound he could hear was her kitchen clock ticking off the seconds. The silence was deafening.
He was the one to break it. “Did you get a chance to see the press conference?”
A small shake of her head. “Uh, no, I didn’t.”
He looked down at the floor and back up. He held her gaze steady with his. “I might’ve unhidden you today.”
Confusion crossed her face. “What?”
“Well, that is, if you want to be unhidden. If you eventually end up forgiving me.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean you ‘might’ve unhidden me’?”
He really hoped he hadn’t screwed up. “I mentioned you during the press conference.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What exactly did you say?”
“I don’t remember exactly what I said, but at one point I was asked what other plans I had for the future—”
“Had you already told them about the high school coaching job?”
“If you’d stop interrupting me—”
“Fine, fine.” She gestured her hand in a rolling motion. “Keep going.”
He gave a quick chuckle and shook his head. “I was asked what other plans for the future I had other than coaching high school baseball.”
She looked as if she were ready to strangle him when he didn’t go on. “And?”
He wasn’t sure quite why he was finding this as amusing as he was, but he had hope that her attitude meant they were going to be okay. “And...I said that I hoped to settle down with a hometown girl I’ve known for almost three decades, if she’s crazy enough to forgive me.”
“Three decades? Why would you tell people I’m over thirty? I don’t admit to anyone that I’m over thirty. Now the whole world knows that. Thankyoueversomuch.”
He laughed. “I said almost three decades. And that’s what you focus on?”
“Oh, right. So, was this like an honest-to-goodness, sorta-public apology from you?”
He shrugged. “If you want it to be. Or it could be the re-presentation of facts that were perhaps misconstrued by you.”
“Misconstrued? I think not. Nothing was wrongly inferred. Perhaps it was wrongly implied.”
For My Own: A Contemporary Christmas Anthology Page 24