Tis The Season For Forgiving

by Nikki Lynn Barrett

  There was silence on the other end of the phone.

  "You there? Do you think I made a big mistake?" She needed some kind of affirmation. Or something. Robin had a good voice of reason, so the silence terrified her.

  "Depends on what you think is the mistake," Robin said softly.

  "I'm trying to figure that out," she admitted.

  "You have every right to hesitate. Anyone knows that, including Eric. But you two have been building something, and he's probably hurt, too. It's a tough situation. Eric's always been one to bail when he's scared, and if you left things off that way, then maybe he's afraid."

  "Yeah, but this dinner was about showing my parents he's changed. I wanted them to see for themselves. If he bailed, what does that look like?" Not good, that's for sure.

  "You can't get your parents' approval for everything. Just ask Jonas. Eventually, you have to just go with your gut and stop seeking approval from everyone. If you and Eric want a second chance, then it's your choice alone. Your family can accept it, or they can't. It's your life."

  "They were there when everything came crashing down." Mom and Dad could have easily turned her away and let her fend for herself. They hadn't.

  "And that's good. If Eric was a the same man he was two years ago, they'd have plenty of reason to say something. But he's not. Sure, you're going to be nervous, because the man broke your heart. He turned your world upside down, but still. You choose. Don't worry so much about everyone else, even your parents. You can respectfully agree to disagree."

  "Robin does it with me all the time!" Jonas called in the background.

  "Will you stop jumping in?" Robin laughed. "Go play Santa and leave me to my phone call."

  "See? There she goes! Bye Petra! I'll stop bugging you two now!"

  Petra laughed. "You two are funny."

  "He's a pain in the butt. I love him, though." Robin's voice was full of happy emotion. "I believed enough in second chances."

  "Thanks Robin. I'd better get Kinley settled for a bath and bed."

  "You bet. See you at the rink for the Christmas party tomorrow night?"

  "We can't wait. Caitlin comes up with the coolest ideas."

  "She really does. Now if we could just get her love life as cool."

  Petra laughed. "What are you, matchmaker?"

  "No, not really. It's just that she seems to pretend she's all right when something bothers her. Even getting to know her better, she doesn't talk about it. Jonas doesn't know anything, either."

  "Well, maybe she'll have her own Christmas miracle," Petra joked.

  "We'll send her to the wishing well," Robin joked. "Talk to you later."

  Once they hung up, Petra faced her daughter. "All right, little dear, time to take a bath."

  During bath and story time, Petra continued to wonder about Eric.

  "Twee, Mommy?" Kinley asked before closing her eyes.

  "Maybe this weekend. We're going to the skating Christmas party tomorrow," she reminded her.

  "Okay. Night night."

  Alone to her thoughts, she checked the phone again. Nothing.

  What a night.

  *****

  "Evan, you can't just run away!" Gina protested.

  "But I was scared. You guys were yelling! I don't like yelling."

  "I know, but..." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Then she glanced at Eric. "You seem to be his knight in shining armor." And she didn't sound happy about that.

  "Can I just go to Ben's after school tomorrow? There's a Christmas skating party I want to go to," Evan said, changing the subject.

  At the mention of Ben, it dawned on Eric.

  Petra. Kinley. The dinner. Oh shit! It was already over! Why hadn't she called? Eric pulled his phone from his pocket and checked. Well no wonder. It shut off!

  Just how many upset messages would he get if he checked his voicemails?

  "Are you sure you two are going to be okay?" Eric asked again. Gina still hadn't told him what everything was all about, and he wondered if she would.

  "Of course we will," Gina snapped. "We were fine before you and Adrian-" She gasped and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry. I know you're concerned. It was just an argument. I'm sorry it scared Evan to the point of calling you. Are you going to this Christmas thing tomorrow?"

  Eric nodded, even though he wasn't sure. That depended on Petra.

  "Look, it's late. I'm tired. You should probably go. Thanks for ... for checking in on us." Gina tried to sound authentic, but there was a look on her face he couldn't understand. "Say good night, Evan." Gina put a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. She excused herself.

  Alone with Evan, the little boy's eyes were wide. He leaned over and whispered to Eric. "I don't like Mommy's boyfriend. He's mean and scary." His lower lip quivered. "I just want Daddy back."

  "Sorry, buddy." Eric didn't have much else to offer. He let Evan hug him and then had to pry his hands off so that he could leave before Gina came back.

  As he drove off to Petra's, he wondered just how much Gina was hiding and if those two were going to turn out okay. He also hoped Petra wouldn't be too upset with him.

  Moments later, he stood at her doorstep, waiting. He fiddled with his jacket zipper. Then he shuffled his feet. He was about to knock again when the door was flung open. Oh hell, she was mad. No denying it.

  "You're a few hours too late!" Petra snapped. Her nostrils flared.

  "I know." He lowered his gaze. "It's been a rough day. I had a talk with my dad, then Evan called-"

  "Evan again? Eric, I feel horrible for Evan and Gina, but you promised me. You promised to be here! Do you know how many times I heard from my parents the 'I told you so's?"

  He threw his hands up in the air. "Do you know how tired I am of having to please parents? Mine, yours, anyones! What is it you want? Are you waiting for your mom and dad's approval of me so you can give us a second chance? Is that it? I know I was a horrible man, Petra! I know everyone has their doubts about me, and I know now that also includes you. I thought for a while maybe you knew me better than that. I thought ... well, I thought you had a little faith in the new me. Guess I was wrong. I can't do this if you're going to keep hoping everyone else approves of us before you do."

  She gasped. "Is that what you think?" Her face reddened.

  It wasn't like she showed him otherwise. This time, when he spoke, he did so much quieter. The surge of frustration burning through his body wasn't going to do him, or Petra, any good. "I'm beginning to, yeah. Be honest with me. What was your first thought tonight when I didn't show up?"

  He got her. Petra's eyes went wide, and she averted her gaze. Letting out a long sigh, she answered. "That you were upset at me for hesitating the other night, so you decided not to come."

  While he expected some kind of answer like that, it still hit him in the chest like a heavy weight. This was never going to work with them, was it? There was too much distrust and old hurts. "See? You didn't stop to think that maybe something came up."

  Petra snorted. "Yeah, another family."

  "That's not fair. It wasn't just a thing about 'another family'. I think something is seriously wrong-"

  She waved her hand in dismissal. "Don't. Just don't, Eric. I think we jumped the gun and gave in to those feelings again. I'm not sure if it could ever be based on emotions instead of physical."

  "You don't mean that," he croaked out. Was she looking for any reason to back out? Wasn't anything they'd felt real the past few weeks?

  "Yeah, I think I do. Good night, Eric." She shut the door in his face, the words just spoken between them left in the cold with him.

  Chapter Twenty One

  As anticipated, the snow came in the next day heavy and blinding. By afternoon, several inches had fallen, and it was still coming down at a much lighter rate. The snow plows had been working nonstop to clear up some of the roads.

  Good thing Eric went to work early in the morning and they'd let everyone go early when the snow fell.
Bad thing about that was being stuck inside the apartment during the snowstorm left him to his lonely, troubled thoughts. Thoughts about Petra. Thoughts about the kids, especially Ben. Thoughts about his father and the wide rift between them that began years ago. He wasn't sure if there was a way to fix it now.

  At least with the snow, it killed his temptation to go out and do something stupid. The thought did pop in his brain for a brief second until the good conscience took over.

  No, he wasn't going to hide out behind his old ways, no matter how upset he was about things.

  At four, his phone rang. Hoping it was Petra, Eric answered quickly without checking on who it was. "Hello?"

  "Hey, Eric? It's Jacob. Have you heard from Evan or Ben?" He sounded worried.

  "No, why would I?" Was something wrong? Eric sat up straight on the couch, on full alert.

  "Evan was coming home with Ben today. Neither of them were at the school when I pulled up. Evan's mom isn't answering her phone, and I can't figure out where the hell they would have gone, especially in the snow."

  Remembering how scared Evan was last night, Eric swore under his breath.

  "What do you know?" Jacob was on high alert.

  "Nothing really, other than Evan's been afraid of some guy his mom's been dating." He told Jacob about the accident Gina claimed to have at work and the fight between her and some guy last night.

  "That doesn't sound good at all. Ron's passing by the school again, since he just picked up his kids."

  No, it didn't. And why wasn't Gina answering her phone? And who the hell was Ron? That name sounded familiar, but Eric couldn't place it.

  "If you hear from them..."

  "You'll be the first to know," Eric promised. Once he hung up, Eric knew he couldn't just sit back and wait. Evan had the determination his father did, and if he decided to do something and take Ben with him...

  Something was wrong.

  He grabbed his gloves, jacket, hat, and keys, then prepared to go out there in the snowstorm and find Ben and Evan. He yanked open the door, preparing for the cold blast and stopped at the sight of the person standing on his porch poising to knock. "Gina!"

  She sniffed and pulled her wool hat lower. "I need to talk to you. I think I should tell you something."

  "There's no time. Evan and Ben are missing. They weren't at the school when Jacob went to pick them up."

  "I know who shot Adrian! The very same people who called and threatened my son this morning." Her face paled. "Missing? Evan and Ben? Oh God!" It was as if there was a delay in her thought process.

  He tugged on her arm. "Let's go find them. You tell me everything on the way," he grunted, pulling his door closed, then led her to his car.

  In the car, Eric turned on the heat full blast, then reversed slowly out of his spot. He tried to think of where the boys would go, let alone in the snow.

  "You know how you wanted to know what Adrian was trying to get back that night?" Gina asked in a tiny voice.

  "Yeah." Eric focused on the road, still listening intently.

  "Results from a paternity test."

  "What?" Did he just hear her right? Adrian got himself killed because he wanted to take back a paternity test? That didn't make sense.

  "I told you that Adrian and I got together when I was with someone else?"

  He remembered.

  "I found out about two and a half months after being with Adrian that I was pregnant."

  Eric had a feeling he knew where this was going. "So, you weren't sure who the father was. Your ex, or Adrian."

  Gina choked back a sob. "Yup. Adrian figured out two years ago that there was a chance Evan wasn't his. He wanted a test. While waiting for the results, Adrian went into a rage and threatened the other guy. It was a big slip up. Anyway, when the results came in, I hid them. I didn't even look at the answer, but I did make up a new set of papers that resembled those. He never knew the difference when I showed him my fixed results." She tugged on her wool hat again. "Adrian went back to anger management, and the last thing he wanted to talk about or deal with were those results. I wasn't ready to see, or let either of them see. Apparently, my ex had other plans. The results, both real and fake, along with some of my jewelry and engagement ring from Adrian, were stolen."

  "Why the hell did he want to go back for the stupid results?" If Adrian had believed her, then that didn't add up.

  "Adrian didn't trust me, with good reason, because he caught me seeing my ex."

  "You cheated on Adrian?" Eric turned the corner. The wheels spun without moving the vehicle, then they shot forward. Trying to concentrate on what Gina said and searching for the boys kept his mind busy, and he had to focus on the road!

  "Once. We were in a bad place. A few nights before he was killed, I told him the truth about what I'd done with the results. He decided once and for all he would find out. We were arguing about what happened with the test before that night. I just didn't know he'd go searching and end up dead. I got a report back. He'd been drinking that night."

  Eric had wondered. Adrian had asked him to drive. "Just a drive. I need to see an old friend," he'd said when Eric asked.

  "Is he the guy you're seeing now? Did he do that to your face? Were you fighting with him?"

  "I've been trying to figure out what he knows about Adrian's death. I'm not dating him, or at least, not in a real sense. I had to know!"

  This got worse by the minute. "You're fooling him."

  "And he figured it out, which is why we were fighting." So Gina was a terrible liar. Yeah, Eric figured that one out already.

  "And why he hit you. I'm not stupid, Gina."

  "He's claiming the results say he's the father." She completely avoided what he just said. But she didn't have to admit it for Eric to know. It only made perfect sense.

  Those chilling words hit hard. Where the hell were the boys right now?

  *****

  "Caitlin, if you don't slow down, we're gonna-" Too late. Petra braced for impact. When it happened, the crunch of the front end of Caitlin's car echoed loudly.

  "Damn," her friend muttered. As Caitlin climbed out of the car to inspect, Petra's phone rang.

  "Ron just found the boys. Ben and Evan were upset because a man approached Evan claiming he was his father. They ran and hid," Cheyenne told her.

  Petra sighed in relief. "That's good to know, at least about them being found. Who the hell was the guy?"

  "We're not sure on that one. Ron's on his way here now with the boys. I'm sure we'll get the full story then."

  Petra stared out the window at the car in front of them. A man stepped out and walked up to Caitlin. Petra gasped. "Or not. Caitlin and I were in a small fender bender. We just rear-ended Ron."

  "Whaaaaaat?" Cheyenne shrieked.

  "I'm getting out of the car now, but I don't think anyone's hurt."

  "Geez! Everyone needs to drive safely over to my house please!"

  Ben and Evan climbed out of the car, along with Ron's kids. No one was hurt. They looked a little startled, but that was about it. "Everyone okay?" Petra asked.

  "Physically, I think we're all fine." Ron shot a pointed look at Caitlin.

  "I'm sorry!" She tossed her hands up in the air.

  "We'll be at the house soon, Cheyenne. Do you want to talk to Ben?"

  "I just talked to him when Ron called. He's okay?"

  "He's okay. We'll get there soon, in once piece." As long as Caitlin didn't drive. Petra hung up the phone.

  "I'm not sure I can drive my car like this," Caitlin said, blowing out a breath.

  Another vehicle pulled up behind them. She turned around, surprised, when she recognized Eric's car. He stopped, and the passenger side door opened. Gina ran out, crying and yelling, and she made a beeline for her son. "Evan! Oh, baby!"

  "Mom! Your boyfriend said he was my dad and tried to get me and Ben to go see him!" Evan hugged his mother.

  Petra stifled a gasp at what Evan just said. Good grief, his mother had so many
issues it was disturbing!

  "I'm going to call a tow truck," Caitlin muttered.

  So much chaos erupted around them. Petra avoided Eric's gaze, and she wondered why once again he was with Gina. It stung. Maybe it shouldn't, but damn it! Yeah, she got it about Evan. The boy was lost since his father died. His mother apparently didn't know what she was doing half the time, and no doubt Evan looked up to Eric.

  "Someone needs to get Ben home to Cheyenne and Jacob so she can see him," Ron said, once again surveying the back of his SUV. "Caitlin's car took the brunt of the damage. Caitlin, hold on! Let's just get your car off the main road. We can avoid insurance and I'll get someone to help fix it once this snow melts. We were all in a rush to find Ben." He ran off to coax her off the phone.

  It took a lot of them, some grunting and groaning and lots of freezing in this damn snow, but they got Caitlin's car moved and then split up between Eric's vehicle and Ron's, all en route to Cheyenne's house. That also included Gina and Evan, so that she could explain what had happened.

  Petra hoped to avoid it, but she wound up in Eric's car anyway. Luckily, he didn't try to bring everything up. She figured he wouldn't with the extra people in the car, including Caitlin, Gina, and Evan, but she hadn't been too sure. It was crowded in the backseat and the drive to Cheyenne's was treacherous, but they finally made it. Ron's SUV was already parked on the street.

  Once inside, Petra took a deep breath. What a crazy day. She listened as Gina told her side of the story and why the boys had run from a man claiming to be Evan's father.

  Because he was, or possibly was. Gina didn't know for sure. At least the worst was over. Gina finally gave in and called the police. She told them everything and where to find the man.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  "I think it's time to move and start over away from Prescott," Gina said to Eric hours later. They were all still at Cheyenne's house. The storm had subsided. Two hours ago, the police picked up a man matching the description Ben and Evan had given them, plus with Gina's confirmation, they had their guy. Gina planned to press charges about the assault. She finally admitted her bruise wasn't a work accident. The whole truth, ugly story and all, had been revealed.