WRAPPED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Two

by Juliet Braddock

  “Well, he’s nothing like my first husband,” Vicki admitted. “He takes an interest in my life, and he has no intentions of trying to change me. He likes me just the way I am, I think.”

  “Trust me—he does,” Maxine promised. “And if you don’t believe me, ask Drew. He’ll convince you! Daddy confides in him.”

  “Drew’s also very supportive of your career,” Vicki noted. “My ex…not so much.”

  “But, Vicki, what you’ve done is amazing—you worked hard, and you started your own practice.”

  “Yeah, well…I think a part of me decided to get married to prove to the world that I wasn’t some crazy old cat lady,” Vicki disclosed with a shade of embarrassment. “And eventually, he wanted what I couldn’t give him. Children.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry…you…couldn’t have kids?” Maxine asked.

  Vicki shook her head and looked Maxine in the eyes. “Just didn’t want them. I was just never mother material,” Vicki continued. “And I had to get brutally honest with myself about it before I could admit it to the world. Especially around here in this neck of the woods. That’s what you’re supposed to do—get married and have kids. The marriage part, I fancied. But I just wouldn’t have been as devoted to a family as a woman should be. My world was in my work. Saving animals. And that made me happiest.”

  Maxine understood the truth behind Vicki’s sentiments. To a great extent, having a family was the most important facet of life in the mindset of the region. Working was fine until the first baby arrived. In New York, the freedom existed to live just as one pleased.

  “But that’s a rational, intelligent choice,” Maxine said. “You shouldn’t feel bad or blame yourself for making it. This is your life.”

  Eyes full of regret, Vicki shrugged. “Unfortunately, I wasted a few years for my husband, though. And for that, I feel awful.”

  This honestly flowing between them left Maxine feeling so close to Vicki. She adored that her father’s new girlfriend felt comfortable to talk about her most intimate thoughts with such candidness.

  “You just never told him?” Maxine asked.

  “I…I think I was unsure myself,” Vicki said at last. “And one year rolled into the next. By the time we’d had the discussion, it was too late to save our marriage. He wanted kids—or he was leaving. We settled on the latter…”

  “I’m sorry, Vicki. It still hurts you…”

  “It hurts me in the sense that I hurt him,” she explained. “He went on and married someone else, and now they have two children—which made me happy. He deserved that. And it made me much more cautious—and conscientious—of others’ feelings. I craved that open dialog I have with your dad.”

  “Vicki, you’re doing just fine with Daddy,” Maxine gave her hand a squeeze. “And I’m looking forward to spending time with you in the future, too.”

  “How often do you think you’ll get back?”

  With a hesitant smile, Maxine took a deep breath. “I’m really hoping for once a month. And I’ll be dragging my friend Ben home with me, too—just like our college days.”

  “Tom’s talked a lot about Ben, and I cannot wait to meet him!”

  “You know, Vicki, we’re very serious about you and Daddy coming up for Christmas,” Maxine reminded her. “Offer stands for a grand guest room at Drew’s place…”

  “Are you sure?” Vicki asked, avoiding Maxine’s eyes.

  “We’ve got two seats to Sunset Boulevard with your names on them, and I hear it’s going to be the toast of the theatrical season,” Maxine winked. “And Daddy’s already pretty much said yes for both of you.”

  “Well, in that case,” Vicki looked at Maxine and grinned, “I guess I’m going to New York for Christmas.”

  Maxine couldn’t stop herself from clapping her hands. “Oh, yay! I can’t wait for you to meet everyone!”

  “Max, it’ll be fun to get a glimpse of your lives there.”

  “Just do me one favor with Daddy?” Maxine asked. “Remind him that it will be complete relaxation this time—no fixing anything since you’ll be staying at Drew’s.”

  “Well, then he might not feel the need to come up, Max,” Vicki giggled.

  “Alright, alright. We’ll break something before you arrive.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Vicki grinned and reciprocated Maxine’s fist bump.

  As they nibbled away at their lunch, Maxine already began to make plans. Luckily, Drew would be off during the day to escort Tom and Vicki around town, leaving them with Maxine to be their evening guide when she finished up at work. Broadway was bracing for its biggest Christmas week in history, and there was no way that Maxine could take even a day off. She’d already booked Lexi on Good Morning America to sing a few holiday tunes, and there was still so much more to do. Together, though—as always—she and Drew could make it work.

  Taking the second half of her sandwich to go, Maxine decided to pick up a few sweet treats in exchange for her father and Drew’s hard work that afternoon. She’d chosen an array of cupcakes and confections that would last her father well into the next week, on top of the desserts that remained from Thanksgiving.

  Climbing up into SUV, she had to laugh as Vicki rushed to move her stack of veterinary publications to the backseat. “I am so sorry, Max…I sort of live like a bachelor sometimes…”

  “It’s all good! Just a few weeks ago, I was surrounded by bachelors in my life. Now, they’re all happily taken. Including that father of mine!”

  They sang along rather loudly to the holiday tunes playing on the radio, and Maxine realized that she was indeed ready to get the season rolling. Plenty of parties and soirees awaited them back in the city, but for the moment, Maxine was just happy to have a little bit of Christmas with her own tiny family at home.

  “Oh…oops!” Maxine called out suddenly, digging her phone from her bag. “The boyfriend is calling. Oh, I hope they’re okay! Drew?”

  # # #

  “Did you just chop down a Christmas tree, Sir?”

  “Of course, I did!” Tom said. “How the heck do you know? Got it from the abandoned plot near the woods behind this house….”

  “Sir, your neighbors down the road actually bought that plot of land last summer. Those trees are for sale this year. You were trespassing…and you’re now in possession of stolen property.”

  Holy fuckballs! Drew thought and smacked himself in the forehead.

  Relief over the fact that the ladies were safe was his first concern, but this little turn of events brought with it a whole nother set of problems. All they’d done was take a walk through the woods to find a Christmas tree for Maxine…and now they were being threatened with arrest. Oh, this was just not going to fucking look good for him.

  “Sir, we had no idea—we honestly thought the tree farm had been abandoned…” Drew began.

  “Who are you?” the cop questioned.

  “I am the boyfriend of Mr. Kirk’s daughter, Drew McKenzie, and we’re visiting from New York City.”

  “Wait a minute…did I see you on TV the other day? On the Today Show…then on that parade my kids were watching?”

  “Well…yes, that was me,” Drew said, hoping that might buy them a couple of minutes and an out to this situation. “Listen, we truly meant no harm. And I’m happy to make restitution for all of this…”

  “Think you can just buy your way out of it, don’t you?” the first cop asked. “Not how we play here in little old Fayette County, Mr. McKenzie…”

  “Really, if we could just work this out directly—with the neighbors—I’m sure they’ll understand that we meant no ill-will,” Drew continued to babble on. “I would be happy to go see them…in person…explain…and pay them for the tree…”

  “Well, they were pretty angry. Their kids were out playing and saw you two make off with that tree….”

  “You know, I think Drew’s got a good idea there,” Tom joined in. “Reasoning with them seems to be the best solution…” Then he turned to Drew and w
hispered, “Call Maxie while I talk to them…”

  Tom thought it might be easier for him to explain their way out of it since small-town cops didn’t take well to big city actors.

  “Drew?”

  “Maxine…little one…where are you?”

  “Right at the end of the road. We’re almost home.” The urgency in his voice left her shivering. Oh, she hoped nothing happened while they were chopping down that damn Christmas tree! “What’s going on? Are you alright? And Daddy?”

  “Um…little one…don’t be alarmed, okay?” Drew said, making a futile effort to gentle his voice, “…but there’s a cop car parked in your dad’s driveway…”

  “A COP CAR?”

  Drew had to pull the phone away from his ear as to avoid losing his hearing temporarily. However, she left him worried as her hiccups resonated over the line.

  “Oh, what did they do now?” he could hear Vicki’s voice in the background just as he caught sight of her car pulling up and turning into the driveway. “Max, are you alright? Wait…water…somewhere….”

  “Seems the neighbors think we stole their Christmas tree…”

  “Stole...hic…a tree? Really, Mack? Listen, we’re…hic…we’re here now…we’ll be on that…hic…porch in thirty seconds.”

  Through the front yard, Maxine trudged, swinging her arms wildly as her chest heaved from the hiccups. Feisty little Maxine was not happy with her two favorite guys. Nor was Vicki from the look on her face.

  However, by the time they reached the steps, Tom had managed to convince the cops to let them have a few kind words with the neighbors to assuage the problem. He also offered a very quick rundown to Vicki, while Drew attempted to get Maxine to breathe.

  Drew didn’t miss that wary side glance from the shorter of the two policemen. Fucking cop looked at him funny. Dammit, his little one had the hiccups! Didn’t that officer understand?

  “Alright then…we’ll drive you over to their house, and you can speak to them directly…” the taller of the two cops acquiesced.

  “Can’t we drive—”

  “Shhh…” Tom ordered Drew. “Happy to let you be our escort, Officer…Sorrentino…” He looked at the badge to address him directly.

  “Breathe, Maxine…keep breathing…” Drew continued as Tom pulled on his jacket, dragging Drew backward down the front steps.

  As Maxine watched her father and Drew climb into the back of the police car, she shook her head. Wildly. However, she continued to take one deep, slow breath at a time until she felt her body calm.

  “You gonna be okay?”

  Maxine nodded curtly.

  “Well, it makes for a memorable Thanksgiving if nothing else,” Vicki said, trying to soothe Maxine’s anger with a bit of humor.

  “Can you believe this?” Maxine asked, flinging open the front door to find the cats prancing around and trying to identify all of the commotion.

  “We should probably go easy on them when they get back,” Vicki suggested. “I have a feeling that they’re both a little rattled right now…”

  Nearly tripping over the Christmas tree stand that Tom had already set up in the living room, Maxine frowned guiltily. All of this only happened because they were trying to keep up with Kirk family tradition of putting up the tree over Thanksgiving weekend. Who knew that damn little tree patch had been sold? She couldn’t be mad at either one of them.

  “Damn neighbors…bah-humbug!” Maxine muttered, kicking her feet against the floor as she walked.

  “Should we bring the tree in?” Vicki asked. “Think they’ll want it back?”

  “You know what, Vicki? Damn them if they do—let them play Scrooge!” she said, stomping her feet out to the kitchen. “I will personally defend my father and Drew if they even try to press charges. This is all a silly misunderstanding. And we’re decorating that tree tonight!”

  # # #

  “I don’t believe that I spent part of my holiday in the backseat of a cop cruiser…” Drew said, accepting the open beer from Maxine the second he and Tom walked through the door.

  “I don’t believe you just coughed up seven one-hundred-dollar bills for that damn tree…”

  “All I had in my wallet, Tom…” Turning to Maxine with a shrug, he added, “We need to stop at the bank in the morning…”

  Vicki had set the table with all of the leftovers from the previous day. She’d created a second Thanksgiving dinner, buffet style, to nosh as they decorated. Meanwhile, Maxine carried in all the Christmas boxes from the basement. They were both determined not to allow this little incident to ruin the evening.

  “Seven hundred dollars for a Christmas tree,” Tom muttered, reaching out for one of the branches. “I don’t even think QVC charges that much—and those things come with lights!”

  “Think of it as buying our freedom, Tom…” Drew said. “We could be sitting in a little cell now…”

  “With all the town drunks,” Tom said, taking a swig of his beer. “And killers. And drug dealers…”

  Drew set down his beer for a moment. “Did you say…killers?”

  “Oh, yeah. Murder rate has gone up significantly over the last twenty years.”

  “Come on, Tom,” Vicki encouraged, putting her arm around him. “Grab a plate. Relax for a bit while Maxine and I decorate, and enjoy the rest of the night…”

  “You, too,” Maxine leaned up on her toes to peck Drew on the cheek.

  “I’m still seething, little one…”

  “Calm down, my love,” she said. “It’s all over and done with now…”

  “Sound like some old married couple,” Tom teased them. However, Maxine was just glad to see his sense of humor making a slow comeback that evening. “Oh, hell…Lucy Van Pelt Kirk!”

  Cats were always a great diversion—especially a tortoiseshell kitten stuck in the branches of a live Christmas tree. However, it was Drew to the rescue, releasing those little paws from the bark and holding her close for a gentle scolding.

  “You’re just as squiggly as Maxine,” he baby talked Lucy as he snuggled her in his arms. “And almost as cute. But cute doesn’t cut it when you’re misbehaving…”

  Together, he and Tom retreated to the couch to watch all of the holiday-making efforts as Maxine and Vicki buzzed around the living room and dining room—hanging wreaths, stringing lights and setting up the Victorian Village on the mantle. Within no time, they’d made the transformation to a winter wonderland, finally putting a genuine smile on the faces of both Tom and Drew.

  With the small touches all in place, Maxine turned out the lights, as they all stood around the tree for a first reveal. There were the ornaments that Maxine had made throughout grade school and various mementos that illustrated their family history over the years. And as Drew stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms about Maxine’s waist, she sighed, just so thankful that she wasn’t visiting him in jail at that moment.

  “Best seven-hundred-dollar tree ever,” Tom said. In all, it truly was worth it—just for the memories with Drew alone. That day would be discussed year after year, its telling to become a Kirk-McKenzie family tradition.

  Both kittens perched beneath the tree—looking and waiting to pounce—but there was at last one quiet moment of calm in their chaotic holiday weekend. And that’s when Maxine turned around to Drew and held up the mistletoe.

  So tiny that she couldn’t reach above his head, she giggled, but Drew took the little plastic and silk bunch from her hand. He waved it above them as Maxine leaned up for one quick but slightly lingering kiss.

  “Uh…Maxie…”

  “Ooops!” she laughed again, forgetting her father and his girlfriend standing beside them.

  “No…uh…give that stuff here!”

  As Maxine happily tossed the mistletoe to her dear father, Drew’s phone began to ring.

  “Oh, shi-izzle…it’s Jeffrey…” he moaned. He simply couldn’t take any more, but he had to answer…

  “Really, Mack? I can’t even have a fuc
king Happy Thanksgiving with Ben and my parents here?” Jeffrey’s voice barked over the line. Drew could hear Ben’s cackle in the background. “You stole a fucking Christmas tree?”

  “Jeff, I…we…”

  “That’s my boss…” Maxine whispered and pointed to Drew’s phone. “And Drew just happens to be his client…and his best friend…or he used to be…”

  “How the fuck are we going to explain this one?” he ranted. “Or how am I going to spin this, to be exact? Some cop went to the local paper there. Don’t they have anything else better to do? Then they tell me that Maxine used to work the copy desk. They wanna know all about her involvement, too. You know, Mack, sometimes you just—”

  “Jeffrey…?”

  “What?” he snapped.

  Tired…cranky…horny for Maxine…Drew flopped back on the couch and just let it out.

  “Happy fucking Thanksgiving to you, too, old friend…” he seethed, disregarding all manners and decorum. “Happy fucking Thanksgiving…”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “All good, Mack?”

  Taking a step back from the chair, she spun Drew around to take a look at himself in the mirror. Sylvia Tattinger was probably in her middle fifties, but she looked much closer to her early forties with her soft skin and wrinkle-free face. She’d been a make-up artist of note within the theatrical community for a number of years, having won awards for her efforts along the way. She also had her own inside secrets for maintaining eternal youth. While talk of her true age had been whispered, no one ever dared to speculate out loud. Everyone relied on her to make them look perfect on stage, including Drew.

  He had to just chuckle as he took a good look at himself, buried beneath layers of pancake makeup and eyeliner. Just the night before, Maxine had stopped in after the final preview before opening night, and she refused to kiss him until he removed his blush.

  “Looks superb, Syl,” he said, “even though Maxine hates it.”