The Single Dad's Holiday Match

by Tanya Agler

  She stepped toward him and took the box before Jonathan could object. Vanessa dragged him away, and Izzy smirked a little too smugly. Tonight, he and Izzy would sit down and have a long overdue talk about her behavior around Brooke.

  It was time for him to start dating again.

  And there was one woman who had caught his attention in an intriguing way. After he examined the video footage, he’d call Brooke. Pleased with his plan, he oohed and aahed with Vanessa at the inventive trunk.

  The rest of the day was a blur until his daughters were in bed. He still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Izzy, but tomorrow was Sunday. He had a standing date with Izzy and Vanessa at Holly Days Diner for a tall stack of pancakes with a side order of sausage. He’d bring up Izzy’s attitude while Vanessa studied what was on offer in the jukebox. Licking his lips in anticipation, he settled at his office computer and pulled up the video footage from the center. He reached for a handful of buttered popcorn, his favorite snack, and made himself comfortable in his padded chair. He could be in for a long couple of hours. Opening his favorite music, he selected the alternative station to make the most of the time.

  Before he knew it, he’d eaten the whole bowl and not one person had shaken the doorknob of the men’s locker room. A couple of men in gym shorts stopped and read the sign, turning away, their frustration evident. Jonathan yawned and wondered if it was too late to text Brooke when someone in a costume approached the door. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and he straightened his spine, the empty bowl clattering to the floor.

  The person in question glanced around the empty reception area, and Jonathan paused the video, making notes about the time stamp. He ran to the kitchen and collected the tote bag Vanessa insisted on bringing home over Izzy’s protests. Returning to the office, he located the paper with the itinerary of the day’s events. According to the time stamp and the schedule, the suspect neared the door at two thirty, while Brooke was awarding prizes on the dais.

  He resumed the video with the suspect rattling the door, only to find it was, indeed, locked. The suspect glanced around, pulled out a flat black wallet with a nick at the corner and tried the old credit card trick. When that didn’t work, he stuck his wallet into his rear pocket and made his way over to the reception desk, coming back with a ruler. He scratched the door and then banged it with his fist. Jonathan enlarged the suspect’s face, but the mask prevented any identification.

  Nonetheless, Jonathan closed his eyes and groaned. He’d seen a similar, if not duplicate, costume today on Riley, whose words came back clear. That wasn’t her costume.

  She’d borrowed it from Colin.

  CHAPTER TEN

  MOST OF THE TIME, Jonathan loved living in Hollydale. Eleven months out of the year, there was nowhere else he’d rather live. Nothing was quite so gorgeous as the sight of the leaves showing their glorious fall foliage. Trouble was that the tourists agreed with him and flooded the town for six straight weeks. And now, it seemed as though every one of them had discovered the joys of his favorite Sunday breakfast joint. He shifted the buzzer the server handed him when they arrived two minutes ago from his right hand to his left, not sure he could wait outside in this line for at least a half hour for a cup of coffee.

  “Are you certain you don’t want me to call Caleb?” Izzy and Vanessa stopped staring at their tablets from the comfort of the bench overlooking the crowded parking lot and glanced his way. “You love his pancakes as much as the diner’s.”

  Vanessa looked torn at his offer. “Caleb does make chocolate milk come out my nose.”

  She made that sound like a good thing. Izzy shot him a look of pure exasperation. “This is our family time. We’re already going trick-or-treating with them this week since you have to work.”

  “Isa...” Before the last two syllables of her name stumbled out of his mouth, he caught sight of Brooke and Colin navigating through a crowd of people milling around the restaurant’s entrance. The mother and son headed their way, a buzzer similar to Jonathan’s in Brooke’s hand.

  If he thought the trees wore burgundy well, they had nothing on Brooke in her burgundy coat that accented her figure. His heartbeat accelerated at her smile, which showcased plump, pink, kissable lips. In such a short time, he’d found brief glimpses of her intriguing. He wanted those to become longer stretches of time.

  As soon as he wrapped up this case and heard the outcome of who was getting the detective job, there were two things he needed to get under control. He’d make that priority one.

  “Good morning, I thought I heard a familiar voice, and here you are. We’ve been waiting for about fifteen minutes on the other side. Aunt Mitzi told us about the diner’s breakfast. When I saw the spinach-and-artichoke-egg-white omelet on the menu, I knew Colin and I had to brave the crowds.” Brooke made a healthy dish sound like the most delicious offering.

  He could get used to her positivity.

  “It’s not usually this crowded on a Sunday morning.” Even without his normal cup of coffee, Jonathan enjoyed how Brooke changed the wait into something bearable.

  Then he remembered the video footage from last night, and his smile faded. Tomorrow morning, at the conclusion of his shift, he had a meeting with Mike to discuss whether they had enough circumstantial evidence to request Brooke’s and Colin’s presence at the station.

  And that would end any type of relationship with her before it began.

  “I don’t mind waiting outside. The fresh air is so invigorating. So far, I’ve talked to a couple of parents about Heartsgiving.” Brooke beamed.

  “I can take my mother out of her office, but I can’t take the office out of my mother.” Colin jammed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie before shrugging. “Then again, she loves what she does. There are worse things than that.”

  “Yeah, like having to work all the time.” Izzy piped up, and Jonathan sent an arched eyebrow her way.

  “But having a father who cares about you?” Colin’s tone was wistful. “You shouldn’t complain about that.”

  “He’s gone so much.” Izzy rose from the bench and glanced at Colin with something almost akin to hero worship in her eyes.

  Jonathan started to speak up, but Brooke’s light touch on his arm held him back. Colin laughed and rubbed his stomach. “Well, believe me, it’s nice to have food on the table. Sometimes Mom worked two jobs to pay for her tuition and everything else we needed, but she’s always been there for me.”

  Maybe Brooke’s son was conveying more to Izzy in this brief exchange than Jonathan could in twenty long conversations.

  “Excuse me, Miss Novak? Oh, hi, Jonathan. Almost didn’t see you and the girls. Morning.” Jonathan waved at their usual server, Jolene, her blonde beehive as starched as her light pink uniform with a hot pink apron stretched across her waist. She turned toward Brooke. “We had a lot of couples ahead of you, so all the two-seaters were just occupied. We did have a big booth open up if there’s anyone here you’d like to eat with. Thought I’d ask, seeing as you’re local and all.”

  The shy smile that spread over Brooke seemed to take over her entire body. “Thank you—” she squinted at the white name tag “—Jolene. That’s the nicest thing anyone could have said to me.”

  Vanessa pulled on his jacket. “Daddy, my tummy is hungry. Ask if we can be the people she eats with.”

  Brooke leaned down. “I’d like that very much.”

  Within minutes, they were hanging their coats on the hooks next to the booth, where Izzy claimed a seat on the cracked red pleather next to Colin. Jonathan didn’t even want to think about Izzy developing crushes and noticing boys. Good thing Colin seemed to take her under his wing, as an older brother would.

  Jonathan gritted his teeth. How could he think Colin Novak was a troubled kid one minute and a straight shooter the next? Jolene brought over a pot of coffee, and he sent a grateful smile her way when she t
urned over his cup and filled it to the top. “You’re a godsend, Jolene.” Then he turned to Brooke. “Thanks for inviting us to join you two.”

  “Daddy says his bloodstream is just liquid caffeine,” Vanessa blurted out, and his face heated.

  Colin laughed. “My mom’s the same way. Aunt Mitzi made sure she had at least two cups of coffee before we came here.”

  Now, it was Brooke’s turn to blush, a nice complement to the rich burgundy silk top that brought out her coloring. “It’s my biggest vice.”

  Jolene laid the pot on the table, whipped out her pad and took everyone’s order. Then she grabbed the pot, to Jonathan’s dismay, and hurried away. Jonathan faced Brooke. “How can you order an artichoke-spinach-egg-white omelet yet be a caffeinator like me?”

  Colin raised his hand. “Mom’s too modest. She limits herself to two cups of coffee on weekdays, but on weekends, she indulges herself with some drink that has more syllables than the molecular names in my high school chemistry class.”

  Brooke cupped her hot pink mug, taking time to inhale the aroma, her lips curling ever so slightly in appreciation. “I happen to function better after a cup of coffee. That’s not a bad thing. Besides, you never complain about my stopping at The Busy Bean since I buy you something. You get out of riding the bus, and I spend time with you before work.”

  “Yeah, about that. Riley says I’m on her way if you trust her brother to drive me to school. He’s captain of the basketball team.” Colin thanked Jolene, who delivered juice and water with lemon wedges to him, Vanessa and Izzy.

  Jonathan glanced at Brooke, who held the cup near her face, her expression almost masklike. She placed the coffee on the table and nudged her son ever so lightly. “It was nice taking you to school every morning while it lasted. If you want Riley’s brother to be your chauffeur, make sure you offer him gas money.”

  “Mom!” Colin reached for the little black box with sugar and artificial sweeteners. He selected three of the white packets, dumping the contents into his water before squeezing the lemon wedge and stirring the mixture. “Riley and her brother would be offended if I did that.”

  Hold on. The cigarette ID suspect had entered Mo’s on a weekday morning. Had Brooke missed any days of taking Colin to school? If she vouched for Colin’s whereabouts in the morning, he wasn’t the person who tried to buy the cigarettes at Mo’s. Jonathan plunked down his cup too hard, and all eyes stared at him. Not what he’d intended at all, but he’d make the most of the awkward situation.

  “Have you gone fishing around here? Sully Creek is lovely this time of year.”

  Brooke chuckled and unfolded her napkin. “That came out of nowhere. I expected a question about whether I’m handing out candy or toothbrushes tomorrow night, but nothing about fishing.”

  Colin cleared his throat. “Um, Mom. I think Mr. Maxwell is asking you on a date, although fishing isn’t exactly what I’d call your cup of coffee.”

  The collar of Jonathan’s shirt tightened, and the cool air in the diner heated to the boiling point. How could he shift to asking Brooke out when he was interrogating her son?

  A chuckle escaped from Vanessa, and then a full blown case of the giggles erupted out of his daughter. She laughed so hard their side of the booth shook from her wiggles. Jonathan glanced at Izzy, hoping she’d be able to talk some sense into her younger sister, when his two girls caught each other’s eye.

  “Dad and fishing?” Izzy scoffed before letting out a laugh. “I’d pay a month’s allowance to see that.”

  “Just because I’d rather clean all the bathrooms in the house rather than go fishing isn’t a reason for you two to have a giggle fest.” Great. He went from asking Brooke out on a fishing excursion to talking about scrubbing out toilets. Some smooth operator he was.

  He was right about one thing, though. Interrogating Colin was a fishing excursion, and he’d pulled up a muddy brown boot.

  Jolene appeared with three plates of pancakes and delivered them to the kids. “What was in that coffee I gave you anyway?” She grinned. “Whatever it was, I wish more customers were having a good time like y’all. Be right back with your short stack and your omelet.”

  Jonathan stared at his cup, almost empty. “If you could swing by our table on your next refill tour, we’d appreciate it.”

  “Sure thing.” Jolene bustled away after someone by the counter called her name.

  Izzy and Vanessa began cutting their pancakes when Colin cleared his throat. “It’d be nice if we wait for the ’rents to get their food.”

  Izzy’s face fell almost as quickly as her fork until Brooke shook her head. “Don’t be silly. Go ahead and eat.”

  The three kids dug in, and Brooke looked at Jonathan, a laugh dancing on her lips. “So, you’re not really a fan of fishing, huh?”

  Jonathan shrugged and sipped the last of his coffee. “Nope, and that’s practically a sin in these parts. Not sure why it came to mind.” He reached over and stopped Vanessa from pouring a puddle of syrup as large as Sully Creek on her pancakes. “You might try having some pancakes with your syrup.”

  Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Are you sure Caleb can’t give you more cooking lessons? He makes the best pancakes and did a good job teaching you how to make homemade salsa.”

  Izzy laughed so hard she spit out a chunk of pancake. Jonathan scrunched his eyes shut for a second. Fishing, toilets and now mention of his poor culinary skills? This was no way to impress a lady, especially one as professional and sophisticated as Brooke. He peeked to find Jolene refilling his mug, and he nodded his thanks.

  “Well, now you know my secrets. I prefer a clean house to fishing and every so often, I turn the girls loose from the dungeon and take them out to eat.”

  “Only some of your secrets?” Brooke sipped her coffee, and Jolene arrived with their food.

  He learned Brooke took her time and savored each bite. Her delight in her food spread to his toes, and he felt lighter, happier. The kids finished long before the adults, and Vanessa pointed out the diner’s jukebox to Colin. “It plays weird songs like ‘Chantilly Lace’ and ‘Mister Sandman.’”

  “Sounds cool. Let’s go see it,” said Colin.

  Brooke fished a couple of dollar bills out of her purse, and Colin added them to his thin black wallet with a nicked corner. “I like fifties music. It’s catchy,” Brooke said.

  The morning wouldn’t be a total disaster if he continued learning new insights about her. They both slid out of their respective sides of the booth, and the three kids headed to the rear of the diner, where the big jukebox held center stage.

  “Thank Colin for me.” Jonathan slid back and speared the last bite of sausage. There was nothing that said Sunday morning like sausage links with a dollop of syrup.

  “For what?” Brooke halted her fork in midair before placing it back on her plate.

  “The way he handled Izzy. I thought it might embarrass him if I thanked him.”

  “Colin is a good kid. One of his biggest flaws is sleeping through the alarm clock, so I drop him off on my way to work. He hasn’t been tardy once and brought home his first perfect attendance certificate.” Brooke swallowed one more bite and then pushed her plate away. “That is one delicious omelet.”

  In Savannah, he’d run into one case where a parent lied and provided a phony alibi for their teen, but Brooke didn’t even realize she had just provided Colin with a genuine alibi. Without knowing it, she’d cleared him from any chance of being the teen who entered Mo’s Gas and Bait Stop.

  “Some mornings are a test for us, but they’re on the bus when it comes.” Jonathan was thankful for those five minutes and his second cup of coffee before he hustled to the station.

  Brooke glanced around and leaned her body toward him. “Did you find anything on the tapes?”

  He laid down his fork and kept his voice low. “I saw the person who tried
to jimmy the door. Whoever it was wore a costume, so no help there.”

  “Was it an uncommon costume? Maybe you can track the person that way.”

  Jonathan shook his head. “I saw at least four people wearing the same disguise yesterday.” He reached over and gripped her hand. “Don’t worry, though. If he made this attempt, he doesn’t know we found the stash. Since he didn’t disrupt anything, that now becomes part of his profile. He’s probably not a violent criminal.”

  “You think he’ll try again?” Worry came over her pretty features.

  Jonathan wanted to reassure her, but he stopped. “Yes.”

  But had she cleared Colin? Had the first ID been sold before or after their arrival in town? Could someone Colin’s age have the resources or the know-how to pull this off? Doubtful. And why would he go through the trouble of breaking into the men’s locker room when he could gain access with his mother’s keys? Colin himself had mentioned changing out of his superhero costume in Brooke’s office when the men’s locker room was locked.

  The fact that Colin was only fifteen and wouldn’t have resources in the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles was enough comfort for Jonathan to finish his stack of pancakes.

  Brooke removed her napkin from her lap and laid it over the remnants of her omelet. “I need to tell you something.” Brooke kept her voice low, and he leaned toward her to hear over the din of the crowd. “I told Daisy about the camera.”

  Jonathan swiped his last bite of pancake through the syrup, popped it in his mouth and leaned forward again. “Daisy seems like a good secret bearer to me.”

  “Well...” Brooke glanced around as if making sure no one was listening. “Colin overheard me, but I made him promise not to tell anyone. He knows how important this job is to me.”

  The sounds of Fats Domino filled the restaurant as Colin rushed over and skidded to a stop in front of Brooke, holding his phone in the air. “I made the team, Mom!”