by Danielle Lee
Megan was extremely irritated when she got home. What the hell was Brice thinking, coming into the restaurant, and looking at her like that? She had never seen him give anyone such a look of disgust before. She didn’t know what he was so damned angry about, she was just having a congratulatory dinner with Jacob and his friend’s family. They all had a great time watching the play together. Megan had to admit when she saw him get a little mad at first it was nice. Nobody had ever gotten jealous over her before, but after seeing the way that he had looked at her, and didn’t trust her, it made her just downright angry.
What the hell had happened to her happily ever after? What had happened to them seeing where it all went, and to their close knit family-type situation? It went right down the tubes is where it went. Megan’s shoulders slouched, and she had just begun to take in the night’s happenings. She had broken up with Brice. They were done.
Tears came down hard and fast as she clenched on to her comforter. She laid back into the pillows and cried for what seemed like hours, until she heard the phone ring.
She cleared her throat. “Y... yes?”
“Oh, honey!” her mother cried. “I just heard.”
“How?”
“Gladys.”
Gladys Everette, mom’s best friend, was the biggest gossip in town. Of course she knew.
“Are you okay?”
“No! I’m not okay, Mom!”
“Gladys said that he was pretty angry. She said that you were also in there with another man?”
“Mom, it was Jacob’s friend Toby, and his dad.”
“Yeah, honey, but did Brice know that?”
Megan shook her head no even though her mother couldn’t see her. She started sobbing loudly now.
“Honey?”
“No, he didn’t know that, but he obviously doesn’t trust me.”
“Honey, he is an idiot. All men—idiots. But, you have to admit it is sort of romantic.” Megan’s mom’s voice got all syrupy.
“You should have seen the look he gave me. He was disgusted with me.”
Megan’s Mom talked about how she should give Brice a call and explain, but Megan didn’t think it would do any good.
“No. I shouldn’t have to do anything. He promised me that he would be different.”
“Megan, you can’t run around in life thinking things will always be perfect,” Megan’s mother said softly. “You have to let things happen sometimes.”
“Yes I do, and I am going to let this happen. We broke up. There will be others,” Megan said, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought. Megan didn’t know it until that moment that she loved Brice more than any man she had ever known.
“You love him, Megan.”
“Yes,” Megan said softly. “I do.”
“Well, don’t you think you owe it to yourself and your boy to find out if he loves you, too?”
“No. He obviously doesn’t love me, or we would never had had this fight.”
“Megan, fights happen… and then there’s the making up,” her mother said, hopeful. Whose side was she on anyway?
“Mom, I’m done with this. Are we still on for Thanksgiving?”
“Yes, baby. Your dad and I will bring the cranberry sauce and the pies.”
“Okay, thanks for calling. I need to go now. I love you.”
Megan waited for a brief moment before her mom sighed, “I love you, baby.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Two weeks had gone by, and Brice had done nothing but think of Megan and Jake. It was a Saturday, and he had promised Jake a live Christmas tree, and he wasn’t going to hedge on his promise. He got dressed, ate breakfast, and headed over to Megan’s.
When he got to the door, he didn’t know what he was going to do if Megan wouldn’t let him see Jake. He didn’t have to wait long, as the door opened, and Jake was the one holding the handle.
“Brice!” Jacob cried, his arms went tight against Brice’s middle, and he squeezed hard. Brice felt overcome. He looked down at Jacob, and swore he grew a few inches.
“Hey, buddy! I missed you so much. You look like you’ve grown!”
Jacob smiled and tugged on Brice’s hand, bringing him down to his level. “I missed you, Brice. Why aren’t you coming around?”
Brice shook his head, not knowing what to say. What had Megan told him? Just as he was ready to speak, Megan stopped in front of the doorway. Her eyes were red, and she had her finger up to her mouth, shushing Brice.
Brice stood there, mouth agape. She had an apron on, and flour on her face, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world. He missed her.
“Remember, Jake, I told you that Brice had to work a lot,” Megan said softly.
Brice stood there like a deer in headlights. “Ye… yeah, buddy, I’ve had a lot of work to do, but I will be here more often.”
Megan had a few errant tears slip down her cheeks. Brice looked directly at her. “I wanted to take you tree shopping.”
Megan’s eyes widened at the suggestion. She remembered the happy day when he suggested it the first time, and then the not so happy moment later that same walk about him missing the Thanksgiving play. Megan stiffened. Brice looked down.
“If that’s okay with your mom.”
Jacob turned around so fast he nearly fell over. “Mommy, can we, can we?”
Megan smiled down at her son, and nodded. “Yeah, you can go with Brice to get a tree.”
You can go with Brice. “You’re not coming with us?” Brice asked.
Megan shook her head curtly. “You have fun.”
Brice looked down at a momentarily stunned Jake and smiled. “I know the perfect place.”
“Cool!”
While Jacob was off getting his coat and shoes on, Brice stood in the doorway as Megan tried not to speak to him. Brice sighed. “How have you been?”
“Fine.”
“Busy at work?” Brice asked.
Megan flinched. “Have him home in a few hours.”
“Megan, please don’t be mad at me,” Brice begged.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Megan asked. Her voice squeaked slightly as if she’d cry at any moment.
Brice thought about what she said of Carl and Carrie, and stammered. “Well, I… I missed Jacob, and I made a promise to you and him. I wanted to take him.”
Megan blew out a quick breath, and Brice saw a tear escape. He went to wipe it away when she stepped back. “A few hours.”
Brice nodded, and just then, Jacob stepped out with his winter coat and boots on. “You look great. New boots?”
Jacob nodded enthusiastically. “Yep.”
“Nice. C-ya, Megan.”
“Be careful, Jacob. I’ll miss you.”
“I will, Mommy. Love you.” Jacob looked at Brice. “Ready to go?”
“Yep,” Brice replied, then looked up into Megan’s eyes. She was right about Carl and Carrie. It was very hard to come there for Jake, when he didn’t just want him, he wanted her, too. “Let’s go.”
It didn’t take long to get to the Christmas Tree Farm. Brice had been there each year since he was a kid himself. When he was little, he used to go with his dad for hours until they found the perfect tree. This year he only had a few hours to look and to get back to Megan’s. He felt like they had a divorce, and he had visitation hours with his kid. He hated it. Brice pulled into the parking lot and turned off the ignition. When he stepped out of the car, Jacob’s door flung open, and he eagerly got out with a big grin on his face.
“You excited, Bud?”
“Yep!”
“Great, I got another surprise for ya.”
“What!”
“Well…”
“Hey, Son,” Brice’s Dad called from another car. Brice turned to his dad’s voice and smiled.
“Hey, Dad.” Brice looked down at Jacob. “My dad is here, and I’d like for him to meet you.”
Jacob’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”
“Yep. You see, this is a
father son tradition. I come here each year with my own dad.”
Jacob grabbed Brice’s hand, and started to race toward Brice’s dad. Brice laughed and went along with it. When they reached him, Jacob held his hand out.
“Hi, I’m Jacob.”
“I’m Brandt O’Reilly. It is great to finally meet you, Jacob,” Brandt said as he kneeled down to Jacob’s height. “But…”
“But?” Jacob asked, softly.
“But… I don’t shake hands with family, I hug them.” Brandt held out his arms and Jacob went in for a hug. He laughed, and immediately Brice let out a breath.
“We only have a few hours to do what we have to do before I have to have him back at his mother’s.”
Brandt gave his son a look that said he knew what he could do with that, and then grabbed hold of Jacob. “Last one to the best tree is a rotten reindeer!”
Jacob laughed, and then they all started running up the small hill.
***
“So, he just came and picked him up?” Megan’s mom asked as she stepped up onto the front porch of Megan’s home. She usually watched Jacob for a few hours on Saturdays so she could go to Zumba at the Recreation Center.
“Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t call. I was so dumbfounded by the whole thing that…”
“Megan, honey, just talk to him,” her mother chided.
“I can’t. What’s the point? If he wanted me, he would have come for me, but he wanted Jacob. I don’t want to tell him no… I wouldn’t do that to Jake.”
Megan looked so miserable that it was hard to say anything. Janie frowned. “Okay, so you have a guy that loves your kid. What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing.”
“Megan, now I didn’t raise you to be scared. You love him. Why not see where it can take you?”
“We’ve been over this before.”
“And you were as stubborn then as you are now. He thought you were with that guy.”
Megan thought about the night at the diner for weeks now, running it through her head, but came up with the same conclusion. “He should have trusted me.”
Janie looked at her daughter. “Megan, would you have been as trusting?”
Megan had thought about that, too. She didn’t want to admit it to her mother, though. She would have been jealous, but she probably wouldn’t have said anything… well, that wasn’t completely true either.
“Megan?”
“Mom, when I’m ready I’ll talk to him.”
Janie smiled. “That’s my girl.”
***
“What do you think of this one, Son?” Brandt asked Brice. He had a big grin on his face. The tree was gigantic.
“There is no way that will fit on top of my car.”
Brandt stood back and looked up at the tree, then down at Jake. “What do you think, Jacob?”
“It’s awesome!”
“Yeah, we think it’s awesome, Brice,” Brandt said, puffing his chest out. Jacob continued to be in awe of Brice’s dad. He just kept smiling.
“Well, it may be awesome, but it won’t fit on my luggage rack.”
“We’ll put it in the back of my truck,” Brandt said, as if that wasn’t a problem.
“Yeah, but this tree is going to Jacob’s house, not mine.”
“So… I’ll drive it over to your girlfriend’s house then,” his dad said, and gave Jacob a wink. Brandt knew that Brice and Jacob’s mom broke up.
“She’s not…”
Jacob looked up just then, and Brice couldn’t finish the sentence, thinking back to the way Megan made him shut up earlier about their relationship.
“Never mind. That’s fine. We’ll just take it over.”
“Sure we will, Son.” Brandt smiled, then picked Jacob up, swinging him on to his shoulders. “Race ya back down.”
“What the…” Brice’s eyes widened. “Dad, be careful!”
Brandt looked up at the grin on Jacob’s face. “He’s a spoilsport, isn’t he?”
An hour later, Brice, Jacob and Brandt arrived at Megan’s. When they got there, Jacob ran ahead to get the door as Brandt and Brice unhooked the tree from Brandt’s truck.
Megan stepped out on the stoop when they were coming up. Her eyes widened, and Brandt dropped his end of the tree, nearly toppling over Brice.
“You must be the lovely Megan.”
Megan’s face reddened at the remark, and she looked over to Brice and then back to Brandt.
“I’m this guy’s father. Brandt O’Reilly,” he said, as he put his hand out for her to take. Megan shook his hand and he brought her in for a hug. Brice rolled his eyes.
“Family get hugs.”
Megan looked at Brice, and he shook his head, laughing.
“Um…. nice to meet you.”
“Great to meet you. We have your tree, can you show us the way?”
Megan looked over at the monstrosity and shook her head. “There is no way that thing is going to fit in here.”
“Megs, it’ll fit. It’s only 7 feet tall.”
Megan flinched at the nickname. Brice turned away.
“Fine. You can bring it into the living room.” She moved out of the way, and let the door open as the two men came through the door with the largest Christmas tree that had ever been in the house. Megan turned toward the window and pointed. “I think there would be perfect.”
“That’s a good choice, Megan,” Brandt said, aware of the tension in the room. Brandt looked at Brice and whispered, “You should know better than to use a nickname that your girl doesn’t like.”
Brice stiffened at the mention of his name for her, and he looked in her direction. She wasn’t happy at all.
“Mommy, Brice and his Daddy helped pick out this awesome tree. Isn’t it great?”
Megan smiled down at her son’s enthusiasm and ruffled his hair. “Yeah, baby, it’s a great tree.”
Jacob watched as the two men set the tree up in the stand, and cut away any remaining problems with a pair of pruning shears. “Are you guys going to help us decorate it?” Jacob asked, hopeful. His eyes were so big and bright that it nearly had Brice crying himself.
“Well, buddy…”
“No. They are busy, Jacob,” Megan said firmly. Her hands were on her hips, defying them to tell her differently.
“Sorry, Jake, I…” Okay, now Brice was going to lose it.
Brandt looked over and noticed his son. “Jacob, I’m afraid he can’t. He promised me that he would help decorate my tree. We always do that.”
Jacob looked up and smiled innocently at Brandt. “Oh, okay. He told me that it was tradition.”
“Yes, son, it is. We’ve been cutting down trees and setting them up ever since he was about this high,” Brandt said; he put his hand down to Jacob’s height and smiled. “We were so pleased that your momma let you come out with us today. It reminded me of when Brice was your age. We used to go all day and look. We’d usually find the one we were looking for after an hour or so, but we kept on going, just so we could spend more father son time together. Then, my wife, Lana, would be home making spiced cider and cookies, waiting for us to get back.”
Brice looked down at that moment, thinking of Megan when he had first arrived to pick up Jake. He thought of his mother then, too. She’d wait for them to get back, then give him and his dad a hug and kiss. When his brother came along, they’d all do it together. Brice never thought about the tradition including his mother, but she was just as much a part of it as his father was.
Brice cleared his throat, stopping his dad from any further talking. “Thanks for coming, Jacob. Megan, thanks for letting us take him.”
Megan’s scowl dissipated. “Thanks for picking up Jake.” She then looked at Brandt. “Thanks for helping with the tree, and sharing in your tradition.”
“No problem, Megan. It was very nice to meet you. Jacob, give your ole’ gra… give me a hug before we go.”
Jacob ran over and put his arms around Brandt one last time, then Brandt
and Brice were gone.
CHAPTER TWELVE
That next weekend, Brice was back again.
“Brice, what are you?” Megan asked as Brice came up the steps with two sleds. Megan shook her head, and opened the door wide before yelling behind her. “Jacob, Brice is here!”
Jacob didn’t wait a second before yelling. “Yay!”
Megan rolled her eyes as she met Brice’s. “You need to call first.”
Brice frowned. “Meg… an, I’m off this Saturday, remember the rotation?”
Megan looked at Brice as if she wanted to pelt him. “Yes, I remember.”
“Is it okay if I take him sled riding?”
Megan wanted to tell him where to shove the sled, but she couldn’t. Jake would be disappointed.
“Brice!” Jacob yelled, running straight toward him. “I knew you’d be back!”
“I told you I would, bud.” Brice looked up. “I took off next weekend, too. Well, just Sunday. Can I have him again next Sunday?”
Megan eyed him carefully then mouthed, why are you doing this?
Brice wanted to talk to her, to tell her that he was sick over the breakup, but she didn’t look happy with him.
“I was thinking I’d take him up to Alpha Valley.”
Megan smiled. “I haven’t been there in ages.”
“Do you want to go with us?” Brice asked, his palms started to sweat. He was nervous as hell being around her now.
“No. This is yours and Jacob’s time. I’ll go some other time.”
Jacob frowned as he looked from his Mom to Brice. “Don’t you like Brice anymore, Mommy?”
Megan looked at Jacob, and tried not to panic. “It’s not that, Jacob.”
“Mommy, why are you mad at Brice?”
“Jacob, why don’t you go inside and get your coat and boots on before you catch cold.” It was snowing today, and the weather was chilly.
Jacob looked at Brice, then at Megan before going in.
“Why are you doing this?” Megan asked once more.
“I told you, I promised.”