Second Chance Dad

by Angela Benson

Mr. Bell scratched his chin. “I have an idea for what I can do,” he said. “Yeah, I know exactly what I can do.”

  “What you gonna do, Grandpa?” Calvin asked.

  “Well, I’m going to make a hanger for it, and then I’m going to hook the hanger to the ceiling and let the bells hang from it. It’s a big job, though. I’m going to need some help if I’m going to get it finished before Christmas.” Mr. Bell looked at his watch. “It’s seven o’clock already. I only have five hours.”

  “We’ll help you, Grandpa,” Glenn offered. He poked Calvin in the side with his elbow. “Won’t we, Calvin?”

  “Please, Grandpa, let us help.”

  “Well, come on. We’ve got to get started. It’ll be your bedtime soon.”

  Glenn turned to Monique. “We can stay up later tonight, can’t we, Mom?”

  “Just a little, Glenn. You and Calvin have to be in bed and asleep if you want Santa to come by for a visit.”

  Glenn turned to his grandfather. “We’ll be finished before then, won’t we, Grandpa?”

  “If we stop talking and get to working, we’ll probably have it done.”

  “We’d better get started, then,” Glenn said. “What do we do?”

  “First thing,” Mr. Bell said, “we get out to the toolshed and look for the right kind of hook.” Mr. Bell put a hand on each child’s shoulder and turned them toward the kitchen. “Let’s get to it.”

  Monique watched with a happy heart as the three of them walked out of the room.

  “The old man still has a way with kids,” Donald said. He had left the room briefly to take a phone call and had returned without Monique’s hearing him.

  “He had enough practice,” Dillon added.

  “You have a point there, big brother,” Donald agreed. He stepped over to the coffee table and picked up the Christmas bells. “There’s something wrong with these bells, Monique.”

  She turned and looked at the mobile, then at Donald. “What’s wrong with them?”

  “Well,” Donald began, studying her handiwork. “You have Mom and Dad on the top level. That’s right. Then you have me, Dillon and Darnell on the second level attached to Mom and Dad. And that’s right. But then you go wrong.”

  Monique looked at the mobile again. “How? I’ve got Glenn and Calvin on the next level attached to Dillon.” She looked up at Donald. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “You left yourself out.”

  Monique shot a quick glance at Dillon, who wore a curious expression on his face. Not happy. Not sad. She really couldn’t describe it. She turned to Donald and was about to speak, but Dillon spoke first.

  “Will you give us a minute, Donald?” he said. “I need to talk to Monique about something.”

  Donald grinned. A full, wide grin that showed each and every one of his teeth. “It’s about time you came to your senses.” He clapped his brother on the back, surprised Monique with a quick kiss on the cheek, then left the room, whistling.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Monique asked, bewildered by Donald’s actions. “And what was he talking about?”

  Dillon moved to the table and picked up the mobile. He fingered the Christmas bell with his name on it. “He’s right Why didn’t you add a bell for yourself?”

  “Look at the name on the top, Dillon. It says Christmas Bells.”

  Dillon fingered the square box above his parents’ names. Christmas Bells was written in raised, red lettering. “I know what it says.”

  “I’m not a Bell, Dillon. In case you hadn’t noticed.”

  He stared at her. She still couldn’t read his expression and his staring made her uncomfortable. “But you’re Glenn’s mother, and you’re the closest thing to a mother Calvin has ever had. You deserve to be right there next to me.”

  Monique swallowed. Why was he making her go through this again? What she wanted more than anything in the world was to be right there next to Dillon. As his mate, his friend, his lover, his wife. But that wasn’t her role, and showing it on the mobile would have been a lie. The family environment that she and Dillon provided was for the boys. The sad reality was that she was not a Bell and never would be. “I’ll make another mobile with me and boys,” she said.

  He put the bells down then and walked over to her. “That’s not what I meant.”

  She stepped away from him and stared at the Christmas tree they’d decorated. This one was much bigger than the one at her house and the one at Dillon’s. And this one had wrapped gifts underneath.

  Dillon walked up behind her. He was so close, she could feel the heat of his body against her, though he wasn’t touching her.

  “I’m a fool, Monique,” he whispered. “A damn fool. Please forgive me.”

  Monique stepped out of Dillon’s space, then turned and faced him. “You have done nothing that requires forgiveness, Dillon.”

  His lips turned down in a grim smile. “Ah, but I have. Like the other day when I told you I didn’t want to love you.”

  She heard his words in her ears and had to suck in her breath again. “Never be sorry for being honest, Dillon. In that case, honesty was definitely the best policy.”

  “It may be the best policy, but sometimes it hurts to be honest with the person you love. Especially when you know the truth will hurt them.”

  Monique nodded. That sentiment she understood. That was how she’d felt when she was pregnant. She’d known that telling Dillon the truth would have, in the long run, hurt him. She wondered if he understood that now.

  “I was wrong, Monique. What I should have said was that I already loved you, but that I was afraid to let you know how much.”

  “But why, Dillon?” she cried. “Don’t you think I’m worth loving?”

  He pulled her into his arms then, and she collapsed against him. “Sweetheart, you’re more than worth it.” He stepped back and her head lifted from his shoulder. “And I’m going to spend the rest of our lives showing you how much.”

  Monique felt hope spring up in her, but she was too afraid to give in to it. “What are you saying, Dillon?”

  “I’m saying that I love you. I love you very, very, much. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Calvin and Glenn. That is, if you’ll have me. I love you, Monique, and I always have. Will you marry me?”

  Yes! Yes! Yes! The words rang out in Monique’s head, but she couldn’t voice them. “Are you sure, Dillon? This seems so sudden. Just the other day you were saying you needed time.”

  He cupped her face in his hands. “I just told you how big a fool I was, Monique. I love you. Hell, I’ve always loved you.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. I regret that you lied to me about Glenn. I regret that you felt a need to run. But the anger and the hurt is gone. When I look at you now, all I see is love. Your love for the boys. Your love for me. My love for the boys. My love for you. Donald told me once that we were lucky to have a second chance. He was right, Monique. I don’t want to lose you again.”

  Monique still didn’t speak. What she wanted most in the world was within her grasp, but she didn’t seem to be able to reach for it. Maybe this was all a dream and if she reached for the love Dillon offered, she’d wake up.

  “You do love me, don’t you, Monique?”

  The uncertainty in his voice touched her, giving her the courage to look into his eyes for what she so wanted to see. And there it was. Love, plain and simple. And an uncertain smile that seemed to fear that love being rejected. He did love her! “I’ve never stopped loving you, Dillon.”

  Dillon gave a deep sigh. “You had me scared for a minute there. Now why don’t you kiss me? I really do need to kiss you.”

  Monique didn’t have to be asked twice. She threw herself into Dillon’s arms and kissed him with all the love she’d been forced to keep to herself.

  “It’s about time,” she heard Donald say in the background.

  “I knew Dillon was a good son,” Mrs. Bell said.

  Mr. Bell cleared his throat.
“It’s a good thing I left the boys on the back porch. I don’t think they’re old enough for a show like this. I don’t even think I’m old enough.”

  “Let’s give them some privacy,” Mrs. Bell said.

  “I’m with you, Ma,” Mr. Bell said. “Come on, Donald.”

  “Do I have to leave? It’s just getting interesting.”

  “Come on here, boy,” Mr. Bell said. “You need to start looking for your own woman.”

  Dillon broke the kiss and looked down into her eyes. “You know this nosy, loving family comes with me. Do you think you’ll be able to handle them?”

  There was no doubt in her mind. She looked forward to living in the Bell family circle and told him so.

  He nodded, love shining in his eyes. “Good. Now let’s get back to the kissing. We have a lot of time to make up for.”

  Monique opened her mouth for his kiss. She and Dillon had a second chance and a future. This time she had beat fate. She’d held out for the love she knew she deserved. She would never be afraid of fate again. Together she and Dillon could face anything.

  Epilogue

  Monique was about as happy as a woman could be. She and Dillon would celebrate their first anniversary on New Year’s. His Christmas Eve proposal last year had been followed by a quiet family wedding on New Year’s Day, with his parents, brothers, their two boys and Sue and her husband in attendance.

  They’d had a great year together, and she knew the coming year would be as good if not better. She rested her hand across her now-flat, but soon-to-be expanding stomach. They were going to have a baby. She’d only found out a few days ago and wanted to give Dillon the news as a Christmas present. She was sure he’d be as happy as she was.

  “What are you doing out here all alone, sweetheart?” Dillon asked when he walked out on the back porch of his parents’ house and joined her. “Aren’t you cold?” he asked, wrapping her in his arms.

  “Not now.” She leaned back in his arms and accepted the warmth he offered. “You always make me hot.”

  Dillon kissed the side of her neck. “And one day you’re going to get in trouble for flirting with me in my parents’ house.”

  She turned in his embrace and smiled up at him. “Promises, promises.”

  “I’ll give you a promise,” he said, then kissed her with a passion that left her wanting more. “Just wait until we get home tonight. You’re going to get it.”

  “I’d better,” she said.

  He grinned down at her. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

  He had, but she never tired of hearing the words from him. “I could stand hearing it again.”

  “I love you, Mrs. Monique Bell.” He punctuated each word with a soft kiss to her lips. “And I’ll always love you.”

  “I guess you’ll have to since you added my name to the Christmas Bells with Krazy Glue. You can’t get away from me now.”

  He chuckled. “The boys helped me. That was the only glue we could find. But I did think it was appropriate.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  He pulled back and looked at her. “What are you really doing out here? You’re missing all the fun inside. Ma is holding your ornament and telling Darnell and Donald that they need some attachments to their bells. It’s driving them crazy.”

  “I bet it is,” she said, with a knowing smile. “And I bet your mother’s using you as the example for them to follow.”

  “Not quite. Ma thinks that maybe we need to think about another Bell. She seems to think that Bell men have sons in threes.”

  Monique leaned back in his embrace so she could look up at him. “And what do you think, husband?”

  Dillon grinned, then captured her lips in a sweet kiss. When he pulled back, he said, “I think I could go for three sons. But only if I get three daughters to go along with them.”

  Monique’s heart swelled with pleasure and she chuckled. “Would it be okay if we started with one?”

  Dillon stared into her eyes, and as he read her secret, he dropped his gaze to her stomach. “Are we?” he asked, awe in his voice.

  She nodded and her eyes filled with tears when he rested his palm gently against her stomach. This was what she’d missed the first time: seeing the joy in Dillon’s eyes at the news that he was going to become a father. She pressed her hand against his jaw. “I love you, Dillon Bell.”

  He kissed her open palm. “And I love you, Monique Bell. More than you’ll ever know.”

  Monique didn’t have the words to tell Dillon how much his love meant to her, so she resolved in her heart to show him each and every day of their lives together. “Come on, perfect husband,” she said, removing his hand from her stomach and taking it in her own. “Let’s get back to the party. I have a feeling this is going to be a Christmas we won’t forget.”

  * * * * *

  eISBN 978-14592-7391-7

  SECOND CHANCE DAD

  Copyright © 1997 by Angela D. Benson

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office. Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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