by Tara Lain
For a second Asher went silent. Then he said, “I couldn’t leave the future of our love life in the hands of an uncertain suitor.”
Oh man, the words our love life settled somewhere between Nate’s heart and those tingling balls. “I’ll call you later one way or another.”
“Deal. Can’t wait.”
It fell out unbidden. “Oh hell, me either.” He clicked off and had to yoga breathe a couple times to get things back into a relaxed position. He walked slowly back to where Delly was still deep in wand contemplation.
Bob was saying, “Well, I get that’s it’s a big deal choosing one, but I bet it’s cool what you can do with it once you’ve got it.”
“Like what?” Delly gazed at him intently. Just seeing her that close to a strange man gave Nate some combination of a sick stomach and a warm heart.
Bob gazed into space. “Stay warm and dry and never have to be scared again.”
Delly put a hand on his arm. “That would be a good thing, wouldn’t it?”
He shook himself from his reverie. “Yeah.”
Ophelia said, “Want some more cocoa, Bob?”
“No thanks, Pheely. I better get goin’.” He smiled at Delly, showing a gold tooth. “I’m glad I metcha, Delfin. Hope you find your wand.”
“Me too, Bob.”
“Remember. All in good time.” He turned to the door and walked slowly toward it. “My dad always said that. All in good time.” The bell rang as he left the shop.
Nate inhaled a shaky breath and quickly wiped moisture from his cheeks.
Delly turned to Ophelia. “Is he going to be okay, Miss Ophelia?”
“I hope so, Delphine. Bob has nowhere to live, but when people try to give him a place, he doesn’t seem to want it. He has problems, but he’s a fine person.”
“Yes, that’s true for many people isn’t it?” She turned to the case. “I don’t believe this is my day to find the wand.”
“You know best.” Ophelia gave Nate a quick grin.
Nate said, “Sweetheart, will you go sit in the chair by the door while I talk to Miss Ophelia for a minute?”
“Yes, Daddy.” She bounced to the chair.
Nate said, “Will you hold one of those fairies and whatever stuffed unicorn you think she’d like, and I’ll stop by and pay for them tomorrow on my way back from work?”
“Sure. I’ll wrap them too.”
“Thank you. Wrapping is an unacquired skill set.”
Ophelia waved her hands. “It’s all in the wrist.”
“I want to thank you for what you did today. Delly’s developed a terrible fear of men after being frightened by a guy at her mother’s house. Anyway, this was a real breakthrough, and I’m immensely grateful.”
She nodded seriously. “She’s brave by nature, but I think still has a way to go.”
“Yeah, but she took a step here today because of you.”
The wrinkles beside her eyes crinkled. “Don’t worry. She’ll find her wand.” She turned and walked to the back of the store.
Huh. He mentally shrugged and went to Delly.
She said, “What were you talking about?”
“I thanked her from both of us for the good chocolate and for letting us hang out with her.”
“Excellent.” She stood and headed out the door.
Now about that babysitter.
Chapter Six
“WE’RE CRAZY.” Nate leaned against the tree and stuck out his tongue. Asher swiped the double-decker, coconut crunch ice cream against his tongue, then leaned in and sucked the sweet coolness from Nate’s mouth.
Holy crap. Nate moaned and thrust his seeking erection toward Asher. Fortunately, they were in the middle of a little pocket park and hidden from the sidewalks by trees and bushes. Not many leaves on the bushes, of course, but not many people were walking on that chilly night either.
Asher gave Nate another slurp, then kissed him so deep he could have been licking ice cream from Nate’s tonsils. He held the cone beside them, and they played at licking the ice cream while tangling their tongues. The contrast of hot and cold was so excruciatingly sexy, Nate grabbed his crotch to keep from wrecking his favorite jeans. “Wish we had more time.” They’d agreed to meet for a quick ice-cream cone since Marjorie had to be home early.
Asher chuckled. “Me too. What you do to me is illegal in several states and all of the Middle East.” He offered the now almost empty cone. “Here. Bite.”
Nate crunched into the waffle cone. His phone rang. He glanced as he pulled it from his pocket. “It’s Marjorie.”
“Your sitter? We must have overstayed. Come on.” Asher pulled Nate toward the house as Nate clicked the phone.
“We’re on our way—“
“Nate! Your ex is here trying to take Delly. That horrible man is with her. Hurry! Oh God.” The phone went dead.
“Holy shit.” Nate took off running and heard Asher beside him.
Asher yelled, “What’s happening?”
“My ex is trying to get my daughter, and her asshole boyfriend is with her.”
Nate ran flat out. They were only two blocks from home. Where had Marjorie called from? What the hell is Raina thinking?
He rounded the corner and saw the house ahead. Raina’s car was at the curb. Thank God. Chasing her to her house would have been so much harder.
As he ran forward, Marjorie hurried out from the front door. “They’re inside. Your ex is trying to catch Delly, and she’s running like a deer. That asshole guy is in there too. I tried to stop her, Nate, but she’s Delly’s mother.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve got this.” Nate pushed into the living room and heard Delly shrieking. The sound stabbed him like an arrow. “Delly!”
“Daddy!”
Nate rushed toward the voice coming from the direction of the bedrooms. As he ran into the hall, Raina stepped out of the master bedroom. She scowled, but she didn’t look like herself. “Leave us alone, Nate. I just want to have a visit with Delphine.” Her words sounded woozy. Not exactly slurred, but odd.
Nate glanced around for the boyfriend. “By scaring her to death.” He yelled, “Delly. I’m right here. Come on, sweetheart.”
A small meteor raced into the hall from the master bedroom, and Nate grabbed Delly up in his arms.
Raina said, “Oh, baby. I just wanted to see you.”
Delly buried her face in Nate’s neck. He hugged her and said, “Come on, Raina. Go home and sleep off whatever you’re on. Then call me and we’ll set up a visit.” He glanced around but didn’t see the boyfriend.
Raina whined, “I’m her mother. I should be able to visit her anytime I want.”
“You can, Raina, but not with your so-called boyfriend. I have custody. If I have to get a restraining order, I will.”
Around the corner from the master came the huge bull of a man that Raina had decided to hang out with. Tall, barrel-chested, with a shaved head and arms loaded with tattoos, he outweighed Nate by a solid fifty pounds, and that was without the alcohol in his blood. The dude yelled, “Like hell you will!” He drew back, and Nate saw the fist coming at him in slow motion. He couldn’t drop Delly, so all he could do was turn so the asshole didn’t hit her.
She shrieked, “Daddy!” as he folded over her, turned his shoulder, and got ready for the blow—that never came.
There was a yell, and when Nate looked up, the drunken boyfriend was literally flying toward the wall, crashed, and fell in a heap. In front of him stood Asher, shaking his fist.
Raina screamed and ran to the heap of asshole, but Nate smoothed Delly’s hair and pressed her face against his shoulder.
“Thank God. You’re fine, sweetheart. All good.”
She was snuffling and shaking, but not crying.
Nate said, “Raina, get him out of here. Call Uber. Neither of you is fit to drive. And if you ever bring him back or he comes on his own, he’s in jail. I’ll press charges till hell freezes over.” He looked at Asher, who gave him a nod. What he r
eally wanted to do was go over and give Asher a three-way hug, but that would provide Raina ammunition against him if she decided to use it. Of course she knew Nate was gay, but introducing a boyfriend at that juncture sounded like a bad plan.
Nate walked a trembling Delly into her bedroom and trusted that Asher would take care of the rest. He sat on the bed and rocked Delly, crooning, “My brave girl. Soooo brave. Everything’s fine. Lots of people to protect you. We’re so lucky to have Asher looking out for us. I’m here to protect my girl.”
“D-daddy, why did Mommy do that?”
“She got confused, honey. She just wanted to spend time with you.”
“But-but that terrible man.”
“I know. But he’s gone and not coming back. Nothing to worry about. You’re so brave and I—”
Delly’s screams almost split Nate’s eardrum, bouncing off the walls and sending chills up his spine. “Nooo, go away. Daddy, make it stop. Please.” She shrieked again, beating her fists against his shoulders as she tried to squirm away.
Nate looked up, crouched against the threat—and saw Asher standing in the doorway. For an instant, he was confused, and then he got it. If Raina’s boyfriend had been scary looking, Asher was twice as bad—bigger, darker, with more tattoos.
Delly kept screaming, and Nate shook his head. He mouthed, Sorry.
Asher nodded, glanced at Delly with sadness, and walked out of sight.
Nate said, “It’s okay, Delly. Everything’s fine. Asher’s not bad. He’s a good man. He helped protect us.”
She shook her head so violently she banged into his jaw. “No, no, no.”
“Don’t worry. He’s gone.”
That likely described the rest of Nate’s life.
A few minutes later, when he went out to lock the doors and turn off the lights, of course, no one was there. He drank a glass of water, walked back to his bedroom, and tucked Delly in beside him because that was the only place she’d consider sleeping.
When Delly was sleeping, he slid out of bed and dialed Asher.
He answered immediately. “How is she?”
“Better. In bed with me and asleep. I’m so sorry. That dude scared her so badly. She was coming out of it, but now she’s worse than before. And after you saved us. How’s your hand?”
“Fine. It’s fine. Glad I was there. I mean, well, kind of glad.” He took a long, audible breath. “You take good care of her. Maybe let me know sometimes how you’re both doing.” Another breath. “So, bye.”
“Bye, Asher. Thank you.”
“Sure.”
The phone went dead—kind of like Nate felt.
THE DAY before Christmas Eve, after dragging himself through what felt like an interminable day of work, Nate walked from the university to the Fairy Shop. The whole door was closed against the night air, but the lights danced merrily. Inside, a bunch of customers crowded toward the checkout counter where Ophelia held court.
She looked up and smiled. “Hellloooo, Nate. Where’s my Delphine?”
He tried to smile back. “Home. I wanted to pick up those packages if they’re ready.”
“But of course. They’re right here.” She waved a hand at the next customer in line. “Be right with you.” She stepped out from behind the counter and brought a large shopping bag tied up with sparkling ribbons to Nate. “I wrapped a large stuffed unicorn, one of the fairies, and a storybook I think she’ll enjoy.”
“That’s great. Thanks, Ophelia.” He handed her a credit card.
“There’s still a day until Christmas. Want to give her another chance to find her wand?”
“No. She had a setback with her fear. I think it’s going to be a while.” He sighed very quietly.
She frowned and glanced back at her customers, who were looking antsy. “I’m sorry to hear that. But she’s a heroine. Trust me. I know. All in good time.” She walked briskly back to the register, checked him out, gave him a receipt for a surprisingly modest amount, and went back to her anxious customers.
Nate hid the bag in the trunk of his car and went to pick up her first two-wheel bike.
The next morning, Nate served them both a fried egg and some toast with peanut butter. He sipped his coffee and glanced at his phone. No messages. He sighed, then smiled at Delly. “So what are you doing in your half day of school today?” They’d given the kids half day on Christmas Eve so they could take the whole next week off.
She shrugged. “It will be a party mostly.”
“That should be fun.”
“I like writing best.”
“Well, we can do some writing over the holidays, what do you say? Maybe you’d like to write me a fairy story?”
“Okay.” She pushed the rest of her egg to the edge of her plate. “Daddy?”
“Yes, honey?” He dragged his eyes from his phone.
“What’s wrong?”
That got his attention. “Nothing, sweetheart. I’m sorry if I seemed distracted.”
She shook her head. “Not distracted. You’re acting sad.”
He shoved his phone away. “Well, I guess I am a little sad because you were not so afraid for a while, and then, well, your mom got confused and made you scared again. That makes me sad.”
“It’s bad to be scared.” She frowned.
“No, honey.” He slid an arm around her shoulders. “It’s not bad to be afraid. You can be any way you want and it’s fine with me. It’s just that being scared isn’t fun. I like it when you have fun. Make sense?”
She nodded. “Maybe if I could find my wand I wouldn’t be scared.”
He leaned on the table. “Maybe. Or it might work the other way around. But remember what Miss Ophelia said. All in good time.”
With a crease between her eyebrows, she ate the rest of her egg. That never happened.
A half hour later, they left the house in warm coats so he could walk her to kindergarten and then go to work. As they got close to the Fairy Shop, Delly said, “I wish Miss Ophelia was there.”
“Maybe you can see her—” He gasped. Approaching the next corner ahead of them was Asher. It had to be him—so big and so beautiful. Asher didn’t see them, which was good because Nate sure didn’t want to put him through another round of Delly’s hysterics. He just watched him disappear.
“Is that the man who was in our house?”
Nate nodded, then managed to get out the word “Yes.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s my friend.”
“Oh.” The crease between her brows reappeared and remained the two more blocks to her school. When they got there, she hugged him but seemed very deep in thought.
Nate said, “Marjorie will come get you, okay? It’s your last day of school until next year. Isn’t that exciting?” He pulled her scarf a little tighter. “Maybe we’ll have snow.”
“Bye, Daddy.” She walked straight into her school.
Well okay, then. He headed up Siskiyou to the university campus. This was his last day of school until after New Year’s also. The holiday spread out like a field of two-day-old snow. Delly would be coping with her missing mom, jumping at shadows. For Nate, it would just be—not lonely exactly. After all, having Delly filled him with love. But he’d be without Asher.
Funny how Nate had set out to find no-strings sex, and now could barely stand the thought of the holidays without Asher. It made his heart hurt. No matter how much he told himself they barely knew each other, it didn’t decrease the longing, not just for sex with Asher, but to be with him, talk and laugh and eat ice cream with him.
They had a party at his office just like Delly did, but he sneaked out and went back to his desk to clean up a last couple projects before he left for home. His phone rang, and he frowned at it and clicked. “Hi, Marjorie, is everything okay?” Delly wasn’t the only one who was jumpy.
“Hi, Nate. No worries. I just wanted you to know that I’m taking Delly to the Fairy Shop. She says it’s a good time.”
Chapter Seven
&
nbsp; A GOOD time! Holy crap.
Nate said a quick goodbye to his colleagues and hurried out the door. Halfway home, he broke into a jog. Hell, the last time he was in the Fairy Shop, it had been packed with customers. What would it be like on Christmas Eve? Any kind of person could be in there. What if Bob dropped by for hot chocolate? Delly had done okay with him last time, but that was then.
Nate hadn’t told Marjorie not to take Delly to the shop, but he needed to be there.
Five minutes later, perspiring in his winter coat, he ran up the walkway to the shop and leaped up the stairs. As suspected, there were people falling out the door, packages and bags in their hands.
Nate maneuvered by two men standing on the porch, probably waiting for their wives and kids. One of them was pretty tall.
Heart beating fast, he stepped into the shop. People peered into every cabinet and case, and a young woman seemed to be helping Ophelia behind the counter.
Marjorie was in a chair near the door. She grinned. “She was determined to come.”
“Thanks for bringing her. I’ll take it from here.”
She kissed his cheek and took off out the door. He knew she still had a couple packages to buy.
He glanced around for Delly.
There she was, standing in the middle of the shop by the wand case, talking to two women. Nate approached close enough to hear, but not near enough to cramp her style.
She was saying, “These are made by the Fairy Master. They are very powerful, but you cannot choose for your children. They must select their own when they become seekers of wisdom and truth.” She turned. “However, I can help you choose a fairy or a unicorn for them.” She pointed to the ceiling and jumped toward one of the fairies. “I like that one very much.”
The woman looked where Delly pointed at a twirling green fairy with golden hair. “Oh, she’s beautiful.”
“Your little girl will like her, I know.”
“I’m sure she will.”
Delly put her hand beside her mouth and mock whispered. “I’m hoping Santa gets one for me too.”
“Well, I’m going to get this one, for sure. Thank you for your help, Miss Delphine.”