By the time I turn down her street, I realize I should’ve brought a present for her and her grandmother. It’s Christmas. I was so focused on seeing Harper, I completely forgot. I turn and go around the lake to a small grocery store I passed on the way. It’s afternoon on Christmas Eve, so I’m hoping it’s still open.
I park and go to the door just as a guy puts the closed sign up. They close at four p.m. on Christmas Eve. “Wait!” I say through the glass door. “Can I just get two things?” I stare for a moment, struck by the store employee’s resemblance to Santa Claus. He’s got white wavy hair, a long white beard, and black suspenders over a red shirt covering a round belly.
“It’s Christmas Eve,” he says. “We’re closed.”
“Sir, I need a present for my girl and her grandmother. I need to win her back. Do you have flowers, candy, or Christmas cookies? Anything that would help a foolish man get back in the good graces of the only woman he’s ever truly loved?” Heart on my sleeve with nothing to lose. That’s me.
He unlocks the door. “Who’s the girl and grandmother?”
“Harper and Joan Ellis.”
“Joan Ellis, hmm? I might have something she likes.” He winks and turns, gesturing for me to follow. “She’s a tough one, but if anything’s going to win her over, it’s this.”
I follow him to the holiday section. He points out a red wooden soldier nutcracker. “Seems appropriate, huh, sonny?”
I shake my head. The meaning is not lost on me. Guess she’s hard on everyone. I grab a stuffed reindeer and a stuffed Santa. At least they’re cute. “Do you have any flowers or candy?”
“No flowers this time of year. Candy’s up front by the register.”
I take my gifts to the front register and scan the offerings. It’s just candy bars and gum. I push my plush presents forward and pull out my wallet. “This’ll do. Thanks so much.”
“You one of Harper’s Hollywood friends?” he asks.
“No. My sister-in-law’s an actress. We met through her.”
He rings it up. “Well, we’ve always been rooting for her here in town. Let her know I tune into Living Gold every week.”
“I’m sure she’d like to hear that. I didn’t catch your name.”
“Nicholas.”
St. Nicholas? I clamp my mouth shut over my little joke. “Thanks for your help today, Nicholas.”
I pay for the items, stuff them safely into my leather jacket, and continue on my way. I park in the street in front of her grandmother’s house and notice a dark blue Ford pickup truck in the driveway. Since I can’t imagine Mrs. Ellis driving this huge thing, I’m hoping Harper rented it. Only my churning gut tells me it’s a man’s truck. All of my warm feelings take a dive. This is what Harper needs to talk to me about—she met someone. But why would Mrs. Ellis tell me to come over, then? To force a confrontation? I know she’s not the cuddly grandmother type, but I didn’t think she was deliberately mean.
I ring the bell, leaving my gifts tucked into my jacket. It makes me look like I gained fifty pounds, but I’m not facing her new boyfriend holding a stuffed reindeer and Santa.
Harper opens the door. “Garrett! I didn’t know you’d be here.” She looks amazing, her eyes bright, her skin glowing. She’s wearing an oversized V-neck red sweater, black leggings, and black boots. I just want to scoop her up and carry her away.
“I called and texted you today, but you didn’t answer. I’m sorry it took me so long to get in touch.”
Her eyes go soft. “I turned my phone off at my grandmother’s insistence. She wanted my full focus on helping her decorate the tree. Come in.”
I step inside. A guy around my age is standing in the living room in a long-sleeved blue cotton shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Dammit, he’s good looking. Actor?
Mrs. Ellis rises from her chair. “Garrett, this is Drew, a friend of Harper’s. She’s known him her whole life as someone to count on. Strong and a good provider.” She smiles at him and then turns to Harper. “Special forces in the military, so he’ll keep you safe too.”
Red-hot jealousy spikes through me, and my hands form fists.
21
Garrett
“So this is your new guy?” I ask Harper. “Did you wait at all after we broke up, or did you just call him right away?”
Harper gasps and turns to her grandmother. “Are you trying to instigate something?”
The guy rubs the back of his neck. “I thought your heat wasn’t working. It seems warm enough in here.”
“Yeah, you’re not needed here,” I say. “You should go.” I jerk my head toward the door.
He ambles closer and narrows his eyes at me.
Mrs. Ellis claps. “You two should take it outside.”
The guy stares me down. “Who are you?”
I get into battle stance, legs wide, fists at the ready. “I’m the guy who’s gonna be with Harper long term.”
He shakes his head. “Fine by me. I’m here to fix the heat.”
“I can do that,” I say.
“There’s nothing wrong with the heat,” Harper says.
Mrs. Ellis plants her hands on her hips. “Well, if you’re not going to fight, we should all have cocoa and cookies to catch up.”
Harper goes to my side. “Drew, I’m so sorry she called you all the way over here for nothing.”
His lips twitch. “I should’ve known she was up to something.” He leans around her to address Mrs. Ellis. “Thanks for the offer of cocoa, but my family’s expecting me for our own Christmas Eve celebration.”
“Thanks for stopping by,” she carols, taking her seat. “Merry Christmas.”
“You too.” He lets himself out.
The moment he does, Harper scowls at her grandmother. “What in the world are you doing? Dragging Drew out here for a false errand on Christmas Eve!”
She smiles serenely. “I wanted to see if Garrett would rise to the occasion. Jealous? Check. Tough enough to go toe-to-toe with an Army Ranger? Check. Men should be men. Thank God you got a real man this time.”
Harper throws her hands up. “We broke up, Grandmom, you know that.”
“Take off your jacket,” Mrs. Ellis says to me. “Stay a while.”
I unzip my jacket and pull out the stuffed reindeer and Santa, which seem utterly ridiculous in light of all the turmoil going through me now. I can’t wait another minute to say what I have to say.
“Harper, we need to talk. Can we go outside?”
“It’s freezing out there,” Mrs. Ellis says. “Talk in here.”
Harper turns to her and says in an even tone, “I’d like some privacy to talk to him, please.”
Mrs. Ellis lets out a huge sigh and rises from her chair with some difficulty. “I’ll go upstairs, but don’t be doing anything inappropriate on my sofa.”
“We’ll try to restrain ourselves,” Harper deadpans.
Mrs. Ellis slowly makes her way to her chairlift, and I just know this is going to take way too long for me and Harper to connect.
I follow her. “Ma’am, could I carry you upstairs? You look like you weigh one hundred pounds soaking wet. It’s no problem.” I hold my arms out to her.
Her face flushes, and she calls over to Harper, “Your fellow is ridiculous.” She turns to me. “No, thank you, I can manage just fine.”
I wink. “I’ll get you in my arms one day, Queen Joan.”
“Nonsense,” she snaps, but I don’t miss the twinkle in her eye.
I join Harper on the sofa, and we wait as the chairlift makes its slow humming way upstairs.
“You can start talking now,” Mrs. Ellis says. “I can’t hear a thing over the noise of this contraption.”
“We can hear you,” Harper says loudly.
“Harper has something to tell you,” Mrs. Ellis says.
“I have something to tell her too,” I say.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Mrs. Ellis demands.
Harper turns to me with an apologetic smile. “Sorr
y. Let’s just pretend to talk until she’s in her room.”
“Did you meet someone else? Just tell me. I can take it.”
“Garrett, there’s no one else. Drew is just a friend.”
I relax. Everything else is fixable. I hope.
Finally, Mrs. Ellis makes it to a room upstairs and shuts the door.
Harper exhales sharply. “I never thought she’d get there.”
“Harp, I’ve missed you.” I go to hug her, but she pushes me away.
“Wait. I need to tell you something, and I want you to know I don’t expect anything from you. Okay?”
“Are you moving to LA?” I ask.
“No, stop guessing. Just listen.”
“Okay.” I brace myself, praying it’s not that bad. I want to be with her so much.
“I’m pregnant.”
The breath leaves my body, my head spinning.
“Garrett, are you okay?”
I suck in air. “Yeah. I’m okay. You surprised me. I thought you were on the pill. It’s mine, right?”
“Of course it’s yours. I was only with you.”
“Okay, sorry.” I shove a hand through my hair. “I’m just so surprised. How did this happen?”
“I missed a dose of the pill when I got that stomach virus, and the next night I threw it up when you got sick, so there was a window. At first, I wasn’t sure because the pregnancy test was negative, but then I went to the doctor later, and it was positive.”
“When did you know?”
“Four days after you left. I tried calling and texting you, but you didn’t respond.”
I groan at my own stupidity. “I was mad. I wanted to be fine without you and I wasn’t. God, I can’t believe I didn’t know all this time.”
“It’s okay. I knew you’d be back, and this was a conversation we needed to have in person.” She smiles. “I’m happy about it.”
“Me too.”
She searches my expression. “You are?”
I take both her hands in mine. “Of course.”
She sniffles. “I had all this shame at first. I was an unplanned pregnancy, and I didn’t want to follow in my mother’s footsteps. And then we broke up. I never expected it to happen this way. I swore my child would be born into the kind of two-parent family I always wanted as a kid. Now all that matters is that the baby is healthy.”
I lean forward, elbows on my knees, still reeling. “I was an unplanned pregnancy too. My parents call me a happy accident. Family story goes, Connor was supposed to be the last, the fourth born, but he was such an angel, they decided to have another, and Brendan was such a mischievous devil they were shocked. I was an oops, and my dad got snipped right after, saying six kids was plenty.”
“I sure wasn’t a happy accident.”
I straighten. “This baby is.” I stare at her stomach covered by the large sweater. It still looks flat.
“I was going to call you tomorrow about meeting up over the holidays, but I’m so glad you’re here now.”
I can’t take my eyes off her stomach. My daughter or son is in there. “Is everything…okay with it?”
“Yes. I’m eight weeks along, due next June. I want you to be part of the baby’s life, but I don’t want you to feel like we have to be together because of it.”
I push a lock of her hair over her ear. “I’m thrilled to be a dad. I want to be part of this child’s life in whatever way you need. And I hope we’ll raise the baby together as a couple. And I’m not saying that because of the baby. I came here today to tell you I love you, and this time apart so I could work in a movie wasn’t worth losing you. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure we’re together. I’ll run projects by you before I accept. You were right about that. Couples should make these decisions together because it affects both of us. And if you’ll have me back, I hope you’ll do the same because we’re more important than any job.”
She throws her arms around me. “I’m sorry I said those hurtful things the last time we talked. I messed up. All I wanted was to keep you close. I’m okay with your acting career. I’m okay with anything you want to do. I’ll root for you all the way.”
I pull back and frame her face in my hands. Her lower lip wobbles, tears threatening. My own eyes sting too. “I believe we have a future together, Harper. I’ve waited for the One for a long time. My life started again in a new way the moment we met and for the better.”
“Oh, Garrett.” She kisses me and hugs me tight for a long moment.
“And now you give me this gift.” My voice chokes. She pulls back and strokes my cheek. “A child. It’s the best gift you could’ve given me.” I gesture to where the stuffed reindeer and Santa are perched on the coffee table. “Better than my gift for you.”
She laughs through tears. “Which one is mine?”
“Whatever one you want.” I cradle her jaw and kiss her. Then I stare at her stomach. “Is it okay to touch it?”
“Of course. The baby’s protected in there. You can touch.” She lifts her sweater, and there’s a slight rounding that wasn’t there before. I place my hand over it, my throat clogged with emotion. “I don’t feel any movement. Are you sure it’s okay?”
“It’s too tiny to feel yet. Soon.”
“You are the One, you know. I want to marry you.”
She looks away. “We don’t have to be married just because I’m pregnant.”
I cup her jaw and turn her back to me. “Don’t you understand how much I feel for you? I never want us to be apart again. I knew that before you told me the baby news.”
She worries her lower lip. “Maybe we should wait until after the baby’s born. You might change your mind.”
“Never doubt my word. I will stick with you and Garrett Junior for the rest of my years.”
She smiles. “Garrett Junior? What if it’s a girl?”
“Joan?”
Her jaw drops. “No, stop.”
“What? Your grandmother would love it.”
She smiles tenderly. “You actually like her.”
“What’s not to like? She raised my future wife, the mother of all my future children.”
Tears leak out of her eyes, and I pull her close, hugging her.
After a bit, she lifts her head, wiping her tears and sniffling. I fetch her a tissue from her grandmother’s side table.
“Thanks,” she says. “And, as far as work goes, I’m going to be directing a few episodes of a new show through Claire Jordan’s production company. It films in New York. I had a good meeting with her, and we talked about my future career. I’d like to do more behind-the-scenes work that would keep me local. At the time, I was thinking of visitation for you with the baby, but now it means so much more. The exciting part is, she asked me to pitch some show ideas. I like the idea of running a show because that gives me creative control, including where we film. So that means I’ll be working closely with her, so I’ll be near you. What do you think?”
“I think this is the best Christmas I’ve ever had. My love found a way to be with me and made us a family.”
She smiles and kisses me. “Well, you helped.”
“I sure did.” I frown, thinking of my part in all this and future encounters. “Did the doctor say it’s okay for us to…” I lower my voice, not trusting Mrs. Ellis. She could be eavesdropping. “Make love.”
She laughs. “Yes, it’s fine. But when I get bigger, it’ll be tough to work around the bulge.”
“I’m tough. I’ll power through.”
She beams at me, and my chest aches with all I feel for her, and now for this child. I didn’t expect to be a dad, but I couldn’t be happier. And I have the down payment on a house now for my new family. I can’t wait to tell my parents they’ll be grandparents again, but it’s too late to call them in Villroy. They’ll be in bed.
“Should we tell her she can come down now?” Harper asks.
“Yeah, we’re good.” Suddenly I know why Mrs. Ellis kept saying Harper had something to tell me. “
She knows about the baby, doesn’t she? I’m surprised she didn’t beat me away with a stick.”
“Ha! It wouldn’t have done any good. You would’ve turned that stick into a cane for her with your mad skills and offered to make her another. Such a softie.”
“I see past the prickly exterior. She’s good people.”
“She is. I’ll go get her.” She heads upstairs.
I lean back on the sofa, the plastic slipcover crinkling under my weight. Now if I could just get Harper to marry me, I could relax. I want the baby to have my name, no question who the father is. I want a solid foundation for him or her. I can’t wait to find out what we’re having.
A few minutes later, the chairlift makes its slow way down. Harper smiles at me from the landing above while she waits for her grandmother to finish her journey downstairs.
“Looks like we’ll be family,” Mrs. Ellis announces. “Soon as you marry her.”
I go to the bottom of the stairs and pitch my voice over the hum of the chairlift motor. “That’s the plan, Queen Joan. Harper will be a princess too.” I wink at Harper, figuring she’ll think that’s funny, but she actually looks excited. “How do you like that?”
“I so want to visit the palace,” Harper says.
Mrs. Ellis sniffs. “I wouldn’t mind taking a look around.”
“You’re both invited. My family goes out every Christmas on the royal jet. What do you say next Christmas we go? The baby can meet his extended family.”
“Or hers,” Harper chimes in happily.
I grin at her. I catch Mrs. Ellis’s scowl. “No?” I ask.
“I’m eighty-seven years old, young man. You think I can wait a year? I’ll go next summer when the weather’s nice enough for me to enjoy seeing an island.”
Harper laughs. “Apparently, my grandmother researched your royal background after your first visit here.”
Mrs. Ellis purses her lips. “It’s my job to look into who you get serious about.” She smiles at me. “I knew he was a keeper.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I say, surprised.
Rogue Beast (The Rourkes, Book 12) Page 21