“I come from a very large Irish family. I have three younger sisters and four older brothers, and my sisters have three sons and two, uh, one daughter. My brothers have a number of children also, but this is about my sisters and their children and me. About how it’s my job to protect them.”
“Okayyy,” Stephanie said, still unsure what this was all about.
“This is hard, okay?”
“Sorry.”
“Two years ago, my sister and her husband lost their daughter, Shannon.”
“I’m so sorry, Patrick, I had no idea.” Stephanie still didn’t know where this was leading, but she was calmer, knowing it had something to do with his family. Family she could handle.
“She was seventeen…. She had this rare blood thing called TTP. She died the day she was supposed to graduate from high school. Our family hasn’t been the same since. I haven’t been the same since. It’s been a nightmare for my sister, and their younger daughter, Abby. It took about a year before the shock wore off. I…This isn’t coming out the way I want it to.”
Patrick reached for her hand, and her first thought was to pull hers away, but when she saw the look in his blue eyes, she stopped herself. Sadness blanketed his face.
“I swore that I would never allow myself to get in a situation that would make me suffer a loss as great as Shannon’s death. I saw what my sister went through, what she’ll go through for the rest of her life, what I couldn’t protect her and my oldest niece, my parents’ oldest grandchild from, and I decided that wasn’t the life for me. If I didn’t get too close to anyone, I wouldn’t get hurt. Typical cliché, but true. Then you and your girls came along. I tried not to like you, I tried not to like your daughters, but that’s impossible. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you this without putting my foot in my mouth, or ticking you off, and as luck would have it, Melanie called and told me what I knew but wouldn’t admit to.”
“When did Melanie become such an authority on everyone?”
“She’s observant, and she’s smart. A little mouthier than usual, but I’m glad she chose me to use as an example. What I’m trying to say is I have very, very strong feelings for you, and your girls. Do you think it would be possible to give me another chance to do things the right way?”
This was the last conversation she’d ever expected to have that day. And with Patrick, of all people. So there was a heart beating inside that massive chest after all. Stephanie grinned.
“I suppose I could, but there would have to be conditions.”
“Anything you say,” Patrick agreed, then squeezed her hand.
“Anything?” Stephanie asked.
“Whatever it takes,” he said, his eyes boring into her as though it were the first time he’d actually looked at her.
“Let’s hit the double black diamonds, first,” Stephanie said, feeling more lighthearted than she had in years. She actually felt like having fun for a change. She didn’t worry about the girls because she did trust Melanie even though she had told her she shouldn’t. That day Stephanie was simply going to enjoy being in the company of a man she thought was the sexiest boss alive.
Patrick stood up, pulled out her chair, then took her in his arms. “I haven’t even kissed you.”
“Then let’s not waste another minute,” Stephanie said just before his lips met hers.
Epilogue
Christmas Eve
The knock at the door sent both girls racing to answer it. Melanie was stopping by to bring them their gifts. They’d been acting like two Mexican jumping beans ever since she told them.
“Girls, let’s remember our manners,” Stephanie said.
Both girls slowed down and opened the door.
“You’re not Melanie,” Amanda said.
“Amanda, that’s rude!” Ashley said, stepping aside to allow Patrick to come in out of the cold. “We’re trying to teach her manners, but I think it’s going to take a long time.”
“I’m still learning myself. It just takes some people longer than others,” Patrick replied.
“Patrick, I thought you were Melanie,” Stephanie said, though she wasn’t unhappy that it was him. They’d been out four times in less than two weeks. He wasn’t the man she’d thought; he was more. Loving, funny, and kind. He had the patience of a saint where the girls were concerned. She’d never been happier.
“Yeah, speaking of Melanie, she called me and told me she couldn’t make it until later, something about her car. Said she wanted me to give you this.” Patrick reached inside his leather jacket and pulled out a thick manila envelope.
“Oh, that must be the gift she wanted to give to the girls.”
“I’m sure of it. Why don’t you open it?” Patrick asked as he invited himself to sit at the small table in the tiny kitchen.
“Well, it’s not for me,” Stephanie said. She was surprised that Melanie hadn’t wrapped the girls’ gifts since she knew how much they loved shiny paper and fancy ribbons. But maybe she hadn’t had time.
“Actually, Melanie said it was for you and the girls, so I think it’s okay to go ahead and open it.”
By that time both girls were hanging all over Patrick. He lifted Amanda onto his right knee and Ashley onto his left. “Go on, Mommy, open it!” Amanda said.
“Oh, all right, but I wish she hadn’t…Well, okay, I’ll just open it.” Stephanie had knitted a sweater and matching scarf for Melanie and a hat and gloves for Patrick. She had been hesitant to dip into the deposit money, which had been returned to her after the purchase of the house fell through, so gifts from her this Christmas were handmade.
She used a fingernail to open the top of the envelope. She pulled out several official-looking papers. She skimmed through them, looked over at Patrick, who had her girls sitting on his lap as though they’d been doing that their entire life.
She looked at the papers again. And again. Then it finally hit her.
Melanie’s gift to her. Tears filled her eyes and coursed down her cheeks like a waterfall. She could hardly speak. She thought she must be dreaming. But it was what it was. She didn’t know how it was possible, but somehow, some way, Melanie’s gift to her and the girls was the deed to an unencumbered piece of property, the little house in Placerville.
“This is the best present we’ve ever gotten, right, Patrick?” Amanda asked.
They all laughed as the girls told their mother about Melanie’s surprise and how it was possible. And how Melanie had said that, for the first time in her life, she knew the true joy of Christmas giving.
And a surprise it was, a complete and utter surprise.
For the first time in her life, Stephanie and the girls would truly have a home of their own, thanks to the incredible generosity of a loving
