A Candy Cane Christmas (Single Dads All the Way)

Chapter 1

Luci

These tights were so fucking itchy.

I turned around to make sure no one was watching, but I was alone, the street completely devoid of anyone aside from a few cars driving by.

Not a surprise, given it was dark, raining, and fucking cold.

It was a miracle my balls were itching in the first place and hadn’t gone numb from the icy temperatures.

I quickly grabbed my crotch through the dark green tights that were a part of my elf costume, trying to adjust myself and get this fucking seam out of my ass. Seriously, I was wearing underwear, so why the hell did it still feel like someone had given me a wedgie?

Maybe the question should be: why was I doing this to myself for the sixth year in a row? It wasn’t like I desperately needed the money. I wasn’t a starving college student trying not to drown in student debt or end up homeless due to being broke anymore.

Nope, I’d left that period in my life firmly in the rearview mirror. I didn’t need to juggle almost half a dozen jobs at once any longer. So why was letting this one seasonal job go so fucking hard?

My phone started buzzing in my jacket, and I quickly accepted the call before wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder.

“Hello?” I asked, fishing for my keychain that was supposed to be somewhere in the pocket of my winter coat.

“Little bro,” Gabe cheered. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”

“I was at work,” I said, letting out a frustrated huff that turned into a white cloud the second my breath left my mouth.

“Another photo shoot?”

“Nope,” I said, popping the p.

Why were my coat pockets so damn big? And why wasn’t I able to keep them empty, or at least organized?

Paper, lighter, some kind of receipt, chewing gum, something wooden—where the fuck were my damn keys?

“Uhm… another gallery showing? You’re still doing those, right?”

“Yes, but nope.”

“Teaching art at the community center?”

My fingers slid past something cold, metal, and jagged.

Gotcha!

“That’s on Wednesdays.”

“I got nothing.” Gabe sighed. “It’s a miracle you’re able to keep a schedule. Your life is so chaotic.”

“Just the way I like it,” I said, unlocking the door to my apartment building and hurrying inside.

Stale air with a hint of vanilla and pipe tobacco welcomed me home as I took off the hood of my coat and shook my head.

The bells on my red and green elf hat jingled with the movement, and I couldn’t help but smile at the bright sound.

“Did I hear bells? Luci, you’re not playing Santa’s elf again, are you?” Gabe’s words were dripping with judgment.

“Ben called me last week, begging me to do it just one last year. What was I supposed to do?”

The door fell shut behind me, and I took a deep breath, bracing myself against the sermon my brother was going to unleash.

“Say, ‘Thanks for asking, but I’m unavailable.’ Or simply, ‘No, sorry.’ Or, and hear me out, ‘No.’ That’s a full sentence, you know. Luci, I know you like to keep busy, but you have so much on your plate as is.”

Letting out a sigh, I headed up the stairs. “It’s the last time.” Probably. If I figured out how to tell Ben I wouldn’t return next year, no matter how much he pleaded with me.

“You said that last year. And the year before that.”

“I know. But this time, I mean it.” Granted, I’d meant it last year, too. And the year before.

“I can hear your frustration with me,” Gabe said, his voice somber.

“And I can hear your frustration with me.”

It came with being polar opposites. Gabe was the straight and narrow one, the organized one.

Hell, he’d probably been born holding a planner in his hand, ready to make his very own doctor’s appointments at one minute old.

And then there was me. Organized, I was not.

In fact, as my mom liked to remind me, I’d done everything in my power to make my birth an unforgettable experience of pure and utter chaos.

“So let’s table the conversation for now. Seeing as you didn’t know about me playing mall elf again, it’s clearly not the reason you called me on a Thursday evening.” We usually FaceTimed on Sundays because, of course, my brother had put a weekly reminder in his phone.

“Oh, right. Uhm. Okay, so here’s the deal: I’m aware we made plans for Christmas, but unfortunately, I have to cancel.”

Damn. That sucked.

Slowing my steps, I took a moment to breathe through the onslaught of disappointment and focus on what was important: the fact that my brother just canceled the plans we’d made in July. That was a big deal. Basically unheard of.

“Do I need to worry?” I asked, biting my bottom lip. What in hell could bring my brother to cancel plans he’d made four months ago?

“What?”

“Are you okay?” He wasn’t sick, was he? Or Willa? Was his wife okay?

“What are you… of course, I’m okay, Luci. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Phew.

I let out the breath I’d been holding and closed my eyes for a moment.

“Canceling plans is just so… unlike you.”

Gabe chuckled. “You mean it’s more in your wheelhouse?”

“Nah, I’d totally forget all about canceling my plans until like December 23rd. And then I’d panic for a day, only to finally cancel on Christmas Eve.”

Now Gabe was full-on laughing, while something inside me loosened. He really sounded okay. In fact, now that he wasn’t on my ass about not working too many jobs at once, he almost sounded… lighter than usual. More relaxed.

“That’s probably accurate,” he said. “Anyway, the reason we’re not going to be able to fly out on Christmas is… uhm… Willa’s pregnant.”

I blinked, my steps faltering yet again.

“Come again.”

“I’m going to be a dad.” Gabe audibly swallowed. “We just found out the other day. Willa’s actually already five months along, but we didn’t suspect a thing. We thought… the chances of her conceiving without assistance were basically zero, but… I’m going to be a dad, Luci.”

“Are you happy?” I asked, though I could hear the emotions in his voice.

“So happy. The happiest.”

“Congratulations.” I didn’t think I’d ever meant it as much as I did at that moment. My worrywart big brother was going to be a worrywart dad. Wow. “Is Willa doing okay?”

Gabe laughed softly. “Thank you, Luci. Yes, she’s fine.

In fact, she’s doing great. Which, as illogical as it might sound, is the reason I’m canceling our Christmas plans.

We always planned to go on one last vacation together if she ever got pregnant, just the two of us.

So that’s what we’re going to do. Earlier today, I booked a cruise.

I’m sorry I didn’t ask you beforehand, but it’s really important to… ”

“Nah, don’t worry about me,” I said, running a hand through my hair, or at least that’s what I would’ve done if not for the jingling elf hat. “I’m stoked. Seriously, Gabe. You’re going to be a dad. That’s amazing. I’ll be fine celebrating on my own for one year.”

It kinda sucked, but I wasn’t going to rain on his parade right now. Nope. I’d simply have to go out, buy a tub of ice cream, and wallow in silence.

“But Mom and Dad…”

“Deserve their vacation, too. I’m gonna be fine, I promise. It’s not a big deal. I can spend Christmas alone, watching my favorite holiday movies and eating my weight in pizza.”

I’d expected Gabe to react with a gasp. However, I had not expected the gasp to echo through the stairwell. And neither had I expected it to sound so high-pitched and childlike.

Turning on my heel, I caught the impossibly large blue eyes of my upstairs neighbor’s daughter. I’d met her in the hallway a couple of times, but I’d never actually talked to her. Nor had I ever seen her so utterly shocked. Hell, her bottom lip was wobbling.

“You… You’re gonna be alone on Christmas?” she asked in a thin voice, clutching her father’s hand like her life depended on it.

“Yes, but it’s okay, sweetheart. See, I actually like watching…”

“But you’re an elf. You’re Santa’s helper. Your being alone is just… wrong. Daddy, it’s wrong, isn’t it?”

Her father looked at me with equally large eyes. “Uhm, sweetie, I think if Mr. Elf wants to celebrate alo—”

“But you said Christmas is for coming together. You can’t do that if you’re alone.

” She shook her head and sent her long, dark brown ponytail swishing through the air.

Pursing her lips, she cocked her head and leveled me with a look that left me feeling weirdly naked.

The next moment, her whole face lit up, and she started jumping up and down.

“Oh, I know it, Daddy. I know the s..so…slution. I know it. Mr. Elf, you can celebrate Christmas with us.”

“What?” her father exclaimed.

I’m glad he reacted that way because I was stunned speechless, gaping at the tiny little girl wearing the biggest grin on her face.

“It’s perfect, Daddy,” she said.

“And why is that?” he asked, his voice a mix of fond exasperation laced with a hint of defeat.

“Because Grandma and Grandpa are visiting Uncle Calvin this year. It’s just us, so we have space to invite Mr. Elf over.

” She turned back to level me with a serious look.

“You’re invited to celebrate Christmas with us, Mr. Elf.

We don’t have pizza, but we always watch a Christmas movie in our jammies.

Daddy says it was Mom’s favorite. You can watch it with us if you want to.

And maybe Daddy can order pizza. I never had pizza on Christmas.

Daddy, tell Mr. Elf that he is invited.”

Usually, I was good with kids. Hell, I was playing one of Santa’s elves for the better part of December.

I knew how to handle shy children; I knew how to handle nervous kids; I knew how to handle bratty children, but I had absolutely no idea how to handle a kid inviting me to celebrate Christmas with her and her cute-as-fuck dad.

“You don’t have to…” the dad in question stuttered, the sentence trailing off, making way for an awkward silence that began filling the air around us.

“But we’d love to have you, Mr. Elf,” the little girl said, nodding her head, face filled with glee and conviction.

“Well, if you’re sure… I’d love to come.”

That was so not what I’d meant to say. Hell, I’d wanted to politely decline, but somehow the wrong words had slipped past my lips.

“Yes!” the girl cheered, giving her dad a triumphant look. “Daddy, we’re celebrating Christmas with a real elf! I just know that meanie Bobby will be so jealous.”

Giving his daughter a shaky smile, the dad’s eyes searched for mine. “That’s great, sweetie. That’s… great.”

“Luci, are you still there?” I heard my brother’s voice in my ear. I turned around, facing the door while trying to get my mind back online, so I could answer my brother without mixing up conversations. Fuck my life. Occasionally, I hated my brain.

“What? Yeah, yeah, I’m still there. Listen, I’ll call you back in a minute, okay?”

I needed to get this resolved first. My neighbor hadn’t looked happy about the invitation at all.

I couldn’t blame the guy. We were strangers who just happened to live in the same building.

Strangers who knew nothing about each other and didn’t talk to each other aside from the occasional greeting in the stairwell.

But when I turned back around to talk to my neighbor and figure out a way to get this whole Christmas situation resolved, they were already half a floor up the stairs, disappearing around the corner.

Fuck.

Okay.

I’d find a way to talk to… hell, I didn’t even know the guy’s name!