Flown in for Christmas

Two.

Nick

I lean back in my office chair, listening to the retreating tap of Miss Bell’s heels as she takes her leave. She’s been a good addition to the team. Smart and…pretty. She’s easy to be around. I prefer her company over most these last few months.

I stare at the busy, bright lights of Dallas. The world feels…distracted with a mere five days until Christmas. Miss Bell isn’t the only one traveling this year for the holidays.

I’ve got a 6:00 AM flight tomorrow to my hometown—North Tree, Wisconsin. Holidays have always been a big deal in the Davis family. Hell, family has been the most important concept drilled into me my entire life.

I missed Thanksgiving this year and I made the mistake of using ‘work’ as an excuse .

And now I’ll never hear the end of it from my stickler of a mother.

I can’t blame her for being so hard on me. I was the only one who didn’t make it. Even Rich, my cousin and CFO, made it home. But not me. I’ve been putting this off as long as I can. Hoping and wishing the truth wasn’t reality, but it is.

This very well might be my father’s last Christmas.

He was diagnosed six months ago with stage four pancreatic cancer. At the time, his doctors gave him eight to twelve months to live, maybe more if he responded well to treatment. Thankfully, he has. But that’ll only add time to his plate, the long-term survival rates for his stage are low.

And the cure rates…even lower.

I’ve been CEO of Davis Sporting Goods for the last ten years and ‘acting president’ for the last five. Ever since my sister, Natalie, started her family back in Wisconsin with her wife, Martina, five years ago, my father spends more time at home with the grandkids than working. I understand, he’s always been a family man through and through.

Something I’m grateful for now. Being able to look back at how he was there for…well, everything. Every life event, big or small, he was there. My mother, too.

Football games, fundraisers, scouting events, bailing me out of jail when I got arrested for being a rowdy teenager climbing the local water tower to smoke weed with my friends. The list is endless. And it tortures me to think about his life coming to an end.

He’s my father. The man I’ve looked up to my entire life.

The thought of losing him has been a hard pill to swallow and, I admit, I haven’t been handling the situation the way I should be. I’m on edge and I haven’t been sleeping well these last few months.

My phone rings, bringing me back. It’s my sister, again . I ignore the call, whatever she has to say will just have to wait until I get there tomorrow.

“There you are,” Rich calls out, strolling into my office. “I figured I’d find you hiding out in here.” Rich is family on my mother’s side, my Aunt Sara’s son. Only a few people here know we’re first cousins—considering the differing last names and the fact we don’t look much alike.

He’s a good man. I’m glad to have him as a trusted family member working with me.

“I had my assistant send you those reports we discussed.”

He moves to gaze at downtown alongside me. Pushing his hands in his grey slacks, he nods. “Eric is bringing Darcy to, uh, Christmas this year.”

I snarl under my breath, but steel my features.

Fucking Eric.

My late Uncle’s bastard son who just magically showed up out of nowhere two years ago. He didn’t wait get to know his long-lost relatives before asking about his ‘rightful cut’ of the family business. The snake slithered his way into the family by the good grace of my parents.

My father started Davis Sporting Goods as a family-owned and operated business with his brother, my Uncle Steve. Originating in Wisconsin, their beloved company grew to unforeseeable heights over the last four decades. Unfortunately, Uncle Steve passed away suddenly four years ago in a car accident, shocking my father and the rest of the family. Dad and Uncle Steve always ran the company together and made a promise early on that no matter what, DSG would be run by family .

He’s kept that promise by handing everything over to me.

“Who told you that?” I ask him.

“Natalie,” he says. “She’s been trying to call you and give you a heads up before you’re met with your ex-girlfriend on the arm of your biggest rival.”

I grit my teeth at that statement. “Eric is not my biggest rival. He’s a fucking sleazeball who wants everything without working for it.”

It’s true, he and my ex-girlfriend, Darcy, have been together for the last year and a half. She’s just like him. Nothing was ever good enough, and she always wanted more . More money, more clothes, fancier dinners. They’re made for each other as far as I’m concerned.

I’m getting ready to have the hardest Christmas in my life. Darcy and Eric are the last things I need to be wasting my time thinking about .

Rich nods slowly, looking me over. “You think he’s just trying to get in good with Uncle Bruce? You know how your dad feels about family.”

I inhale deeply. “Wouldn’t surprise me.” Eric hasn’t made it a point to attend many family gatherings. He’s just…there, sitting on the sidelines. Waiting for the right time to strike. And with my father’s diagnosis, the snake has been moving in for the kill. “Dad’s been on my ass the last few years about settling down. If that’s the image Eric is trying to portray to get in his good graces, maybe that’s why he’s showing up this year.”

“I’ve got your back,” my cousin tells me. “However you want to handle the situation. I know you’re going through a lot with your—”

“Don’t,” I cut him off and stand. I don’t need his pity. Besides, my father is his uncle, he’ll be losing him, same as me.

There is enough shit being taken from me. Over my dead body will I let Eric Davis take my father’s company and sell it off piece by piece. And I’m certain that’s what he’d do, he’s voiced it as a ‘money-making strategy’ to me. I doubt that’s changed.

I’d like to think my father isn’t that na?ve to Eric’s end game, but Dad’s gotten caught up in the aspect of ‘family’ a time or two. When I’ve tried to voice my concerns, the conversation always turns into a speech about family this and family that .

Blood might be thicker than water, but not even blood can make everyone family .

I stride toward the door. “I better head out. We’ve got an early flight and I haven’t even packed.”

Rich follows me out. “Leah’s pretty nervous about flying. She’s been so nauseous with the pregnancy. She’s worried she’s going to blow chunks mid-air.”

I chuckle low, shaking my head. “It’s a straight flight, shouldn’t be too bad. But just in case, she’s sitting with you.”

We land at the Green Bay airport right on time. Rich and I pick up our rental SUV to start on the twenty-minute drive north to my parents’ place. The temperature is at record lows according to the rental attendant. Negative fifteen degrees Fahrenheit with four feet of solid, packed snow on the ground.

It’s not long before myself, Rich, and his wife, Leah, turn onto the long, barely plowed drive of my parents’ house. They’ve upgraded quite a bit over the years. Dad was reluctant to sell the home they raised my sister and me in, but Mom sure wasn’t. She loves the sprawling, wooded property with ten thousand square feet of rustic homage sitting on thirty acres.

Plenty of room for everyone . Unfortunately.

The place is decorated to the nines in Christmas décor as usual. I pull in beside the three-bay garage, sure to park in a way I can get out easily if need be. Before I even have the trunk open to get our luggage, Mom whips the front door open with a cheery shout, “You made it.” She beams, shuffling over in her slippers and bathrobe through the crunchy, iced-up snow.

“Mom! Get in the house,” I holler. “It’s freezing out here.”

Completely dismissing me, she sidles up and hauls me into one of her tight hugs. “Oh, hush. It’s been too long. I missed you this past Thanksgiving, you know.”

I bite back a sigh. How could I forget?

Rich and I gather the luggage, while Leah ushers Mom into the house. It’s a good bit of welcome home , we missed you , and who’s hungry before we finally take our coats off. It’s barely noon, and I’m already beat.

I feel like I’m running on fumes having not slept last night.

After I take my luggage upstairs to my room, I head for the kitchen. Natalie is waiting for me with my newest adopted niece, Izzy. She’s a newborn, barely a month old. You would think holding a tiny baby would tamp down some of the heat in my sister’s glare, but it doesn’t.

“Do I need to kick your ass so you’ll start answering my calls?” she whisper-snaps at me, rocking the sleeping infant in her arms.

I snort. “Quite the mouth in front of your daughter.”

She rolls her eyes. “Did Rich tell you?”

I nod. “It’s fine. I’m here for Dad and the family, not the bullshit. I just want this to be a good Christmas with everyone. It’s what he deserves. ”

“It’s what he wants ,” she corrects me, moving the blanket out of the way so I can take a look at my niece. Her chubby cheeks and long lashes pull at my heartstrings.

“She’s beautiful, Nat,” I say as Martina comes barreling into the kitchen with my four-year-old nephew, Tucker, hiked up on her shoulders. He looks so much like Natalie, it’s pretty amusing. I’d even venture to say I see myself in the little bruiser.

“Uncle MVP,” he squeals, bouncing on Martina’s shoulders.

Natalie groans as her wife laughs. “I guess he remembered the cool uncle nickname you told him to use.”

“Hey, Martina,” I say, giving her a side hug and swapping her shoulders for mine under Tucker. “How ya doing, kiddo? Your mom told me you’re in preschool now.”

“Yeah. I have friends.” Tucker smiles, gripping my neck.

I chuckle. “Is that so?”

“Dad is in the den…with Eric,” my sister tells me, her face turning down in a sour expression. She dislikes him just as much as I do. There’s just something about the guy that doesn’t sit right with us. Sad to say, my parents don’t see it.

I lift Tucker off my shoulders and set him down.

“Lunch will be ready shortly,” my mother proclaims, coming into the kitchen. “I’m sure you’re starving, sweetie. Such a long flight. Leah looks exhausted.”

My sister perks up. “They’re here? Well, I’d rather see her and that bun in the oven than my brother who never answers my calls.” She glares at me as she sashays away, a smile playing on her lips .

Shit.

My mother spins to face me. “You haven’t been answering your sister’s calls?” She scolds me the only way a mother can. “Nicholas.”

I clench my jaw. “Been a busy year, Mom. I’ll, uh, be back. I’m going to say hi to Dad.”

She waves me off, dismissing me with a clear promise to discuss my ‘family priorities’ later. I walk through the grand dining room toward the home office. The door is closed and I fight the urge to go in there guns blazing. Schooling my features instead, I push inside.

I’m met with the sight of my father sitting behind his large mahogany desk, and Eric sitting in a relaxed pose across from him. It almost looks like they’re having a meeting. Almost.

“Nick, my boy,” my father bellows, pushing to stand. He looks good, all things considered. He’s lost his hair, beard, and eyebrows. He’s lost some weight, too, since the last time I saw him, but his color is good, and that little bit I’ll hold onto.

“Hey, Dad. How are you?” I ask as I give him a sturdy hug.

“Not too bad, if you’d believe it,” he says, sitting back down. “Doctors gave me a break for the holidays. Didn’t want me looking like hell for everyone.”

My brow furrows. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“You got him the best of the best, didn’t you, Nick?” Eric chimes in unwelcomely.

My lip twitches. Prick .

“His insurance did,” I sneer, forcing my closed fists into my pockets before my father sees.

“I’m doing well. I’ve earned the time to take a break and enjoy my family,” Dad states, gesturing loosely to the snake in the room. “Eric was just telling me about Darcy. He’s looking for some advice about deciding to settle down.”

“I’m leaning toward it,” Eric says with a chuckle that sounds as forced as him being here. “She’s a great girl. Deserves the world, wouldn’t you agree, Nick ?”

Not even close to how I’d describe her. “You’d know.”

Eric purses his lips together, turning to face my father. “Well, Darcy’s always been big on family, as you know, Uncle Bruce.”

I narrow my gaze. Wherever he’s going with this, I don’t like it.

“I was hoping to get Great Grandma Davis’ wedding ring for when I inevitably propose.” The smirking side eye Eric sends me sets the rage in my chest to a boil.

That good for nothing son of a —

My father appears rather surprised by Eric’s request as he turns to me. “Well, that’d be up to Nick here. The ring is passed down to the men in the family.” He pauses—too long for my liking. “I…suppose you’d have a right to Grandmother’s ring just as much as any other Davis-born son.”

Over my dead body .

Before Eric can open his quicksand mouth, I say, “I’ve met someone.”

Dad leans back, raising a brow. “You have? Who? ”

Think. Think fast, Nick . “I met her, uh, at the airport.”

Eric snorts. “So, what, an hour ago?”

I scowl his way. “No. I met her at the airport last time I came home for a visit. We’ve been seeing each other for months . We’re in love and I plan to propose the next time I see her. She’s the one, Dad. I need Grandma’s ring.”

Eric crosses his arms, clearly not believing me. Hell, I wouldn’t. I’ve been single for nearly two years, and haven’t been on a date in over six months. This is out of left field, even for me.

But he doesn’t need to know that.

“What’s her name?” Eric presses.

I search my brain for a name—any name—but only one comes to mind. Her stunning smile and airy laugh flood my thoughts, leaving no room for anyone else. “Joy. Joy Bell.”

The moment her name rolls off my tongue, a warmth spreads throughout my chest. Whether it’s nerves I’ll be called out on my clear, boldfaced lie or just the thought of being with my assistant, I couldn’t tell you.

“Joy, huh,” my father muses. “Why haven’t I heard you talk about her?”

“Yeah, Nick , why haven’t we heard anything about this airport… fling ?”

It’s right then I realize: I’ve got to sell this.

I need this ring.

It’s mine .

“You’ll meet her when she gets here,” I announce, pushing the lie home. “She had to do some traveling of her own to see her family before heading this way. I wanted it to be a surprise. You know how Mom is about my dating life. And with the holiday season… I couldn’t be answering all of her calls about her future daughter-in-law.” I say the words with so much confidence, I can tell, my father is sold.

He leans over, rifling through his top desk drawer. He retrieves a small, velvet box, and stands to slap it in my hand. I quell the urge to ask why the hell he was keeping the ring in his desk and not the safe, when he grips my shoulder. “I completely understand, son. It’s yours. Your mother is going to be over the moon with this news. When will she get here?”

Ah, right. The details .

“I need to call her and let her know I got in. Her flight was, uh, rescheduled. I’ll give her a call now.”

Eric stands with a huff. “Yes, well, you better do that. What a romantic proposal it will be in the middle of the airport…”

Dad rumbles a hearty chuckle. “That it will. Proposing in the airport where you two met—we’ll be able to have the whole family in attendance for this.” He pats me on the back as he moves past me, calling out to my mother with pure joy in his voice. “What a Christmas!”

I stare at the velvet box in my hand. “What a Christmas.”