Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Nothing for you, whore.
— Christmas T -shirt
JEREMIAH
The storm hit sometime while we were in the air, coming home from our latest game, and landing was a nightmare.
It took us a solid ten minutes longer to land than it should have, and by the time we did, I was a nervous wreck, as were the rest of the team.
“ You have the next four days off,” Coach said as he stood. “ Be back here on December 26 th , ready to work.”
I grimaced.
It was December 23 rd .
I had a shit ton of shopping I still needed to do— I was a full-blown procrastinator—and it looked like I wouldn’t be doing much of it if the storm had anything to say about it.
We were, according to the local news meteorologist, about to have the storm of the century.
If I played my cards right, I could go run to a few places and grab my grandmother her weekly groceries and make sure that her house was ready before I headed back home.
My grandmother, whom I loved with my entire soul, was the matriarch of our family.
She was also fiercely independent and refused to admit that living alone was too much for her.
My siblings and cousins had tried, and failed, to get her to move into our places—all of us had asked. The only stroke of luck we’d received from her stubbornness was when a place opened up that was two doors down from my eldest sister, Noel .
“ Be careful, team,” Coach called as we hauled ass out of the plane the moment the doors were thrust open.
“ Ten -four,” I called as I brushed past him.
I jogged to my rental, wishing I had my truck when it was about to be snowmageddon hell out, and started driving toward the grocery store.
After picking up the essentials, I began heading toward Hooker , where my family lived.
I was lucky to get drafted to the Thundercats right out of college. The drive from my family home to the rink was less than an hour, giving me plenty of time to drive and spend with my family any time I wanted to.
I’d chosen to buy a house in Hooker as well.
My eyes were on the drive, taking in all the Christmas decorations downtown when a flash of curly brown hair caught my attention.
My eyes narrowed as I saw the woman attached to all that hair, and my heart leaped.
It was her.
Pulling over in the first available spot, I got out and hurried toward the candy store that I’d never noticed until she was standing outside of it.
I was about halfway to her when she turned, and I got a good glimpse of the side of her face.
It was black and blue.
Holy shit.
I could tell that she’d tried to conceal it with makeup, but there was no hiding a bruise that size.
My stomach somewhere between my knees, I called out to her. “ Merriam ?”
She turned slowly, and her eyes caught on mine.
The instant connection between us felt like another puzzle piece had clicked into place.
“ Hey .” She smiled genuinely. “ What are you doing here?”
I swallowed the instant demand to know what happened to her face and instead lied, “ I’m here to get my grandmother some candy.”
Her brows rose. “ You are?”
I nodded. “ She has a sweet tooth. And I had no clue you worked here in particular. I swear I’m not a stalker.”
She turned and untucked her hair from her ear, covering the bruise on the side of her face as much as she could.
“ Sure , come on in. I was just changing the countdown on the door.” She indicated the number 2 on the door that now read “2 days until Christmas .”
I fell into step behind her, my hands itching to reach for her and pull her into my arms.
“ What kind of candy does she like?” she asked, being sure to keep the bruised side of her face away from me the entire time.
“ Um .” I hesitated. “ My grandmother likes pretty much anything that has sugar in it.”
That was an understatement.
My grandmother loved anything sweet.
Cookies .
Cake .
Ice cream.
Candy .
Sweet cornbread.
Muffins .
You put sugar in it, she liked it.
That was part of our worry about her.
She’d suffered with high blood sugar.
Yet , giving up her Dr . Peppers and cake was an impossible task.
I’d rather die happy than sad.
My grandmother’s pre-diabetes had not come as a shock. Nor did her refusal to change her diet.
Honestly , I was just happy that she was now somewhere that we could keep an eye on her.
She was eighty years old, and had the iron will of a two-year-old refusing to give up something she wanted.
Needless to say, it definitely was a relief to have her so close, where we could check up on her, and make sure she hadn’t died of a sugar coma.
“ Doesn’t everyone?” the prettiest girl I’d ever seen asked.
I grinned down at Merriam and said, “ I’m not the biggest fan of sweets.”
Her mouth fell open in shock, which only highlighted the bruising around her face.
As a professional athlete, I was an expert in bruising.
As one of the enforcers for my team, I’d been doing the bruising thing since I was drafted. Originally , I’d been a forward, and hadn’t had to deal with all the fighting. But my coach had taken one look at me and demanded that I switch to enforcer, and here I was, fifteen years later, sporting bruises every fuckin’ day of my life.
“ You don’t like sweets?” she gasped.
“ I don’t like…” I started to say but a male’s voice came from the back, sharp and stinging.
“ You have other customers, Merriam .”
I looked up to see an angry looking older guy standing in a doorway that led to the back, his arms folded across his chest, and a look in his eye that made me realize who, exactly, had given her that bruise.
Merriam and I both looked around to see what other customers he was talking about.
The only one I could spot was standing outside, checking out the window display.
“ Father ,” she said carefully. “ As soon as they come inside, I’ll definitely get with them.”
“ You’ll go out there now and offer them a free sample,” he demanded. “ I’d like to sell something today.”
My brows rose. “ Sir , I can assure you that I came here to buy something for my grandmother, who has a tremendous sweet tooth.”
His eyes narrowed on me. “ You look like you’re just distracting my daughter from her work.”
“ I might have,” I admitted. “ But I’m fairly sure I’ll be the best customer you’ll have come in here today.”
He snorted. “ You got money?”
I almost wanted to walk out.
I would have walked out, honestly, but the look of dejection on Merriam’s face had me stilling my frame.
“ Go offer them a sample,” I suggested. “ I’ll wait.”
She looked at me with relief and picked up a tray, heading out the front door.
The moment the door closed behind her retreating back, I said, “ You give her that bruise?”
His eyes narrowed. “ Who the fuck are you to ask that?”
“ I’m no one,” I said. “ I just met her. We were having a good conversation about what I should buy my grandmother when you came in here and made me want to turn right back around. But the look of sadness on her face at the thought of a sale leaving is making me stay.”
“ Stay away from my daughter,” he growled.
“ Maybe I should say the same to you,” I suggested.
The man growled and stormed back into the back, door swinging.
I was watching the door so hard that I spotted a little blonde head peek out before the door stopped with its swinging.
I stared a bit and smiled when the door cracked a little more, and not only could I see blonde hair, but a red and green sweatpants set.
A very familiar red and green sweatpants set.
A pair of vivid blue eyes watched my every move as I started to walk around the store, looking for something to buy my grandmother.
I found a lot, actually.
Despite the asshole that owned it, there were a lot of little things that I’d found that would make my grandmother smile and remember her childhood.
I specifically remembered her telling me a story about Pixy Sticks when I was a teenager, and how our grandfather used to go buy them for her before their dates.
I picked up quite a bit and was watched the entire time.
The little girl had come out from behind the door at one point and started following me around.
Needless to say, she wouldn’t be winning any hide and seek contests.
But she was fucking adorable.
In the little glimpses I got before she would hide behind a shelf or scamper into another aisle, I could tell that she was a very curly-haired blonde with bright, vividly blue eyes. She was wearing a Christmas sweatpants set, and brand-new shoes.
She was also carrying around a stuffed animal that was also very familiar.
“ This one,” a cute little voice whispered.
I watched as a little hand came out from between the shelves from the other side and pointed down at a chocolate Santa Claus .
I picked it up and whispered back, “ What else?”
I followed the steps.
And though I never saw anything but her hand again while she took me around the store, I realized that it was the cutest thing in the world to be told what to buy by a little sweetheart.
“ This ,” came another whisper as she pointed at a very large sucker the size of my head.
I had a feeling my grandmother wouldn’t like this, but I knew my nieces would.
I picked up four, even though I only had three nieces.
The patter of footsteps continued on, and I watched her run over the short shelves, gauging where it was that I needed to turn for her to show me what was next.
We did this for lollipops, peanut brittle, and even fudge.
The woman I couldn’t stop thinking about since last night walked in, and I watched the little girl go running back to the back room.
My brows rose when I heard Merriam say, “ Anleigh Reese .”
The little girl stopped.
“ What are you doing out here? You know that you’re not allowed out on the floor without me,” she said.
“ Papa’s screaming,” she whispered.
I visibly watched Merriam’s shoulders slump.
“ I’m sorry, baby. I know he scares you,” she whispered. “ Come here.”
Anleigh ran toward Merriam , and Merriam bent down to pick her up and cuddle her close to her chest.
It was right then and there that I realized it was possible to fall in love with two people in twenty-four hours.
Two sets of beautiful eyes, one brown and melty, and the other one piercing baby blue, looked at me with the same expression. Interest .
“ Hi ,” I said as I waved at the little girl.
And maybe who I assumed was her mother.
Merriam’s smile was sweet, but the movement caused her to wince, and the smile to fall.
My stomach twisted.
“ This is my daughter, Anleigh ,” Merriam said quietly, her eyes quickly glancing at the door. “ She’s not allowed to be out here, because my dad freaks out. He thinks kids make selling candy harder.”
I doubted it.
“ Yeah , I don’t tend to agree,” I responded. “ She kept me company and showed me everything I needed to buy.”
Merriam’s eyes widened.
“ I …”
“ Will take everything,” I finished for her. “ I have nieces that need stockings filled.”
She placed the little girl on the counter beside the register and started to ring me up.
When she went to put the fourth huge sucker into the bag, I took it from her and handed it to the little girl.
The little girl shyly took it from my hand and brought it to her chest.
Her fingers brushed the front of her outfit showing a child holding a similar lollipop.
“ Those are very pretty,” I told the young girl.
She smiled bashfully and looked at her sucker.
“ She got those for Christmas from the Angel Tree at the local YMCA ,” she said wistfully. “ She loves the outfit so much.”
My stomach sank.
I knew about the Angel Tree .
I also knew that pants set.
Because I’d been with my sister when we’d bought them.
The sweatpants set hadn’t been expensive.
In fact, it was the cheapest thing that we’d purchased.
Noel had insisted on the cashmere sweater and coat, and though I hadn’t objected, I’d still gotten her a few things that I’d liked as well.
And it made my heart literally soar when I saw the little girl wearing them.
Needs :
— Winter Jacket
— Size five youth shoes
— Jeans 3T
Wants :
— Christmas shirt
— Books
— Personal sized Christmas Tree
We hadn’t found the personal sized Christmas tree.
The outdoor area where we were shopping didn’t have anything like that.
But now I had the urge to drive around town until I found one and bring it back for the sweet little girl in her mother’s arms.
“ That’s a cute bear,” I said quietly.
“ It’s her favorite thing in the world.” She laughed. “ We , uh, had to sign up for the Angel Tree this year. I couldn’t afford to get her anything thanks to this place.” She gestured to the building around her. “ It’s just not doing well. And the tips have been minimal.”
“ You thought any more about leaving?” I asked.
Her eyes swung to the door, almost as if she was afraid that her father would overhear my question.
“ No ,” she whispered. “ This is it for me, Kermit .”
The way she lightheartedly said my name let me know that she wanted to add levity to the situation, but it fell flat.
I studied her face and said, “ Are you okay, Merriam ?”
She smiled. “ I’m fine.”
Her lie tasted bitter on both of our tongues, because she grimaced, and I felt like I’d been hit in the stomach.
My gaze went to the little girl, holding her Christmas bear tight. “ And her?”
“ She’s safe,” she said fiercely.
My eyes went back to her mother’s and stopped.
The intensity there, letting me know that she would do absolutely anything to protect her child, made me stop asking questions.
My eyes went down to the counter where I saw a yellow Post -it Note pad sitting.
I grabbed a pen from the cup holder and scribbled my name, address, and phone number on the Post -it.
Handing it to her, I said, “ If you ever need help…”
She took the Post -it and stuck it into her pocket.
“ Thank you,” she said quietly.
It was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, but I left her and her daughter standing there, even though my entire soul screamed to go back and take them with me.