Chapter 26
Chapter
Twenty-Six
QUINTON
The letter in my hand crinkles beneath my fist. I’ve read it three times, and the words on the page refuse to change.
A letter of custody settlement.
My worst fear coming to a head. Maisey being taken away from me.
But the letter in my hand reads loud and clear—Stella Joan Ramsey hereby applies for full custody of Maisey Emmaline MacKelvie (age 5).
Fucking hell.
Only two days before Christmas. She has to be fucking kidding me, right?
That’s a low blow, even for her. I take note of the letterhead, a family legal firm from Boston.
So, she’s back. Just our damn luck.
Over my rotting corpse is she waltzing back into our lives. She should have stayed away.
“Daddy, you’re going to get a wrinkle face like Mr. Black.” Maise spoons cereal into her mouth. The milk dribbles down her chin, but she catches it with a hand and leans over the bowl, chewing ferociously. “Wos wong?”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, kiddo. And nothing.”
“Why do you look all angry and stuff?”
She tilts her head. Perceptive little girl. I fold the letter and return it to its envelope. “I’m not angry, Maise. Just annoyed.”
“At that letter?” She points with her spoon, dripping milk over the table.
“Maybe. Forget it, hey. Go and get ready for the sleigh ride, might be a line.”
In this tiny town, probably not. But anything to get her moving. She throws another spoonful in her mouth before rushing from the table. Any other day I’d make her eat more, but my head has been thoroughly messed up by one piece of paper.
Clearing the table, I slip the letter into the back pocket of my jeans. When our coats are on and Maise is bundled up in a scarf and beanie, we leave the house. The truck rattles to life in the cold weather, and I let her run for a beat to warm up the engine.
“Can I go over to see Celeste when we get home? I need some BFF time. No offense, Daddy.” She pins me with a serious look, like I’ll say no if I take her at any less than her word.
“Sure, kiddo. Maybe we’ll see her at the sleigh ride.”
Maise pulls her belt on, and I reverse the truck onto the street. The snow-lined town with its two sets of traffic lights only has us driving for around five minutes before I turn the old girl into Maple Acres Farm.
Caleb’s family has been stupid busy with the holidays, between folks rolling in everyday to come pick out their perfect tree at the Christmas tree farm and the reindeer that now stand along the white wooden fence on the edge of the field.
I pull in by the big barn that also serves as a makeshift tree collecting spot. Maise is out of her booster seat a second later, the back door opening as she jumps down. Folks are rolling in, and many are already lining up inside the roped-off area up by the main farmhouse.
“Come on, Daddy, look how big the line is already!”
I’m dragged along until we join said line. Maise pouting as she discovers some of her school friends up ahead. But my head is anywhere but here.
Every worst-case scenario that could come to light with the letter burning a hole in my back pocket has me on edge and in my head. What the hell is Stella thinking?
She hasn’t seen Maise since the week she was born.
How the hell does she think this is going to work?
A soft hand slips into mine. But Maise is a few paces up, talking to someone she must know from school.
“Hey, Quinnie.”
Celeste’s cinnamon and floral shrouds me as she leans into my side.
“Hey.”
I glance at her, but I’m still lost to worry. Her hand squeezes mine, and it’s then I realize Hank is not with her. She came alone.
“Where’s Hank?” I ask, and the second the words leave my mouth her face falls. “Baby, what happened? Why didn’t you text me? Or come over?”
“He’s okay. But he’s . . .” She glances up the line, her gaze finding Maise before she reconnects with mine. “He’s not coming home.” Her chin wobbles.
“Ah fuck, Celeste. I’m so sorry.” I haul her into my arms, and she melts into my hold.
“I thought we had more time,” she says softly.
You and me both, baby.
She unravels from my hold in time to catch a rushing kid donning a beanie and rainbow scarf. She lifts Maise up, planting her on her hip. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“CC, you have to ride with us! Daddy, CC has to ride with us.”
“Sure, kiddo.”
I watch them together as Maise snuggles into Celeste and they chatter away about the farm and the reindeer.
It isn’t long before we hear sleigh bells and the clip-clop of hooves over the cold, hard ground.
The entire crowd turns in one motion, the gasps and oohs and aahs echoing down the line.
Maise squeals with delight, and CC chuckles at her, the smile so wide on her beautiful face, joy radiating from them both.
And to an outsider, they would look like mother and daughter.
And that burns.
So damn bittersweet. Because if things go sideways, neither of my favorite girls will ever have the chance to have that together.
We wait for way too long as each group has a twenty-minute ride. The six reindeer, harnessed in red leather gear, elegantly walk on after collecting each new lot of passengers before breaking into a lope with Caleb at the reins.
Finally, we reach the front of the line.
Maise is almost beside herself when the sleigh slows in front of us and the folks disembark.
CC puts her down, and Maise slides her little hand into Celeste’s before lacing her fingers with mine. The three of us stay joined as Maise climbs the silver drop-down stairs and into the white-and-gold sleigh. Letting Maise go, I help CC up before jumping in beside the girls.
“Ready?” Caleb turns back with a shit-eating grin.
I glance at Maise.
She sits up, clearing her throat before saying eloquently, “Ready, sir.”
Caleb chuckles and slaps the reins. “Walk on.”
Celeste’s smile is fixed. She watches with wonder as Maise takes in the sleigh as the six reindeer pull us along at a steady pace, rounding the farmhouse along a snowy path until it opens up into a hilly field.
The glistening white rolling spans sends crisp air around us as we slip along its surface.
“Hup hup,” Caleb calls, slapping the reins twice, and the deer burst into a lope. The sleigh lurches forward a little before settling into a quick pace.
Maisey’s grip tightens around my fingers, and I lean down. “You good, kiddo?”
“Perfect, Daddy. This is so perfect.”
“It’s pretty good.”
She rolls her eyes at me but leans into my side. I wrap my arm around her small shoulders.
How can I lose my baby girl?
It wouldn’t just devastate me, it would do much worse to her.
Stella has one hell of a fight on her hands if she thinks she’s going to get what she wants.
Celeste leans over. “This is amazing.”
We fly over a rise and shoot down the other side. It’s pretty fucking awesome. But the best part is the two girls I’m sharing it with.
And there is no way in hell I’m losing this.
“We’ll be fine.” Celeste cups my face. “I’ve got this. Go sort that crazy, selfish woman out. And come home to us for Christmas.”
Every inch of my being rejects the fact that I have to be away from CC and Maise for two nights as I haul her in close. “Thought you hated Christmas, baby.”
She pushes back, meeting my gaze. “It’s growing on me.”
I give her a lazy smile, dotting a kiss to her lips. “Good. You deserve a little tinsel in your life.”
She rolls her eyes at me. I swear she got that from Maise. Who I’m leaving with Celeste. Or I’m leaving Celeste with Maise? At any rate, they will be here, in my house, together. Until I come back from Boston, hopefully with this custody bullshit sorted.
“I’ll miss you both something fierce. Make sure you stoke the fires, and if you need anything, call me. If I’m not answering, try Caleb.”
It pains me to have a backup. But I won’t leave them alone with nobody to call. My ego isn’t that ridiculous.
“We will be fine, Quinnie. Go, get your baby sorted.”
Fuck. I want to. But I can’t get my feet to move. My hold on Celeste tightens. And what I wouldn’t give to have her by my side through this.
That thought grows roots, unfurling into something huge and permanent. I swallow past the stone growing in my throat. And now I need to leave before I do something stupid, like propose.
Damn, my head is all over the place.
“Bye, baby.”
Maise wanders into the foyer, pulling her holiday sweater over her head. “Daddy, can I have candy while you’re gone?”
I squat down and she falls into my lap. “You’ll have to ask CC. And bedtime is still seven-thirty, eat all your veggies, and no more than an hour of screen time, kiddo.”
She sags in my grip. “Oh, alright . . .”
I chuckle. “I’ll miss you, Maise.”
It’s the first time we’ve ever been apart, and I hope she will be okay. But I have faith that her and CC will be just fine without me. For a few days . . . It’s only a few days.
“Bye, Daddy. I love you.”
Emotion clogs my throat, but I manage to say, “Love you, too, kiddo.” I press a kiss to her forehead.
I let her go and guide her into CC’s space. Celeste slides her arms over Maise’s shoulders and leans down, hugging her tight.
I walk out and close the door before my heart craps out.
Caleb waits in his truck, idling on the side of the curb. I toss my bag in the back and climb into the front passenger seat.
“All set, bud?” he asks, pulling the truck onto the street.
I can’t drag my gaze from my house, the girls standing by the window huddled together.
“Yeah, let’s get this over with.”