AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can help you move things around to free up enough for the kid.” Benji glances at his watch. “Are you seriously closing out this early every day?”
“Yeah, I can’t afford to keep it open later.” I finish counting the till and lock it, pulling together my things before calling for the girls. “Besides, Maddie has ballet in the afternoons, and Morgan starts gymnastics soon. I don’t have the time to man the counter all day.”
The girls come running from the back, each holding a book.
“Can we take these home with us, Daddy?” Maddie asks, her green eyes wide and her lashes fluttering. Morgan watches her sister for a moment before copying her expression, a silly grin peeking through her pout.
“I’ll work on freeing up the cash. You work on saying no to your daughters.” Benji’s laughter follows him out the front door, but I ignore him.
“We have lots of books at home,” I say, wrapping my scarf around my neck. I hold Maddie’s jacket out to her, and she takes it with a frown.
“But we don’t havethesebooks at home,” she reasons, tucking her coat under her arm and holding up the book she wants—a book about trains. I roll my eyes, holding up Morgan’s coat and trying to get her to put her arms in.
“I really wantthisbook, Daddy,” Morgan says softly, her eyes staring down at the book in her hands. It has lots of princesses in it.”
“You know, girls,” I say conspiratorially, crouching down in front of them and pulling them closer to me. “Christmas is in a couple weeks. Why don’t you ask Santa for them?”
“Santa’s not real, Daddy,” Maddie says matter-of-factly, and I almost choke on my own tongue.What?I try to school my face, hoping my surprise isn’t obvious.Who the fuck told her that?
“Santa’s not real?” Morgan asks, her bottom lip trembling. I can already see the tears brimming in her eyes.
“Of course he is, sweetie.”
“But Maddie said—”
“Maddie, where did you hear that?” I ask my seven-year-old. Her hazel-green eyes are brimming with tears too, and my heart breaks a little at their disappointment. This was not on my radar for this year, and I wonder what Laura would say to ease their fears.
“A boy at school,” Maddie replies, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“Do you believe him?”
I watch her face as she thinks. Her nose crinkles a little, her eyes narrowing as she tilts her head. She moves her lips back and forth, as though she’s got a nose itch she can’t get with her hands full. I see the moment she makes a decision, her face relaxing into a smile.
“No.”
“Do you believe in Santa?” I ask.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“See, Morg?” I say with a smile. “Maddie believes in Santa.”
Relief floods through me as the tears are wiped away, replaced with smiles and laughter. They pull their coats on and set the books on the front counter, agreeing to write Santa the moment we arrive home. Ushering them out into the truck, I pray nothing else goes wrong this Christmas.
???
“Thanks again for coming to watch them, Wren,” I say as I pull my coat on. She smiles, her blue eyes glinting in the light from the TV. Maddie and Morgan sit transfixed on the couch, watching the claymation Santa Claus sing and dance. “I know it’s hard with your mom’s condition.”
“Of course, Alex,” she says, pushing back her blonde curls and cocking a shoulder. “I love watching them, and besides—Mom’s already asleep.”
“I’ll be back in an hour or so, depending on how long this meeting goes.”
“No worries. I can have them all tucked in before you get back.”
“Thank you.” I wave as I step outside, hating that I have to go to this dumbass town hall meeting. Wren grins before closing the door, and I sigh out an irritated breath. Laura used to love these meetings, and I loved going with her. Since her death, though, I’ve dreaded every single one.
I hurry to my truck, the cold biting at my exposed ears. My phone rings in my pocket and I fish it out as I start the engine. Benji’s name flashes on the screen.
“What?”
