Tempting Fate (3 page)

Fear racked her body causing her to shudder. "How do you know my name? M-my daughter's name?" she stammered, not missing a beat. She hadn't told him, but he knew. That feeling of ease was short-lived. She trembled, more fearful than she'd been earlier when she foolishly bluffed.

Kyle dug his hand deep into his denim-clad pocket, extracted a crumpled piece of paper, and held it out to her.

"What's this all about," she blurted out, her eyes fixed on his hands, her breathing becoming shallow.

"You don't have to be afraid. This will explain it all. I promise you." He smiled warmly and Lauren wanted to trust him if only to believe in simple kindness.

With shaking hands, she took the piece of paper, warm from being in the pocket close to Kyle's body. She held it up straight so that she could see Kyle while reading the words on the paper. "Dear Santa..." she read out loud, then read the next part silently. "Oh, no," she moaned.

"I know. That's just how I felt."

Lauren shot him a skeptical glance. "How did you get this?"

"Kristen gave it to me."

"That's impossible. Mrs. Hopkins just helped her with it this afternoon and-"

"And she gave it to me in the Mall," Kyle finished for her.

She looked at him quizzically, still trying to comprehend the course of events leading up to his seizure of her daughter's precious note.

"It's not that hard to figure out, Lauren," Kyle said warmly. His dark eyes gleamed with the light from the lamppost. He wore no hat to protect his head from the falling snow. Now his hair was filled with powdered flakes, matting it down. His grin was bright and wide as he informed her, "I'm Santa Claus."

# # #

Chapter Two

In all her twenty-five years, Lauren thought she'd heard almost every line imaginable from a man. She was wrong. This one took the cake.

"And I'm the good witch of the North," she said sarcastically, trying to keep her voice steady. "Did you pick this up in the garbage or something?"

"I know you don't believe me-"

"You're right. I don't."

"I am telling you the truth."

The truth. Where had she heard that before? We love you no matter what, her father had told her. I'll always stand by you, Kristen's father had promised her. In the end, they both let her down by not keeping their word. The truth stung like a honey bee protecting its hive when it turned into a big, fat lie.

"Sure. Well, thanks for your help, anyway." She turned to move away, but his heavy sigh caused her to turn around again. She saw the defeated resignation in his expression and said, "You really are telling me the truth, aren't you?"

"That's what I said." He smiled as he lifted his hands in the air and let them fall against his side.

She decided Kyle Preston had a nice smile, completely void of hidden intentions. She knew she had no reason to doubt his words. It had just been too many years of mistrusting and keeping her guard up so high that the old habit was hard to break.

"What did Kristen...my daughter say to you?" She wasn't quite sure what had prompted Kristen to ask for a daddy from Santa Claus. Lauren found her own insecurity forging her on to ask for more information.

"She said you work too hard." He spoke delicately, as if her hearing the words might break her, which it did. "She wanted you to have some help. And she said she loves you very much."

Lauren felt a smile tug at her lips. Her heart filled beyond capacity. She loved her little girl with all her heart and soul. She also felt Kristen's love come back at her tenfold. It was so much like her to think of her mommy.

"I always thought I was doing a good job taking care of her, you know. But here she is trying to take care of me." Lauren looked down at her boots and bit her bottom lip, feeling the chapped skin peel. She nervously kicked a layer of powdered snow in frustration.

Not once had she ever heard Kristen mention wanting a daddy. She always thought of the two of them as a team, a twosome. Guilt crept through her veins with the realization of what Kristen obviously felt she was missing in her life, something Lauren alone couldn't give her. Even more so because she felt the need to ask someone else about it, instead of her own mother.

She asked Santa Claus no less!

Fire burned in the pit of Lauren's stomach. If Kristen couldn't tell her about wanting a daddy, then what else was she missing in her life that Lauren couldn't provide?

A familiar anxiety swept through her, leaving her trembling. It was the same fear she felt when she boarded the bus to leave her hometown when Kristen was just days old. Back then, she wondered if she'd made the right decision for Kristen. And now, with Kristen feeling the way she did, she had to wonder if maybe she hadn't.

"Why don't we get some coffee or hot chocolate," Kyle suggested. "It's way too cold for us to be standing here discussing this."

"I have to get Kristen home. It's late and she has school tomorrow." Lauren blinked back a hot tear and sniffed. "Thank you for all your help, Kyle." She extended her hand intending to shake his in thanks.

He obliged by taking her hand in his. But to her surprise, instead of a simple hand shake, he tenderly squeezed it, holding on for a lingering moment. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call me. Kristen's a great kid."

"Yes, she is." Lauren swallowed hard in an effort to clear the lump lodged in her throat. Too overwhelmed by Kyle's kindness to say anymore, she felt her bottom lip quiver.

"Take my card. Keep it handy. Please." He held out his hand and the business card with his phone number.

Lauren blinked hard and shook her head. "We're fine. Thank you very much for your help." She took a deep breath and opened the car door.

The warm car felt inviting when she finally plopped into the driver's seat. After fastening her seat belt, she turned around to find Kyle standing by her door peering into the crack of the open window.

"Tomorrow night there's a tree lighting ceremony in the town square. You may have heard about it on the local news," he said in one breath as if he thought she would flee before he had a chance to finish. The thought had crossed her mind.

"Yeah, I think I remember hearing something about it." Lauren revved the engine.

"There'll be a Santa for the kids. They're having a sleigh ride, hot chocolate, cookies and-"

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

He appeared taken aback by her question. She hadn't meant it to sound so blunt, but apparently, it had. "Because I thought it would be a nice thing for Kristen...and for you. Things can get so hectic sometimes that we forget to stop and enjoy life, live a little."

This time, his words stung. "Is that what she said?" she asked. Her bottom lip quivered uncontrollably and a single tear betrayed her strength.

"Mrs. Hopkins plays Barbie dolls with her because you have to work." His face was serious, but not judgmental, she observed. He knew too much of the truth for Lauren not to believe that Kristen actually confided those secrets to him.

With the last bit of her resolve eaten away, Lauren burst into tears. Kyle opened the car door and, leaning in, he rubbed her back as she sobbed.

"I didn't mean to upset you...I just..."

Damn! Kyle cursed inwardly. He tenderly placed his arm around her shoulder in an attempt at comfort. What he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and hold her until she felt better, but given her earlier response, he thought better of it. Without actually walking in her shoes, he knew how she felt. He'd already been there on another level when he had no one to call his own.

In the warmth of the car, the scent of her drifted to him, invading his senses. It was fresh and clean like a clear day after a snow storm, yet there was something sultry that struck a chord deep within him. He cursed himself silently for the stirrings it caused. Yeah, maybe it had been a while since he'd had a woman in his life, but he wasn't in the habit of seducing a defenseless creature like Lauren. He wasn't about to start now no matter how silky her hair looked. Or how fragrantly the scent of her filled his head. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear exposing high cheekbones framing her eyes and that was the final straw. He pulled himself to a stand to regain his composure.

Lauren dropped her hands from her face and swiped away the tears with one quick motion. "I'm going to wake up Kristen if I don't stop this." She sniffed back a few more tears and reached over to shut the door. "Thank you again."

He caught the door with his hand. "What about the tree lighting ceremony? Will I see you there?" he asked, surprised at feeling a little more hopeful with the idea of seeing Lauren again.

"No."

"Come on. You can't just work for the rest of your life and-"

"I'm married," she blurted out, looking straight into his eyes.

"Oh." He blew out a mist of breath in confusion. His eyes inadvertently glanced at her left hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't see a ring and after what Kristen said..." He let his voice trail off trying to make sense of all the events that transpired over the evening and where he'd gone wrong. Why had Kristen told him she never had a daddy? And if that was true, then why was Lauren telling him she had a husband? It just didn't make sense.

The uncertainty in her eyes hit him like a hammer to a nail and it all made sense. "You're bluffing again, aren't you? You're not really married," he said softly.

She wilted right before his eyes, her shoulders sagging and she let out a slow breath. "No, I'm not. Kristen never knew her father," Lauren offered. She turned her face away and gazed out the windshield, seemingly mesmerized by the windshield wipers pushing the new fallen snow aside. "He's been out of the picture since before she was born. I guess that's why she wants a daddy. She never had one."

"I'm sorry," Kyle said in sympathy. The guy was a louse. But then again, he'd known just that type of louse when he was a kid. The only difference between Kristen and him was that Kristen had never known her father's rejections. Kyle had been old enough to stand in the courtroom and hear his own father denounce him as his son.

He pushed the horrid memory aside. Too many years had passed since that painful moment in his life. Too many good things had come into his life and taken its place. He hadn't always seen things that way, but thank God he'd wised up enough to finally see the light.

"Don't be sorry. I'm not. Kristen and I do just fine by ourselves," Lauren indicated, that same wildcat determination he'd seen earlier coming back to life in her expression.

Kyle figured it was true, but not by way of an easy road. What he wouldn't do to make things just a little bit easier for her.

"I see." Kyle felt a strange distance forced between them. The purr of both car engines seemed to grow with intensity as each second passed. "About tomorrow night, how about it?"

"No, I don't think so. I have to do...something." She tossed her hand in the air, giving it a fleeting second of thought, then added, "I have to wash my hair, do my taxes...something."

"Taxes?" he questioned under his breath, his eyebrows raised.

"Okay, I know it's not the greatest excuse," she admitted, fixing him with a stare, "but it's the best I can do. You seem like a nice person and you've been very kind, but I don't want to get involved with anyone. I'm just not interested in-"

"We're talking hot chocolate and a Twinkie. Maybe a few Christmas songs, if you can keep a tune. Even if you can't, we don't discriminate. We're not talking marriage." He couldn't keep the smile from creeping into his expression.

"Are you trying to tell me you weren't just coming on to me?" she asked, cocking her head to one side. The tears were gone now and a hint of a smile adorned her face.

Kyle found himself with a mixed sense of protectiveness for her vulnerability and attraction because her lips suddenly looked so kissable. He hadn't intended the invitation to be a come on, but giving it a second thought, maybe it was. Put on another track, he decided he wouldn't mind it if she thought he'd made the pass. He'd like it even better if she'd accept.

"Yes," he lied. "I mean, I asked because I thought it might be a fun mother/daughter thing, a way for you to spend some fun time together during the holidays. Everyone has a good time."

She blinked and appeared uncertain, maybe even a little disheartened. "Good," she said, turning her gaze from his face.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" he asked, hoping to get some insight into that flicker of disappointment he saw flash across her face.

She pulled at the car door gently as a hint for him to move aside. "It's cold and I really do have to get Kristen home. Thank you again, Kyle."

"My pleasure."

He watched her drive away, the red tail lights of her late model car blurring into a cloud of falling snow. She's just another woman, he told himself. A beautiful woman with eyes like the full moon and full lips made for stealing a sweet kiss. It had been a long time since he'd thought along those lines. Pulling his fingers through his ice laden hair, he decided it had been way too long.

* * *

Kyle walked through the crowd of chatting locals gathered for the annual tree lighting ceremony, no doubt gossiping about their own neighbors or whoever was up for selectman at the next election. Bringing the town together brought out the good and bad in everyone. Kyle liked to think that it was mostly the best. He groaned inwardly remembering the mischief that came out of him in his youth when everyone was congregated here for the Christmas festivities.

Well, that was then, he mused. It had been a long time since he acted so irresponsibly. Coming of age had a way of bringing you to your senses. Facing a jail sentence had a way of doing it, too. He was lucky it never got to that point, thanks to his parents and some hard lessons learned. He only wished he had been the only one to pay for those lessons learned.

He drew in a frosty breath that chilled his lungs. Deep down he knew that everything he did was somehow connected to Chas and that fateful night. It had been a turning point for both of them. Unfortunately for Chas, Kyle had been the one to get the better end of the deal. If only they'd stayed put twelve years ago, Chas wouldn't have paid for his mistake.