His thoughts drifted to Kristen Bailey and her daughters. Chloe was so full of hope for tonight. If Santa didn’t come, she may feel the same sadness that he felt so many years ago on this very day.
“She won’t be disappointed. Not if I can help it.” He had an idea.
“Who won’t be disappointed?” Melanie pushed a stroller up to Tate.
“Melanie! Hey.” He looked down at the sleeping baby in the stroller and cocked an eyebrow. “Weren’t you just . . .” He pointed to her stomach.
Melanie rubbed her belly and laughed. “Still pregnant. This is my son, Max. He’s tuckered out. We’ve been visiting with my mother.” She pointed to the nursing home.
“We just delivered a tree there.” He mentally did the math. If Brad was little Max’s daddy, well that could make things even more awkward between Amanda and her ex-boyfriend.
“So, Tate, it’s been driving me absolutely crazy, but I think I know why you look so familiar. We went to the same summer camp on Keuka Lake.” She grinned. “You’re the Tate Ryan who taught me how to kiss.”
Tate scuffed his boot on the snow. “The one and the same.”
She laughed. “Wow! What a small world, huh?”
“Indeed.”
“I remember you had moved away that winter but came back for summer camp, right?”
“You have a good memory. We moved to South Carolina on Christmas Eve. My mom sent me back up here that summer while she was going through chemo.”
“I remember your mom was very sick. Did she pass?”
“When I was sixteen.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks. I have some great memories of both parents here. It’s nice to be back. We didn’t even live here a year, but it really felt like home.” Probably because it was the last place they were together as a family.
He glanced at his watch. If he was going to go through with his Operation Santa plan for Chloe and Danielle, he’d need some help. “Hey, what are you and Brad doing this afternoon?”
A few minutes later, Tate wrapped up his conversation with Melanie and entered his number into her phone. He didn’t notice that Alex had approached them until he heard him speak.
“Hi, Melanie.” Alex ignored Tate. “Where’s Brad?”
“Hey, Alex. He’s helping my mother put up lights in her room. She loves how they twinkle.”
Tate handed Melanie back her phone. “Thanks for your help tonight.”
She smiled and turned the stroller toward the nursing home. Max was still asleep.
“Anything for the guy who taught me how to kiss.” She giggled. “Brad thanks you, too.”
Alex raised an eyebrow.
“Tate and I go way back.”
“I don’t want to know.” Alex jumped into the back of his truck and manuvered the remaining trees.
“Bye, guys.” Melanie pushed the stroller. “Tate, I’ll check in with you later tonight.”
“Thanks, Mel.” He could feel Alex’s disapproving stare cut through his back.
“What’s going on tonight?” Alex jumped off his truck and landed in front of Tate.
“Nothing, just something I asked for Melanie’s help with . . . and Brad’s help, too.”
Jack joined them. “We’re making good time today, boys. Alex, thanks for helping us here. It was definitely a three person job.”
“No problem, Dad. I’m off to the Martins’.”
“Terrific. You’ll need help getting their tree up to the front door. Why don’t you take Tate with you?”
“Nah, I’ll be okay. I don’t need his help.”
“Nonsense. Tate will enjoy meeting the Martins.” He turned to Tate. “Is that okay with you?”
“Sure,” Tate replied, masking his reluctantcy. The last thing he wanted was to spend the next few hours alone with Alex. He’d rather shovel reindeer poop.
“Good. I’ll meet you boys back at the house.”
“Jack, thank you for today. I’m really enjoying it. What your do for these families is something special.”
“You’re welcome, Tate. We’re glad you’re here.” Jack got into his truck, parked next to Alex’s, and rolled down his window. “You boys have fun. I’ll see you later.”
“See ya,” Alex said. “You ready, Romeo?”
Tate turned and headed around to the passenger side. That reference was surely about his kissing Melanie. The next few hours were not going to be pleasant. He was sure of it. He reached for the passenger handle and opened the door. Sliding in, he made one more attempt to make things right with Alex.
“We were thirteen.”
Alex shook his head and shoved his key into the ignition, shifting into reverse. The back wheel hit an icy patch, causing the truck to slide into a nearby snow bank. Alex put his foot on the accelerator, but the back tire continued to spin.
“Seriously?” Alex looked up at the sky. “Not what I need right now, Lord. Not what I need.”
“I’ll clear the wheel,” Tate offered and hopped out of the truck. He jumped over the snow drift, bent over, and pushed the snow away with his hands. “Okay, hit it,” he called out and stood up. His foot caught a patch of ice, causing him to lose his balance. Before he knew it, he was flat on the ground.
“Look out!” he heard someone scream.
“So, Amanda, let me get this straight. You’ve been dating your co-anchor since June, and we’re only hearing about him now?” Quinn Sullivan wiggled her upper body underneath the covers and sat up in her hospital bed. “Am I the last to know?” She looked from Amanda to their grandmother. “I am, aren’t I?”
Amanda held her niece with one arm, rubbing the sleeping baby’s back with her free hand. “I didn’t mean for it to be this huge secret. Honest, I didn’t. We were just taking things slow. And then before I knew it, you were having a baby three weeks early . . . on Christmas Eve, no less.” Amanda tried to appear nonchalant, hoping it would satisfy her sister. “So I invited Tate to come home with me. I don’t see what the big deal is really. I would have told you all, eventually.”
“But, dear sister, you brought him home—it is a big deal. Are you in love with him?” Quinn raised her eyebrow.
“He’s quite a fox,” Grandma Turner interjected.
“Grandma!” Amanda feigned surprise. She was never really shocked by their grandmother’s candid remarks.
“Well, he is,” Grandma Turner said defensively.
Quinn laughed, egging her on. “Tell me more, Grandma. What does he look like? Does he have a cute butt?”
“Maybe ‘fox’ isn’t how you kids describe handsome men these days. Well, it was when you were teenagers. He’s tall, dark, and handsome.” She looked at Amanda for approval. “Is that better?”
“Yes, he’s handsome,” Amanda acquiesced. “In a broadcast-anchor kind of way.”
She turned and faced her grandmother. “And fine, he has a cute butt. There—are you happy?”
Quinn smoothed her short blonde hair around her face. “Really? Then maybe you should bring him by later . . . to meet the baby, of course.” She winked.
“Okay. Enough, you two.” The less she talked about Tate being her boyfriend, the better. She hated all the lies. Although his having a cute butt was certainly not one of them.
“So what are you and Mark going to call this little angel?” Amanda gently handed the sleeping baby back to Quinn.
“We’ve actually given that a lot of thought. We have a couple of names we’re considering, but we’d like to call her Noel if that is okay with you?”
Amanda’s eyes welled up. “You want to give her my middle name?” She smiled down at the baby now nestled in Quinn’s arms. “I don’t know what to say.”
“We just thought it was the perfect name since she was born on Christmas Eve. If you would like us to consider another name, we can,” Quinn said.