A Boy's Christmas Wish

“It’s Collin’s baby, isn’t it?” her father pressed. “I mean, obviously it is. I’m not stupid.”

Collin was the accountant she’d been dating in Edmonton until he’d broken up with her. He was taking a job across the country in the Maritimes, and he didn’t feel their relationship would last long distance. He hadn’t mentioned her going with him, either. But he wasn’t the father.

Her father scrubbed a hand through his gray hair. “Beth, the book royalties have been a trickle at best. I’m not in a position—”

“I know,” she said quietly.

“I told Linda she could have the investments and the car. She was the mind behind the investments anyway. I just wanted to keep my shop and this house. I can always write more books.”

On the surface, it sounded like her father had come out ahead in the settlement, except for the fact that the store had been on the brink of bankruptcy and the house wasn’t worth much in a town this size. If they put it on the market, it would be nearly impossible to sell. No one moved to North Fork. People moved out.

“Dad, I’m not asking for anything.”

“You might not be asking,” he retorted. “But the reality is that kids are expensive. You’re going to have day care, food, diapers. And just wait until this kid starts school! School supplies, school clothes...”

Beth knew all of this, which was why she’d come home. But she was a burden around here. Coming home wasn’t the problem—it was coming home pregnant.

“After the baby is old enough, I’ll go back to work,” Beth said.

“See, this is the thing.” Her father’s voice grew gruff. “I want you have a choice. I don’t want you pushed into a corner.”

“But I don’t have a choice!” she countered.

“You could have more of a choice if you made the father of this baby take some responsibility,” he said.

They could argue this in circles all night, and they’d still never agree, because her dad was convinced that Collin was the father, and if that were so, Collin had a job and a stable income. He could easily pay child support.

“I know you think Collin is the father, but he isn’t.”

“He isn’t.” Her father eyed her critically. “Who is?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

“You have to think of your baby,” he said.

“Do you think I don’t?” Tears misted her eyes. “I think of very little else, Dad!”

In four short weeks, give or take, Beth was going to be the mother of a baby girl, and she’d be responsible for this little person’s well-being for the rest of her life. She could feel her daughter move and stretch inside her, and when she lay in bed at night, she’d play games with her by pressing on her belly and feeling the baby tap back. She’d already named her: Riley Elinor. Elinor since that was Granny’s first name, and Riley because Beth liked it. No other reason than that, and there wasn’t a father to debate with over names.

“Linda would have known how to handle this,” her father said with a sigh.

“Linda was a cold, brittle witch, Dad!”

“Say what you like about her, she was here!” her father snapped. “At least I gave you a stepmother to help with all the girly things I knew nothing about!”

Beth pressed her lips together. This was not the time for this argument. Her father had married Linda about a year after Beth’s mother passed away from cancer. Beth had been twelve, and she’d hated the idea of her father loving another woman from the very start. So, granted, they hadn’t had the smoothest of transitions, but Linda had been a chilly and unsupportive woman. Linda knew what she expected, and she didn’t waver in that: homework done on time, kitchen cleaned nightly, a half hour of TV a night and skirts to the knee. Beth realized that didn’t sound horrible, but there also hadn’t been any softness or understanding. Linda hadn’t liked Beth very much, and she’d never hidden it well.

Beth’s brother, Michael, on the other hand, had been more likable in Linda’s eyes. She’d never been a doting kind of woman, and heaven knew she’d never tried to take their mother’s place. But Michael got off easier on everything, and when he went on to get his PhD and a teaching position, Linda had never been prouder.

“Well, now you don’t have Linda to help you figure it out,” her father snapped. “And I don’t have any answers, either.”

“I’m glad Linda isn’t here for this—” she began, but she stopped when she saw Granny standing in the doorway. The old woman’s eyes filled with angry tears.

“Granny,” Beth said, softening her tone.

“Now listen here, both of you.” Granny’s expression was like lightning. “Beth is pregnant. That’s true. There is no going back and undoing that, but I see no use fighting over it!”

“I know, Mom,” Rick said. “I’m sorry. We’ll keep it down.”

Was Granny back in the present? It was an emotional relief when Granny’s mind cleared for a few minutes.

“And for crying out loud,” Granny added, “she’s getting married in a few months! She’s marrying the father of her child, and while in my day we hid that kind of thing a little more effectively, I don’t see what the big deal is now!”

No, Granny was stuck in the past again, and Beth pulled a hand through her hair.

“I’m going to tell you something, Ricky,” Granny went on. “I was three months pregnant with you when I married your father. We eloped, he and I, because you were on the way! It was a big deal back then, so we fudged our anniversary so you’d never know. But your dad and I have been very happy together. So stop hounding this poor girl and let her get married!”

Beth stared at her grandmother in surprise. In Granny’s day, that would have been quite the scandal. To think, Granny had shared that secret to stand up for her... Except she wasn’t marrying anybody, and Danny had nothing to do with her pregnancy. Still, Granny had meant well.

“I didn’t know that, Mom,” her father said. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Are you going to give her a break already?” Granny pressed.

“Yes, of course.”

Granny reached out and put a hand on Beth’s arm. “You should probably get off your feet, dear.”

Granny headed back into the living room, and Beth met her father’s gaze with a small smile.

“Wow,” Beth said. “I’m not the only scandal around here.”

Her father shook his head. “She’s told me that about four times already. She keeps forgetting.” Her father heaved a sigh. “I’m only looking out for you, Beth. I’m not judging you. I’m doing my best, and I feel like it isn’t enough.”

“I’m a grown woman, Dad,” Beth replied. “I’ll figure it out. You don’t need to worry.”

Except he would worry. She knew that. Under it all, he was still her daddy, and she had come home in the most vulnerable state possible...right when he had nothing left to give.

* * *

DAN STOOD ON a stepladder to unscrew the bell over the top of the door. It tinkled dully against his sleeve as he worked, and when the second screw finally came out of the wall, he pulled the bell free. How long had this been here?

The corner store had been a fixture in this town, and he did feel a little bit bad that he was the one to tear apart a place with so much history, but a corner store couldn’t make money anymore. Especially not with the chain gas stations selling all the same product cheaper. That was why Rick had gone out of business. Dan wasn’t supposed to feel guilty here, and yet somehow he did. Just a little.

He also hadn’t counted on Beth coming back to town... Pregnant Beth. That had been a shock, all right. He’d thought that he’d cleared his heart of her years ago when she’d walked out on him, but seeing her again had proven him wrong. He definitely felt something, even if it was mingled with anger. He knew he’d messed up by not telling her about his son sooner, but in his defense, he’d never met the boy, and Lana seemed to have dropped off the map. Then when Lana showed up with a little boy with big brown eyes, his world had turned upside down, and he’d hoped Beth would stand by him. But she couldn’t—she was betrayed by the surprise, and he was equally betrayed by her abandonment.

Yeah, he’d messed up, but so had she. Marriage was for better or for worse, and they’d been just days from the ceremony, and she’d still walked out. What about their commitment to each other? This was his son, and any woman who couldn’t love Luke, too, didn’t belong with him, much as it hurt. So whatever he still felt for her was tempered by reality.

Dan put the bell down on the front counter and glanced out the window in time to see Beth approaching. He’d told her to come and take what she wanted, and it looked like she wasn’t wasting any time. He paused and watched her pick her way around icy patches. Her breath hung in the air, and as he watched her careful movements, he remembered an image he’d had in his mind a long time ago...back when he’d asked her to marry him, when he’d thought about starting a family with her and what she’d look like pregnant with their baby.