Miracle Under the Mistletoe

Grady laughed, believing Jace was joking, and fully expecting him to join in. When his brother remained straight-faced, Grady clamped his jaw shut. He was serious? “Whoa. What’s up with that? I’ve never known you to be too busy for women.”

Jace lifted his shoulders in a stiff shrug.

Curious about his brother’s odd behavior, Grady took a leap. “Have you finally met a woman who refuses to be the flavor of the week?”

“She won’t even date me,” Jace muttered, clicking the fork harder against the speckled laminate tabletop. “Shoots me down every time I ask. It’s exasperating.”

“Shoots you down, eh? I never thought the day would come. Who is she?”

Bright splotches of red colored Jace’s cheeks. “Someone I work with. No one special.”

“Well, you’re wrong there.” Grady took in his brother’s pinched expression. “You’re also clueless. A woman who halts your speed-dating lifestyle cannot be described as ‘no one special.’ Why won’t she date you?”

“She thinks I’m a playboy.” The admission was made in a flat tenor, as if Jace couldn’t care less. But his tense body language made it clear how very much he did care. “You are a playboy,” Grady pointed out. “Anyone who spends more than fifteen minutes with you can see that. So what are you going to do about it?”

“I’m working on that.” Jace frowned and a light of anxiety, or maybe it was embarrassment, whisked over him. “Just forget it, okay? Let’s talk about something else.”

Grady wanted to press harder, but decided not to. Some things a man had to figure out on his own. “Sure. You said something about the house.” Jace had bought a fixer-upper a couple of years ago with the intent of flipping the house to make a profit. The slowdown of the economy combined with the fact that Jace loved the location had changed his mind. “Are you finally renovating the place?”

Jace tossed him a grateful smile. “I am. The problem is I tear stuff out and then move on to another room without finishing what I started. Maybe you can swing by and help one of these weekends?”

“Sure.” Grady swallowed a chuckle. “Though, if you tear down the entire house and need a place to stay, I have a fairly comfortable couch.”

“It won’t come to that, but thanks.” Jace rubbed one hand over his face and sighed. “I need to take off. I have a column to finish and a couple hours’ work planned on the house. You gonna be okay?”

Grady nodded. “One word of advice and I’ll leave your women problems alone. If you think you could really love this woman, then she’s worth fighting for. If you’re not a playboy, prove that to her. If you’re serious about her, then show her that.”

“Yeah, well…I’m trying.” Jace pulled some bills from his wallet and tossed them on the table. “Dinner’s on me, seeing as I ate most of it.”

Grady watched his brother amble from the restaurant. Seeing Jace like this took Grady back to the moment when he’d finally come to terms with how important Olivia was to him. On some level, he’d known that he’d fallen for her fast, but he hadn’t truly realized it until an early autumn morning about six months into their relationship.

She’d stayed the night at his place, and he’d woken up first. He’d stared at her, wondering what demons—real or imagined—made her sleep with her entire body crunched defensively into a ball and her arms shielded over her head. A protective instinct roared to life inside of him. An intrinsic yet indefinable something had altered within him at that very second. And, for better or for worse, he hadn’t been the same since.

Not quite ready to leave and go home to his apartment, he motioned for the waitress with his empty cup. In a very real way, he envied Jace. Sure, this woman—whoever she was—might not prove to be anything more than a passing interest, but at this moment, Jace had possibilities that Grady did not.

He wanted those possibilities back, so he went through the previous night and that morning again, remembering every word…every action…every feeling that being with Olivia had stirred up. If only he could find a way to work past the hard shell she’d erected around herself. If only he could find a way to reach her.

The waitress refilled his coffee. He slipped it slowly, his thoughts centered on the problem, his brain searching for an answer. Another two refills later and he had an idea that, if successful, might push through Olivia’s walls.

But if he did this, there’d be a lot of anger at first. He could handle her temper, but he’d also have to cause her pain. And that would be devastating. Could he do that? Begin a path that, no matter how positive the end result might be, hurt the woman he loved?

He thought about the dilemma for a while longer, going over all of the reasons why he should, as well as the very valid reasons why he shouldn’t. But as much as he didn’t want to hurt Olivia, he kept coming back to one question: If, on the other side of the pain, they could help each other heal, if he could help her heal, would the journey be worth it?

The answer was there, staring him down like a friggin’ drill sergeant. Yes.

And this, surprisingly, had little to do with salvaging their marriage. Yes, he wanted that to happen. Desperately, even. But more than that, he wanted to see his wife smile again. He yearned for her to find a place of peace, so she could also find some level of enjoyment in her life again.

Yes, that was what mattered.

When he finally left the diner, the hope that had disintegrated flared back into being. The hope was slender, but he grabbed on to it with everything he had. Hell, he’d never been afraid of taking chances, but this was a risky game he’d decided to play and the consequences were about as high they could go. And, he admitted to himself as he unlocked his truck, she might even hate him at the end of it.

Chapter Three

Olivia gripped the phone tighter. “What do you mean you won’t represent me? You’re the best divorce attorney in Portland and you’re my best friend. It stands to reason that you would be my attorney for this.”

“Calm down, Olivia. I didn’t say I wouldn’t represent you. I said that I had some reservations and I’d have to think about it for a few days,” Samantha said in a soothing tone. “If I decide I can’t, I’ll be happy to pass on some recommendations.”

“But I don’t want anyone else. I don’t think I can do this with anyone else.”

“Then you’re not ready to divorce your husband,” Samantha said in an irritatingly cheerful way. “Which is something you should really think long and hard about.”

“I have thought about it, Sam. I’m confused, I guess. I always assumed that you’d represent me, and you never said you wouldn’t.” Olivia paced the kitchen in an attempt to work out some of her anxiety. “What do you need to think about?”

“Grady is also my friend. It’s a personal conflict of interest. I didn’t say anything before, because frankly, I was hoping you two would work things out and it would never come to this.” Samantha exhaled a sigh. “Besides, whether I represent you or not, I’m still your friend.”

Olivia collapsed on one of her chairs. Between yesterday at Grady’s and now this, everything was spiraling downhill. “Call Grady yourself. Talk to him about this. You’ll see that he’s okay with you representing me.” At least, Olivia thought he’d say that. After all, he mentioned that he hadn’t talked to Samantha in ages, so why would he care? “And now that he’s agreed, things will be so much easier.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Even with his agreement, you two will have to sit down together to hash out the details. I’ve done this long enough to know that a friendly divorce is a myth. Things almost always turn ugly when it comes down to deciding who gets what. I really don’t want to be in the middle of that.”

“He can have anything he wants,” Olivia said. “This will be the simplest divorce you’ve ever handled. I promise!”

“You can’t promise that. What if he wants the house?”

Oh. He wouldn’t take the house from her, would he? As impossible and heartbreaking as it was to think about her son, this was where Cody was born, where they were happy together. Here, she could almost pretend that the past three years were nothing but a horrible nightmare. Here, she could still feel her son’s presence. She couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. “Um…”

“See? What if he wants Jasper?”

“Okay, that’s just silly. Why would he want the cat?”

“Didn’t Grady and Cody bring Jasper home?” Samantha asked. “Wasn’t getting the cat in the first place Grady’s idea? Now that he knows he won’t ever be moving back in, he might decide he’d like to have Jasper for himself.”

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know?” Samantha pushed. “You’ve entered into virgin territory, my dear. I’m the expert here, and I’m telling you that people do crazy things in the midst of separating their lives.”

“Oh, come on, Samantha! You know Grady better than that. He wouldn’t do that to me.”

“You’ve broken his heart, Olivia. You don’t know how he’s going to react.”

Olivia chewed on her bottom lip. Divorce was supposed to ease the pressure on her shoulders and the ache in her heart, give her space to figure out the rest of her life, not increase her struggles. “You really think he’d take my house and my cat?”

“I don’t know. But you have to realize that the Grady you know might not be the same Grady you go into court with. I want to support you, but I don’t want to turn my back on Grady, either.” Samantha sighed again. “I care about both of you. This is a really tough spot for me.”

“I get that.” It was Olivia’s turn to sigh. “How about this? You take some time to think this through, and I’ll talk with Grady. I’ll see where his thoughts are, and if he’s considering yanking me out of my home and stealing my cat away.” The words were said sarcastically, as if Olivia thought the entire matter was a joke. But inside, she wasn’t laughing. She had hurt Grady. And Samantha was the expert on this particular subject. “I-if everything seems okay after I talk with him, will you agree to represent me then?”

“I’d want to talk with him, too. But if that goes well, then yes, of course I’ll represent you, sweetie.”

Relief filtered over Olivia. If forced, she could get through this using someone other than Samantha as her attorney. Well, she was pretty sure she could. But she didn’t want to. All of this was tougher than she’d expected, and having someone she trusted lead her through the maze would make everything a lot easier. “Thank you. I’ll call him and see what we can figure out.”