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“No, trust me, it’s really not something you need to hear. You won’t find it funny anyway.”

  “Try me,” he said.

  I pursed my lips as I thought about it. As I played her words in my head again, I shook my head.

  “No way,” I said. “Just no. It’s too embarrassing.”

  “It was something about the wealth here, wasn’t it? Maybe a joke about you finding a billionaire or something. Am I right?”

  I nodded, unable to read his face. “But it’s like you said, she’s a funny woman.”

  “I didn’t come from this,” he said. “Sometimes I look around and it seems foreign to me that I even live here.”

  He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the first couple of buttons on his shirt.

  “Then how did all of this happen?”

  “Because of Wendy,” he said, smiling softly. “We moved around a lot when I was growing up. My mother couldn’t seem to settle in one place, the grass was always greener somewhere else.”

  Gabriel was quiet. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed as he stared into the room. A vein throbbed at his temple. I leaned forward, trying to catch his eye, but he wasn’t there.

  “Gabriel? Are you okay?”

  He shook his head and turned back towards me, his eyes sad.

  “I was just thinking about Dakota and how much she’s like my mother. After Dakota moved in, I tried my best for us to be a family. My brother Gideon was also living with us, and I supported us all by fighting. I dropped out of college so I could spend my days training, and at night I took any and every fight I could get. I didn’t care if they were legal fights or street fights, I just needed to make money.”

  “Why was your brother living with you? What happened to your mother?”

  “I don’t know what happened to her. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around it. I mean things weren’t great when I was a kid, but I always thought we were happy. But sometime after Gideon turned two, things started to change. Eventually she was never there for us. Once I was thirteen, my brother and I were pretty much on our own.”

  “Where’s Gideon now?”

  “I guess he’s out. He should have been here by now. He’s a student at Canyon Cove University, but he stays here during breaks. He’s been having a hard time at school and sometimes I have to convince him to stay, but he’s really smart and very talented and I think he can really make something of himself. He seems to think what I did was easy though, and he figures he can do the same.”

  “So what did you do? How did you go from fighting to this?”

  “After Wendy was born, something clicked in me. I wanted to make sure she never wanted for anything in her life. I heard some guys were making money from booking fights, so I got involved with that while I was still fighting. The money was good, but after Dakota and Wendy left, I started filling my time with other things.”

  Other things. I know what that means. Mack warned me about those other things.

  “Did you know Mack back then?” I asked.

  He laughed as he nodded. “Yes, he saw probably a lot more than I realized at the time. What can I say? The ladies love me,” he said with a sly grin.

  “The ladies love you,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You are such a jerk sometimes.”

  “But you love me anyway, right?”

  “Maybe.”

  I tried to hold back my smile, but the way he was looking at me with that grin and the playful look in his eyes, I couldn’t help myself. He lifted my hand and brought it up to his lips before closing his other hand on top of it.

  “Once I started booking fights, I figured out a way to incentivize trainers to work with me more so I could arrange some really great fights. Since Mack had some of the best fighters around, I reached out to him. Eventually I got to the point where I was making enough money to have these trainers and fighters book fights only through me. That’s when the MMAC was born.”

  “That’s really amazing. You make it sound so simple.”

  “At times it felt that way, but I got lucky,” he said. “If I started it a year later, the MMAC wouldn’t have become what it is today. The timing was perfect, and that was all because of Wendy. I would have never been more than just a fighter if it wasn’t for her. I try to keep most of our fights here in Canyon Cove so I can attend.”

  “Does Mack know about Wendy?”

  “No, I’ve kept her completely out of the business. I don’t want anything interfering with Wendy’s life. She’s had enough to deal with. So when Dakota asked if I would take custody of her, the first thing I did was find a house where she could just be a kid and not have to worry about anyone knocking on the door at all hours of the night.”

  “Mmm-hmm, the other things,” I said.

  “Don’t be jealous, that was way before I met you. You’re the only ‘other thing’ for me now.”

  He slid his arms around me and pulled me closer. I rested my head against his chest as he stroked my hair. A door slammed shut and the thump of boots came down the hall. A man in his early twenties in jeans and a faded green t-shirt walked into the room. He was around Gabriel’s height and had a similar strong jaw, but was lanky, with tousled sandy blond hair. In his hands were several wrapped gifts.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said. “I brought Santa’s gifts in from the hiding place.” He put the gifts under the tree, then held his hand out to me. “I’m Gideon, the good looking one in the family.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand. “I’m Cassie.”

  “Well hello, Cassie,” Gideon said as he sat down beside me. “You should let me draw you some time.”

  “Let me guess, like one of your French girls,” I said.

  “How did you know?” he said with a wink.

  “That’s enough, Gideon. I thought you were in love with...”

  “Yeah, well she started to get clingy so I had to end that. But I promise I’ll let you have Cassie. Consider it your Christmas gift from me,” Gideon said.

  “You wish you could get me,” I said.

  “You’re right, I do,” Gideon said, grinning. “Do you have a sister?”

  As I laughed, I tried to hide a yawn. It wasn’t that late, but with everything that had happened, I suddenly felt tired.

  “I’m sure Wendy will be up early,” Gabriel said. “I’ll show you to your room.”

  Gabriel picked up the shopping bag and we went upstairs. After all the ups and downs of the day, I was too tired to pay attention to anything. He opened the door to a bedroom and turned on the lights.

  “Wendy’s room is next door and I’m at the end of the hall,” he said. “I had the bathroom stocked with everything imaginable.”

  I felt a pang of disappointment that we weren’t going to be sleeping in each other’s arms after all, but it quickly disappeared. With Wendy in the next room, I wouldn't feel right about it anyway. I peeked into the adjoining bathroom and noticed an oversized tub.

  “Ooh, that looks nice,” I said. “A bubble bath would be perfect right now.”

  “I wish I could join you,” he said as he kissed my forehead and held me close. “Good night, Cassie. And Merry Christmas.”

  “Good night.”

  Gabriel closed the door behind him. As the tub filled with warm water, I opened a closet door and found shelves of every kind of bubble bath, soap, and bath salts I could imagine.

  Wow, he wasn’t kidding, I thought.

  I poured in a capful of a cucumber and white tea bubble bath and watched the bubbles grow. As I got into the tub, I noticed a button near the tap. Pressing the button started jets in the tub that I hadn’t noticed before. I positioned my back against one of the jets and leaned back, letting the aroma and relaxation of the bath take over me as I closed my eyes.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gabriel

  I got up early on Christmas Day, grateful to have the people I loved all under my roof. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but that was normal for me. Since my fighting days
, I always woke before dawn.

  Quietly rolling off the bed, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I didn’t sleep well. I couldn’t. Not after what Wendy told me before she fell asleep. I needed to take a walk and clear my head.

  Christmas Eve

  “Make yourself at home,” I said. “There’s a bar to the left with soda and juice. Down the hall is the kitchen. The bag is for you. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  I felt bad leaving Cassie alone, but I wanted to say good night to Wendy and make sure she was okay with Cassie.

  Entering Wendy’s bedroom, I picked up a stuffed bear that was lying on the floor as I made my way towards her. She looked sweet with her hair spread out on the pillow in her pajamas. Her eyes were heavy but she wiggled her fingers at me.

  “I wanted to talk to you before you fell asleep,” I said.

  As I sat on the edge of her bed, I pressed the bear’s nose against her cheek, and she giggled then hugged the bear tight as she sat up.

  “Sure,” she said with a yawn. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Tonight and Cassie. I want to make sure you’re okay with everything.”

  “Yeah, Dad, I really like her. I would’ve told you if I didn’t.”

  I laughed. “You’re right, you’re right. I know you would have.”

  “I really do like her, Dad. She seems nice and I liked talking to her. But as long as she makes you happy, that’s what matters.”

  “You really are mature for your age, you know that?”

  She nodded. “Wise beyond my years,” she said. “There is something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about though.”

  Her big dark eyes darted away from me and she held the bear up higher as if she was hiding.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “You know Dakota is going to call tomorrow,” she said before hesitating. “There’s something I was supposed to ask you, but I didn’t.”

  “What is it?”

  “The last time she called...remember when Karen freaked out?”

  “Did something happen? Don’t tell me I fired her for no reason,” I said.

  “Well, no, she really was kinda crazy. But she overheard me on the phone with Mom and I think she might have gotten the wrong idea.”

  “What did she hear?”

  “Mom said she got a place of her own in Arizona and she’s ready to settle down.”

  Hearing the words knocked the wind out of me. I tried to keep my face from showing how upset I was, but I couldn’t.

  “She wants you back,” I said, trying to hide the disbelief and anger from my voice.

  “No,” Wendy said, giggling. “She just wants me to visit.”

  I sighed with relief. It didn’t matter to me that Dakota was Wendy’s biological mother, I would fight her tooth and nail for Wendy if it ever came to that.

  “Do you want to go?”

  “I wasn’t sure,” she said. “That’s why it took me so long to tell you. But I think it might be okay. She said there’s a lot of things to do. And she wants to spend time with me.”

  “I hate the thought of you being away, but if it’s what you want, then okay. Did she say when?”

  “No, she said she would talk to you about it.”

  Wendy looked down at the bed and I could see there was more she wasn’t saying.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “My friends at school all do things with their moms. I sometimes feel left out because I don’t have one.”

  “You have a mom.”

  “I know I do, but you know what I mean,” she said. “She’s never around. She hasn’t invited me to visit since I moved here. Maybe it’ll be different this time.”

  “I’m sure it will be,” I lied. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow, sweetie. Now go to sleep. You know Santa won’t come unless you’re asleep.”

  “Ha, yeah right, Dad. Santa,” she said.

  She laid back down and I kissed her cheek before pulling the covers up to her chin. Wendy pushed the covers down and rolled over onto her side with her bear in her arms.

  As I walked out of her bedroom, my mind was on Dakota. I had to have faith that she would do the right thing and take care of Wendy. But I hated the thought of leaving her there.

  Christmas Day

  The walk made me feel better, but I still dreaded talking to Dakota. I couldn’t stop Wendy from seeing her mother though, not if it was something she really wanted to do.

  Entering the house, a strange but familiar scent hit me. Pancakes? I made my way into the kitchen. Standing at the stove was Cassie in the yoga pants and sweatshirt I bought for her. She smiled at me as she flipped pancakes like a pro. Behind her, Wendy was busy setting the table.

  “What’s going on here?” I asked.

  “There’s the old man,” Gideon said as he exited the pantry with a jug of syrup. “Cassie said we had to have pancakes on Christmas morning. I wasn’t going to complain.”

  “She even made me tree-shaped pancakes,” Wendy said, holding up her plate.

  I slipped my hand around Cassie’s waist and kissed her temple as she flipped another pancake.

  “You didn’t have to do this,” I whispered.

  “Yes, I did,” she said, handing me a plate with a stack of pancakes on it. “You kind of took me by surprise inviting me at the last minute. I don’t have gifts for any of you, so right now I’m making breakfast. Later, Wendy said she wants to bake Christmas cookies--“

  “Cassie said she has a secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies,” Wendy said.

  “That’s right, I do,” Cassie said. “And Gideon told me you always keep a stocked kitchen, so I’ll whip something up later for dinner. It’s the least I can do.”

  “Can we keep her?” Gideon said as he stuffed a piece of pancake in his mouth. “And seriously, please tell me you have a sister.”

  The phone rang and I knew it was Dakota. As Cassie sat down with Wendy and Gideon, I thought about letting the call go to voicemail. But if I did that, I might never get a hold of Dakota. She was impossible to reach.

  “I’m sorry, it’s probably Dakota,” I said. “Go ahead and start without me.” As I carried the phone out of the kitchen, I hit the button to answer. “Kohl residence.”

  “I always think it’s funny that you still answer your own phone,” Dakota said.

  “I might have a lot, but I don’t want to warp Wendy’s perspective of how life is.”

  “Like I have?”

  “I didn’t say that,” I said.

  “You didn’t have to, Gabriel. But that’s the thing, just as you changed, so have I. I want to see her. I want to spend time with my daughter.”

  “You can always come here to visit. You know you’re welcome to stay anytime.”

  “I have my own home now. Things are different. I met someone and he lives here. I want to settle down.”

  “And what about Wendy?”

  Dakota was silent for a moment. “I don’t know.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked, trying to rein in my anger.

  “Listen, I know you can provide for her and give her whatever she wants. You’ve given her the only stability she’s known in her life. But I don’t know. Maybe she should live with me now.”

  “Over my dead body,” I said. “You want her to visit you, that’s fine. But that’s it, Dakota. Visits. Nothing more.”

  “We’ll discuss this after she visits me. I think the decision should be left to her.”

  “Fine, that’s the smartest thing you’ve ever said.”

  “When can I see her?”

  Entering my office, I flipped on the light and walked over to my desk. I flipped my desk calendar towards me. If I had to let Wendy visit Dakota, I would make sure I wasn’t very far.

  “Wendy said you’re in Arizona. How far are you from Phoenix?”

  “About an hour,” she said.

  “How about February? President’s Day weekend.”

  “A weekend? I real
ly think during the week would be better.”

  “She’s not taking off from school.”

  “Oh right, school,” she said, sounding disappointed. “Alright then, whenever, that’s fine.”

  “We’ll firm up the details another time. I’ll get Wendy.”

  “No, it’s alright. I’m actually in a bit of a rush. Let her know I’ll call to talk to her another time.”

  Just as I was about to blow up at Dakota over not talking to her daughter on Christmas day, she hung up. My temper flared and I clenched my fists, looking for the nearest thing to hit. It reminded me of why I became a fighter to begin with.

  I stepped outside into the cool air and took a few breaths. How dare Dakota do this on Christmas and then not talk to her own daughter? I didn’t know what I was going to say to Wendy, but I knew it didn't matter. She knew her mother well enough. Just like I knew my own.

  Entering the house again, I thought about how I had been surrounded by Dakotas my entire life. It was the reason I kept Wendy a secret from Cassie for so long. It was hard for me to understand that someone like Cassie existed. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I sometimes thought Cassie might be too good to be true.

  As I walked back to the kitchen, I stood back as I watched Cassie and Wendy talking. It was surreal to have them together, but it was time. I really should have done it sooner. The way I felt about Cassie, I wanted to move things forward. While I had been worried she wouldn’t accept my having a daughter, I now knew that was foolish. It was just another excuse of mine, a way I protected myself.

  I had to push all the drama aside and remember that today was Christmas. I would avoid telling Wendy about Dakota for as long as I could.

  “Was that Mom?” Wendy asked.

  “Yes, but—”

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to make anything up,” she said. “She’s always busy.”

  Wendy turned back to Cassie and they continued their conversation. I was glad Wendy wasn’t upset about not talking to her mother. And as I sat down at the table across from Wendy and Cassie, they both smiled at me and I knew everything would be alright.