Page 49 of Resisting Fate
“Ben—”
He pulled the elf hat from his coat pocket and put it on her. “I come to the rescue. It’s my thing. Now you look elftastic.”
Missy didn’t react to the hat at all, her gaze drifting over to Maddy, a haunted look in her eyes.
“What’s her deal?” Ben asked.
Missy faced front. “There’s a line. Let’s get back to work.”
He had an uneasy feeling over her nonanswer, but there actually was a line. How much were they charging for this stuff anyway? Whatever. It was for a good cause. He could cough up some dough, knowing it brought a little Christmas cheer to Maddy and her brothers. Not to mention contributed to the food bank.
An hour passed and he was starting to get worried about Missy. She barely spoke to him as they worked side by side, becoming more withdrawn, not even smiling at the customers. But then another woman that could only be Missy’s sister got in line. The woman was much taller than Missy, but she had the same gorgeous shade of red hair and those lips, the dip at the top with the plump lower lip, were identical. She held a toddler girl on her hip, the girl all bright-eyed, wearing a pink knit cap with a pom-pom over her dark brown hair and a matching pink coat. A tall Italian man stood next to them with a baby tucked inside his black jacket zipped around them both. Just the baby’s striped cap over dark hair peeked out. Her sister’s husband for sure. The kids had his dark hair.
“Missy!” the red-haired woman called with a cheery wave. “We’re here!”
“Hi, guys!” Missy called with a bright beaming smile.
“How’s your car holding up?” the guy asked.
Ben turned to Missy. She was having car trouble? He would’ve made sure it was fixed if he’d known. As a friend. Friends could help each other out.
“Good, Nico, thanks,” Missy said. “I appreciate you taking a look at it.” She turned to Ben. “My car was making this funny noise whenever I stopped. Nico is a master mechanic. Usually he just works on classic cars, but he made an exception for me.”
Nico grinned. “That thing’s so old it’s already a classic.”
Missy laughed. “I know, I know.”
Nico looked down at the baby on his chest and started bouncing a bit in place, saying something to the mom.
“That your sister?” Ben asked Missy while they continued pouring hot chocolate, trying to keep the line moving.
Missy’s eyes widened. “You can tell?”
“Come on, that red hair? Those lips?”
She blushed, so cute when she blushed. “Yeah, that’s Lily. We both took after our biological mom.”
He wondered if Missy had been given up for adoption, but her sister kept. Or maybe they both were given up. Now was not the time to ask. Hell, she hated answering questions. One thing he knew about Missy, if he pushed for too much information, she’d pull away. And, really, what more did he need than just to be with her? He already knew the basics from his background check on her. What did the nitty-gritty details of her past really matter?
Missy called to her niece. “Chloe, did you see Santa?”
Chloe nodded vigorously, her pink pom-pom bouncing. “Yes! Pony!”
Nico tapped Chloe on the nose. “Santa doesn’t have ponies. Too cold at the North Pole.”
“He might have a My Little Pony,” Missy offered.
“He might!” Lily exclaimed with great enthusiasm to Chloe. “Remember Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle?”
“No. Pony,” Chloe said stubbornly.
The parents had a quick whispered conversation.
By the time Lily and her family made it to the front of the line, Chloe was off the pony thing, too busy playing with a small flashlight attached to her dad’s keychain. Nico was pacing the sidewalk with the baby. Missy had introduced Ben to everyone. Lily beamed at him and immediately invited him to Sunday dinner.
“Sure, that’d be great,” he said, looking to Missy. But her eyes were only for her baby nephew.
“Nico,” Missy called, “can I take Leo for a bit? I’m in serious baby withdrawal. You guys can walk around with Chloe, and I’ll get him settled in the café.”
