4. Wyatt

4

wyatt

M y five-year-old has an endless amount of energy. Combine that with her excitement for the holidays and being able to participate in the Christmas List competition?

Yeah, she’s nearly got the zoomies as we walk into Town Square to meet Josie for the first task.

It took four bedtime stories and two hours before I could convince her to even close her eyes and sleep last night.

“Miss Josie!” Lucy cries, taking off straight for Josie, who’s standing next to one of the large, undecorated trees in front of Town Hall. She looks tiny compared to the massive tree, which has to be over nine feet tall if I had to guess. Her long, dark hair curls from beneath the deep red pom-pom beanie she’s wearing, the same shade painted onto her pillowy lips, which are split into a beaming smile that makes my chest ache.

The color makes her brown eyes seem like deep, dark pools of chocolate, and I find myself lost for a moment, her beauty nearly robbing me of air in my lungs.

With my hands shoved deep in the pockets of my jeans, I finally make it over to her and Lucy, and Josie lifts her gaze to mine, that blinding smile dimming almost indecipherably.

I have no doubt that she’s just as affected by me as I am by her, and I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing… yet.

The few times we’ve been around each other, I’ve noticed the way her cheeks flush and how her breath hitches when I brush past her, her entire body going taut. Little things that someone else may not even notice, but at one time, Josie Pearce was the center of my world. At one point in time, I knew her better than anyone in the world. Years may have passed since we last saw each other, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t still read her. Even if we’ve both changed, there’s still a part of me that will always be hers.

A familiarity that’s like muscle memory.

And that’s what makes it hard every single moment I’m in her presence. That and me wondering if a part of her is still also mine.

From what Lucy’s told me, Josie has an affinity for quirky sweaters that my daughter calls “fun,” and I see today’s no different. It’s a shimmery gold material with round ornaments dangling off the fabric. On anyone else, it might be silly, but it fits her.

And even covered in damn Christmas balls, my dick still twitches with the way it pulls tight across her supple chest.

Get it the hell together, Wyatt .

I watch as she bends next to Lu, removing the top off the container of garland and ornaments, and tells her to pick out her favorites before she stands and turns to me.

“Hi,” she says quietly, a small smile playing at her dark red lips.

“Hi.”

The air crackles between us, a heavy silence hanging for a moment before she clears her throat and shifts next to me, pulling her jacket tighter around her. “I think you’re going to have to put her on your shoulders if we’re going to put the topper on.”

It takes me a second to even realize what she’s referencing, her head jerking toward the tree, and I chuckle. “Yeah, probably so. She’d actually love that.”

“Should we get to work, then? Not sure if you remember this about me, but I’m pretty competitive.”

I nod. “Yeah. I remember. How could I forget anything about you, Josie Pearce?” Pausing, I hold her gaze. “Tell me where you need me and I’ll get to work. We’ll win this thing.”

A shadow of something passes over her face, something I actually can’t quite read, and she pulls her lip between her teeth as she whirls to face the empty tree.

Lucy’s got the garland laid out neatly along the ground and is currently working her way through the box of wrapped ornaments. Josie squats down beside her, lifting one from the box.

“Are these… your ornaments?” Lucy asks, peering up at her curiously.

She nods. “They are. I’ve been collecting them for a very long time, so I have… a lot. These are my extra ones. Sometimes, I put up not just one tree at my house but two ,” Josie says dramatically.

My daughter’s eyes widen comically, like she truly can’t fathom having more than one Christmas tree. “Wow,” she breathes with awe. “That’s… so amazing! Daddy says that this year, I can maybe put a small tree in my room if I get all smiley faces at school.”

I bite the corner of the inside of my lip to stop from smiling. I did say that in passing, but I shouldn’t at all be surprised that she remembered it. Sometimes, Lucy feels so much older than her age, and honestly, sometimes, I feel like we’ve grown up together.

She’s taught me how to be a father and a better man. How to be patient and understanding when I need to be. How to be firm and stand my ground when the time calls for it.

“I think every little girl deserves to have their very own Christmas tree,” Josie says to her, reaching up and tapping her gently on the end of her rosy nose. “And I think I have some ornaments that you can borrow if you’d like?”

Watching the two of them interact like they’ve known each other much longer than the short time we’ve been in Strawberry Hollow causes a strange, tight sensation in my chest.

It’s something I never in a million years anticipated happening, and now that I’m witnessing it… it feels entirely too good.

Too right.

I’ve never introduced my daughter to any woman I’ve been with. Mostly because there hasn’t been anything other than casual nights since I became a dad, or honestly, really since Josie. After Lucy’s mother gave her up, I vowed to myself that I’d never bring someone into Lucy’s life who wasn’t in it for the long haul. Protecting my daughter’s heart is the most important thing to me, always.

Anyway, It’s not like I’ve had much time to date because back in Sacramento, where it was just the two of us, even though I had a sitter I trusted, I much preferred to be at home with my daughter.

“You would… do that?” Lucy whispers quietly.

Josie never hesitates, just nods. “Of course. I know that you’ll be very careful with them and take good care of them. I can tell you know how special ornaments are.”

“I would. I promise!” Lucy pauses, glancing over at me, then back to Josie, and lowers her voice. “I’ll have to convince my dad.”

It’s not quite the whisper she intended, and a low chuckle slips past my lips.

Josie laughs. “You do that, and let me know. For now, do you think you could hang these around the bottom?”

Lucy nods enthusiastically, grabbing as many as her hands can safely handle, and starts placing them around the lower branches of the trees. There’s no rhyme or reason as to where she’s placing them, but Josie lets her do her thing, never saying anything outside of encouragement.

After a few minutes, Josie comes to stand next to me, her gaze still fixed on Lucy. “You better let that sweet girl have a tree in her room, Wyatt Owens.”

My mouth twitches. “Planned on it.” I cross my arms over my chest, letting my gaze settle over her profile, taking in the corner of her soft, sensual mouth that’s curved even when she’s trying not to.

“Good.”

I’m grinning like a damn fool, and I’m suddenly struck with the urge to press my lips to hers and kiss the shit out of her, despite the fact that we’re in the middle of Town Hall.

And that she’s not mine to kiss anymore.

But I never was great at following the rules, even back then.

“Imagine if they did this whole competition back when we were kids? It would have been pure chaos between us and your brothers.”

Josie laughs. “Oh God, I’m pretty sure Jackson and Jensen would’ve gotten us disqualified before we even got to the second task. The whole point of the list is to make the town more festive, and you know the Pearce men mostly just bring destruction in their wake.”

“How are they? Your brothers?” I ask. “Your parents?”

“They’re good,” she says lightly. “Jackson is married to Emma Worthington. Surprising yet unsurprising at the same time?”

Holy shit . I mean… those two have always had some kind of weird sexual tension going on, but I honestly thought they hated each other more than anything, so that is a bit shocking. Especially since Josie’s family and the Worthingtons have always been at odds with each other.

My face must reveal that surprise because Josie laughs. “Yeah. Needless to say, there are no more feuding Christmas parties. We do them together now, so that’s good. I really like her though. She’s sweet and doesn’t let him get away with anything. And his dogs totally love her more than him, which I tease him endlessly about.”

I nod, laughing as I remember the lively Pearce sibling dynamic. “Jude? Jensen? Jameson?”

Yeah, all J names. Imagine trying to keep up with that while I was dating their little sister.

“Jude…” she says on an exhale. “Still the biggest playboy of Strawberry Hollow, flirts with anything that has two legs. Same old. Jensen… still painfully frank, endlessly sarcastic, and sometimes uptight. Jameson. Grumpy as always. Honestly, it feels like not that much has changed—same guys, just older now. Time flies by and stands still at the same time.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean. Do you still collect your ornaments?” I ask.

She nods, rolling her lips together as her gaze travels to mine. “I do. Can’t break a tradition after this long. I… still have ours. I couldn’t part with it, even after you left.”

That one small admission plants a tiny seed of hope somewhere inside of me. Whether she’s ready to admit it or not, the fact that she couldn’t get rid of it? Yeah, it means something.

“I’m sorry, Josie. That I left how I did. I should’ve reached out after. I just thought it would be easier for you if there was a clean break. Hell, there were so many times where I missed you so fucking bad that I almost broke, but I didn’t want to hurt you any more than I already had. I was a stupid kid, chasing a dream that was always bigger than I was.”

Emotion flickers in her eyes as her throat bobs with a rough swallow. “It… was probably better that way. I didn’t think so at the time, but it would’ve been harder. Holding on to you after you’d already gone.”

The words slice through me, and I hold back a wince. I hate that I hurt her, that I didn’t even attempt to try the long-distance thing. I was so focused on my own goals that I didn’t think about how she’d fit into the bigger picture. I truly thought it would be better to end our relationship since she was still in high school and I was thousands of miles away. But if I hadn’t, then I wouldn’t have Lucy right now, and out of all the mistakes I made as a kid, she’s not one of them.

Letting Josie go always was though.

“I always thought about what would’ve happened if I didn’t. Leave, I mean,” I say finally after a beat of silence that hums through the air like a charged electric current, “Sometimes I regretted it, but Jos, it gave me my girl.”

Josie blinks, her expression soft and sweet, like the girl I fell in love with all those years ago. “I know, Wyatt. I’m not angry or upset about the past. I understood why you did. You had the opportunity of a lifetime, and you couldn’t pass that up. You had the entire world at your fingertips, and I never blamed you for leaving. It didn’t make it hurt any less or break my heart any less, but I understood. And now…” She trails off, her gaze sliding to Lucy, who’s dancing around in excitement as she places the ornaments on the tree, her pigtails bouncing with each move. “You have the most darling little girl, who clearly has you wrapped around her finger. She’s incredible and has all the best parts of you.”

“I’d like to think so too.” I want to reach for Josie, but I stuff my hands in the pockets of my jeans instead.

“I just… Now that you’re back in Strawberry Hollow, I hope that we can put it behind us and maybe even be friends?”

I don’t immediately respond because I’m tossing the word around in my head, trying to make sense of what it would even really mean for us. Sure… I could be friends with Josie. But it’s not going to stop me from wanting more.

“I want to be friends with you, Josie. But the truth is? I’m not sure if I can only be that.”

Her mouth falls open, making the perfect red O, and I bite back a smirk. Before she even has a chance to respond, Lucy calls out, “Daddy! I need your help because even on my tippy-toes, I’m not tall enough!”

Chuckling, I reach out and use my finger to close Josie’s mouth, dipping my head to her ear. “Do with that what you will, honey .”

I use the pet name I know that she used to love so much, and when I pull back, her cheeks are stained pink, her dark red lips still parted as a stuttering breath escapes. Tossing her a wink, I walk over to Lucy and swoop her into my arms, ticking her belly until her giggles fill the air around us.

I know it might be crazy, that I’m pushing too fast or that it might have been the wrong thing to say after we just brought up our past, but I made the mistake of walking away from Josie once, and I’m not sure I’m willing to make the same mistake twice.