Page 11 of This Christmas

Chapter Three

The moment Ally shut the back door behind them, she pressed both palms to the counter and let out a long, shaky breath.

What in God’s name had possessed her to invite the man to dinner?

Her pulse was still uneven, but not from fear, at least not entirely. The man was good-looking. Too good-looking. She’d seen the car and the man sitting in it more than once at her mother’s place. She’d noticed it behind her when they’d headed into town and knew that he’d followed her.

She’d felt the weight of his eyes on her even when she couldn’t spot him. When he’d shown up on the beach, pretending to photograph driftwood, she’d known it was him instantly.

He was obviously a private investigator. One of Ted’s men.

The old panic had threatened to rise, to tighten in her chest and cause her breath to shorten and to bring with it that familiar taste of dread. But something else had cut through it. Attraction. Which had angered and scared her.

Since Ted, she’d never felt that pull toward anyone. To be honest, she’d never thought it was possible after going through what she had. At one point, she’d just sworn off all men.

She’d heard the man and her daughter’s entire conversation.

Joe. Was that his real name?

While she’d listened and watched them, she figured that if Ted wanted to play games, fine. She’d learned to play them better by being one step ahead.

“Mama?” Charlotte’s voice pulled her back. The little girl stood in the doorway with her hair windblown and her camera held up as if she’d just taken a picture. “Was that nice man your friend? Is that why he’s coming for dinner?”

Ally forced a smile on her lips as she crouched down so she was eye level with Charlotte. “He’s… someone who’s going to help mama with a few things.”

Charlotte nodded solemnly, as if that explained everything. “He said his name was Joe. He didn’t get mad when I ran into him.”

She remembered the last visit Charlotte had with Ted, how the woman from the Forever Family Association, the non-profit organization the judge had picked to oversee Ted’s supervised parental visits every three months, had noted that Ted had snapped at Charlotte for bumping his drink on the table at a coffee shop where he’d taken her for their visit. He’d yelled at her, which had made Charlotte cry and ask to go home.

After that report had hit the judge’s email, he’d pulled Ted in for an emergency hearing. Ted had tried getting the FFA woman fired by claiming she’d verbally assaulted him and was pitting his daughter against him. The judge threw that new complaint out almost immediately after speaking to the woman’s supervisor, who had happened to witness the exchange in the coffee shop.

“That’s good,” Ally said softly, tucking her daughter’s braid behind her. “You were very polite.”

Charlotte grinned, proud of herself, then yawned so wide it made Ally’s heart ache. “Can I watch Bluey before my nap?”

“One episode,” Ally agreed. “Then upstairs.”

Charlotte curled up on the sofa with her blanket and a sippy cup full of water, and the cartoon’s bright voices filled the room. Ally paced the kitchen.

This was madness. She should call her lawyer. Or maybe Max.

Max would lose his mind if she told him what she’d done. He’d tell her exactly what her attorney had said for years: Don’t engage. Don’t feed the lion.

But she was tired of living like prey.

Maybe if the man, Joe, saw for himself that she wasn’t hiding anything, that she was stable, safe, and providing for her daughter, he’d file his little report and move on. Ted would have nothing left to twist. Nothing left to fight her on.

Who was she fooling? Ted would always find something to fight her on. Deep down she knew that she’d never be rid of the man.

She checked the clock. There were seven hours until five o’clock. That was enough time to pull herself together and think of something to make that was nice. Something that said I’m fine. I’m normal. I have control of my life and my daughter’s.

She yanked open the fridge and took stock. There were a couple fresh salmon fillets. She knew she had some fresh herbs, which her brother’d had delivered before she’d arrived. There were lemons and a bunch of asparagus that was still crisp.

It was a perfect meal.

With that out of the way, she headed in to watch television with her daughter. Charlotte had fallen asleep before the end of the episode, so she carried her up the stairs and tucked her into the bed. Then she crawled in beside her.

Instead of sleeping, however, she watched Charlotte as she slumbered.