Have Yourself a Naughty Little Santa (15 page)

He wanted to punch something, someone, anything to relieve the pressure cooker that had become his temper. It rarely reared its head, but when he reached his flash point, he always found that an hour with a heavy bag usually did the trick. Except there was more to his anger now than just his father’s reappearance after ten years and the calamities befalling his hometown. His libido was in overdrive and he wanted a release. But not just any release—and that, he realized, was the crux of his problem. He wanted Cinderella again. And he knew he’d want her again after that and after that. And he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. And it wouldn’t matter if he asked her to stay an extra day or two; she would say no. She was the female version of him. Well, not exactly. Sex to him was like football or boxing. A sport, a physical outlet. Something he did for fun. It raised his endorphins and made him feel good, and, since he hadn’t had any complaints lately, he’d have to say he made his partners feel good too. A win-win for everyone involved. Why, then, did he feel like sex with Kim was different?

He jammed his fingers through his hair and decided he didn’t care. He’d ride the wave again if she let him and get off the board when the wave fizzled out. He made his way back to the lake edge to find the carcass of the deer being loaded on the back of a flatbed trailer. He yanked on his helmet, then drove the sled back to the city yard where the PD kept their vehicles. He decided to go back to his room, grab some clothes, and go work out.

As he was coming out of his room, he nearly slammed into Kim. She cried out, startled.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” Ricco apologized.

She smiled. He didn’t expect that. For some reason he figured she was pissed at him for something. “I’m going to your mom’s for dinner. She wants you there.”

“Give her my regards. I’m heading to the gym.”

“Will you go later?”

“As long as that poor excuse of a husband is there, no way.”

“Ricco, he’s dying,” she softly said.

He stiffened. “I don’t give a rat’s ass.”

“Really?”

He moved in and narrowed the space that separated them. His heart rate kicked up several notches. The velocity of his blood pressure was so intense that he’d have a damn heart attack in the hallway if he kept it up. “Let me explain to you how that man won the Father of the Year award. He deserted my mother, my sisters, and me when I was a baby. That was the fourth time he did it. Each time a baby was born, he took off. We lived in a rat trap of an apartment in East Oakland. I went to sleep to gunshots and woke to roaches crawling over my legs.

“My sister was almost killed when she wouldn’t give her lunch money up at school. Later that same day my mother was beaten and raped on her way home from work. When she came home from the hospital, she took all four of us and ran as far from Oakland as she could. What little money she had ran out here, in Evergreen. It took that bastard five years to find her. He came, he took her money, and left. He’d come back when he hit rock bottom, my mother, the good Catholic martyr, took him back each time. I stopped talking to him when I was thirteen. He’s a liar, a drunk, and a son of a bitch. He left us destitute, my sister and mother were almost killed, and my mother lives with her assault every minute of every day of her life. And for that, I will never forgive him.”

He moved past her. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to work out and find a quiet place to have dinner. Give my mother and sisters my regards and enjoy your dinner.”

• • •

T
WO HOURS LATER
K
IM FOUND HIM NURSING A BEER AT
Maxine’s. His face was dark and stormy. And for the first time since she had met him and seen him in a social setting, there were no women fluttering around him. Indeed, they watched him from afar knowing this night he wanted no company.

Kim slid onto the bench across from him. “You missed the best paella ever.”

His dark, solemn eyes rose to hers, and she caught her breath. As if she could see straight down to his soul, she felt his pain. “I’m sorry, Ricco.”

He shrugged. “Don’t pity me, Kim. I’m a big boy.”

She nodded. “It’s ironic, you know.”

He raised a brow. “How so?”

“Here you are, the one constant male in your mother and sisters’ lives, yet the one who wasn’t is the one enjoying their company while you sit here alone nursing a warm beer.”

He snorted. “They can have him. I’ll be back next year.”

“He won’t be here when you come back.”

He shook his head, pushed the mug away from him, and stood. He tossed a ten onto the wooden table. “I’m counting on it.”

He stood staring down at her for a long minute. She didn’t know what to say. He was adamant. And she understood. Nodding, she took his outstretched hand. “I understand. I have no contact with my parents for very similar reasons. I almost feel like it would be more of a burden in my life if they were to want a relationship.”

“Relationships require emotions, sacrifice, and pain.”

“Yeah, I’ve learned that the hard way. It’s why I’ve become a workaholic.”

His hand was warm. She liked the way hers felt in it. Their fingers laced, and he pulled her along and out into the cold night air. The town had quieted. The events of the day had left an uncomfortable pall. “Is it always this quiet?”

“No.”

After several minutes, Ricco asked, “Why did you get divorced?”

Kim stiffened. No longer wanting contact, she tried to pull her hand from his. No one had ever asked her that question. He tugged her hand back.

“Don’t be a chicken. Tell me, I want to know.”

“Why?” she said, barely able to speak.

“Call me curious.”

She shot him a hard glare. She resented his question, and she also resented his infringement into what had been, for her, a most enjoyable stroll.

“I found out my first husband married me for my money. Or, more precisely, my parents’ money. He decided after two months that I wasn’t worth the wait. My second husband was a babe magnet, like you. My jealousy was too much for him to live with. I found out after our divorce that I hadn’t been jealous enough.”

“So they soured you on all relationships?”

“They had some help. I had two serious relationships afterward, and as you have proven repeatedly, men have the irresistible urge to share their seed with more than one woman. I used to be a one-man woman and expected my man to be a one-woman man. As that did not happen, I choose now to do as I have with you: No messy emotional involvements, just feel-good sex. My rules, my terms, my life. Simple.” She looked up at him. “Why haven’t you married?”

He grinned and felt a little bit like a cad when he answered, “I’m not a one-woman man.” But it was the truth.

Kim nodded. “Of course. Silly me to forget that one small fact.”

After that, they walked in silence back to the inn. They entered through the back door to the kitchen, and Ricco stopped dead in his tracks. Mr. Maza sat at the kitchen table with a steaming cup of something in his hands. Ezzy bustled about and smiled at her brother as if it were every day he walked in to find their father at the table.

Anger gathered into a storm cloud on Ricco’s dark face. He glared at his sister, then at Kim. She shook her head. “I—”

He began to stalk past the old man when he said to Ricco, “Son, can you spare your father just a minute?”

Ricco stopped, rooted to the wooden floor. He turned on his heels and stared at his father, a murderous rage twisting his handsome features. “Don’t you mean can’t I spare you a few bucks to buy a forty?”

Ezzy gasped.

He turned on her, his dark eyes blazing. “Don’t,” he said, low and menacing. “Do not chastise me for what I say”—he pointed to Mr. Maza—“to that person.”

He turned back to the man. “I have nothing to say to you, old man.” He faced his sister and put it to her. “Him or me?”

“Wha—what do you mean?”

“I won’t stay under the same roof as him. Not even for five minutes.”

“Ricco! That isn’t fair!” Esmeralda pleaded, coming toward him with her arms outstretched.

Ricco was having none of it. “I’m going up to take a shower. You have that long to decide.”

He stalked off. Swiping back tears, Esmeralda moved to sit next to her father. “Papa, we told you it would not be easy. Ricco is still very angry. You cannot force him to listen. He must come to you in his time.”

Mr. Maza looked up to his daughter, his old eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I have wasted a lifetime. I may not be here in Ricco’s time.”

Kim felt an inkling of compassion for the man, but the vision of Leticia raped and beaten sickened her. It was this man’s fault. Her sense of self-preservation swelled for Ricco. She understood all too well his pain. And while it wasn’t her place to have any say in this family’s schism, she couldn’t help wanting to come to Ricco’s defense, especially considering what he had told her about his father. “Mr. Maza, with all due respect, I don’t think Rico will change his mind.” She took a deep breath before she continued. “You have wounded him beyond repair. If you love him as you said tonight at dinner, then leave him alone.”

Ez sucked back a sob and nodded. She stood wringing her hands and looking as if she wanted to comfort the old man but knowing that if she did so she betrayed her brother. “Papa, she’s right. Leave Ricco alone.”

The old man made as if to stand. Though he could have used assistance, he waved both Kim and Ez away. He grabbed his cane and slowly came to his feet. “I will respect his wishes. It’s past time that I put his feelings before my own.” He kissed his daughter on the cheek, smiled at Kim, then disappeared out the back door.

Kim and Ez looked at each other and let out a long breath. Ez closed her eyes, then slowly opened them. “Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ez plunked down into the chair her father had vacated. She dropped her head into her hands and slowly shook her head. “I love my brother. I love him more than any man on this planet except my husband, but sometimes I just want to slap him silly.”

She choked back a sob and looked up at Kim. Her eyes were filled with tears. “I don’t know what to do.”

Kim stood for a long minute, wrestling with the decision of getting more involved than she should. In the end she decided a little advice couldn’t hurt.

“Frankly, I don’t really see where the choice is here.”

Esmeralda sniffed and wiped her sleeve across her damp eyes. “What do you mean?”

Kim put her hands out, palms up, as if she was weighing something. “Ricco, Enrique. No comparison.”

“But—”

“No buts.”

Esmeralda sat forward as if to defend her position, but Kim gave her two more cents. “Esmeralda, I understand you want everything perfect, but in so doing you hurt your brother. In his eyes he’s been here for you and you’ve picked your father—the man who wasn’t—over him. You need to accept the fact that the gap between father and son will never be bridged. Ricco doesn’t want it, no matter how much you, your mom, and your sisters do.”

Ez choked back a sob. “I just want everyone to get along.”

“Forcing your father on Ricco is only making him dig in deeper. If there is to be any hope, you need to let nature take its course—otherwise you will lose your brother forever.”

“We’ve always been able to cajole Ricco into anything. I guess I thought I could do it this time.”

“In the real world that isn’t feasible.”

Esmeralda laughed, the sound caustic. “But this is Christmas town. Everything is possible here. You just have to believe.”

“Sorry, Ez, no matter how much I believed in Santa Claus, there wasn’t.”

Suddenly Kim was tired. It had been a busy three days. She was ready for bed. “Look, things will work out the way they’re supposed to. It just might not be what you want.”

Esmeralda stared into space, tuning Kim—and the truth—out. “Good night,” Kim said, then made her way up to her room. She drew a hot bubble bath; just as she was about to get in, she remembered she’d promised Nick a phone call. Not wanting to talk to him, she waited until her bath was ready, then forced herself to make the call. She dialed his number on the inn phone.

He answered on the first ring. “I’ve been waiting all day!”

“I’ve been just a little busy.”

“Give me an update.”

She let out a long breath. Since the phone was cordless, she sunk into the hot, soapy tub. Closing her eyes, she luxuriated for a long minute. “Oh, God, that feels so good.”

“Who’s there with you?” Nick demanded.

Kim’s eyes flew open, and she couldn’t help a laugh. “Me, myself, and I. I just sunk into the most decadent bath ever.”

There was a long silence; all she could hear were quick, jerky breaths. “How big is the tub?”

“Big.”

“Enough for two?”

“Uh-huh.” She closed her eyes and let the hot, sudsy water infiltrate her skin and muscles.

“Tell me about the rest of your day,” Nick softly said. She didn’t care that his mood went from rabid to seductive. She was too tired to gauge his moods and guess at the reason for the swings.