Good Tidings: A Guardian Trilogy Christmas Short Story (The Guardian Trilogy Book 6) Read online

  I sat back up. I shook my head. I didn’t know how to answer them other than honestly. “He was shot.”

  “Why would someone shoot Daddy?” Otis asked.

  Three sets of huge brown eyes looked up at me. Shit. “You have to understand the life we live. It’s a hard and dangerous. Sometimes good people,” I licked my lips, “don’t make it.”

  “Where’s Mommy?” Beatrice asked.

  Rupert frowned at her. “Don’t be dumb, Bea. She didn’t want us. You know that.”

  Beas face began to scrunch, and a moment later she flung herself at me in tears. “I want Mommy,” she said, her sadness soaking into my shirt.

  I hugged the kid back. I would track down that tomato and make her take these kids home where they belonged. What kind of person just abandons their children?

  “We don’t need her,” Rupert said with conviction

  “Yeah,” Otis agreed, but his eyes were misty.

  “Dinner,” Candy called from the kitchen.

  Thankful for the distraction, I sat around my table for the first time with other people. Three little ruffians and a lounge singer, but it was nice. The kids started off quiet as they shoveled food into their mouths. Soon enough though, Candy had them chattering and laughing with each other. She was great with kids. She definitely needed someone she could have a family with. That person wasn’t me. After dinner, we all went to the living room and listened to the choir sing Christmas songs over the radio. One by one, the kids nodded off on the floor. I didn’t have the heart to take them back to the cold building where they were squatting. Candy was tucked in under my arm with her head resting against my chest. The familial peacefulness was an illusion, but one that I was defenseless against.

  “I should go,” Candy said. She started to stand, but I pulled her back.

  “Stay.”

  She smiled slightly. “What will the neighbors think?”

  “They’ll be green with envy, doll. Genuinely green.”

  She kissed me and stood up again. “I really should go.”

  I stood up too and wrapped my arms around her. “You know, this wasn’t the evening I had planned for us.”

  Her head tilted to the side. “And yet, it turned out perfect.” She kissed me softly. “Don’t ever change. Baker.” She pulled back like she was actually leaving.

  “You’re honestly going to leave me here with them.” I pointed to the kids on the floor.

  She looked down, her face softening considerably. She bit her lip and glanced back up. “You know you’d make a really good dad someday if you’d only stop messing around with criminals. You’re a decent sort of man, Baker McGovern. I’d testify to it in court.”

  My arms dropped. She looked a little too doe-eyed and dreamy. Couldn’t have thoughts like that in her mind when I was on my way out.

  She smoothed out her dress seeming to read my mind. “And that’s why I need to go.” Her voice was soft and resigned, but not hurt.

  I nodded and got her coat. “Do you want me to walk you?”

  She shook her head. “Stay with them. They need you more than I do.” She rose up on her tip toes and kissed my cheek. “What you did tonight, it matters more than any shipment of whiskey ever will. If you ever decide to leave that life, I’ll be here.”

  I touched her cheek. “Don’t take any wooden nickels, Candy. I’m not the guy for you.”

  She nodded. “But you could be if you wanted to.”

  With that, she left. I looked down at the three little faces curled up in front of the fireplace. I carried the two smallest ones to the guest bedroom, and then put Rupert on the couch. My heart squeezed thinking about their situation and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There was no way I could send them back to the streets. Not now, not ever. What was I going to do with three orphans?

  By morning, I had a plan. I just had to find their no good mother and straighten her out. She could take the kids back; I could make arrangements for Candy and Mickey, and then I was in the clear. I went to the living room, and Rupert was gone from the couch. An awful amount of ruckus was coming from the kitchen. I went in to a genuine disaster with Bea standing in the center. The milk was on its side; the refrigerator door was standing wide open and all the lower cabinets were open with the contents strewn about.

  “Whatcha doing, princess?”

  She smiled revealing big gaps in her teeth and her flaxen hair stood up awkwardly in places. “Making breakfast.”

  I grinned back and winked at her. “Looks great. Can’t wait. Where’s your brother?”

  “They left.”

  “Both of them?” She nodded, sloshing whatever she was stirring on the ground. “Any idea where they went?”

  “Nope,” she said, completely unconcerned.

  “Are they coming back?”

  She gave me a sympathetic look. “No matter what, they will always come back. Not like Mommy.” She sounded like she was repeating something she had been told over and over again. “Are we going to live here now?”

  “No, no, no.” I shook my head and waved my arms. Dames started young trying to move themselves in. Her lips quivered. I put my hands on my knees, so I was eye level with her. “You want to know a secret?”

  She nodded, muscling through the urge to cry.

  “You’re going to get a better place than here to live for Christmas.”

  She gave me a wobbly smile and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I know. Roo said that Mommy left because we cried too much and cost money. He and Otis are looking for a job, and I am trying very hard not to cry.”

  My heart broke looking into her honest cherub like face under the unruly mop of hair.

  She leaned closer. “But I snuck out one afternoon and asked Santa for Mommy and Daddy to come home for Christmas. Roo and Otis don’t know. It’s a surprise.”

  “That’s an awfully tall order for Santa, don’t ya think?”

  “Not for Santa. He’s magic.”

  I blew out a breath. This kid wasn’t going to make my life any easier. “What exactly did you ask Santa for, princess?”

  “That everything goes back to how it was for Christmas.” Her face crinkled. “Do you think Santa will find us here?”

  “Sure he can. He is a magical elf. He can find you anywhere.” She nodded, encouragingly. “You know. There are more elves than him in the world. I even know some.”

  “You do?” Her eyes widened.

  “I do.”

  “Do they work for Santa?”

  I smiled and held back a laugh. “Absolutely they do.”

  She gazed at me with new admiration. “If we stay here long enough, can I meet one?”

  “Maybe, princess. We’ll see.” I straightened back to full height.

  The idea of the kids staying was starting to grow on me. I owned the house, and I intended to keep it, but I couldn’t keep living here. I had already stayed in this life longer than any other I had lived. Aging yourself little by little was not an easy task. I could be young or old, but the subtle changes were harder. People would eventually notice, so I had to leave for a while. Let the neighborhood shift before I came back. When I started my new life, maybe there was a way to arrange for the kids and their ma to keep my house. I let the thought tumble around in my brain until it was smooth and glossy. That might actually work. It would give their mom a reason to come back and give me peace of mind about their well-being. I kissed Bea on the cheek.

  “You’re a genius.” She giggled. “Let’s forget about breakfast, kid. I got things to do.” I took the bowl out of her hands and sat it on the counter.

  I carried her into the bathroom and cleaned her up the best I could before I put her filthy, ratty coat back on her.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Well, you are going to visit Candy. I have a couple things I need to take care of, then I will come and get you.”

  She didn’t say anything on the two block walk to Candy’s house. When she opened the door,
Candy smiled brightly at both of us. “What are you doing here?” she asked me, though she looked pleased.

  “Could you do me a favor, doll, and watch Bea?” Candy raised an eyebrow and looked like she was about to give me an earful. “I know, I know, but her brothers took off this morning.”

  Her head tilted back in acknowledgment. “Sure. Bea and I will have a good time, won’t we?” She held out her hand to Bea, who clung to my pants and hid behind me.

  I tried to pull her out, but she was stronger than she looked. “Come on.” I caught hold of her arm and dragged her to the front. Tears prickled in her huge eyes and her lip trembled.

  “Don’t go,” she said.

  “I’ll be back.” I winked. “Promise.” I trotted down the stairs and through the snow, waving to them over my shoulder.

  ****

  Finding Agnes Connelly wasn’t all that hard. She still lived in the same house she had with Bobby. I went up the steps to a place that looked pretty much like mine. Doubt in my plan rooted. If she still had a house, then why did she dump the kids?

  I knocked on the door. A few minutes later, a woman pulled it open. Her makeup was smudged under her eyes; a thin, light pink silk robe was tied around her, and a cigarette hung between her lips.

  “What?” she said with a nasally rasp.

  “You Bobby Connelly’s wife?”

  “What’s it to ya?” She took a long drag of her cigarette and blew it in my face.

  “I’m here about your kids.”

  “I ain’t got no kids.” She held out her arms. “Does this look like the body of a mother?”

  “Well you do look a little lumpy.” I put my hand out to stop her as she tried to shut the door on me. “How can you just abandon those kids? They need you.”

  “Like I said. I ain’t got no kids. Don’t want ‘em. Can’t afford ‘em.”

  “Look, I knew Bobby. I know you have three little ones, and you took them to the orphanage. I’m here to ask you to take them back. I’ll help you.”

  She shook her head. “You’re not understanding me, Mister. I never wanted kids. Those whiney, needy leeches, were his, not mine. He got his ticket punched, and that was my chance to get out of a life I never asked for. What kind of fella would I be able to catch with three bricks weighing me down?” She shoved the door closed, and the lock clicked into place.

  I stared at the door, rage boiling up inside of me. I had never hit a woman in all my time, but if one deserved it, it was this one. I punched the door, and the wood cracked beneath my fist. She yelped inside, probably calling the police, but it didn’t matter. I was leaving anyway. Looked like Bea wasn’t getting her mother back for Christmas, which left me with the same problem, what was I going to do with three human orphans?

  ****

  The snow had started to fall on my way back. It floated through the air in perfect dry flakes, adding a fresh sheen to everything. I picked up Bea from Candy’s house. Candy gave me a questioning look. I shook my head before I remembered she thought I had been out looking for the kids. Her face creased with worry. Bea threw herself at me as if she thought I was never coming back, but she had been burned a couple times—who could blame her. It was startling how fast the kid warmed up to me, a stranger. She was starved for love, but not for so long that she had become jaded by it. She still had hope—at least she did until Santa failed to give her the family she wanted for Christmas. I scooped her up in my arms and tugged on the toe sticking out of her shoes.

  “What happened to your shoes?”

  “Too small. Roo cut the end so they would fit.”

  I was ashamed it took me this long to notice. She shouldn’t be walking through snow in those shoes. “I have a surprise for you? Do you want to know what it is?”

  She nodded.

  “We’re going shopping. I think it is time for some new clothes, don’t you?” I asked Candy.

  She grinned at me though her eyes were still worried. “Absolutely. Christmas is the perfect time to get dolled up. If you want, I will take Bea shopping, and you can keep…” She raised her eyebrows.

  Bea clung to me tighter. “Actually, I think this is one shopping trip, I wouldn’t miss for the world.” I offered Candy my arm and kept hold of Bea.

  I hadn’t figured how yet, but I was going to give this kid what she wanted for Christmas.

  We bought clothes for Bea and the boys. When we made it home, Candy and I were laden down with packages and Bea proudly wore her new shoes. Both boys sat on my stoop, waiting. Rupert looked at us crossly.

  “Where have you been?” he asked.

  I smiled at him. “Where have you been?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “Looking for work.”

  “How’d you do?”

  “Everyone says I’m too young.”

  I nodded as I unlocked the door. “Maybe you are.”

  “I’m going to run Bea a bath,” Candy said, wiping her eye after she hugged both boys against their will. “You two are next. It’s no wonder you can’t find a job. It looks like you rolled around in the mud.”

  Rupert eyed the packages sitting on the floor. “What are those?”

  “Clothes. The three of you are getting dirt all over my house.” I cringed, remembering we still had to contend with Bea’s mess in the kitchen.

  “We aren’t staying here,” Rupert said.

  Otis hit him and took a step closer to me. “I want to stay.”

  “We don’t need him. We’re going home,” Rupert insisted. “As soon as we find a job,” he added much softer.

  I sat in my chair. “Well, kid, I’m not trying to make you stay, that’s up to you, but how about this. You three squat here until you are ready to move on. How does that sound.”

  Otis nodded enthusiastically. “Do we have to find a job?” he asked me.

  I shook my head. “I think going to school is your job.”

  “I like school.” Otis smiled shyly.

  “Do you? Well that is grand. I can see it now. You’re going to be an egg someday kid. You’ll be on the cover of magazines.”

  Rupert scoffed. “Him?” He waved a hand in the air. “You’re all wet, mister.”

  “Just call ‘em like I see ‘em,” I said. “Otis here has the smarts to go far. He ain’t a hood like us.” A small smile ticked on Rupert’s face. He liked being grouped in with me and his dad. “Why don’t you turn on the radio, Otis.”

  We sat quietly listening to the program. Rupert inched closer to me. “Do you really think I am like you?”

  “Sure thing, kid.”

  He was quiet for several more moments before he asked, “Do you think I could get a job with you? You know like run errands or do whatever you need me to.”

  The kid had pride, and it had to hurt for him to ask me, but there was no way I would sanction his becoming an associate. However, if he kept asking, he would eventually find the right person who would bring him in, then like so many others, he would meet an untimely end. I looked at him seriously. “You will have to do everything you’re told. No questions asked.”

  He nodded solemnly.

  “And you can’t tell a soul.”

  “I swear it.”

  “Then you can work for me.”

  “For you?” His nose scrunched up.

  “I’m not good enough for you, kid?”

  He thought about it for a moment, which almost made me laugh. “I guess I could.”

  “Don’t do me any favors.”

  “No, I want to do it,” he said, with more determination.

  I caught Candy and Bea emerging from the bathroom; they were both clean and dressed to the nines. I whistled from my chair as they came into the room and twirled for us. I nudged Rupert with my shoe. “First order of business, take a shower.”

  He ran to the bathroom with enthusiasm like I hadn’t seen. Candy took the clothes we bought for him and knocked on the door. A skinny arm whipped out and snatched the clothing then slammed shut again. She came back to
the living room and sat on the arm of my chair.

  “What are you going to do with these kids, Baker?” she asked quietly, so they couldn’t hear.

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head.

  She took my hand and squeezed it.

  After everyone was clean and the house respectable, the kids settled down one by one falling asleep on the floor again. Candy’s feet were propped up on my lap. I massaged them gently with my thumbs in an upward circular motion. “I went to find their mother today,” I told her.

  “And?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

  “She’s not coming back.”

  Candy opened her eyes and looked at me. “I don’t understand women like that.”

  “Who does?” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I think I’m going to mess everything up.” I meant that in so many ways. I needed to get out of the business while I could, but I also couldn’t leave, not now.

  “I think you’re doing swell. They seem happy and much safer than they were.”

  “I don’t live a life that is meant for this,” I gestured around the room.

  “Who says?”

  I smiled and shook my head. Seeing the best in people was a great quality. It was also one that wasn’t going to get you far in life. “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I can’t give them what they want, and I don’t know how to deal with that.”

  “What do they want?”

  “Their family back.”

  She frowned as she watched the fire crackle. “Maybe all they want is a family. Their family or not, it doesn’t really matter.”

  “Will you watch the kids tomorrow while I do some shopping?”

  “More shopping?”

  I smiled. “You can’t have Christmas with no presents.”

  She rubbed a bare foot against my thigh. “I like this side of you.”

  It was the day before Christmas, and I finally had a fool proof plan. I couldn’t give them exactly what they wanted, but I could give them part of what they wanted. However, to make this happen there was a lot I had to do. I spent the day shopping, arranging, and planning. When I got home, it was nearly dark. I dropped the presents off in the garage and walked into the house with my remaining bags. The house smelled of roasted chicken and was sparkling clean. I glanced around to make sure I was in the right place.