It’s a nightmare, but you learn and you get through it.”
“My mom was really young when I was born. Like seventeen. So was my dad. That’s four years younger than me. I mean they both had their parents, but still.” Joylyn paused. “My dad worked with the DEA.”
“On a joint task force.”
“You knew? Did everyone know but me?”
Wynn picked up her drink. “He told me a few weeks ago.”
“I just found out yesterday.” Her tone was bitter. “He just left me to be some hero.”
“I wasn’t there, but my understanding is that you refused to see him. He showed up every weekend for nearly two months, and every time you sent him away. Then he accepted the assignment. Or am I wrong?”
Joylyn shifted on her seat. “Okay, that’s how it happened, but it’s not how it felt.”
“How did it feel?”
“Like he didn’t care about me.”
“Have you told him that?”
“He wouldn’t get it if I tried.”
Wynn sensed that Joylyn was telling the truth—from her perspective, her father hadn’t cared. What she didn’t know was why Joylyn would go there. Garrick had shown up faithfully, begging his daughter to spend time with him. She’d been the one to refuse. So why would that leave her feeling rejected?
There was something she didn’t know, Wynn told herself. Some piece to the puzzle she couldn’t see.
“Did you and your dad have any Christmas traditions?” she asked.
Joylyn picked up her fork and took a bite of the coffee cake.
“Sure. Lots of them. We always had a tree—a real one. My mom insisted on an artificial one because she didn’t want to deal with the needles and stuff, but Dad got us a real one. He always insisted we get a tree from Wishing Tree, Washington, because he said those are the best. We had our own ornaments, and we always decorated it together.”
She smiled. “Every year I was into something different. One year the tree was all done in fairies and princess ornaments. It was so girlie—even the lights were pink—but he never complained. He always got me an Advent calendar. One year it was like a jewelry kit. I could make string bracelets and necklaces, adding beads every day.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“It was. He mentioned decorating yesterday, but we started talking about other stuff and it never happened. I miss how it used to be.”
“It’s not going to be exactly that, but you two could still have fun together.”
Joylyn paused, as if considering the suggestion. “Maybe. I spent Christmas Eve with him every year, and we would get up at five to see what Santa had left at his place. Then we went out for breakfast and got to my mom’s at about seven. He stayed all day. Even when he was married to Sandy, he did that with me.”
She finished the coffee cake. “He always took off the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and we always went up in the mountains to play in the snow. One year there just wasn’t any in the mountains outside of Phoenix so he drove us all the way to Utah so we could have our day.”
“Those are great memories.”
“They are.”
“You should talk to him.”
Joylyn stiffened. “What about?”
“The real reason you stopped seeing him. You’re angry because he hasn’t guessed what it is. Here’s my life secret—no one can read your mind, and if you’re waiting for that to happen, you’re going to be disappointed for the rest of your life. You love your dad and you miss him. The only way to fix the problem is to tell him what’s wrong.”
She thought Joylyn might burst into tears or start screaming or even run out of the room. Instead, she sucked in a breath and nodded.
“You’re right. I should do that. I don’t know if I can, but I need to try.”
CHAPTER TEN
GARRICK WAS WEARY to the bone. His morning had started at three with an Amber Alert. The missing kid was a four-year-old boy who had been taken by his noncustodial father. While Happily Inc didn’t have a lot of crime, bad stuff happened everywhere. His officers had issued the alert and started patrolling the area, looking for the man’s car. The father’s violent past had added urgency to the search.
The department had been contacted by a concerned citizen who had heard screaming while on a morning run. Garrick had joined his officers on the edge of the desert and had found the boy and his dad, setting up camp. The father had defied the police