Special Delivery (A Valentine's Short Story) by Ginny Baird Read Free Book Online Page A

clear enough the night of
their senior prom?
    She appeared to be thinking, those mental
wheels turning in some sort of diabolical plan. When she set her
gaze back on his, she seemed buoyed, as if she’d convinced herself
this entire wacky scheme could work.
    “We’ll have the kid call you Uncle Jack,” she
continued brightly. “In the end, you’ll probably be closer to him
than his own dad. It’s not like Dad will be much in the
picture. That will be part of the deal.”
    Jack felt the burn in his eyes but smiled
tightly to disguise his feelings. “What if Dad doesn’t
agree?”
    She brushed aside his concerns with a wave of
her hand. “Aren’t you the one who’s fond of saying there’s always a
way to work things out?”
    Now she was twisting his words to serve them
back at him. “Nikki—”
    “Don’t Nikki me. You know we can do
this, you and me. If anyone can pull it off, we can.” She reached
across the table to take his hands. “Please tell me you’ll help.
Help Ma. Help Tony, and…” She hesitated, then said with a desperate
look, “Big Mama.”
    Jack pursed his lips, knowing there was no
way he could do it. But in a stronger sense, he knew he couldn’t
deny helping the one person on earth he loved. Nikki’d had his
heart forever, and now—without even being aware—she was going to
stomp all over it. And Jack was going to help her, damn it. Help
her because he understood that if he couldn’t be hers, he’d better
damn well ensure that the guy who was deserved her. For Nikki
wasn’t just beautiful. She was smart and funny, and such great
company to be around. The fact was, he’d rather hang out with her
than any of his buddies. She was way more entertaining and very
easy to be with. Nikki had that eclectic blend of streetwise and
sophisticated, with her own unique quirkiness mixed in. And Jack
found that headily intoxicating. Now he was about to help someone
else get drunk on her. Once they did, and discovered what is was
like living with her day after day, Jack was certain no man in his
right mind would be willing to give up Nikki. Worst-case scenario,
she might even start falling for him… This was turning out to be a
very un-merry Christmas for sure.
    Jack fought the lump in his throat and
squeezed Nikki’s hands. “What are best friends for?”
     
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