Six months after his wife leaves him, Bob Jansen finds himself spending the holidays with his parents in the town where he grew up. With him is his seven year old daughter, Jenna, who sometimes seems to be handling her mother's absence better than Bob is himself. But he's worried that, in her letter to Santa, Jenna has asked the jolly old elf for something Bob knows he can't pull off. He's afraid she wants her mother back for the holiday.<br><br>While shopping for his daughter's Christmas presents, Bob runs into Dave Knarr, an old friend. They used to be best buds in high school, before Julia, Bob's soon-to-be ex-wife, came between them. The two men catch up over drinks, and before the evening ends, Dave makes his real feelings for Bob known.<br><br>If Bob is shocked to learn Dave has always been attracted to him, he's more surprised by his own reaction. Even if he's willing to take another shot at romance, what will his daughter think of his old friend?

A Present for Daddy

Maybe my mother’s right. I know things have been tough on Jenna—hell, on me, too. I never asked to be a single parent, but my wife walked out six months ago, and I lost my job just before the holidays. Hopefully we really willbe able to get back on our feet soon. With any luck, Jenna will be overwhelmed by her gifts and not realize her mother isn’t around to share them with her.


Damn Julia. Not so much for leaving me—things started out great between us, but that was a long time ago, and the longer we stayed together, the more we fell apart. But for leaving Jenna. How could someone look into those deep, dark, blinky eyesof hers and not want to stay forever?


Chapter 5