Tuffer's Christmas Wish

TUFFER’S CHRISTMAS
WISH

Jean C. Joachim

Moonlight Books

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A Moonlight Books Novel

Short Story, Literary
Fiction

Tuffer’s Christmas Wish

Copyright © 2015 Jean C.
Joachim

Cover design by Jean C.
Joachim

Edited by Tabitha Bower

All cover art and logo copyright ©
2015 by Jean Joachim

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary
work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole
or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are
fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is
strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Moonlight Books

LOST & FOUND DUET

WITH BEN TANNER

LOVE LOST & FOUND

DANGEROUS LOVE, LOST & FOUND

FIRST & TEN SERIES

GRIFF MONTGOMERY, QUARTERBACK

BUDDY CARRUTHERS, WIDE RECEIVER

PETE SEBASTIAN, COACH

DEVON DRAKE, CORNERBACK

THE MANHATTAN DINNER CLUB

RESCUE MY HEART

SEDUCING HIS HEART

SHINE YOUR LOVE ON ME

TO LOVE OR NOT TO LOVE

HOLLYWOOD HEARTS SERIES

IF I LOVED YOU

RED CARPET ROMANCE

MEMORIES OF LOVE

MOVIE LOVERS

LOVE’S LAST CHANCE

LOVERS & LIARS

His Leading Lady (Series Starter)

NOW AND FOREVER SERIES

NOW AND FOREVER 1, A LOVE STORY

NOW AND FOREVER 1, THE BOOK OF DANNY

NOW AND FOREVER 3, BLIND LOVE

NOW AND FOREVER 4, THE RENOVATED HEART

NOW AND FOREVER 5, LOVE’S JOURNEY

NOW AND FOREVER, CALLIE’S STORY(series
starter)

MOONLIGHT SERIES

SUNNY DAYS, MOONLIT NIGHTS

APRIL’S KISS IN THE MOONLIGHT

UNDER THE MIDNIGHT MOON

SHORT STORY

SWEET LOVE REMEMBERED

It all started when Tuffer Demson,
defensive linebacker for the Connecticut Kings, met his biological
mother on Christmas Eve. They broke bread once a year, during the
holidays. Tuffer met her at the diner at ten for breakfast. He
called her by her given name, since he didn’t remember her ever
being his mom. He had someone else he had called that for the past
twenty-three years, and he liked it that way.

“
Hi, Shayna,” he said, easing his
six-foot-three-inch, linebacker body into the booth.

“
Hi, yourself,” the blonde said. She
eyed him up and down. “You’re looking good. Kings must be agreeing
with you.”

“
Yep.” These meetings were at her
insistence. He could’ve cared less if he never saw her again. But
his folks had taught him respect. Besides, it was only once a
year.

“
What’ll ya have?” the server
asked.

Shayna always ordered a
huge amount of food—the most expensive dishes too. A side of bacon
and sausage with eggs Benedict. A large, fresh-squeezed orange
juice. Maybe a sweet bun. She knew Tuffer’d pick up the check, and
he always did. She didn’t make much as a waitress, and no one gets
residuals on porno flicks, so he understood her need for a
splurge—even if it was at her son’s expense.

In the beginning, he’d met with her
hoping to find out who his father was. But Shayna had vowed never
to reveal the man’s name.

“
Think you’re going to the Super
Bowl?” She added cream to her coffee.

“
We’ve got a good shot.”

“
You get a nice, fat bonus for
winning, don’t you?”

He nodded and sipped his
juice.

“
A hundred grand?”

“
Not quite that much.”

“
Buy yourself a fancy car with that
kind of money.”

“
I don’t need a fancy car. My SUV is
fine.”

“
Sometimes, it’s hard to believe
you’re my kid,” she said with a chuckle, shaking her
head.

“
My real mother and father don’t give
a shit about stuff.”

Her eyes widened as if she’d been hit.
“Got that right. They’re better ’an me. I know. That’s why I left
you with them. I knew it’d be better for you.”

“
Dumped me with them, you
mean.”

“
We’ve been over this a hundred times.
Do we have to go over it again?”

The server brought their food. There
was hardly enough room on the table for all that Shayna had
ordered.

“
Just be honest. You dumped me because
it was good for you, not for me,” said Tuffer.

“
I coulda left you at the police
station. I picked a nice couple. Ran a preschool. Good with kids.
You liked them. They liked you. Seemed like a good bet.”

“
Good bet for who?”

“
I was twenty. I wasn’t ready to be a
mom.”

“
And Bev Demson was?”

“
Yeah. She told me about the car
accident. That she couldn’t have kids. She was jealous I had
you.”

“
Mom has never been jealous of anyone
a day in her life.”

“
Yeah? Well, she was jealous of me.
She wanted you.” Shayna cut a piece of the Benedict with her fork
and put it in her mouth.

Tuffer pushed around the scrambled
eggs on his plate. He hated going over this again, but he refused
to let her weasel out of the truth.

“
They used the lawsuit money to start
the school. But she wanted one of her own. And you were it. It was
perfect.”

“
Perfect for everyone except
me.”

“
Haven’t you been happy? Bev and Ralph
are great parents. A shitload better than I could’ve been.” She
picked up a piece of bacon.

He couldn’t deny her words. If he
couldn’t have his biological parents, Bev and Ralph Demson were the
next best thing. They’d given him everything, made sacrifices,
never complained, and treated him like a prince. 

“
What about my father? Why didn’t he
take me?”

“
I told you. We’re not talking about
him.”

Tuffer banged his fist on the table.
The dishes jumped, and the coffee sloshed over the sides of the
mugs. Fear flashed across Shayna’s face.

“
Don’t worry. I’m not gonna hit you. I
don’t hit women.”

“
Scared the fuckin’ crap outta
me.”

“
Nice talk.”

“
You do it.”

“
I’m a guy.”

“
Chauvinist.”

That made him laugh. Sometimes, his
mother said or did something that struck him as funny. He figured
it must be their biological connection. He had her blond hair, but
hazel eyes. She had blue. It made the young man crazy that Shayna
never spoke about Tuffer’s real father.

Every year at Christmas, Tuffer had
wished to meet him. But it had never happened, so by college, he
had given up.

“
How are Bev and Ralph?” Shayna
asked.

“
Fine.”

“
Spending Christmas with
them?”

“
They’re coming tonight.”

“
Nice. You got a tree?”

“
My girlfriend helped decorate
it.”

“
Girlfriend? You’re getting laid.
That’s good. Big guy like you.”

“
Shut up, Shayna.”

“
Sorry, sorry. Yeah, moms don’t talk
like that.”

“
How would you know?”

“
When are you going to stop torturing
me for a mistake I made twenty years ago?”

He cast his glance down to his plate,
where he scooped up a forkful of eggs.

“
I’m sorry, Tuffer. I don’t know how
many times I have to say it for you to believe me. I’m sorry I left
you. But it would have been terrible for you to come with me. I’m
glad I didn’t have an abortion, like your father wanted. Look at
what a great guy you are. Successful. Nice. With a girlfriend. I’m
proud of you.” Tears clouded her eyes.

His heart softened. She had given him
life, and she had left him with two people who were the best
parents in the world. He had to give her credit for
that.

He took her hand. “Don’t cry. You did
the best you could. Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

“
Fine with me.” She slipped her
fingers from his to wipe her eyes.

The waitress refilled their coffee
mugs. Shayna finished her food in silence.

Tuffer pulled an envelope out of his
jacket pocket. “Here. Merry Christmas,” he said. Inside was a check
for a thousand dollars. Once he’d signed with the Kings, he’d had
money to burn.

Her eyes lit up. She ripped it open
and smiled. “Thanks, hon. Very generous of you. I can use it.
Rent’s overdue.”

He polished off the last bite and
called for the check.

“
I’ve got something for you this
year.”

“
Yeah? What?”

She glanced out the window then faced
him. While waiting for her answer, he paid for their
meal.

“
It’s outside,” Shayna
announced.

“
My present?”

“
Yep.”

“
Where?” He looked out and didn’t see
anything except a couple of cars in the parking lot and a man
standing next to a silver Mercedes.

She pointed to him. “That
guy.”

“
What about him?”

“
He’s your father. Rusty Fowler. He
played for the Nebraska Huskers.”

Tuffer’s heart beat so fast, he thought he
was having a heart attack. “Him?”

“
Yep. He wanted to see you. I said
‘okay.’ You don’t have to go out there, if you don’t want to. That
was the deal I made with him.”