Free McDonald_NoELFngWay_GEN_Dec2015 by Donna McDonald Page A

you were happier yesterday than you’ve been in two years. I didn’t exactly need to get my crystal ball out to tell.”
    “Keep your mother hoo doo voo doo to yourself. And I’m cancelling cable as soon as I can,” Dash declared, frowning about the truth of Tuesday being spoken aloud. “Even if I had slept with Vixen… and I’m not admitting I did… how does that explain her not listening to me? The mental health of my child has to take precedence over my sex life… hers and mine, I mean.”
    “Didn’t you and Melody manage to simultaneously have a sex life and be parents? You talk like it isn’t even possible to do that with Vixen. I put myself in her shoes and shudder at how much your request would have hurt. Just how many more times do you expect the woman to forgive you enough to let herself fall in love with you? You’ve walked away twice now when things got tough.”
    “Vixen never said anything about falling in love with me. Hell—she barely likes me. She proved that today when she wouldn’t talk things out with me.”
    Cupid narrowed her eyes. “You can’t sit there and tell me that you aren’t aware that you hurt her feelings. Are you afraid of loving Vixen back? Is that what this is really about, Dash?”
    “No. I have not become a commitment phobe,” Dash denied as he hung his head.
    Could it really be possible Vixen was in love with him? He sighed and closed his eyes. Two days ago, he’d been making plans to spend every holiday with her. He was falling in love and liked the idea of it being a truth for both of them. The only problem was that it was happening at a very bad time.
    “I swear nothing I did Tuesday or yesterday was meant to hurt her more than I already had. Nicky’s my son. Shouldn’t I do what’s best for him?”
    Cupid sighed. Men could be so dense. “After reading his letter, I’m sure dealing with Nicky’s feelings has been on Vixen’s mind nearly as much as it’s now on yours. Why didn’t you talk to her and ask what she thought about the situation?”
    “Now you sound just like her,” Dash complained.
    “No. What I sound like is a reasonable woman. Trust me. I would have kicked a man’s ass for breaking my heart even once—never mind twice. I’m not saying Vixen is without blame, Dash. She’s over-reacting for sure. But you do need to develop some empathy for her situation. With her past with you, and her history of Dancer’s father abandoning them, caring about you is a historically emotional high risk for her to take. Even if you’re right on some level about breaking up with her, it was still very abrupt.”
    “I didn’t break up with her, Mom. Why can’t anyone see that?”
    “Dasher… I love you with all my heart. But you broke up with the woman. Everyone but you will see it that way.”
    “Well, that’s not what I was trying to do.”
    Dash sighed heavily. If he was wrong for putting his child’s welfare before his love life, he just couldn’t see it. Memories of Nicky crying himself to sleep over Melody were still fresh in his mind. He would do anything he had to in order to avoid being the cause of more grief.
    And no… he wasn’t being shallow about his feelings for Vixen. In two years, she was the only woman who had interested him. She was so perfect that just seeing her again had made him start planning an imaginary future with her. Ironically, Vixen would never know that in breaking up with him completely, she’d managed to have her revenge.
    “It’s probably too late to reason with her. I’d try to apologize, but I don’t think she’d hear it. She’s never going to give me a third chance, is she?”
    Cupid sighed as she rose, unable to accept that outcome. She walked around the table and patted her handsome son’s shoulder.
    “Never is a long time, Dasher. Why don’t you talk to Blix? Maybe he can help smooth this out with her. Vixen adores him.”
    “Nice to know there’s someone Vixen gives the benefit of the