Chapter 7 #2
Nick shuffled through the still-dark living room, careful not to bang his foot against the couch as he navigated past the coffee table.
He’d finally managed to clean off his door and take his turn in the guest bathroom to get ready for the day—a day that apparently was going to hold more Christmas activities than a child’s fun pack, if Holly had anything to do with it.
He needed coffee.
And if he really had to make and wear his own Christmas sweater to match Holly, well, he might need Irish coffee.
“This is harder than I thought it’d be.” Grace’s quiet voice sounded from around the corner in the kitchen. “Much harder. I don’t even feel like decorating.”
Oops. Nick hovered near the recliner. He didn’t want to eavesdrop, but he also didn’t want to intrude on what sounded like a potentially vulnerable topic. Maybe he should go back and find the light switch on the wall, make his arrival known so they could change gears.
Out of sight, Thomas responded to Grace, his voice low to match hers. “You know we don’t have to commit to anything just yet. It’s a big decision.”
Definitely a private conversation. But Nick also definitely needed caffeine.
A shadow moved in the early dawn light filtering through the blinds and he squinted.
Olivia and Kat were hunched against the side wall in what looked to be robes and pajama pants, stooped in a half-crouch nearly on top of each other as they listened.
Apparently, they hadn’t wanted to interrupt either.
And resorted to eavesdropping.
With a grin, he resumed crossing the living room. “Good morning.”
Two dark heads whipped toward him while two fingers simultaneously covered two sets of lips. “ Shh. ”
“ Get down, ” Olivia hissed, waving frantically with one hand.
Nick obediently joined the line and crouched behind Kat and her buffalo plaid pants. Her dark ponytail was back, and it swung in his face as he tried to blend into the wall. “What are we doing?” he whispered.
“Solving a mystery.” Kat tossed the clipped words over her shoulder. Then she sighed. “Or proving Olivia is paranoid.”
A dish clattered from around the corner. “I just don’t want to regret my choice,” Grace said.
Thomas’s deep voice answered. “I know, honey. Me neither.”
Nick stilled. Regret a choice…big decision…
Were they talking about selling the property?
“ See. I told you something was up with Mom.” Olivia turned and stuck her tongue out at Kat. With her tangled hair and smiley-face slippers, she didn’t look much older than her sister. “I’m not paranoid.”
“You have been before.” Kat moved to face them both, crossing her arms over her bulky, polka-dotted robe.
Nick straightened. “This seems like a family matter, so—”
“I’m a mother.” Ignoring Nick, Olivia mirrored Kat’s defensive posture. “We have the right to stay a little paranoid.”
Kat opened her mouth, then shut it with a snap. Her dark brows furrowed on her angular face. “Here’s an idea. Ask Mom.”
“If she wanted us to know, she’d have told us.” Olivia frowned as she glanced back toward the kitchen door. “That’s what’s worrying me. It must be something serious. Something big.”
They were getting way too close to the truth. Nick slowly backed away from the sisters. Maybe the coffee could wait. “I’m, uh, just going to head back—”
Suddenly, the front door flung open, letting in a burst of icy morning air.
Nick jumped. Kat squealed, then clamped her hand over her mouth. Olivia gasped.
A young, attractive brunette with a deep tan, wearing a puffy white jacket and holding a Starbucks cup, stood framed in the doorway, the early morning sun lighting the sky behind her. “Guess who’s home from UCLA?” She held out both arms like a cheerleader.
Nick’s eyes widened. That had to be—
“Chloe!” Olivia and Kat simultaneously exclaimed, though Kat’s voice held a more dismal note than Olivia’s joy-filled tone.
“Hey, little sis.” Olivia rushed toward her. Kat lagged a few steps behind.
“What? Chloe’s here?” Grace bustled around the corner, stopping short at the sight of three of her daughters and Nick crowding the living room. “What are you all doing standing here in the dark?”
She flipped the switch and light flooded the room. Then her gaze landed on Chloe. “And what are you doing?” Her tone burst with joy as she scrambled to hug her daughter.
“I wanted to surprise you.” Chloe dumped her bag on the entryway floor and bounced up and down in her furry boots. At least someone had managed to get some caffeine. “We caught a red-eye.”
“There’s my baby girl!” Thomas emerged behind Grace, arms open as he approached his youngest daughter. His short beard broke around a wide smile. “Who’s this ‘we’?”
“Hey, hey, hey, happy holidays!” A college-aged guy with highlighted blond hair stepped through the doorway, holding up two fingers in a “hang loose” surfer’s greeting.
Oh boy. Two more people to keep his secrets from. And where was everyone going to sleep?
“Daddy, this is Axel.” Chloe pulled out of her father’s embrace and beamed. Her eyes were practically shooting little red hearts.
Axel dropped his duffel bag on the floor and grinned as he tugged the front of his thin athletic jacket over his track pants. He had to be freezing. “Nice to meet you all.”
Thomas stiffened as he looked the young man up and down. “What’s an Axel?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “ Mom. ”
“I believe what my husband is trying to say is welcome.” Grace stepped closer, taking Axel’s hand in both of hers and darting her husband a look over her shoulder.
Thomas cleared his throat. “This is a…surprise.” He lifted his chin, clearly trying to please his wife yet failing to hide his scowl as Axel’s free arm wrapped around Chloe’s waist.
“A nice surprise,” Grace corrected him as she stepped back.
Sudden footsteps pounded down the stairs.
“Who was at the door this time of morning?” Holly called as she appeared at the foot of the steps.
She’d traded her earlier robe and bedhead for a pair of skinny jeans and tunic sweater.
Her red hair had been wrangled into submission and her green eyes popped. Both looks did her plenty of justice.
But that was neither here nor there.
Holly’s gaze landed on him, and he lifted his chin a notch. Yep, he’d escaped her Christmas booby trap of horrors. And he wasn’t afraid.
Much.
He shifted his weight, maintaining eye contact and refusing to blink first. She quirked an eyebrow at him. Attractive or not, this was the woman bent on creating matching ugly Christmas sweaters with him. Sailors had been lured by mermaids to more gracious deaths.
He wouldn’t break first.
Then, blessedly, her gaze flickered to the group gathered at the door. “Chloe!” She rushed forward.
“Why is everyone so surprised to see me?” Chloe, still tucked against Axel’s side, gestured with her coffee cup. “Mom asked me to come.”
“Maybe they’re just surprised you brought home a surfer boy,” Thomas muttered.
Nick snorted, then quickly muffled the sound with a cough as Thomas shot him a look of partial amusement.
Thomas probably thought Nick was in a similar position, being Holly’s date out of the blue.
Another daughter he had to protect. But at least he and Thomas had already shared several mature conversations, and Thomas knew Nick’s greater goal.
And at least Nick’s hand hadn’t ever drifted south on Holly the way Axel’s palm was migrating—
“Who’s he?” Chloe frowned at Nick. Then, before anyone could answer, her face lit and she swung toward Holly. Her voice pitched upward an octave. “ Oh em gee. Is he your—”
“I’m Ryan’s friend.” Nick moved to shake the younger girl’s hand, ignoring Holly’s stare boring into his skin. No sense in putting himself more blatantly on Thomas’s radar—not when Axel filled that space like a low-flying 747. “Nice to meet you.”
“Ryan has friends?” Chloe tilted her head as she returned the handshake, and Nick genuinely couldn’t tell if she was kidding.
Axel eagerly pumped his hand next, longer than typical. “Gnarly to meet you, man. I’m stoked. Never been on a farm before.”
“It’s not really a farm.” Chloe shrugged at him. “We don’t have, like, chickens anymore or anything.”
“You used to have chickens?” Axel’s face lit up. “You’re so cool.”
Nick could make out a gold earring nearly hidden beneath Axel’s unruly hair. He tried to match the energy Axel was generating into this never-ending handshake. “You two go to UCLA together?”
“That’s right.” Axel finally released Nick’s hand and put his arm around Chloe. “I was out surfing one day and saw this mermaid on the beach.”
Chloe wrapped her arm around him in return and beamed. “Yep. And turns out we lived in the same dorm all along.”
“The same dorm.” Thomas swallowed visibly. “How about that.”
Olivia shot her father a look and then put herself between him and Axel. “The more the merrier, I say.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and offered Axel a welcome smile. “And as the oldest sibling, I can speak for all of us.”
Holly and Kat shared a quick look, one Nick couldn’t quite interpret, before Holly hugged Chloe. “I’m glad you’re home.”
Kat reluctantly came forward to do the same. “You know they have actual sun in California, right? You don’t have to fake-tan.” She tapped Chloe on the end of her slightly orange nose.
“Ha, ha.” Chloe narrowed her eyes. “Maybe you should try it sometime, Casper.”
Kat narrowed her eyes. “And maybe you should audition for the role of an Oompa Loompa.”
All this, with no caffeine. Nick pinched the bridge of his nose as he slowly started backstepping toward the kitchen. His fingers still felt mildly tacky with the adhesive Holly had used on his door, and he wanted to wash his hands again almost as badly as he wanted to guzzle coffee.
“Hey, is it even Christmastime?” Chloe glanced around the room with a frown. “Where’s the tree? And Frosty?”
“We were, ah…” Grace shot Thomas a flustered look. “We were…waiting for you!” Her face relaxed into a smile.