Chapter 8
8
Julie spent most of Wednesday morning watching for Heath to arrive. So far the family holiday adventure was one big cluster you-know-what, she thought, willing him to pull into the driveway. At this point, she was desperate for a supportive hug and a diversion. She and Gwen weren’t speaking, Blair and Gwen weren’t speaking, and Dana was avoiding Blair’s mother on principle. Worse, Nick had figured out something was wrong and was hounding Julie to tell him, only she couldn’t repeat what Gwen had said or the situation would get worse. It was one thing for her to resent Gwen, but it was another for Nick to resent the woman. She was his mother-in-law and therefore tied to him for life.
The second she saw Heath’s SUV pull in behind her truck, she shot out the door and down the stairs, not bothering with a coat.
“You’re here! You’re here!” she shouted, waving at the vehicle, aware she was probably frightening the children and possibly her very young boyfriend. “I’ve been waiting.”
Heath shut off the engine and opened his door. She raced around to greet him.
He pulled her close. “Tough time with the family?”
“You have no idea.”
“I’m happy to rescue you.”
“I don’t need rescuing, but I would like you and the kids to be a friendly distraction, if that’s okay.”
“Done.” He opened the back door. “Come on, you two. You’re gonna love the house.”
While Madeline and Wyatt climbed out, Heath let Rufus out of the back. Julie reintroduced herself to the dog.
“Hey, you. I cleared a nice square of lawn for you to do your business.”
Rufus wagged his tail in appreciation. She turned to the kids. “How was the drive?”
“Okay.” Madeline looked from her to the house. “I thought you had a cabin. This is really big.”
“I know. Isn’t that fun?”
Nick, Blair and Dana came out of the house. Julie made introductions. Neither Nick nor Blair reacted to Heath’s age, but Dana smiled broadly and moved close to her mom.
“You go, girl.”
“Shh.”
“He’s handsome.”
Julie felt both happy and faintly defensive. “And young,” she whispered.
Dana shook her head. “You need to let that go.”
Everyone helped unload the car.
“We can help carry luggage inside,” Nick said. He grinned when he saw Rufus. “Great dog. Hey, big guy.”
Madeline and Wyatt stuck close to each other while Heath handed over the suitcases and bags of presents.
“We’ll be going to get a really big tree this afternoon,” Julie said brightly. “The ceiling in the upstairs family room is about fifteen feet, so the tree can be tall.”
They all went inside. Julie had Dana take the presents to the downstairs closet, where she’d moved the others, once the decorations had been cleared out. The locked door meant no prying eyes could see them before it was time. Once the tree was decorated, the presents from friends and family could be put out, while the Santa presents stayed safely behind the locked door.
Heath showed his kids around the main level, pointing out the TV and the big fireplace. They seemed a little uneasy with the size of the house. Once that portion of the tour was complete, everyone but Julie took Rufus outside to get to know the yard and do his business.
Gwen appeared seemingly out of nowhere. “We should talk.”
“This isn’t a good time.” Julie glanced toward the back door as she spoke, hoping for Heath and the kids to return, giving her an excuse to ignore Gwen.
“I offended you.”
Julie surrendered to the fact that God didn’t appear to be on her side. “Yes, you did. You said horrible things about Nick. Not only are you wrong, but he’s my son and your daughter’s husband. He’s part of your family.”
“My comments weren’t really about him. I was talking about Blair.”
“That’s weird because Nick’s name came up a bunch of times.” Julie resisted the urge to poke the other woman in the ribs. “What’s wrong with you? If you’re sorry Blair didn’t marry some guy with an MBA, fine, but don’t talk to me about it. He’s my kid. Of course I’m going to defend him and think you’re a total bitch. You don’t have many fans here, Gwen. Why are you trying to make the situation more difficult?”
“I’m not.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m getting everything wrong.”
“Yes, you are. Does that always happen?”
“No. Normally I’m a very nice person. People like me.”
“Huh. I wouldn’t have guessed. In fact, last night you told me that your daughter hates you. Maybe you’re not the person you think.” She saw everyone collecting on the back porch and knew they only had a few seconds. “You need to try harder to fit in or it’s going to be a really long holiday.”
The other woman stiffened. “That seems unnecessarily harsh. Regardless, I’m sorry I offended you. That wasn’t my intention.”
The door opened and Rufus raced into the house, then shook, sending bits of snow flying. Gwen shrieked and jumped back. Julie tried not to roll her eyes.
“He’s just wet. You’re fine.”
“He startled me.”
Julie introduced Gwen, expecting the other woman to offer a tight greeting, then bolt. She surprised Julie and possibly everyone else by smiling at Madeline and Wyatt.
“Merry Christmas,” she said, her voice cheerful. “Isn’t the house wonderful? It’s big enough for lots of adventures. Have you seen your room? It’s amazing. You practically have the whole floor to yourself. But not to worry. Uncle Paul is downstairs with you and he’s very good at playing games and keeping people safe.”
What? Where was icky Gwen who didn’t even like Mexican food? Blair moved next to her and lowered her voice.
“Remember? Mom was a schoolteacher for thirty years.”
“I was,” Gwen said brightly. “I taught fourth and fifth grade.” She pointed at Madeline. “Let me guess. I would have had you last year or this year.”
Madeline smiled shyly. “That’s right. I’m in fifth grade now.”
“Ah, so middle school next year. You’re going to like that.” She turned to Wyatt. “Are you in third grade?”
“How did you know?”
“I’m a good guesser.”
Julie looked at Dana, who seemed as stunned as she was. Gwen was good with kids. Who knew?
They all went downstairs, with Heath and Nick carrying the kids’ luggage. Madeline and Wyatt met Paul, who promised to play remote cars with them. Julie pointed to their room.
“I hope you like it.”
They ran inside. Julie followed, Rufus at her heels. All four beds were covered with cheery holiday comforters. There was a Christmas tree in the corner decorated with an assortment of Disney and Harry Potter ornaments.
“They really are bunk beds,” Madeline said with a grin. “Wyatt, we can both have a top bunk, just like Julie told us.”
Her brother climbed up to one of the beds and threw himself on the mattress. “This is great.”
Julie showed them the bathroom, dresser and closet. Heath grinned at his kids.
“What do you think?” He winked at Julie. “Madeline was worried there wasn’t enough room.”
His ten-year-old held out her arms and spun in a circle. “It’s the best house ever!”
Wyatt joined her and they spun until they were dizzy, then collapsed onto the lower bunks. Rufus barked before joining them. He draped himself across Wyatt, tail wagging.
“It gets better,” their dad said, crossing to the dresser and pulling out the walkie-talkie. Wyatt immediately scrambled to his feet.
“I know what that is. We use ’em when we play army.”
“Here you’ll use this one if you need to get me. It connects to my room upstairs, so if something happens in the night, or you get scared, you can talk to me directly.”
“I’m also right next door,” Paul added from the doorway. “Or possibly on the sofa, watching TV.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened. “You stay up at night and watch TV?”
“Only when I eat all my vegetables.”
“That is so cool.”
Heath ruffled his son’s hair. “Don’t get any ideas. I don’t want your mom hearing you stayed up past your bedtime every night.”
Madeline sat up on the bed and offered an innocent smile. “Maybe she doesn’t have to hear anything at all.”
Julie raised her eyebrows. “You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?”
Madeline giggled. “Maybe a little.”
“You should come out here,” Gwen said from the family room. “Look what I found.”
Madeline and Wyatt glanced at each other, then went out to join Gwen. She showed them the big cupboards at the far end of the room. Inside were stacks of old-fashioned board games, along with jigsaw puzzles, coloring books and new boxes of crayons.
“I also happen to know there’s a craft room upstairs,” she continued. “With plenty of paper and glue, along with the fancy pens and pencils. We could make some really nice greeting cards for everyone. I have lots of ideas if you’d like some help.”
She offered the children a warm, genuine smile that Julie knew she’d never seen before. They both responded in kind.
“I’d like that,” Madeline said. “We have presents but we didn’t get cards. Mom says personalized cards are best.”
Dana looked at her brother. “Remember when we used to make cards for the family?”
“Join us,” Gwen said graciously. “That way everyone gets a nice card.”
Dana looked confused, as if pleasant Gwen was someone she didn’t know.
“I will,” she said slowly. “Thanks.”
Gwen waved toward the stairs. “I’ll stay with these two and help them unpack. Julie, I’m sure you want to start lunch. Heath, you can unpack. We’ll meet in the kitchen at noon. How’s that?”
Julie bristled as the other woman took charge, even though her ideas were good ones. Then she told herself to let it go. Gwen was obviously in schoolteacher mode, and if it kept things pleasant, then why not?
She glanced at Heath, who was introducing himself to Paul. The two men laughed about something. Julie felt her tension ease. Maybe this was going to be okay. No one had shrieked when they saw how much younger Heath was than her, and his kids seemed happy with the house. In a couple of days they would settle into a routine. It was going to be a nice, quiet holiday and weren’t those the best kind?
Heath joined her, putting his arm around her waist. “Let’s go get me unpacked,” he said as they started up the stairs.
“You only brought an overnight bag. How much unpacking could there be?”
His look was pointed, and she immediately felt desire spring to life. That man—she’d been very lucky the day he’d walked into her life.
“Yes,” she said with a smile. “We should get you settled before I start lunch.”
At the main level, Julie glanced at her kids, then looked away. “I’ll be down to start lunch in half an hour.”
Blair and Nick exchanged a look. “We should get settled, too,” Blair murmured. “There was that, um, one suitcase that didn’t get unpacked.”
Julie thought that sounded weird, but she wasn’t going to waste time asking what her daughter-in-law meant. Not when Heath was not-so-subtly pushing her toward the stairs.
Dana watched them for a second, then turned away. Julie thought she might have seen pain in her daughter’s eyes, but couldn’t tell for sure and didn’t know if she should ask.
At the top of the landing, Blair moved close to Julie.
“Lock your door,” she whispered. “I mean it. My mother is everywhere. Lock your door.”
Dana busied herself prepping for lunch. Per the menu posted in the large pantry, they were having chicken salad sandwiches on rosemary bread, with coleslaw and cut-up fruit.
She washed her hands and started collecting ingredients, all the while telling herself she wasn’t bitter. She should be happy that the people she loved had someone in their lives. So what if her mom and her brother were each locked in their rooms having great sex and she had no one? So what if she was single and tragically in love with a man who only seemed to want to repeatedly break her heart? She would be fine. She was strong, and while not self-actualized, she thought maybe one day she might be. Surely that was enough.
She chopped up the ingredients for the chicken salad, stirred everything together so the flavors could meld, then got going on the dressing for the coleslaw.
Gwen joined her about ten minutes later, Madeline and Wyatt trailing behind her.
“We’re hungry,” Wyatt said with a tentative smile.
Dana grinned at him. “That’s perfect! I’m fixing lunch. It’s going to be delicious.”
“We can set the table,” Gwen said, showing the kids where the main-floor bathroom was. She rejoined Dana in the kitchen. “I thought your mom did most of the cooking.”
“She does, but she and Heath are upstairs, um, getting him settled.”
“Them, too?” Gwen asked, her tone outraged. “What is it with you people?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Which wasn’t true, but no way Dana was trash-talking anyone’s love life with Blair’s mother.
“Heath’s children are nice,” she said by way of distraction.
Gwen’s expression softened. “They are. They’re much younger than I would have expected, but then so is he.”
“If they make each other happy, that’s all that matters.”
Before Gwen could rain on that parade, the children rejoined them. Dana showed them where the flatware and napkins were kept. Together they started setting the table. Paul wandered in and Dana put him to work on the fruit salad. Julie and Heath joined them, looking flushed and satisfied. Dana tried not to wish she and Axel had come here together, reminding herself it never ended well with him. Better to focus on wanting what they had for herself with a much better guy.
Only when they were together, Axel was the better guy. He always stepped in where he was needed—sometimes reading her emotional state before she understood it herself. He was gentle when he was funny, looked at her with so much love and affection in his eyes. When it was good...it was perfect.
One day, she thought. She would meet a nice man and fall in love and it would be great. Until then, she just had to be strong and tell herself she would feel better with time. Getting over Axel was a multistep process.
By the time Blair and Nick joined them, lunch was ready. Julie turned on the built-in sound system and found a channel playing upbeat holiday music. They carried the food to the large kitchen table by the window, then joined hands while Paul said grace.
“This afternoon is a big deal,” Julie said, passing the coleslaw. “We’re getting a tree for the family room.”
“A really big one,” Nick added with a grin.
“Is there a lot somewhere?” Madeline asked.
“A lot?” Julie sounded scandalized. “We hike out into the wilderness, like old-timey people.”
The kids exchanged a doubtful glance.
“For real?” Madeline asked.
Julie laughed. “All right, maybe it’s not the wilderness. Technically, we’ll be in a Christmas tree farm, but we will hike around until we can agree on the perfect tree and then we cut it down.”
Heath smiled at his kids. “That will be an adventure.”
“Can I swing the axe?” Wyatt asked.
“No.” Julie, Gwen and Heath spoke as one.
“You’re too little,” Madeline told her brother. “And I don’t want to.” She picked up her sandwich. “It’ll be cold outside. Maybe Wyatt and I should stay home.”
“I don’t want to stay home,” Wyatt grumbled.
“We’ll bundle up.” Heath’s tone was cajoling. “We never get to cut down a live tree at home.”
She didn’t look convinced. “How do we get it to the car?”
“Your dad, Paul and I will carry it,” Nick said. “We tie it on the back of my mom’s truck, with the top sticking over the cab. Then we drive back. It’s pretty fun.”
“I’m staying here,” Gwen offered, frowning at her sandwich. “If either of you don’t want to go, you can stay with me. We’ll play games or get started on the cards.”
The kids exchanged a look of silent communication. Dana told herself not to get resentful—Gwen was simply offering an alternative, not trying to keep Heath’s children from an adventure.
“We’ll go with Dad,” Madeline said. Wyatt nodded, then took a big bite of his sandwich.
“No arguing,” Julie said, looking at Dana and Nick. “I mean it, you two.”
Wyatt’s eyes got big. “You and Nick fight?”
“Sure,” Nick said easily. “We’re brother and sister. She thinks she knows everything, but I’m always right.”
“Oh, please. You know nothing.”
“It never changes,” Julie told the kids. “It’s better now than when they were your age, but picking out the right tree can be stressful.”
“Dana has unrealistic expectations,” Nick said, adding fruit salad to his plate. “She wants perfection.”
“I want a tree that makes me happy.”
Okay, maybe she was a little picky, but it was worth it to have the right tree in the family room.
“I’m building memories,” she added.
“And flirting with crazy,” Nick grumbled.
Julie stared at him. He ducked his head and added a quick, “Sorry.”
“My children,” she said. “I’m so proud.”
Everyone but Gwen laughed.
Dana looked around the table, allowing herself to—once again—wish Axel was here. He’d joined them last Christmas, and while she’d been nervous about bringing him to meet everyone, he’d been a perfect fit. She wasn’t sure he and her dad would get along—they couldn’t be more different—but Axel had charmed them all. He’d been attentive, affectionate and had known when to step in and when to let the family have their time to connect. He’d gone skiing with her, Nick and Blair and bird-watching with her father.
She remembered the feel of Axel sitting next to her. How if she and her mom ever got into a quarrel, or Nick said something that hurt her feelings, he would reach under the table and take her hand in his. He’d been there for her, had told her he loved her. Then they’d gotten home and he’d dumped her, shattering her heart.
Not anything she needed to think about right now, she told herself.
“Mom, don’t you like the sandwiches?” Blair asked, glancing at her mother’s untouched plate. “They’re a special recipe Julie modified so that it fit all my requirements, so maybe not to your taste. I’m sure there’s some plain chicken in the refrigerator.”
Gwen offered a tight smile. “This is fine for me. Thank you.” As if to prove her point, she took a big bite and chewed. “Yummy,” she said when she’d swallowed.
Dana looked at Madeline. “We’re supposed to get more snow soon. Not a lot, but enough to give us a dusting so everything looks new and clean. In the morning we can make snow angels, if you’d like. I used to love to do that when I was your age. I think they come out the best when there’s already a couple of feet of snow to fall in with that light, fresh coating to make them perfect.”
Madeline’s eyes brightened. “Can we take pictures and send them to Mom?”
“We can.”
“Then I want to.”
“Me, too,” Wyatt added. “She’ll really like that.”
Blair found herself gasping from the exertion of walking through a couple of feet of snow. Her breath—visible in the cold air—came out in pants. Okay, maybe she’d been slightly less faithful with her morning workouts, but shouldn’t she still be able to keep up?
“You’re killing us, Nick,” Dana called. “Can’t we at least walk on the established path?”
“The best trees are the ones in the back.” Nick sounded confident as he forged the way through the snow. Heath and Julie followed, doing their best to create a trail for the kids to follow. Being young, Madeline and Wyatt hopped from footprint to footprint, showing no signs of effort. Next to her, Dana groaned.
“I’m going to kill my brother. I’m sorry to make you a young widow, but he needs to die.”
There was a definite wheeze between each word. Blair peered at her sister-in-law. “You okay?”
“Sure,” she gasped. “Never better.”
Blair glanced over her shoulder and saw her own mother was keeping up easily, although her familiar pinched expression made it clear she wasn’t having much fun. Why hadn’t she stayed at the cabin like she’d said she would? Familiar annoyance rose, but Blair tamped it down. She wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of the fun of picking out a Christmas tree.
The promised “dusting” of snow had arrived, turning the mountain into a winter fairyland. The clouds had moved through quickly, leaving beautiful blue skies. Except for starting to sweat inside her layers, Blair felt as if she was in a scene from a holiday movie.
There were Christmas trees for as far as the eye could see. Tall ones, short ones, little baby ones that wouldn’t be cut down for a couple more seasons. The beautiful scent of pine filled the air. All the good trees close to the parking lot had already been cut down—forcing them deeper into the farm. Nick wanted to go all the way to the back and then have them work their way forward. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, Blair thought, finally yelling, “I need a break.”
“Thank God,” Dana muttered, coming to a stop beside her.
They grinned at each other, then did their best to catch their breath.
Julie joined them, slapping her hands together in the cold. “We should be close to the end of the farm,” she said, looking around, as if assessing their situation. “We haven’t seen any other families for a while, and there aren’t any tracks out here. Let’s start the tree search. Unless someone saw the perfect tree on the way in.”
“I saw a couple,” Dana began, only to have Nick walk over.
“I know the one we should get. We passed it about ten minutes ago.”
Gwen sniffed. “You didn’t want to say something at the time?”
“I thought we might see a better one.”
Julie shook her head. “And so it begins. All right, people, pair up and start picking out trees.” She pulled strips of bright yellow fabric from her pocket and handed them out. “If you see a tree you like, tie this on a branch. It’ll help us find it later. We meet back here in five minutes.”
“Five minutes?” Nick looked offended. “I can’t get back to my perfect tree in five minutes.”
“Gwen’s right. You should have said something at the time.” His mother’s gaze was pointed. “I have no sympathy for you.”
“Ha ha.” Dana grinned. “The two I saw are right over here.”
The kids split up—Madeline going with Dana, and Wyatt trailing behind Nick and Heath. Julie stood with Blair and Gwen.
“Don’t waver,” she said, when everyone else was out of earshot. “Pick a favorite and stick with it. We’ll have a quick vote and go get the guy to cut down the one we’ve picked.”
“We could have just gone to a lot,” Gwen grumbled. “This is a lot of work for one tree.”
Blair saw a muscle tighten in her mother-in-law’s jaw before Julie said, “You’re right. We could have. But this tradition is nice, isn’t it?” There was just enough chirp in her tone to make her sound sincere. Blair tried not to sigh at her mother. Gwen was going to do what she was going to do.
Ten minutes later, there were three trees in contention. The smallest one was quickly eliminated in a single round of voting, leaving Nick’s tree and Dana’s. His was perfect on three sides, and while Dana’s wasn’t as full, it was like something out of a greeting card.
Unfortunately, their numbers were even, which allowed for a tie on the voting—for three full rounds.
“Someone has to change their vote,” Gwen said, slapping her hands against her arms. “Or we’ll freeze to death.”
“I agree.” Blair looked at her husband and laughed. “Nick, it’s a Christmas tree. Let Dana have the one she wants.”
“Mine is better,” he said, his tone stubborn.
“They’re both nice,” Julie offered, then sighed. “It was easier last year when Nick didn’t want you to see this side of him.”
“There’s no side. What side?” Nick looked at his mom. “You know I’m right. My tree is the right size for the room and it’s full. The tree Dana wants is too skinny.”
“It’s balanced,” Dana corrected. “Balanced.” She drew out the word. “Your tree has a bald spot.”
“Which can be the back in the corner where no one will see it.”
“I’ll know it’s there.”
“You’re not royalty, so why does that matter?”
Julie put her arms around Madeline and Wyatt. “Please, please tell me you never argue like this.”
Both kids giggled. Heath grinned. “They can get into it.” He looked at Nick and Dana, who were still glaring at each other. “We could flip a coin.”
Julie looked startled. “Does anyone have a coin? Who pays cash for anything?”
“Dad does!” Wyatt pointed gleefully. “He keeps a quarter in his wallet so he can flip a coin anytime he wants.”
Heath looked a little embarrassed by the revelation. “It’s just a thing with the kids.”
Nick slapped him on the back. “Does it feel like we’re judging you? Because we are.”
Blair hugged her husband. “I’m not judging you. I love you, flaws and all.”
Nick grinned. “What flaws?”
“Your inability to give in to your sister.”
“Is this a female thing? Are you feeling solidarity?”
“I have the Christmas spirit.” And an inner glow that came from spending time with her family. She smiled to herself, thinking the great sex from that morning hadn’t hurt, either.
Unfortunately, just then her mother spoke, pretty much bursting Blair’s contentment bubble.
“Why don’t the rest of us pick a third tree?” Gwen offered. “Then we can have one more vote.” Blair would guess her tone implied it wasn’t appropriate for Nick and Dana to be the only tree deciders.
Heath gave an easy smile. “It took nearly an hour to find these two. I say settle it by a coin toss.” He looked at Dana. “Call it.”
He tossed the coin into the air. It flipped over and over at a dizzying speed.
“Heads,” Dana called. “It has to be heads.”
Heath caught the coin in his gloved hand and showed it to Julie, who pointed to Madeline and Wyatt.
“Heads,” they said together.
Dana’s expression immediately turned smug. “The Fates have spoken.”
“The Fates are wrong,” Nick grumbled.
Blair slipped her arms around him. “Your tree will live to see another Christmas. Maybe it will be chosen next year.”
“It’ll be too big,” Wyatt announced. “It’s growing tall, like me. I’m going to be as tall as my dad!”
“You are,” Julie said with a smile. “We’ll have to get you new socks, otherwise they’ll only cover your big toe. I don’t know how that would work.”
Wyatt giggled.
Madeline tied their bright yellow marker onto the tree and they all trooped back to the stand by the road. Heath and Nick tussled over who would pay for the tree. Julie settled the argument by pulling out her wallet and telling the guys to stand down. Blair loved how they both immediately listened. Ah, to have that much power, she thought humorously. But as much as she admired her mother-in-law, she didn’t have anywhere near her confidence.
One of the workers collected a chain saw and went with Nick and Heath to collect the tree. Gwen ushered the children into their father’s SUV and climbed in with them.
Julie immediately looked at Blair and lowered her voice, careful to keep her back to the car. “You doing okay?”
“What do you mean?”
Julie nodded toward the SUV. “Your mom.”
Blair sighed. “I’m sorry. Is she bugging you, too?”
Julie’s concerned expression never changed. “She knows how to push buttons.”
“She does that with everyone. It’s a skill. She manages to find the one thing that will make you crazy, then talks about it.” She turned toward the SUV, where all three of them were laughing at something. “She’s good with kids.”
“I noticed that. Years of being a teacher. So why is she so bad with you?”
An unexpected and blunt question, Blair thought, not sure how to answer.
“Mom, don’t attack,” Dana said mildly.
“I’m not attacking. Blair, did I attack you? I didn’t mean to. I find your mom confusing.” Julie touched her arm. “This is an attack-free zone.”
Blair impulsively hugged her. “You’re the best.”
Julie held on tight. “But I didn’t do anything.”
“You’re worried about me. Thank you.”
Julie’s support was everything, she thought. Dealing with her difficult mother would be a worse nightmare if she didn’t have such a great mother-in-law. She stepped back and smiled at Dana.
“You don’t suck, either.”
Dana grinned. “Neither do you.”
Blair happened to glance toward the SUV and saw her mother glaring at her. She immediately turned away, not sure what she’d done wrong, but confident she would hear about it later.
Fortunately, the guys returned, carrying the massive tree. The man from the lot helped them drag it into place on Julie’s truck and tie it down. The kids jumped out of the SUV and stared.
“That’s so big.” Madeline sounded both excited and nervous. “How will we get it into the house?”
Julie put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Fortunately, today we only have to get it into the garage. It will sit there overnight. Tomorrow we’ll take it outside and around to the front of the house. Paul stayed home with Rufus, but he’ll help with the tree, which is a good thing. It’s going to take all of us, and there might be swearing.”
Wyatt grinned. “I want to swear.”
“You’d better not or I’ll tell Mom.” Madeline looked from the tree to Julie. “Why does it spend the night in the garage?”
“Bugs,” she said cheerfully. “And possibly birds. We don’t know what’s been living in the tree. We’ll shake it out before putting it in the garage, but stuff crawls out and I don’t want any of it in my house.”
Madeline immediately took a step back while Wyatt peered into the branches. Gwen joined them and frowned at the tree.
“What’s that smell?” she asked.
Julie looked at her. “What smell?”
“I don’t know. Something.”
Julie glanced at Blair, who shrugged. “I don’t smell anything.”
No one else did, either. Gwen huffed. “Never mind. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Blair had to press her lips together to keep from repeating “I’m sure it’s nothing” in a high-pitched, mocking voice. She had to get a grip. Yes, her mother was difficult, but it was the holidays and she didn’t want to fight or make the time uncomfortable for anyone.
“All right, people,” Julie said, opening the door to her truck. “Let’s head home.”
“Head count,” Gwen said. “Are we all here?”
“I’m here,” Madeline said with a grin.
Wyatt jumped up and down. “Me, too.”
They piled into the two vehicles and made the short drive home. Once there, the guys and the kids untied the tree and wrestled it into the garage. Paul came out to help.
“Well, that’s a beautiful tree,” he said, admiring the even branches and deep color.
“Dana picked it,” Wyatt told him. “Nick’s tree was bigger around but it had a bald spot. So they flipped a coin and Dana won.”
“You had quite the adventure,” Paul said, grinning at the boy. “Good for you.”
Blair watched the exchange, thinking that in a few years Paul would be having a conversation with their child. She and Nick wanted to start a family. As soon as the whole issue with the towing business was settled, they would start trying. She wanted children—she always had—and Nick was excited to be a father. The next logical step, she told herself happily.
Her gaze slid to her mother and her good mood faded. No matter what, she would be there for her children, she promised herself for possibly the hundredth time. No matter what pain she suffered or how bad things got, she would show up with love and a giving heart. She would be a solid presence, thinking of them rather than herself. Because she knew the cost of choosing otherwise.