Chapter Twenty-One
“SO TELL US EVERYTHING. HOW WAS THE WEDDING?”
“More importantly, how was your date?” McKenna Dodd asked while juggling her two-year-old son, Austin.
Holly really did not want to talk about that night, when she had given her heart irretrievably to a certain sexy helicopter pilot.
“It was nice. Kristine made a beautiful bride, as I knew she would. She and Matt are so in love. It’s wonderful to see.”
“And your date?” Amanda asked, giving her a searching look.
“You know it wasn’t really a date, right? He only took me as a favor.”
She could only wish it had been real. Holly felt a bit like Cinderella, given one magical, unforgettable night. Now she had to face the grim reality that no one would be coming around with a glass slipper for her to try on.
“Favor or not, he still seems like a great guy to be your plus-one at a wedding for people he doesn’t even know.”
Oh, he was. And she had been foolish enough to fall for him.
“He’s very kind.”
“And gorgeous,” Hannah offered. “I’m sure Lieutenant Commander Caldwell looked delicious, all dressed up.”
Holly would rather talk about anything else, including the upcoming tax season, than about how gorgeous Ryan had looked at the wedding. She was trying to forget that, with abysmal results.
“Who looked delicious dressed up?” Amanda’s grandmother Birdie asked as she walked past on the arm of Griffin Taylor, Amanda’s brother and their friend Natalie’s husband.
“Holly took a date to Kristine Moore’s wedding on Saturday,” Amanda said. “The brother of Kim Barnes.”
“Oh, he is that lovely man who delivered flowers to me last week. He was a dear. Good for you, Holly. It’s about time you put yourself out there again.”
Holly had absolutely no desire to put herself out there , wherever out there was. She had created a disaster out of the single date she had gone on since her divorce, falling head over heels for the man.
“This broccoli salad is delicious,” she said, trying again to steer the conversation away from herself. “Who brought it? I definitely need the recipe.”
As she hoped, she succeeded in changing the subject as Natalie took credit, claiming the secret was the pepitas.
Holly did her best to ignore the searching look her sister gave her.
Hannah had asked her several times to spill details about the date and didn’t seem content with any of her superficial answers.
The conversation shifted to a new avocado dip recipe McKenna had brought and then on to what people were making for Christmas Eve dinner the next day.
Holly thought she successfully had avoided her sister’s probing—until the party was winding down and she found herself alone with her twin. The two of them sat together watching Lydia play happily with McKenna’s daughters, Hazel and Nora, who always went out of their way to include Lydia.
“Okay, sis. Spill. Was your date utterly horrible? You don’t seem to want to talk about it. Every time I ask, you change the subject. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“That’s ridiculous. I have done nothing of the sort. How was your Christmas concert at the nursing home yesterday? I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”
“It was fine. You’re doing it again. I have to wonder why. Please tell me our sexy Lieutenant Commander Caldwell wasn’t a total ass to you.”
“No. Not at all. He was w-wonderful.”
To her horror, her voice broke on the word. Afraid that Hannah would see her tumult and insist on digging until she found out the truth, Holly jumped up.
“I think I’ll grab another one of those pinwheel cookies. They were delicious. Would you like one?”
Hannah grabbed her arm and held her in place.
“No. I don’t want a cookie. I want you to talk to me. What is it, Hol? You haven’t been yourself all night. Was it tough to see Troy and Brittany at the wedding?”
At this, a tear did spill out as her sister’s question reminded her of the other major stress in her life right now. The one she should be focusing on.
Her entire world felt like it was falling apart right now, which sounded ridiculously melodramatic.
“I’m sorry. I’m just emotional today.” This part she could at least talk to her sister about. “Troy and Brittany want Lydia to spend tomorrow night with them at the Moore’s.”
Hannah’s jaw sagged and she looked as indignant as if Holly had just told her all Christmas carols had been outlawed within the boundaries of Shelter Springs.
“No, they do not.”
“I’m afraid they do.”
“It’s Christmas Eve! She should sleep in her own bed. I hope you told them to go straight to hell. And send us a Christmas card when they get there.”
She gave a watery sniffle. “No. I texted them both today and told them yes.”
Hannah stared. “Why would you do something stupid like that? Text them back right now and tell them you changed your mind. I’ll do it, if you won’t.”
Only her twin sister would call her stupid in one breath and offer to have her back in the next.
She had wrestled with the decision for two days. She still wasn’t sure she had made the right choice, but it was done now.
“It’s only one night. I’ll have her most of Christmas Day.”
Hannah looked like she was brimming over with a million objections. She must have seen the distress in Holly’s expression, though, because she snapped her mouth shut and after a pause she reached out and hugged her instead.
“Have you told Mom and Dad?” she said after a long moment. “We were all planning to head over to your place Christmas morning to watch our Lyd open her gifts.”
“I haven’t told them yet,” she admitted. She dreaded telling their parents and their brothers. “I’ll go to Mom and Dad’s on Christmas Eve for dinner, as usual. And you can all still come over to Rose Cottage for breakfast. It will be just like always, except Lydia won’t be there.”
“What about her gifts from Santa?”
She didn’t meet Hannah’s gaze. “Since they weren’t expecting to have her overnight until I finally agreed this afternoon, they only have a few gifts for her, so Troy asked if I could send along her gifts from Santa.”
Hot color rose on Hannah’s cheeks. “Let me get this straight. That man not only wants to take your child away from her mother for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but now he wants to give her the gifts you bought her as well.”
“Not all of them. I’ll keep a few so she can open them Christmas afternoon, after she comes home.”
Her sister’s hands curled into fists.
“That man. I would like to haul him out to the middle of Lake Haven and drop him in. Ash and Micah would help us in a heartbeat.”
She had no doubt of that at all. Their older brothers had made no secret that they despised her ex-husband. The two of them were formidable. They would have no qualms enacting any kind of vengeance Holly and Hannah could devise.
She had often thought it was a good thing Troy had moved out of town after their divorce. Either or both of her brothers would probably have ended up in jail for assault, if he hadn’t made himself scarce.
“Troy is her father, Han. And he wants to have more of a role in her life. I’ve spent two years resenting that he basically abandoned her. How can I object now, when he’s trying to make amends?”
She never wanted Lydia to become a bargaining chip between them. Her daughter didn’t deserve that. With all her other challenges, she had to know both of her parents loved her. Holly couldn’t stand in the way of Troy’s fumbling efforts to be the father he should have been all along.
That had been the deciding factor. As hard and painful as she found it, Holly knew she had to be the bigger person.
“Oh, honey.”
Her sister wrapped her arms around her again and Holly, utterly miserable, despite knowing it was the right choice, choked back a sob.
“You should spend the night at Mom and Dad’s,” Hannah suggested. “I’ll stay there, too. I had planned to stay at my place but screw that. We’ll have a slumber party on Christmas Eve and stay up all night, like we used to. Maybe Ash and Micah will want to stay, too.”
“That sounds fun but I’m not sure I would be very good company. I was planning to have dinner at Mom and Dad’s and then go home.”
“I am not going to let you sit alone in your house feeling sorry for yourself,” Hannah announced. “If you don’t want to stay with the whole family, I’ll stay with you at Rose Cottage. End of discussion.”
Holly was so very lucky in her family. She knew without question they all loved and supported her. Unlike Ryan, who had lost his mother young and had been shut out by his grieving father. She hated even thinking about how lonely that boy must have been.
She had to stop thinking about him. Right now, her bigger concern needed to be her daughter and how she would make it through Christmas Eve without her.
“THANKS SO MUCH for this.”
Troy beamed at her as he slid the large box filled with most of Lydia’s Christmas gifts into the cargo area of his SUV.
It was taking every ounce of willpower she possessed not to grab her daughter, run back into Rose Cottage and lock all the doors and windows to keep him out.
She forced a smile. “You’re welcome.”
“I’ve got to tell you, Brittany is over the moon to have both kids for Christmas.”
“I’m glad.”
Brittany really was trying hard to make Lydia feel part of their family, something Holly could only be grateful for. The alternative would be much worse.
“Next year she can have Christmas Eve with you, for sure. And maybe the year after that, she can come spend a week or so of her holidays with us in Portland.”
She would have to brace herself for the time when Troy might want Lydia to spend weeks at a time—or even months, during summer breaks—with him.
Why borrow worry? That was a problem for Future Holly to deal with. Right now, Today Holly only had to make it through one night without her daughter. She could handle that much, couldn’t she?
“I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Your family party will be tonight, right?”