Mistletoe and Mischief (Cedar Cove)

Chapter 21

21

“Mom, what time will Dad get here?” Sophie asked, as she and Bailey hurried into the kitchen. “Is Danielle coming, too?”

Beth had expected them long before now. She was clearing away the last of their brunch dishes, irritated that she hadn’t heard from Kent. She was determined not to contact him, although she considered it bad manners to keep his family waiting on Christmas Day. “I don’t think your father actually gave us a time,” she said with more generosity than she felt. He’d certainly implied it would be that morning.

“Oh,” Sophie murmured.

“It’s already afternoon,” Bailey said. “We’ve never opened our gifts this late.”

That seemed like a minor complaint to Beth. The thought of spending Christmas Day with Kent’s...friend was enough to make her feel like going back to bed. Playing hostess to Danielle was above and beyond the call of duty.

It hadn’t bothered her nearly as much until she’d realized how deeply she still loved Kent. For the past three years, she’d been able to live with a degree of contentment, refusing to acknowledge how lonely she was.

“Mom, call Dad and ask when he’s going to be here,” Bailey said.

“Why don’t you phone him?” Beth suggested. She purposely banished the picture of Kent and Danielle cuddled together while their daughters impatiently awaited his arrival.

“Okay.”

Cell phone in hand, Bailey sat down, propping her elbows on the kitchen table.

Beth tuned out her daughter’s conversation as she silently prayed for the strength to get through the day. Depression weighed heavily on her. If she managed to survive this Christmas, she’d tell Kent she’d made a mistake. She loved him and wanted him back in her life. Only she couldn’t tell him that in Danielle’s presence.

No, she might as well forget any hope of a reconciliation, she told herself. Danielle was young and beautiful and competitive. She wouldn’t give Kent up easily. Beth had made the mistake, and now she had to live with the consequences.

“Mom? Mom?”

“Yes,” Beth said, turning her thoughts away from her ex-husband.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Sorry, no.”

“Are you feeling all right?” Sophie asked, joining her sister at the table.

“I...don’t know.” What Beth really wanted was to escape to her room with a fake flu bug and leave the girls to celebrate Christmas with Kent and Danielle. But she couldn’t do that to her daughters. She’d muddle through and somehow find the strength to pretend all was well.

“Dad’s on his way,” Bailey told her.

“Good.” She forced a smile. Turning from the sink, she grabbed a dish towel and wiped her hands dry. Needing fortification, she went to freshen her makeup.

Upstairs in her bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Sad. Sad. Sad. She straightened her shoulders, saying, “You can do this. You can do this.”

When she walked down the stairs she found Kent standing by the front door. She stopped abruptly before she reached the bottom. He looked up at her; their eyes met, and her heart immediately reacted. She gave him a tentative smile.

Kent smiled back.

He spoke first. “Merry Christmas,” he said.

“Thank you.” Her voice sounded wispy. “Merry Christmas.”

“Dad,” Bailey said excitedly, rushing over to him. She paused and looked around. “Where’s Danielle?”

Kent broke eye contact with her. “She isn’t here.”

“Isn’t here? Did she stay at the B and B?”

“Not...exactly.” He bent down to take off his boots.

“Then where is she?”

Kent glanced at his watch. “I imagine she’s at the airport about now.”

“The airport?” Sophie repeated. “I thought she was spending Christmas in Cedar Cove.”

“That was her original plan. She came with me, hoping to meet up with a sailor she’d met when he was on leave in California. Apparently, she read more into the relationship than she should have.”

“What?” Beth asked in shock. “She came to meet up with a sailor? But...”

“Danielle was hoping to see this guy, Hunter. She and I were talking about that, and I told her I still had feelings for you, but wasn’t sure what to do when you asked me to come here for Christmas. She offered to come with me and—”

“Wait.” Beth’s hand flew to her chest. “I asked you? I think there’s been some misunderstanding.” Beth noticed that the girls had skittered off as she spoke.

Kent frowned. “You mean you didn’t?”

Beth frowned, too. “Are you saying you weren’t the one who wanted to spend Christmas as a family?”

“Bailey! Sophie!” Beth and Kent shouted at the same time.

“Bailey Madison. Sophie Lynn,” Beth threw in for good measure.

Their two daughters reappeared, looking sheepish.

“Okay, we admit it,” Bailey said, hands in her back hip pockets. “The thing is, Sophie and I think this whole divorce is wrong. We thought if the two of you were together at Christmas, you’d realize what a terrible mistake you made. Then Dad had to go and ruin everything by bringing Danielle.”

“I didn’t exactly bring her,” he clarified. “Danielle told me she intended to visit the area at the same time, and we discovered we’d be on the same flight and had booked rooms at the same bed-and-breakfast.”

“Just a minute,” Beth said in confusion. “But she works with you, right? That’s all true?”

“Yes. She works in the accounting department.”

“Are...are you... Have you ever been involved?”

“Good heavens, no.”

“But...”

Kent broke eye contact. “While we were at the airport waiting for the plane, we started talking. Just like I already told you, I explained that I wasn’t sure how I felt about being here this Christmas. I missed my wife, but the girls had hinted that you were seeing the local vet and I didn’t want to be a fifth wheel. So Danielle said what you needed was some competition and I...agreed. I felt it was worth a shot, anyway. So she put on this ridiculous act and—” He shrugged, glancing up the staircase at Beth. “I regretted the entire charade immediately, but by then it seemed too late. The whole thing had taken on a momentum of its own....” He shrugged. “I just hope you can forgive me.”

The girls sent each other a triumphant smile, as if they were personally responsible for this turn of events.

Kent continued to hold Beth’s look.

She bit her lip and started down the remaining steps.

“Problem is,” he told his daughters, “I don’t know how your mother feels about me. It’s been three years.”

“Mom’s crazy about you,” Bailey said.

“Of course Mom loves you,” Sophie added her voice to her sister’s. “She’d be a fool not to.”

“What about Ted Reynolds?” Kent asked.

“What about him?” Bailey returned. “Mom loves you, not Ted.”

“I’d rather have your mother tell me so herself.” Kent stood with one foot braced against the bottom step. He stretched out his arm to Beth.

She placed her hand in his. “Oh, Kent, I’ve never stopped loving you. I never will.”

He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her down the last two stairs, setting her feet on the ground.

As Beth slipped her arms around his neck, she buried her face in his shoulder. “We’ve both been so foolish.”

He kissed her again and then again, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.

Cradling his face with her hands, Beth gazed into his eyes, aware of their daughters grinning from the sidelines.

“These girls have a lot of ’splainin’ to do,” Kent said in a stage whisper.

“It was Bailey’s idea,” Sophie maintained.

“Both of you were being ridiculous about this stupid divorce,” Bailey said quickly. “We felt we had to do something.” She obviously intended to share the blame—or the praise.

“So you conspired to bring us together,” Kent muttered.

“You aren’t mad, are you?” Bailey asked, moving closer to her sister.

Kent brought his attention back to Beth and kissed the tip of her nose. “Are you upset?” he asked.

With her husband’s arms around her and the Christmas tree lights shining in the background, Beth had to admit she wasn’t. “Not in the least. Actually, I think it was a brilliant idea.”

“Okay, if you must know,” Sophie said, “I did help Bailey a little.”

“Isn’t this the best Christmas ever?” Bailey exclaimed, hugging her sister. “And we haven’t even opened our gifts yet.”

Beth had to agree. This was the best Christmas of her life.