One Big Happy Family

Chapter 2

2

Dana Parker hadn’t realized it was possible for her hands to cramp from curling ribbon, but it was. The stacks of donated unwrapped presents had been transformed into stacks of wrapped presents, each with a color-coded and numbered tag. G7-10 meant the gift was appropriate for a girl between seven and ten. When the wrapped gifts were distributed to the various local charities, the coded tags would be replaced by personalized ones.

In the interest of speed and efficiency, the volunteers had broken up into groups that either wrapped or added curly ribbon and the tags. Dana had joined the latter, something she now regretted. Paper cuts seemed easier to deal with than finger cramps.

“But it’s for a good cause,” she reminded herself. Because it was the season and she was all about good causes and helping others and staying busy, which was why she’d spent the previous weekend packing backpacks for schoolchildren who wouldn’t get meals from school during the holidays and was this afternoon maiming herself in the name of curly ribbon.

Her phone buzzed in her jeans pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at the text from her mother.

I have lamps. They’re fabulous. When will you be home?

Lamps? Her first instinct was to ask why, but her mom had better taste than her, so the lamps were likely to be perfect for her recently redone bedroom.

I finish here in about ten minutes, then I’m going home.

Good. I’ll leave them by the front door. They’re wrapped in plastic. They’ll be fine. Love you.

Dana sent back heart emojis, then refocused on ribbon curling. She finished the last gift three minutes before four, then looked at the impressive pile of presents they’d all finished. They’d done good work here, and she was happy to have helped. It had been worth taking the time off work.

“We’re going to make a lot of kids happy this Christmas,” the woman at the next table said with a smile. “All this in three hours. Now I have to go home and wrap my own presents.” She opened and closed her hands. “Okay, maybe not today.”

“I’m with you on that,” Dana said, her tone light.

She rose, collected her bag and went to sign out before heading to her car, careful to avoid the other volunteers. She didn’t want to get into a conversation about families and holidays and gifts. No matter how she talked about her life, she sounded pathetic. If this were a century ago, she would be referred to as a spinster. A lonely, single, manless woman desperately in love with someone who kept walking away. She was a fool. Worse, she was a fool who was incapable of learning a lesson.

She drove through the rain, trying to ignore the burning in her eyes. She was done crying over Axel. She had a plan. Maybe not a great one, but a plan nonetheless. Forward movement and all that.

She’d already painted her bedroom and replaced the furniture. No more sleeping in a bed he’d been in. Starting Saturday, she was off until after the first of the year. Come January 2, she would not only be dealing with the thrill of tax season, she would be enjoying the first day of her new life. Between now and then, she was going to get over Axel, completely organize her closets, sign up for a new dating app, start taking yoga and learn to crochet. Ambitious, yes? But doable. Because she was done living her tragic little half life, watching other people get what they wanted. She was done waiting for a man who’d claimed to love her, yet continually walked away, breaking her heart over and over again. She wanted to be happy.

To that end, she’d planned nearly every moment of her time off. She was on the wait list for a yoga retreat. She’d created a schedule for cleaning her entire condo and Marie Kondo–ing her closets. She’d found an online beginning crochet class that would, for a mere twenty-seven dollars, teach her everything she wanted to know about the craft. She had movies picked out on Netflix, a list of take-out places she was going to try and several thoughts on what she would take to her mom’s for their low-key Christmas dinner. With Nick and Blair on their honeymoon, it would just be the two of them, with the possible addition of Huxley, from her mom’s work. She was thinking of some kind of cranberry apple salad.

As she turned the corner onto her street, she saw her neighbors had put artificial cardinals on the evergreen in their front yard. The birds always made her think of her dad because he’d always talked about how his grandmother had loved cardinals. The birds had appeared a couple of days ago, and every time she saw them, she felt a little twist in her heart.

The feelings made sense, she thought as she pulled into her condo garage. This was the first Christmas without him. Everything was going to be different.

She went in through the garage, then back out by the front porch, where a plastic-wrapped box was waiting, safely tucked out of the rain. Once she had it on her kitchen counter, she cut it open, then stared at two perfectly elegant, mid-century modern lamps. The glaze on the base had an ombré effect, starting a couple of shades darker than the pale gray wall color she’d chosen for her bedroom and morphing to a beautiful deep purple that pulled bits of color from her bedspread. The lampshades were a neutral white that went with the trim and baseboards.

She was about to pick up her phone and call her mom to thank her and gush about how great the lamps were when she heard someone knock on her front door. She found her brother standing in the rain.

“Hi,” she said, stepping back to let him in. “Did I know you were coming by?”

“No. I should have texted, but I took a chance. You got a sec?”

She had all the seconds, and the minutes, too. “Of course.”

They went into the family room. Rather than taking a seat, Nick walked to the window and stared out into the darkness.

Dana took in his stiff shoulders and the set of his head. Trouble, she thought. There was definitely a problem.

“What?” she asked. “Just blurt it out so we can start finding a solution.”

He turned back to her and grinned. “You sound like Mom.”

“Some days that would bug me, but today I don’t mind you saying it.” After all, her mother had her life together. She always had.

Julie was one of those people who took charge. She never had to ask for help because there was never a problem she couldn’t solve on her own. Take over her father’s towing business at age twenty-four? No big deal. Deal with two little kids at the same time? Take them to work with you and turn your office into a preschool fantasy. Get divorced and have to start dating? Dive headfirst into the single scene, fight off the scores of men interested, and in your free time, buy the perfect little house and fix it up so it looks like something out of a magazine.

“I need to be more like her,” she murmured. Julie would never allow herself to fall into the “pathetic” category of womanhood.

She shook off that thought and pointed at her brother. “Talk.”

He crossed to the sofa but didn’t sit down. “I miss Dad.”

Dana thought of the cardinals and her own feelings. “Me, too. It’s been nearly a year since we lost him, but this is our first Christmas. Thanksgiving wasn’t so bad. He was never into the holiday, and after the divorce, he preferred to spend it by himself. But Christmas was always a big deal.”

Even after he and her mom had split up, her dad had joined them up at the cabin, more years than not. Dana didn’t know if it had just happened, or if her parents had arranged it, but even if one of them had been seeing someone, the current love interest was never invited. The cabin was just for family.

“I’ve been talking to Blair,” Nick continued, holding her gaze. “I don’t want to go to Hawaii over Christmas. It doesn’t feel right. We need a family Christmas at the cabin to celebrate Dad’s memory.”

“But you were going on your honeymoon.”

“I know. Blair’s being great about it. We’ll go in March.” His mouth turned down. “I know you have plans and stuff, but could you change them?”

Dana thought of the “fifteen ways to a better life” regimen she would be starting, of the online crochet class and going through each of her closets as she desperately searched for some way to forget Axel. Being with her family would be so much better than being by herself.

“I’m in.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“Absolutely. Let’s do it. You’re right—this is a tough Christmas. We should spend it together. I know Mom hasn’t rented out the cabin—she never would for the holidays. We just have to tell her there’s been a change.” She looked at him. “It’s a lot more work for her.”

“We can help. Oh, it won’t just be me and Blair. Her uncle and mom will be coming, too.”

“I like Paul,” Dana said, not sure what she thought about Blair’s mother. She’d only met the woman at the rehearsal dinner and then at the wedding and reception. Gwen had mostly kept to herself. She’d seemed a little standoffish, but maybe that was because she didn’t know many people at the celebration. “I’m sure Gwen will be fine. There’s plenty of room at the cabin.”

Nick surprised her by stepping close and hugging her. “Thanks, sis. I mean it. I need this.”

“I do, too. It’s a good idea. Are you going to tell Mom? Do you want me to?”

“We’re all having dinner with her tomorrow. Let’s do it then. We can work out the logistics and come up with a plan.” He grinned. “You know in our family, we always have to have a plan.”

“Absolutely!”

When her brother had left, Dana carried the new lamps into the bedroom and plugged them in. They added a warm glow to the newly redecorated space.

As she looked at the simple dresser, the lamps and the fluffy throw rug at the foot of her bed, she knew there wasn’t anything left of Axel in this room. Not anymore. Slowly she was exorcising him out of her life. The next step—by far the hardest—was to do the same with her heart.

Maybe time at the cabin, with the people she loved, would show her the way. All she needed was not to care about him anymore. Once she had moved on, she would be free of him and ready to be happy again. It was past time for her to reclaim herself and find a fresh beginning.

“I like the gray tone of that one,” Julie said, snuggled up on the sofa, her head on Heath’s shoulder, his arm around her. She held his iPad as he flipped to the picture of the next floor.

“Lighter gray or darker gray?” he asked.

“My heart says the darker floors look great, but my sensible head says a lighter floor doesn’t show every little thing. You have two kids and Rufus.”

“Yes, Rufus. He who sheds by the pound. The lighter color it is.”

He put the iPad on the coffee table, then turned his attention to her. “Dinner or sex?” His yummy mouth curved into a smile. “I’m not saying you have to choose. Obviously we’ll have both. I’m questioning the order of the evening.”

“Dinner,” she said firmly. “Because we just had sex twenty minutes ago.”

In fact, the second she’d walked in his front door, he’d grabbed her and pulled her close. His welcoming kiss had ignited into something very quick but intensely satisfying, right over there on the entry table. Luckily, Heath had sturdy furniture, a plus considering they’d made love on most of it.

He was a very generous lover with an unexpectedly high sex drive. Twice a day was almost their norm. Three times wasn’t unheard-of. She supposed it was because things were still relatively new between them. Or maybe it was the fact that with their busy schedules, they couldn’t see each other as often as they would like. She refused to consider the possibility that it maybe could almost be because Heath was twelve full years younger than her.

“Dinner it is,” he murmured, shifting her until she was lying back on the sofa. One large, warm hand slid under her sweater and found her left breast while his lips nibbled along her neck.

She shifted from hungry for takeout to hungry for him in an eighth of a second and began unbuttoning his shirt. Once they were naked, he brought her to orgasm with an efficiency that made her want to send a very expensive gift to whomever had taught him the, um, ins and outs of female anatomy. She came a second time with him inside of her, then lay there boneless and trying to catch her breath.

“You’re an amazing lover,” he said, returning from the bathroom where she assumed he’d disposed of the condom and cleaned up. “I can’t get enough of you.”

She smiled. “I like that you can’t get enough of me. But now you have to give me food.”

While she dressed, he placed the take-out order. The logistics taken care of, they settled back on the sofa.

“I think I’m ready for the work on the house to be done,” he said. “Paint on the walls, then refinishing the floors.” He glanced at her. “You sure you’re okay with me moving in for two weeks?”

“I am,” she said quickly, thinking he didn’t need to know she was the tiniest bit nervous. They’d never spent so much time together. What if they got on each other’s nerves? But the thought of Heath in her bed every night for two weeks was far more powerful than her fear of finding him annoying.

“Are you going to be all right?” she asked, lightly touching his hand. “You’ll be missing your kids.”

“Yeah, that part sucks.” He glanced at her as if concerned she would take the comment wrong. “What I mean by that is...”

“I already know.” She gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s your kids and it’s Christmas. They’re only ten and eight. Having every other holiday with them is the worst. You worry about what you’re going to miss and the memories you’re not going to make.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“Of course.”

It wasn’t anything she’d had to deal with. When she and Eldon had split up, their two had been pretty much grown. Plus, the divorce had been friendly enough that Eldon had spent every Christmas after the divorce up at the cabin. But it wasn’t like that for Heath. His kids were younger and he treasured time with them.

“While we’re on the topic of the holiday, what are your expectations?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Now, there’s a question.”

She laughed. “I’m not talking about sex. I mean, what do you want for the Christmas season in general and the day in particular? A big tree? A traditional dinner? Something quieter?”

His gaze locked with hers. “Julie, whatever works for you works for me. With the kids, I want to go all out, but I’m not looking to make you do extra work just for me. What would you do if I wasn’t here?”

“Nothing,” she blurted, then shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s true. We had a big family Thanksgiving, and while I loved it, cooking for two days isn’t my idea of fun. I’m happy to just let the whole season go by uncelebrated.”

“Then let’s do that.”

She drew in a breath. “I don’t mean to sound like Scrooge or anything, but going to the cabin is so much work. It’s days of decorating, then getting food in and cooking for everyone. Dana helps and now there’s Blair, but I’m the one in charge, so it’s—”

He silenced her with a quick kiss. “Stop. I get it and I’m not asking to go to the cabin. We were planning to stay here. I’m good with that. Quiet is fine.”

“You sure?”

“You’re the one I want to be with. The rest of it doesn’t matter.”

Relief made her relax. “Thanks. We’ll still have a small Christmas dinner. Just you, me, Huxley and Dana.”

As she spoke, she tried to keep her tone light because it was no big deal and just one meal and...

Heath surprised her by laughing. “If you could see your face.”

“What?”

“You still haven’t told her.” The laughter deepened. “Oh, Julie, this isn’t like you. You always have a plan. What’s going to happen? Dana shows up expecting you and Huxley and we pretend I’m not at the table?”

While part of her appreciated he wasn’t the kind of man to be offended by the fact that she hadn’t told her kids about him, the rest of her was trapped in the reality of what he was saying. It was past time to tell her children about the man she was seeing. Although in truth, Nick wouldn’t care. She was much more concerned about Dana. She and her daughter were tight—they did things together, they talked about their lives. But somehow Julie had never found a way to explain Heath.

“If you weren’t so young,” she grumbled. “And good-looking.”

“You want me to be old and ugly?”

“No, but you know, older and maybe only a little ugly.” She sighed. “I’m being silly. Dana won’t be upset.” At least that was her hope. It was just...she was fifty-four and Heath was only forty-two. Most of the time she didn’t care, but every now and then she found that particular truth a little cringeworthy. People judged, and while she didn’t care what “people” thought of her, she very much cared about her daughter’s opinion.

“I’ll tell her,” she said. “I’m having dinner with Dana, Nick and Blair tomorrow. I’ll say something.”

“I’ve heard that before.” His tone was teasing, his expression good-natured.

She looked at him. “Why aren’t you mad I haven’t said anything about you?”

He lightly stroked her cheek. “My kids don’t know, either.”

“That’s different. They’re young.”

He gave her a slow, sexy smile. “You watch me.”

“What?”

“When you think I don’t know, you watch me. There’s a look in your eyes. I can’t explain it but I like it. So I don’t care who you tell or don’t tell. I know how you feel about me.”

Wait, what? He knew how she felt about him? He couldn’t— she wasn’t sure. They’d only been dating three months, and with him having his kids every other weekend and them both being busy with their respective companies and everything else, they simply didn’t spend that much time together. Whatever feelings she had—and she wasn’t saying she had any—were completely undefined.

“I’m glad you’re not mad,” she said, with a casualness she sure didn’t feel.

“Not my style.”

“I do like your style.”

“I like yours, too.”

“So Christmas. Low-key and easy,” she said. “And I’ll tell my kids about us tomorrow night. After they’ve both had a drink.”

“They’ll be fine,” he said. “I’m not a big deal.” He grinned at her. “Except for the young-and-handsome part. You’re right—that’s going to be a problem.”

She laughed, as he expected, but couldn’t help thinking that there was a very good chance Heath was actually telling the truth.

“We should talk about Christmas,” Julie said, taking the visitor’s chair by Huxley’s big desk. She smiled brightly. “We’re not going to the cabin. I know we usually do, but with Nick and Blair finally taking their honeymoon, it’s just the three of us and it’s so much work, so we’re not going.”

She fought against a wave of guilt, telling herself she wasn’t obligated to go to the cabin and what she did with her holidays was her business, but still, the guilt remained.

“Are you upset?” she asked in an uncharacteristically small voice.

Huxley stared at her as if she’d sprouted a few feathers. “Did you hit your head? Why are you asking me that? You invite me to Christmas every year, and I go because it’s always nice and I don’t have any family of my own. You do understand it’s about spending time with people I like, because God knows there aren’t many of those left in this world, so why would you think I give a rat’s titty where we’re going to be?”

“Because Christmas is always at the cabin.”

“I’m there for the company and the food.” He flashed her a smile. “You do make a fine meal.”

“Rat’s titty?”

“I stand by what I said. You’re a good woman, Julie, and I appreciate how you look out for me.”

She smiled back at him. “You’re welcome.” She looked around at the office, taking pride in the business she’d grown. “You think Nick is ever going to make a decision about joining me?”

“He will. The boy needs time.”

“I didn’t need time.” She’d always known she wanted to run Parker Towing. The difference was, after all these years, she figured Nick would be taking on more responsibility by now.

“I’m tired of doing everything,” she said. “I’d like a business partner.”

“You mean you’d like Nick or are you open to someone else?”

“What? Not someone else. I meant my son. He needs to stop just driving trucks, like an employee.”

She was ready for him to start learning the front-office job so he could eventually take over from her. Only he kept putting her off.

She looked at Huxley. “You want to buy me out?”

He laughed long and loud. “If I had me a few million squirreled away, the last thing I would do is buy into this business. Instead, I would take my old bones somewhere tropical.” He gave her a little wink. “But I’d come back for Christmas because you do make a fine meal.”