One Big Happy Family

Chapter 3

3

Dana arrived at the restaurant where she was meeting Nick, Blair and her mom. The mid-December Seattle weather was typical—forty-two degrees and raining. As it was nearly six, it was, of course, two hours past sunset. Ah, the thrill of a Pacific Northwest winter. But today the grimness didn’t bother her as much as usual. She was feeling pretty good about things. She’d spent two hours helping a single mother of two set up her online accounting program for the ice cream shop she was opening. She’d spent her lunch hour at a beginner’s yoga class, and her new plans for the holidays included being around people she loved rather than stewing by herself.

She stepped inside and immediately spotted Blair and Nick, already seated at a table.

“I’m with them,” she told the host, then crossed the crowded restaurant to join her brother and sister-in-law.

Blair saw her and waved, then rose to give her a hug. “It’s been raining all day.”

“You sound surprised.”

“What happened to our warmer and dryer than usual winter?”

Dana shrugged out of her water-resistant coat and hung it on a nearby coatrack. “Were we supposed to have a warmer and dryer winter?”

“No,” Nick said with a chuckle. “We never are, but Blair is an eternal optimist.”

“Sometimes wishing does make it so.” Blair smiled. “At least I tell myself that.”

Blair was a pretty brunette with delicate features. She was all of five-three, and next to her sometimes Dana felt like a chunky giant. She’d inherited both of her parents’ height and was nearly five-nine in bare feet. But while her mom was tall with a lean, athletic build, Dana...was not. It wasn’t just the bigger bone structure she’d gotten from her dad, but her habit of eating her feelings that had her carrying an extra forty pounds. On her good days she told herself that once she got her emotional life together, she would lose the weight and be happy. On her bad days, she wondered how much more she weighed than her brother, who was nearly six-two and muscled.

She’d been a skinny kid, but at college had packed on the freshman ten every year for four years and had spent her life since trying to get rid of them.

“We should figure out what we’re going to say,” Nick said, drawing her back to the table. “To Mom.”

Dana frowned. “Other than some version of ‘we want Christmas at the cabin’?”

“I thought we’d ease into it.”

Dana laughed. “Yeah, Nick. Great idea, because you’re so good at subtle.”

She had more teasing in her, but just then Blair looked toward the front of the restaurant.

“Julie’s here.”

Dana immediately felt guilty, which was ridiculous. She hadn’t done anything wrong. The holidays were supposed to be about family, after all, and—

“Hi, everyone,” Julie said cheerfully, as she approached. “I’m just going to say it. I have a very good-looking family.”

“You mean me, right?” Nick asked, coming to his feet and hugging her. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, yourself.”

The rest of them stood and hugged her. Julie hung her coat, then took the last seat at the table. But the second she sat down, her smile faded.

“What?” she asked, her voice sharp. “There’s something, I can tell.” She swung her attention to Blair. “Are you feeling all right? Is it your tummy?”

“I’m fine.” Blair looked at Nick. “It’s been a good couple of days.”

Julie didn’t look convinced. “It’s something. Just say it.”

Nick caught Dana’s eye and waved slightly, as if wanting her to speak. Dana shook her head. No way—this wasn’t her party.

Nick gave her an eye roll before turning to their mom.

“Everyone is fine,” he began.

“I don’t believe you.”

“If you’d let me talk.”

Julie crossed her arms over her chest—a sure sign she was annoyed. “I’m listening.”

Dana groaned. “You’re doing this all wrong,” she told her brother. “What happened to easing into it? Now she’s pissed.”

“I’m not pissed,” Julie said, still sounding slightly annoyed. “I’m letting Nick talk.”

“See.” Dana poked him in the arm. “You’re an oaf.”

“Hey!”

Dana ignored him and smiled at their mom. “Everyone is fine. It’s not about us. It’s about the season.”

Slowly Julie’s arms relaxed. “What does that mean?”

“It’s our first Christmas without Dad,” Dana told her. “We miss him.”

Julie’s expression softened as she reached out a hand to both her children. “Of course you do. I’m sorry. I should have thought of that. It’s been nearly a year since you lost him, but it was late January. So this is the last of the holidays to get through.”

“I thought it would be okay,” Nick told her. “You’re right. It’s been a year, but it’s Christmas. You know he always loved this time of year.”

“I do. He enjoyed every part of the season. Up at the cabin, he was always into the decorating, and when you kids were young, he would start planning what presents we’d get as early as September.”

“He’s been on my mind a lot. Dana’s, too. Even you have to be thinking about him, Mom.”

Dana wanted to kick her brother under the table. Their mom wasn’t missing their dad. The divorce had been more than ten years ago and the marriage had been on the rocks for years before that. But Dana knew their mom would never correct Nick’s assumption. Julie was tough, she was fair, she was capable of doing anything, but she was also a total sucker when it came to her children.

“Family matters even more this time of year,” Julie said diplomatically. “I understand that. Nick, are you worried that you and Blair are disrespecting your father by taking your honeymoon? You’re not. He wouldn’t want you to give that up. He would want you to be happy.”

“I know.” Nick and Blair exchanged another look—one that spoke of silent communication and connection. “So here’s the thing. We do want to go to Hawaii, just not right now.”

Julie looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

Nick looked at Dana, silently asking for help. Dana groaned.

“Seriously? I have to be the one to say it?”

Nick shrugged.

Dana leaned toward their mom. “We want to spend Christmas at the cabin. All of us. We need the family time, Mom. To reconnect and remember. We want to honor Dad with that.”

Julie’s eyes widened slightly as she drew back in her chair. The movements were subtle, but Dana caught them.

“You don’t want to,” she said.

“What?” Her mother instantly smiled broadly. “No, of course I want to. That sounds...well, it sounds like a lovely family Christmas.”

Dana heard the words but knew something was off. The tone maybe? “Are you okay?”

“Me? I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? I just wasn’t expecting, you know, a big family get-together. I haven’t done any of the prep work. It’s so much to get ready, but yes, let’s do that.”

Blair, sitting across from Julie, drew in a breath. “We’ll help,” she said quickly. “All of us. I know this is sudden and not what you had planned for the holidays. You probably weren’t even going to decorate your place.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Julie murmured. “I never do. We’re always up at the cabin. But it’s fine.”

“Did you have plans, Mom?” Nick asked.

“Me? Not really. I mean, I wasn’t going anywhere, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Dana studied her as she spoke. There was something for sure. “Mom, you sure you’re all right?”

Julie patted her hand. “Never better.” She looked around. “Where is our server? I could use a drink.”

“We’ll be on our best behavior,” Nick promised. “Dana and I.”

“I’m always on my best behavior,” Dana told him. “You’re the problem.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

Blair waved her hands in front of them. “Hey, is this an example of good behavior? You’re not very convincing.”

Their server appeared and told them about the specials. Julie rushed her along, then asked for a glass of red wine, and whatever they were pouring was fine with her. Dana asked for the same and Nick ordered a beer. Blair got herbal iced tea, as per usual.

When the server had left, Blair looked at her mother-in-law. “So it’s not just going to be the four of us.”

Julie smiled. “You’re right. Huxley will come up on the twenty-first.”

“I meant...” Blair cleared her throat. “There’s my uncle Paul.”

Julie’s smile softened. “We love Uncle Paul.”

“And my mother.”

The words hung there. Dana had the thought there should be “and here comes the villain” music playing.

“She moved here,” Nick added. “I told you about that, Mom.”

“Yes, that’s right. From Boise. Has she found a place yet?”

“Not a permanent one. She’s in a rental and we’re looking for something for her to buy.” Blair dropped her gaze to the table. “It was different when it was us going on our honeymoon. I was comfortable leaving her by herself, but if we’re in town then—”

“Of course she’ll join us,” Julie said firmly. “It’s Christmas. I look forward to getting to know her better.”

“Don’t,” Nick muttered.

Blair nudged him with her shoulder. “We’ve talked about this. Only I can say bad stuff about my mom. You have to remain neutral because I don’t want to have to defend her.”

“Sorry.”

“Let’s do a head count,” Dana said, wanting to change the subject. “Us four, plus Paul and Gwen and Huxley. That’s seven.”

The server walked over with their drinks. Julie gulped half of hers, then asked the server to give them a few more minutes. When she’d left, Julie glanced around the table, her gaze lingering on Dana.

“It’s not seven—it’s eight.”

Dana looked at Nick, who shrugged as if he didn’t get it, either. “Who’s the eighth person?”

“Heath.”

“Who’s Heath?” Nick asked.

Julie drew in a deep breath. “He’s the man I’ve been seeing.”

Dana stared at her mother, trying to make sense of her words. She understood them individually, but collectively...what was she talking about?

“Wait. You’re dating someone?” Dana couldn’t believe it. “You can’t be. You would have told me.”

She paused, fighting hurt and confusion and a strange and unexpected sense of betrayal. “You never said anything about him and now you want to spend Christmas with him? You’ve never brought a guy to Christmas. Is it serious? You are in love with someone and I don’t even know you’re dating?”

The tightness in her chest was as big as the surprise. She and her mom talked all the time. They hung out, they shared their lives. Julie always told her when there was someone new in her life.

“We’re not in love,” Julie said firmly. “We’ve been seeing each other for a few months—”

“Months? You’ve been dating for months?” Dana tried to make sense of it while ignoring the hurt in her heart. “Is he the reason you didn’t want to go to the theater that time? And why you canceled on dinner a few weeks ago? I thought you were busy at work, but it’s been him all along?”

Julie’s guilty expression spoke for her. “I didn’t know what to say.” She looked at Dana. “I was going to tell you before Christmas dinner.”

“Because he was going to be there?” A stupid question, she realized. If her mom was going to bring him to the cabin, of course he would have been at the dinner. “Who is he? How did you meet? And why didn’t you tell me?”

“Dana.”

Nick’s voice was quiet, but it cut through her confusion enough to make her realize she’d gotten a little loud and a little shrill. Only she couldn’t help it. She was confused and surprised. Nearly as bad was her knee-jerk response of wanting to tell Axel what was happening and have him promise she would be all right.

“I’m sorry,” her mother told her. “I understand you’re upset and you have every reason to be. I should have said something sooner.”

Yes, she should have, Dana thought, not sure which was more startling—that her mom had kept the secret or that the guy was important enough to bring to Christmas.

“We should change the subject,” Dana whispered. “Talk about something else.”

Silence descended. After a few seconds, Blair said, “The salmon looks good. I think I’m in the mood for fish.”

“Me, too.” Nick shifted in his seat. “Or what about the pork chop? It comes with grits.”

“I’m not much for grits. I’m getting the salmon.”

Dana tried to read the menu to offer her own thoughts, but it was difficult to focus through the shock and pain.

How could her mom have kept the guy a secret for so long, and why? That wasn’t how they were in their family. They’d always been close, sharing important events. They’d all known within two dates that Nick felt he’d met “the one” and was crazy about Blair. Her mom had been the person she’d turned to every time Axel dumped her. Yet for some reason, Julie had kept Heath from everyone, and Dana was determined to find out why.

“So, Christmas,” Blair said, passing her uncle baseball caps from the open box on the counter. The custom-ordered hats were all branded with the Nothing After ’72 logo. “There’s been a change in plans.”

She explained how Nick was missing his dad and wanted to be up at the family cabin for the holiday. “We’d like you to come along.”

Her uncle, a cheerful, kind man in his late fifties, raised his eyebrows. “You’re putting off your honeymoon for the second time, Blair. Should I worry?”

She smiled at him. “No, you shouldn’t. We didn’t go after the wedding because I couldn’t get away from work. So that doesn’t count.” Her smile faded. “Paul, Nick really needs to be at the cabin. He’s missing his dad and needs to say goodbye with Dana. It’s a whole thing.”

“I get that.” His voice was sad. “I remember when we lost your dad. Given he was five hundred miles away, I never got to see him as much as I would have liked, but he left a big hole in my life. One I haven’t figured out how to fill. I’m delighted to spend the holidays with you. You know that. I just want to make sure you’re going to be happy. Nick’s a great guy, and you deserve that in your life.”

“We’re fine,” Blair told him, making an X over her heart. “I promise. I want to do this for him. We’ll go to Hawaii in March and have a great time.”

The honeymoon was less of an issue for her. She knew they’d get there, and Nick needed to finish healing.

“Then I’m in,” her uncle said. “Last year was fun. There’s plenty of room and a lot to do.” He grinned. “Plus, your mother-in-law is a great cook.”

“Julie does know how to pull together a meal.” Even more important to Blair, Julie was great about taking her dietary restrictions into account. “But there’s one problem.” She paused as she handed over the last of the hats. “Well, two.”

Her uncle took the box from her and cut the tape on the bottom to flatten it out. He put it on top of the others they’d already emptied, then met her gaze.

“I can guess the first one.”

“You can’t mention the business.” She waved her hand to encompass the store. “Julie doesn’t know you and Nick have been talking.”

He shook his head. “It’s never a good idea to keep secrets. People find out eventually, and if you don’t control the telling, there can be unintended consequences.”

“I know, but until Nick makes up his mind, there’s nothing to say.”

Paul’s store—Nothing After ’72—sold replacement parts for old muscle cars. There were four lifts out back customers could rent to work on their vehicles and a covered picnic area where enthusiasts could gather over coffee and talk torque and restoration or whatever it was car guys talked about.

Blair had never been interested in learning more, but Nick had been intrigued by Paul’s place from the second he’d heard about it. In the last year, Nick and her uncle had had several intense conversations, the upshot of which had been Paul offering to sell to Nick, while carrying the financing himself. Paul would stay on for a year, to teach Nick all he knew, then retire down in Key West, where several of his friends had bought condos in the same complex.

Nick was torn—he wanted the business, although he worried about his lack of retail experience. Complicating the situation was Julie’s expectation that Nick would take over Parker Towing one day. Blair tried to stay out of it as much as she could, but she knew her husband was clear on her preference, but that she would support him, whatever he decided. She was totally on board with him buying Paul’s business. Towing could be dangerous with long, unpredictable hours, and she desperately wanted him to have a more “normal” job. Unfortunately, the price of that might be breaking Julie’s heart, and neither of them wanted that.

“I won’t say a word,” Paul promised. “But the sooner Nick tells his mom what he’s considering, the easier he’ll sleep at night.”

“He knows. He wants to wait. Right now he’s focused on dealing with losing his dad. After that, he’ll come clean.”

At least that was what he’d promised, although he’d said he would tell her in early November, then right after Thanksgiving, so Blair wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

“You said there were two things.” Paul looked at her. “What’s the second one?”

Blair held in a groan. “My mom. I can’t not invite her to the cabin with us.”

“Ah, Christmas with Gwen. Won’t that be fun.”

His tone was neutral, but Blair knew her uncle well enough to understand what he was thinking.

“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I don’t want her along, either. If I could figure out a way to get her to spend the week back in Boise with her friends, I would do it. I would drive her there myself.”

Because having her mother along would ruin everything, she thought, knowing if she spoke those words she would sound like a pouty toddler.

“She’s just so difficult,” she continued, unable to stop herself. “Life was easier when we never saw each other and only spoke once or twice a year, but ever since she moved here, she’s everywhere. She calls, she wants to know all the details of my life. She’s being intrusive. Why did she have to leave Boise? She was happy there. She should have stayed.”

Her uncle gave her a sympathetic smile. “She misses your dad.”

“It’s been four years. We’re all dealing.” Blair still thought of him often, but lately without the sharp pain of loss. “She had a whole life back home.”

“Now she wants one here. With you.”

“I don’t want her in my life.” Blair consciously lowered the pitch of her voice. “It’s too late. She had her chance. From the time I was four until I left when I was fifteen, she was gone. Living in the house, but absent emotionally. She was like a ghost, there but not there. All that time she could have reached out, she could have been my mother, but she didn’t bother. She let Dad handle everything.”

She blinked away familiar tears, telling herself her mother didn’t deserve them. “When I moved in with you, she wasn’t the one to call and check on me. She didn’t visit. That was all Dad. So fifteen years after that, she wants to be my mom? I don’t think so.”

“She loves you.”

Blair glared at him. “Why do you take her side? It’s not as if you like having her around.”

“I’ll admit Gwen can be difficult, but she loved your dad with all her heart. She made him happy and that’s what matters to me.”

He was right. Her mother had loved her father and he’d loved her. Everyone had seen how they adored each other. In a way, their devotion had made her mother’s indifference even more painful. Blair could see she was capable of love—she just chose not to love her daughter.

“She doesn’t care about me,” Blair said firmly. “I don’t know why she’s moved to Seattle and insists on torturing me, but it sure isn’t because of love.”

Frustration made her pace the length of the front counter. “I don’t want to have to spend Christmas with her at the cabin. I don’t. But I can’t bring myself to say she’s not invited. I’m spineless.”

“No, you’re a good person who won’t let her mother spend Christmas alone.”

“Ugh. I know I’m repeating myself, but you wait. She’s going to make the whole time awful for all of us.”

“Not if we don’t let her.”

A nice sentiment, Blair thought grimly. But one that was unlikely to be true.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Heath said, his tone completely reasonable and calm.

Julie faked a smile. “How do you know there’s something wrong?”

“It’s been fifteen minutes of ‘hi, how are you’ and we’re still not naked.”

Julie picked at the sleeve of her sweater. “We don’t always have sex that fast.”

Heath studied her. “Okay, that was supposed to be a joke. There is something. Julie, what’s going on?”

They sat at her kitchen island. Copies of cookie recipes were scattered on the quartz surface, along with a list for menu ideas. Eight people were a lot to feed and planning was required. There was the whole block cookie exchange she thought she’d gotten out of, so she would be baking cookies and probably some pies. She had to get organized. But first she had to come clean to Heath.

She looked at him, at his dark eyes and too-long, dark hair that he was forever promising to get cut. He had broad shoulders and the kind of muscles that said he didn’t just own the roofing company—he was plenty capable of getting up there and doing the work himself.

“It’s my kids,” she said, forcing herself to meet his steady gaze. “They want to have Christmas at the cabin.”

She waited but he didn’t say anything, nor did his expression change.

“They lost their dad in late January, so although it’s been a while, this is the first Christmas without him. Eldon loved Christmas and would come up to the cabin, even after the divorce. It’s a big deal for them and I couldn’t tell them no.”

He smiled at her. “Why would you? They’re your children and you love them.”

She dismissed that comment with a wave. “I understand what they’re going through, but did it have to be this? I wanted those two weeks with you. I wanted us to spend time together and not have to always be running off to deal with work or a family thing.”

She’d wanted to get to know him better, to have long days in bed and evenings talking in front of the fire. She wanted to build memories and be a normal couple.

“Now it’s going to be a bunch of people, which I normally like, but not this one time. Is that so awful?”

“It’s not.”

She sighed. “Plus, I told them about you, and Nick and Blair are fine, but Dana was upset.” She dropped her gaze to the counter. “She’s ghosting me. I get it. I never said anything and that hurts her, so I have to make this right.”

“Hey.” He touched her chin to make her look at him. “It’s okay. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with so much, but we’ll be fine. There will be another two weeks when we can be together. Your kids need you and time with their family. That comes first. I’ll figure something out. You don’t have to worry about me.”

She stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

“For Christmas.”

He wasn’t making any sense. “But you’ll be at the cabin.”

His expression turned quizzical. “You still want me to come?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? It won’t be the same because of the crowd, but...” She pressed her lips together, suddenly unsure. “Do you want to come to the cabin?” Maybe he wasn’t interested in family time with her kids. Maybe he would rather be somewhere else.

His pleased smile reassured her. “I want to come with you, if you’re comfortable with that.”

“Heath, I wasn’t just going to leave you alone for Christmas.” She knew that without his kids, he didn’t have any family in the area. “I wouldn’t do that to anyone. Plus—” She ducked her head. “I’d miss you.”

“I’d miss you, too. So speaking of sex, what are the sleeping arrangements going to be?”

She laughed, the last of her tension fading. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows. “Why do you ask?”

“You know why.”

“We have our own room with an attached bathroom.”

He took one of her hands in his and laced their fingers together. “So nights together for sure.”

“Yes, nights,” she murmured, her voice a little breathless at the thought. “The days will be busy. We’ll have to get a tree for the family room. Dana and Nick will argue about it until I want to crack their heads together.” She motioned to the recipes and lists scattered on the island. “There’s baking and meals to prepare. We go skiing and ride inner tubes down the mountain. When the kids were little, we used to wait for a new snowfall, then go make snow angels, but they don’t do that anymore.”

He squeezed her fingers. “You have a lot of good memories of the cabin.”

“I do.”

“You sure you want me to come?”

She met his dark gaze, thinking he was such a good guy. If only he was maybe six or seven years older. “I want you there, Heath. We’ll make it a good Christmas. Blair is bringing her mom and her uncle. Huxley will come up. It’ll be a fun group.” She paused. “Well, I’m not sure about Blair’s mom, but we’ll make it work.”

“Tell me about Eldon.”

The question surprised her. “What do you want to know?”

“You said Christmas was his thing.”

“Yes, it was always a big deal for him. He wanted all of it—the tree, the traditional dinner, lots of presents. My dad bought the cabin when I was maybe ten. It was brand-new. The guy who built it ended up moving back East and wanted to unload it quickly, and my dad had the cash. The first time Eldon saw it, he adored it. We spent every Christmas there.”

Heath watched her as she spoke. She had no idea what he was thinking, but he seemed more interested than concerned by what she was saying.

“How did you meet Eldon?” he asked.

She couldn’t help laughing. “I got a call for a guy with a flat tire at the Microsoft campus in Redmond.”

He grinned. “Back when you were a sexy tow truck driver?”

“You’re saying I’m not sexy now?” she asked, her voice teasing.

“You are the sexiest, and I think I’ve proved I genuinely believe that.”

“You have.” She leaned in and kissed him, then continued her story. “So I take the call and there’s this guy. He’s cute and flustered and obviously one of the computer geeks who made Microsoft what it is today. I changed his tire and we got to talking. I could tell he liked me but didn’t know how to ask me out, so I asked him.”

“I like when you take charge.”

“I appreciate that you’re not threatened.”

“I’m not.”

Because Heath was comfortable in his own skin. He didn’t have to worry about not being strong enough or confident enough. With Eldon, things had been different.

“We dated, we fell in love. After Eldon proposed, my dad took me aside and told me while Eldon was a great guy, he wasn’t for me.” She still remembered how shocked she’d been. Her dad had always supported her.

“He said we were too different and over time we would grow apart.”

“You didn’t listen.”

“No. I thought Eldon was the one. We got married and had the kids. A few years in, I realized my dad was right—we weren’t well suited. We both tried to make it work, but in the end, there was nothing to save, so we divorced.”

She looked at him. “It was very quiet, very low-key. The kids weren’t even surprised. That first Christmas after, I invited Eldon to the cabin and he came.”

“Very civilized.”

“We did okay. My only regret is we didn’t divorce a few years sooner.”

“I don’t regret my divorce, either. I wasn’t as in love with Tiffany as I thought.” He shrugged. “I knew she wanted a family, and looking back, I wonder if that was part of the appeal for me. I was ready to have kids and there she was, offering to be a mom.”

“But you do wish you had more time with your children.”

“I do. I wanted joint custody, but that freaked out Tiffany. She says they’re too young to go back and forth. We’re going to talk about it in a year or so.”

“You’re a good dad. I look forward to meeting them.”

They’d agreed to wait a bit until introducing her to them, which was fine with her. Meeting Heath’s kids would take things to a level she wasn’t comfortable with. Not yet.

He stood and pulled her into his arms. “How about meeting them after Christmas? We’re sure to know each other a lot better then.”

She smiled up at him. “You’re on,” she said, right before he kissed her.