Page 12 of Mistletoe and Holly

“That’s not really an answer,” she pointed out, staring me down like it was a contest.

I chuckled weakly. “You’re right. It’s not. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I feel about him, actually. It’s just…there’s a lot I’ve been trying to sort through.”

“Because you loved Daddy so much?”

I nodded with a smile. “Exactly. Your daddy was my first love. And I’m always going to love him, even though he’s not with us anymore. But I’ve been thinking that maybe my heart’s growing. Making room for me to love someone else too.”

“So you do love Uncle Shep.”

Man, my little girl was persistent. But I knew where she’d gotten it from: me.

“How would you feel about it if I said yes?” I asked.

“I’d be okay with it. And I think Daddy would be too,” she murmured.

“Okay. I’m not saying anything’s going to change between us right away, but I promise I’ll tell you if it does. Deal?”

I held my hand out flat, and Harper gave me a horizontal high-five.

“Deal.”

CHAPTER7

SHEPHARD

I tried notto eavesdrop as I walked to the linen closet in the hallway where all of Holly and Harper’s board games lived. But the door to Harper’s bedroom was open, and I was less than three yards away.

“So you do love Uncle Shep,” Harper was saying.

“How would you feel about it if I said yes?”

I froze in front of the open closet door, staring at spare sheets, pillowcases, and towels. I knew I should turn around and go back into the living room. Give Holly and Harper the privacy they deserved.

But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t make myself move. Because my brain was only capable of doing one thing: igniting not just a spark, but a blazing inferno of hope inside me. Hope that maybe, just maybe, the woman I’d been in love with since I was in eighth grade actually felt the same way. Hope that I wouldn’t have to spend the rest of my life pining after her, living in my brother’s shadow.

After about thirty seconds, I forced my limbs to unfreeze and quickly grabbed Clue out of the closet before shutting the door…only to find a wide-eyed Holly standing right there, looking just as stunned as I felt right now.

“Shep,” she breathed. “I…I’m…”

I opened my mouth to tell her that we didn’t have to talk about anything I’d just heard if she wasn’t ready to. But before I could get a word out, Harper came out of her room, effectively ending the conversation before it even began.

“Hey, little miss. Did you get all your homework done?” I asked.

“Uh-huh,” she said with a grin.

“What about the work they sent home for tomorrow?” I pressed.

I knew either Holly or I would end up fighting with her to get it done at six o’clock on Sunday night if she didn’t finish it now. Hence the reason I’d come up with the idea of rewarding her with her favorite board game and a sweet warm drink if she buckled down and got it all done before dinner.

“Yes,” she huffed out. “You think I actually want to spend my snow day tomorrow doing math homework?”

I chuckled. “Fair enough. I wouldn’t either. In that case, I think you’ve earned a reward. How’s a cup of hot apple cider and a game of Clue before dinner sound?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed triumphantly, fist-pumping the air.

Holly and I both started laughing at her antics, and I handed her the game.

“Okay, go on and get this set up. Your mom and I will be there in a few seconds. I call Colonel Mustard.”

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