Page 66 of When in December

Hannah froze with her drink a breath from her lips.

“Hannah.”

“No, definitely not.”

I waited for her to come clean about something, but clearly, my intense stare wasn’t working.

She shook her head over and over again until when I caught her reflection in the golden-hazed mirror behind the bar, she blurred. “Stop talking and drink your wine.”

fourteen

. . .

Aaron

“Just lettingyou know I’m on my way.”

I sat up from where I attempted another sit-up without much success after the first dozen. What was worse was when I tried to push myself up directly to my feet.

Oz scampered out of the way from where he watched me with minimal amusement. My leg wasn’t having it. No matter how much I stretched before or after, it locked up on me or fell asleep whenever I attempted to push it past its normal limits.

Or limits now.

I grunted as I tried to listen again to the voice coming out of the phone I had pressed against the side of my head. When I’d answered, I’d figured that Poppy’s high-pitched voice would greet me, telling me that she was coming in even earlier than normal today.

But that wasn’t who was on the other end of the line.

“What?” I croaked into the phone.

“I’m on my way to your house to drop off the kids for the day.” My sister, Sarah, rushed over her words. “I don’t have any other option. It’s last minute, so it’ll be a quick drop. See you in a bit!”

“Sarah!” I yelled into the phone, but she’d already hung up.

What did she mean that she’s coming to drop off the kids? Did she accidentally call me instead of her nanny? Or better yet, a day care?

I yanked a pair of clean pajama pants out from the basket—since we’d finally had a washer and dryer delivered. I’d called and made sure they understood that it would happen before the end of the week someway, somehow so I didn’t end up having to go pick up the appliances and put them in myself like I had the strings of holiday lights.

I was pretty sure Poppy could tell that they had been done by an amateur rather than her fancy and expensive outsourcing, but she hadn’t said anything. Every time something new was delivered, she’d gasp with delight, a gleam in her eyes telling me that she knew that it was me, but again, she never said anything.

We just kept working at our own steady pace. Considering I hadn’t wanted Poppy in the house at all before, it was kind of nice.

More than nice.

I’d even been getting some good sleep from how hard we were working during the days.

I called my sister back and listened to it ring.

And ring.

And go straight to voice mail.

Outside the cabin, a car honked.

Oz rushed forward to the door as if he could see anything out of the window, cast in a hazy glow of morning sunlight.

Pajama pants tucked into unlaced boots, I watched as a monster of a black SUV pulled up in my snow-covered driveway. My sister never skimped when it came to safety, especially in her cars that had to make it through the harsh northern winters.

The tires rolled through the weather like a bright and sunny day.

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