Page 85 of When in December

Did it happen?

Of course it did.

Yet I shook my head as I watched the kids raced toward a large SUV.

Sarah had gotten out of the front seat, looking over the place now in the sunny daylight that hadn’t been here yesterday. “Wow. This place has come a long way, hasn’t it?” Sarah looked around her, eyes wide in awe. Her eyes then landed on her little girl, leaning into her side. “You look tired.”

“Gavin stole the covers.”

“I did not,” argued Gavin, standing on the car’s footrail, handing off the handle inside. “Ozzy did.”

“Ozzy?” Sarah asked.

“The dog!”

“Oh. I see. Well, we can nap later when we get home. Did you two have a good time?” Sarah asked, likely not expecting an answer from her kids. Certainly not the one that came from her youngest.

“We love Uncle Aaron!”

His sister’s eyebrows rose in clear shock. She glanced between her brother and her child again, as if making sure they were talking about the same guy.

“You do?”

“We made gingerbread houses and went out in the snow. I never got to go out in the snow before since you said the snow was dirty,” Gavin muttered.

“Well, on the street, it is. That’s why it gets all gray.” Sarah tried to explain the slush of the city’s winter weather.

Liana shrugged, making her way to the other side of the SUV to get inside. “Poppy was cool.”

“Ozzy and I made snow angels out there. We didn’t go past the trees since that’s where Uncle Aaron said he couldn’t see us. I followed the rules,” Gavin went on, relaying the events of the past twenty-four hours. “Then, at night, we watched Christmas movies and decorated the tree. I made an ornament out of a cookie that Miss Poppy said wasn’t really a cookie, so I couldn’t eat it, but it was awesome.”

“Wow,” responded Sarah. “Sounds like you had a good time.”

It was only then that Sarah seemed to notice me standing there. “Miss Poppy, I presume?”

“That’s me.”

She extended her hand. “It’s good to finally meet you. I wanted to go over your plans for finishing the renovation and design of the house for the holiday. But as you can see, nothing in this family often goes to plan. This past month has been so busy?—”

“It’s all right. The renovation was off track, but everything is moving on schedule now.” I looked back at the house, my eyes catching on Aaron, who hugged his nephew before shutting the back passenger door. He shoved his hands in his pockets, kicking gently at the snow stuck to his boots. “Things are going a lot better than I could’ve expected actually.”

Sarah followed my line of sight before cocking her head at me. She certainly couldn’t tell what I was thinking or what had happened between us, surely. “Glad to hear it. We appreciate all the hard work you’ve been putting into this project.”

I smiled, grateful for her understanding. “It’s been a pleasure working on your family’s home. I think the final result will be worth all the effort.”

Aaron approached us, a faint smile on his lips as he joined the conversation. “I have to agree with Poppy. The house is shaping up.”

Sarah clapped her hands together. “Well then, let’s head back home and let you two get back to work. The kids are exhausted from all the fun they had with Uncle Aaron,” Sarah teased her brother.

Before she got back into the car, Sarah met my eyes one more time, giving a small wave.

Thank you, Sarah mouthed toward me.

I shook my head, hoping it conveyed what I wanted it to. It wasn’t me. It really was him. Mostly.

Sarah looped an arm around her brother. Aaron tried to escape before giving in. He gently hugged her back.

There was a tension between us now, unspoken words hanging in the air. But he only watched as his sister get in the car, start the engine and pull out of the driveway. It was just the two of us again.

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