Page 76 of A Very Addicted Christmas

“I was fine.” Kinney shrugs and lifts her chin. “I’m scared of nothing.” I suddenly hear her as a toddler, telling me very seriously,“I’m scared of nothin’ in the world.”My heart pangs at the long-ago memory.

They grow up so fast.

But I still see remnants of who they were inside of who they’re becoming, and I’m happy to be able to witness their growth into teenage-hood. For as long as they’ll let me have a front row seat, I’ll be there.

“Why did Ben want outside so badly?” I ask them.

“He was trying to protect Winona,” Xander says, his eyes softened in gratitude at Kinney for taking his side. She nods to him, and he turns back to me to add, “It felt like he was doing it at the expense of everyone else, and I was just trying to stop it. That’s all.” He shuts the fridge, a can of Sprite in hand, and as he pops the tab, he looks to me for my opinion.

Oookaay. I nod diplomatically like this all makes perfect sense, but I’m guessing that unless I have a video of the event, I’m not going to know theexactdetails of what took place. Kinney will cover for Xander, and Xander is having a harder time recalling the fast-paced fight.

Could my son have started it? Maybe. I don’t want to make excuses for him just because I birthed him…on Christmas. At the end of the day, they both still threw a party at their aunt and uncle’s house without tellinganyparent, and I know high school—alcohol was likely involved.

“I think…I think it’s sweet how you all were trying to protect each other,” I say. “But maybe if security was there to begin with that wouldn’t have been a concern, right?”

Xander looks to Kinney like she can answer this.

“It wassupposedto be a super small party, Mom. Without the narks.”

“A sip-in-snow,” I say, remembering that’s what Xander called it when he spilled most of the info. “Cute name. What exactly were you sipping?”

“Snow,” Kinney says.

My eyes go wide again.

Xander laughs.

Kinney blushes. “What?”

“Snow is slang for cocaine,” he tells his little sister.

My fifteen-year-old glowers and then rolls her eyes. “Obviouslywe’re not sipping cocaine.”

“Then what were you sipping?” I wonder.

“It was party punch, and before you ask, I had one sip to try it, but it was gross and I threw it in a bush.”

“She did,” Xander confirms.

“And you?” I ask him.

“Me, what?” He takes a swig of Sprite.

“Did you have any party punch?” I wonder, my heartbeat accelerates. We have a strictno alcoholrule, but Lo and I both knew that once our kids were teenagers, they might try beer or cheap liquor drowned in a sickly-sweet chaser. We just hoped they’d make good choices. Better than ours, at least.

“Maybe a little.” Erebor nudges her face into his legs.

I stare at the puppy for a long second. Her brother was bugged, a device planted on his collar, and I wonder if she might be too. Not a strong possibility seeing as how no leaks originated from this house. But… “Maybe we should take her collar off.”

“Why?” Xander frowns at me.

Shit. I don’t want to make him nervous. “It looks dirty. We should wash it.”

Kinney stares at Erebor. “Yeah, when’s the last time you gave her a bath, Xander?”

His frown deepens. “I…I don’t know…”

Kinney’s face cracks for a split second in guilt. “I didn’t mean it to be rude,” she snaps. “She smells fine. Dogs don’t need that many baths. Right, Mom?”

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