Page 17 of Under the Mistletoe

“Deal.”Dad glanced up at the clock, then said, “It’s about that time. We should get going.”

“Who’s all coming today?” I asked.

“Mostly just the brothers and the ol’ ladies. Most of the kids are off doing their own thing.”

“Like what?”

“Well, your sister is with Casey and Addie on their ski trip, and Darby and Susana are spending the holiday with their new boyfriends,” Mom answered. “But Lauren and Flynn are coming, and I’m pretty sure Beck and Ava are coming.”

“Beck and Ava, huh?” I watched as my mother braced herself when I asked, “How come you don’t sound at all surprised that she’s coming or that she has a daughter?”

“Because we aren’t surprised,” Dad answered. “We’ve always known.”

“And you didn’t think to mention it to me?”

“It wasn’t our place to tell. Besides, I didn’t think you’d care.”

“Didn’t think I’d care?” I roared louder than I’d intended. “Why wouldn’t I care?”

“Because you two have never been all that close. I didn’t figure you had any interest in her.”

“I knew you liked her,” Mom admitted. “It wasn’t until she was about to leave for college, but I saw the way you looked at her. I just never understood why you didn’t tell her.”

“Because she was too young.”

“That’s no excuse. You knew how that poor girl felt about you, and you just let her leave without saying a word.”

“What was I supposed to say? Don’t go. I think I have feelings for you.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“No. You were right to leave it alone,” Dad disagreed. “You both were young and had a lot of growing up to do. You’ve done that. Now, you can see if there was something really there or if it was just kids being kids.”

“He’s right.” Mom stepped over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “This could be a good thing.”

“Maybe, but I still can’t believe you didn’t say anything. It’s not like I didn’t ask about her.”

“I know, but Big and Josie asked us not to say anything.”

“But why?”

“Because Beck didn’t want anyone to know.” Dad shrugged. “If you want to know any more than that, you’ll have to ask her.”

Dad gave me a pat on the back, then grabbed Mom’s dishes and headed out the door. Mom and I followed him outside, and I followed them over to the clubhouse. When we pulled in, Rooster and Maggie were unloading all the food they’d brought, and Samantha and Nathan were helping them carry it inside.

I got off my bike and started over to them as I said, “Damn, brother. You feedin’ an army with all that.”

“Just trying to cover all my bases with all these picky eaters.”

“Understood.”

I held the door open and waited as they all streamed inside. Mom, Dad, and I followed them down to the family room. When we walked in, we were all amazed by all the hard work the women had done to the clubhouse. It was usually rugged with little to no décor, but the ladies had gone all out and had every inch of the place decorated for our Thanksgiving meal.

Dad turned to Mom and smiled, “You did good.”

“It wasn’t just me. Everyone helped.”

“Well, you outdid yourselves.”

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