Page 65 of Rainbow Kisses

To be fair, it’d been an ancient toaster that Mom had set on the counter to be put in the trash. Rebel had mistakenly thought he was supposed to use that instead of the shiny new one still in the box. He’d plugged it in, put his bread in to toast, and left for another room.

By the time he got back, the toaster was in flames and the fire department had already been dispatched by the security system. Rebel saw flames and grabbed a tablecloth to smother the fire. Not a big deal, but he would never live down starting a fire by making toast.

Rowdy and I brought it up almost every year, mostly because Rebel could barely boil water. Our mom had tried and failed to teach Rebel and Rocky how to fend for themselves. Rebel lived off takeout and Mom’s leftovers.

At least Rocky was still at college and got decent meals in the cafeterias.

“Hey, Miss Raffi, can I give you a hand with anything?”

Just the sound of Brian’s voice was enough to make me flush all over. Luckily it was warm in the kitchen and no one was looking at me directly.

“Actually, can you help Rain with those mashed potatoes? You’re almost done with them, aren’t you, Rainy?”

Except my mom, who gave me the most innocent look, which was totally false. Either she knew, with her scary mind-reading-mom abilities, the thoughts I was having about getting Brian alone again, or she was taking a shot in the dark putting us together to see what we would do.

“Yep.” I scraped the potatoes into a serving tray, which I handed to Brian with a smile when he crossed the room. Which just happened to be the exact moment Rebel walked back into the room.

He couldn’t quite hide the immediate scowl on his face, but he got it somewhat under control before my mom turned to him.

“Pop says he needs an extension cord.”

“In the closet in the basket on the top of the shelf.”

Brian’s and Rebel’s gazes met and held for a second before Rebel headed for the closet Mom had indicated. Anyone in the room who was paying attention could tell there was something brewing between the two of them. And my mom was paying attention.

“And Rebel, make sure your dad doesn’t trip the breaker like he did last year, please.”

“Sure, Mom.”

Flashing a smile that looked more like a grimace, Reb turned and headed back out. Brian watched him go, Mom watched Brian, and I watched Mom.

SEVENTEEN

Brian

“Hey, Mads, I got you something.”

We’d gotten home from the Lawrences’ Christmas dinner about an hour ago. Maddy had been quiet but not withdrawn, like I thought she might be.

I’d asked her again this morning if she’d wanted to go to dinner, and she had assured me she had. So we’d gone.

“I’m sure the food’ll be good. And we won’t have to worry about cooking,” was all she’d said.

Which was true. The food had been amazing. And it hadn’t just been us and the Lawrences. Five other teammates had been there as well, so it wasn’t like we’d crashed a family event. The minute we’d walked in the door, Krista had attached herself to Maddy’s side, and Maddy had seemed happy to let her. The girls had even exchanged gifts. Maddy had brought home a book for Krista from the small holiday store at school. No idea where she’d gotten the money, but that was a question for another time.

Krista had given Maddy a necklace with a heart charm. Tressy had told me later that Krista had insisted they go shopping specifically for Maddy Monday night, and Krista had picked out the necklace at the small pop-up store on Main Street that catered to kids shopping for parents and siblings.

“She’s really fallen in love with your niece,” Tressy had said, her hand on Brian’s arm as she watched the girls exchange gifts next to the massive tree in the corner of the family room. “And Maddy’s just amazing with her. She’s a sweet kid.”

I couldn’t agree more. Now it was my turn to show her how much I loved her.

“I told you I didn’t want a gift this year.” Maddy barely turned her head away from the television playingThe Muppet Christmas Carol. It was the one movie we’d agreed to save for tonight before bed. ApparentlyThe Muppet Christmas Carolwas the best holiday film ever according to a majority of Fiskers.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t listen to you. And neither did your mom.”

Her head swiveled around so fast, I thought she’d give herself whiplash.

“What?”

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