Page 123 of Mistletoe and Mischief

Kent cut her off. “What time?”

“Anytime you want, Dad,” Bailey threw in. “Early, though. You should be here when we open gifts.”

“I have areallybad headache,” Danielle reminded him.

“Why don’t we wait until morning and see how Danielle feels,” Beth said.

Their mother was being far too congenial. In fact, she was ruining everything. Bailey had hoped it would be just the four of them. If her parents could be together, remember Christmases past and enjoy each other’s company, then maybe they’d finally figure things out....

Their father shook Ted’s hand. Why did everyone have to be so darned polite? The two men locked eyes for an instant. Bailey hoped her father was staking claim to Beth, but she couldn’t read his expression.

“Bailey and I’ll do dishes,” Sophie offered.

Bailey stared at Sophie. What was her sister doing? The last thing they needed was to give their mother time alone with the local vet. She was half-smitten with him already.Smitten.That was an old-fashioned word, one their grandmother might have used, but Bailey had always been fond of it.

She followed her sister into the kitchen. “Why’d you do that?” she cried.

“I thought you wanted to discuss ideas about getting Mom and Dad together.”

“By leaving her alone withTed?”

“Oh...yeah. I guess I didn’t think about that.”

“No kidding! Well, you keep an eye on them,” commanded Bailey. “If they get too close, tell me.” Sophie obediently pushed the door open a crack and looked out. Bailey started loading the dishwasher. Thankfully, their mother had emptied it earlier, so all Bailey had to do was put the rinsed dishes inside.

“You ready to go back out?” she asked five minutes later.

Sophie shook her head. “No,” she said flatly. “Go ahead without me.”

“No.” It was important to Bailey that they present a united front.

Her sister took her time transferring the leftover salad to another bowl and wrapping up the bread, which Bailey noticed had barely been touched. She didn’t want to be catty but Danielle had been a little too generous with the garlic. Their father hadn’t tasted more than a bite or two. And Bailey was convinced he’d only eaten that to be polite.

To her credit, Danielle had created a halfway decent salad using the bottled dressing. But then who could go wrong with store-bought dressing?

“What are Mom and Ted doing now?” Sophie asked.

Bailey peeked out the swinging door, stepping around her sister. She saw that her mother and Ted had returned to the dining room table and were finishing their coffee. The atmosphere was almost...intimate, vastly different from what it’d been earlier. His arm across the back of an empty chair, Ted was leaning back, speaking animatedly about one thing or another. Whatever he was saying obviously amused Beth, who laughed more than once. She looked relaxed and at ease.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be! It should be Dad in that chair. It should be Kent laughing with Mom. Not Ted Reynolds. Bailey didn’t have anything against him; he was a decent guy. But he wasn’t their father.

“Well?” Sophie said from behind her.

“They’re getting along just fine,” Bailey muttered.

“We should break it up,” Sophie said, drying her hands on a kitchen towel. Everything was inside the refrigerator and the counters were wiped clean.

Bailey swung open the door. “Okay if we join you?” she asked, feigning cheerfulness.

“By all means.” Ted removed his arm from the back of the chair, straightened and set his cup on the table.

“How long have you two known each other?” Sophie asked.

“A while.” Beth was the one who answered. “I’ve brought more than one dog to Ted. He helps me with the rescues, too.”

“You must like animals,” Sophie went on.

Bailey thought that was a dumb remark. The guy was a vet; obviously he liked animals.

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