Page 143 of Mistletoe and Mischief

“Good.” She forced a smile. Turning from the sink, she grabbed a dish towel and wiped her hands dry. Needing fortification, she went to freshen her makeup.

Upstairs in her bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Sad. Sad. Sad. She straightened her shoulders, saying, “You can do this. You can do this.”

When she walked down the stairs she found Kent standing by the front door. She stopped abruptly before she reached the bottom. He looked up at her; their eyes met, and her heart immediately reacted. She gave him a tentative smile.

Kent smiled back.

He spoke first. “Merry Christmas,” he said.

“Thank you.” Her voice sounded wispy. “Merry Christmas.”

“Dad,” Bailey said excitedly, rushing over to him. She paused and looked around. “Where’s Danielle?”

Kent broke eye contact with her. “She isn’t here.”

“Isn’t here? Did she stay at the B and B?”

“Not...exactly.” He bent down to take off his boots.

“Then where is she?”

Kent glanced at his watch. “I imagine she’s at the airport about now.”

“The airport?” Sophie repeated. “I thought she was spending Christmas in Cedar Cove.”

“That was her original plan. She came with me, hoping to meet up with a sailor she’d met when he was on leave in California. Apparently, she read more into the relationship than she should have.”

“What?”Beth asked in shock. “She came to meet up with a sailor? But...”

“Danielle was hoping to see this guy, Hunter. She and I were talking about that, and I told her I still had feelings for you, but wasn’t sure what to do when you asked me to come here for Christmas. She offered to come with me and—”

“Wait.” Beth’s hand flew to her chest. “I askedyou?I think there’s been some misunderstanding.” Beth noticed that the girls had skittered off as she spoke.

Kent frowned. “You mean you didn’t?”

Beth frowned, too. “Are you saying youweren’tthe one who wanted to spend Christmas as a family?”

“Bailey! Sophie!” Beth and Kent shouted at the same time.

“Bailey Madison. Sophie Lynn,” Beth threw in for good measure.

Their two daughters reappeared, looking sheepish.

“Okay, we admit it,” Bailey said, hands in her back hip pockets. “The thing is, Sophie and I think this whole divorce is wrong. We thought if the two of you were together at Christmas, you’d realize what a terrible mistake you made. Then Dad had to go and ruin everything by bringing Danielle.”

“I didn’t exactly bring her,” he clarified. “Danielle told me she intended to visit the area at the same time, and we discovered we’d be on the same flight and had booked rooms at the same bed-and-breakfast.”

“Just a minute,” Beth said in confusion. “But she works with you, right? That’s all true?”

“Yes. She works in the accounting department.”

“Are...are you... Have you ever been involved?”

“Good heavens, no.”

“But...”

Kent broke eye contact. “While we were at the airport waiting for the plane, we started talking. Just like I already told you, I explained that I wasn’t sure how I felt about being here this Christmas. I missed my wife, but the girls had hinted that you were seeing the local vet and I didn’t want to be a fifth wheel. So Danielle said what you needed was some competition and I...agreed. I felt it was worth a shot, anyway. So she put on this ridiculous act and—” He shrugged, glancing up the staircase at Beth. “I regretted the entire charade immediately, but by then it seemed too late. The whole thing had taken on a momentum of its own....” He shrugged. “I just hope you can forgive me.”

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