Page 93 of Mistletoe and Mischief

“Me, neither.”

For that matter, it wasn’t going to be any easier for Beth. Nevertheless, she was determined to do her best.

“They’ll be coming back here, and I want us all to make an effort, okay?”

Bailey sighed expressively and, after a moment, said, “I’ll try... I guess.”

“Will Dad be here when we decorate the tree?”

Beth had assumed not. He was with Danielle and it would be awkward to include the other woman. “I... I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”

“Dad used to enjoy that,” Sophie said.

Beth had, too. It was their special family tradition. They’d always waited until Christmas Eve to decorate the tree, which went back to her German roots. Her grandparents hadn’t put up a tree until the night before Christmas, a tradition that had come from the old country.

“Shouldn’t we at least ask Dad about decorating the tree with us?”

“I suppose...” Beth said without much enthusiasm. He would probably assume the invitation included Danielle.

The girls returned to the house, and Beth stayed outside, letting the dogs run until they were tired. She gave them each a healthy snack, then they retreated to their kennel and she went back inside.

Beth had never intended to own six dogs—make that seven with the puppy upstairs. But then she’d never intended to have her children barely a year apart, either. Kent was still in his last year of engineering school and she was working as a teaching assistant to help support them when she discovered she was pregnant with Bailey. Sophie hadn’t been a planned pregnancy, either, and she’d arrived a mere fourteen months after her sister.

Beth had gotten pregnant with Bailey at Christmastime. Christmas Eve, to be exact. Hard to prove, perhaps, but she was sure of it. She’dfeltit, felt they’d made a baby that night. Beth wondered if Kent remembered and suspected that, after all these years, he’d put it out of his mind.

They could only afford a small tree that year and had waited until Christmas Eve to decorate it. Beth had said it was tradition, and while it hadn’t beenhisfamily’s tradition, he’d been a good sport about it. With little money for ornaments, Beth had made their own. Kent had done his part, stringing popcorn and cranberries while she sewed gingerbread men from pieces of felt, decorating them with eyes and a row of tiny buttons down the front. Each was unique, individual. She still had several of the original ones and others, too, that she’d crafted through the years. She kept them carefully packed away in boxes.

It’d snowed that Christmas Eve, too, but their tiny basement apartment was warm and cozy. As a surprise, Kent had purchased two miniature bottles of rum to make hot drinks. After decorating the tree, they sat in front of the woodstove, their only source of heat, and with Beth on Kent’s lap and the cat curled up on the ottoman, they’d toasted the holidays. They’d started kissing and then one thing led to another and three weeks later the stick was blue.

That was Bailey.

How excited Kent had been to have a daughter. When they learned Beth was pregnant a second time, he’d hoped for another girl and had gotten his wish.

The early years of their marriage were financially tight. They’d met every crisis, refusing to let their money problems come between them. They were a unit, a couple, determined to beat the odds. And when it was smooth sailing financially, her marriage had fallen apart.

Somewhere, while the girls were in their early teen years, they’d lost the glue that held them together.

Well, good grief, there was no need to analyze the past at this late date. What was done was done. She smiled despite her mood. If ever there was a profound statement, that was it.What’s done is done. Accept it.Beth found herself humming a Christmas carol as she headed back to the house.

Bailey was on her cell phone in the kitchen. When she saw Beth, she abruptly ended the conversation.

“That was Dad,” she explained. “He said he wants to be here when we decorate the tree.”

Beth’s chest tightened. “Is he... Did he say he was bringing Danielle?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

“Where did he take her to lunch yesterday?” she asked conversationally as she considered the situation. Danielle didn’t appear to be the sensitive sort who’d recognize that her presence might be uncomfortable for Beth and the girls. Beth decided she needed to brace herself for the inevitable.

“The Lighthouse restaurant, I think.”

“Oh.” Of course Kent would take Danielle to one of the most expensive places in town.

“What are you making for dinner, Mom?” Bailey asked.

Sophie sent her a pleading look. “Pleaselet it be your lasagna.”

Beth laughed. “Of course.” She’d better add two extra settings to the table.

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