Page 46 of Once Upon a Holidate
Her body reacted with a bit of a tingle and a happy lift to her heart. She smiled as she met him in the living room.
“Hi,” she said, stepping into his arms for a hug and a kiss. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Happy Thanksgiving.” He held out a foil-covered bowl. “I bought some wine,” he added. “I left it on the porch. Let me go grab it.”
She took the salad into the kitchen and found space for itin the crowded refrigerator. Holiday meals were always a challenge. She had a countertop convection oven she’d bought at a garage sale a few years back. It was plugged in and sitting on the kitchen table, ready to heat any extra sides that showed up.
Garrick joined her, a bottle of white wine in each hand. “They’re already chilled.”
She looked at him, noting the tension in his jaw. “What happened?” As Joylyn wasn’t with him, she could make a couple of guesses but figured she should hear the whole story from him.
“She’s not coming.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea.” He put the wine on the counter. “She was okay when she got up this morning. Not superfriendly, but not hostile. Then she got a call from Chandler. After that she was crying and screaming and didn’t want anything to do with me. She wouldn’t eat breakfast or talk to me. When I asked her to come over just for a few minutes, she screamed at me to go away.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me, too. I don’t know what’s wrong, and I don’t know how to get through to her.”
“You need to talk to her.”
“I’ve tried.”
She looked at him without speaking.
“You’re saying try harder?” he asked.
“I am.” She stepped close and rested her hands on his waist. He pulled her close and hugged her.
“Kids are difficult,” he murmured. “Even when they’re grown up.”
“Yes, they are. But you love her, Garrick. You’ve got to keep pushing until she lets you in.”
“I know. I’m the parent and all that, but I have to tell you, the rejection is tough. Sometimes she looks at me with such loathing, I wonder if she wishes I was dead.”
“She doesn’t. You’re her dad.”
The doorbell rang and they stepped apart. Wynn let in Jasper and Renee, along with their dog Koda. The old guy sat politely until Hunter came running.
“Koda! Happy Thanksgiving.”
The dog’s tail wagged as Hunter collapsed to the floor and wrapped his arms around the dog. Then Hunter glanced up at Jasper and Renee.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” he told them. “Thanks for bringing your dog.”
Renee glanced between them. “You really should think about getting—”
Wynn shook her head. “Don’t even say it. I don’t need one more thing right now.”
Jasper shook hands with Garrick, then kissed Wynn’s cheek and handed her a ceramic frog container filled with a leafy plant. “Not for the table. I know you do your own thing for that. Maybe for the windowsill.” He started for the family room in the back. “Got the game on, Hunter?”
“Uh-huh. It’s tied at seven.”
“Come on, Garrick. Football.”
Garrick glanced at Wynn. “The age-old division of the sexes. Let me know when you want me to pull the turkey out of the oven.”
