by Becky Lower
However, her hopes to beat Abbey to the store were dashed. Her sister already had let herself in. If Penny’d been paying attention instead of daydreaming, she would have seen Abbey’s minivan in the parking lot. From the sound of things, Abbey had company. Too late to turn around and leave or to scan the parking lot for another familiar car in order to figure out to whom Abbey was talking, Penny shoved open the door with her foot and let herself in.
Abbey and their mother both stared with questions in their eyes.
Ah, nuts. Penny’s good mood vaporized. From their stance, Penny could tell a showdown was about to happen. She always hated fessing up to Abbey, but to do so in front of their mother was an embarrassment she could do without. Her throat constricted as she faced her audience. The scene was high noon in the O-K Corral.
Her mother didn’t even give her time to take a breath before she launched. “There you are, finally, Penny, Maybe you can clear up something. I’ve been telling Abbey you and your little dog have been spending quite a bit of your evening hours at a quaint house down the street from our place. And Abbey swears she knows nothing.”
Penny’s chest expanded as she took a breath and glanced at her mother. Why did the image of a firing squad come to mind? “That’s right, Mom. Abbey’s as much in the dark as you are. Or maybe more so, since you at least witnessed my car in Del’s driveway.” She took another breath and stepped closer. “Okay, you found me out. Del asked me to help him get his furniture settled in his new house, and I’ve been lending a hand in the evenings.”
Abbey stood, taking one of the cups from her shaking hands. “Why have you led me to believe you and he hadn’t seen each other since the signing here at the store? Only bumping into him at the Christmas caroling and one bowling get-together? Except for last night when Sandra hijacked him, you’ve not said a word about spending time together.”
Planning what she’d say, she stalled. Penny took off her coat, and wrapped her now-cold hands around her hot coffee. She had never hid anything from Abbey before. Her mother, yes, but not Abbey. She took a sip of coffee before raising her gaze to her tormenters. “I didn’t want to say anything yet, since the relationship’s so new and delicate. So many road blocks existed—first Sandra crashing in here and then Ricky calling out of the blue. Anything could have tripped us up, and I didn’t want either of you to get your hopes up.”
Her mother tapped a foot on the carpet. “So, exactly where do things stand now with you and Del?”
Penny chewed on her lower lip for a second. Her well-kissed lower lip. The smile returned to her face. “I’d say, Mom, you’d better get used to my car being in Del’s driveway, since I plan to be there a lot. Del’s already said if you’d be offended by my car and me spending the nights at his house, we could hurry up with the wedding.” Bracing herself, she turned to her sister and swallowed past the lump in her throat. “And Abbey, we can change the names of the nutcrackers back to Hans and Gunther. I plan on seeing a lot of Del Madison in my future. I am no longer flying solo.” She spread her arms wide. “And, I once again love Christmas.”
A word about the author…
Amazon best-selling author Becky Lower has traveled the country looking for great settings for her novels. She loves to write about two people finding each other and falling in love, amid the backdrop of a great setting, be it on a covered wagon headed west or in present day small town America. Historical and contemporary romances are her specialty.
Becky is a PAN member of RWA and is a member of the Historic and Contemporary RWA chapters. She has a degree in English and Journalism from Bowling Green State University, and lives in an eclectic college town in Ohio with her puppy-mill rescue dog, Mary.
She loves to hear from her readers at:
[email protected]
Visit her website at:
www.beckylowerauthor.com
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