Home for the Holidays

by Sara Richardson

  “Let’s dance, mi bella amor.” Eric moved her body with his to the dance floor where other couples were swaying to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” But Mags was oblivious to everyone else. She stared into Eric’s eyes, seeing the love that had brought them back together.

  Mags settled her ear against his chest, dancing with him, savoring the feel of his arms around her. “You know what else I can still do besides laundry and cleaning?” she murmured, peering up at him.

  Eric stopped, his gaze turning hungry. “Is it too early for bed?”

  Laughing softly, Mags started to sway again, pulling him back into their dance. “We should probably stay for a little while longer.” From a distance, she’d been trying to keep tabs on Dahlia and Ollie and Maya. From what she could tell, her niece still wasn’t talking to Dahlia, but the girl seemed to be having fun. Right now, she was over in the craft corner making an ornament. Jeff was nowhere to be seen. Smart man. “I want to make sure Dally is okay. And Rose, too.” Her younger sister had walked in a few minutes ago and was chatting with Sassy near the makeshift bar they’d set up.

  “Where’s the hotshot fiancé? Eric scanned the room.

  “I’m not sure he’ll be her fiancé much longer.” Mags had sensed a change in Rose. Sort of a stepping into her own skin the last few weeks, and she couldn’t imagine the Cunninghams would put up with a woman who spoke her mind and did her own thing.

  “That’s good,” her husband grumbled. “I’ve never really liked that guy. But, I liked Jeff even less.” That protective fierceness she loved lit his eyes. “Wish I would’ve been here when he’d paraded in and proposed to Dally again. I would’ve told him where he could stick that ring.”

  “She likely told him that herself.” Dally had changed, too. She’d finally stood up to Jeff. She’d stepped way outside of her comfort zone and had gone on a date with Ike.

  “I think they’ll be okay. And I think we’ll be okay, too.” Mags held on tighter to Eric, grateful for what they had. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t even easy. But she knew he had grit. She had grit. And that gave them staying power. Even if they drifted apart, even if they fought, even if they made mistakes, these last few weeks had given her hope that they would always find their way back to each other.

  Across the room, Dally and Rose retreated to a corner with their heads together. Uh-oh. This looked like something she needed to be part of.

  Before she could even ask, Eric let her go. “It’s fine. You can head over there and see what’s going on.”

  “Thank you.” She moved to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, then whispered, “Twenty minutes tops. Then you and I will make it an early night.”

  “Hell, yes we will.”

  She could feel Eric watching her all the way across the room, and the anticipation of spending the night with him nearly sent her running back to his arms. But Dally and Rose were still huddled in the corner, and things looked serious.

  “Everything okay?” she asked, hoping they’d simply say yes and she could drag Eric out of here.

  “Rose broke things off with Gregory,” Dally announced.

  Now that she was closer, Mags could see Rose had been crying.

  “I don’t know what these tears are about,” her younger sister whimpered. “I think deep down I’ve known this was coming since I got here. But it’s just so final.”

  “I know.” Mags hugged her. “It’s always hard to walk away, even if you knew it was coming.”

  “We can all tell Mom together,” Dally offered.

  Mags nodded her support. That would be the worst part of the whole breakup. Their mother was going to be sorely disappointed that she wouldn’t be part of the Cunningham family after all. “You’re doing the right thing, Rosie. The hard thing is usually the right thing.”

  “And we’re here for you,” Dally added. “Whatever you need. We’re here to support you.”

  “I’m so glad.” Rose raised her head and pulled Mags and Dally in closer. “I have no idea what my life is going to look like in a month, but I know I want you both to be a bigger part of it.”

  “I want that, too.” Damn those silly tears. Mags was powerless against them. “Eric and I both want that. I want you to know the baby. I want him or her to grow up knowing his or her aunties.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry about that.” Dally squeezed her hand. “I can’t wait to get my baby fix. You’re probably going to get sick of me visiting you all the time.”

  “Impossible.” Mags looked around for Ollie and Maya again. They’d both moved on to the cookie table where Eric was entertaining them by balancing a stack of sugar cookies on his nose. “The kids seem to be taking everything okay.”

  Dally blew out a lengthy sigh. “I know Ollie will be okay. He’s so much better about talking through his feelings.” Her sad gaze seemed to follow Maya. “But my baby girl…she takes too much on herself. I know she’s angry and disappointed with me right now.”

  “It won’t be the last time,” Mags reminded her.

  “That’s part of doing what’s best for them,” Rose added. “Can you imagine if you would’ve said yes to Jeff? After everything he put you through?”

  “No.” Their sister blanched. “I just have to show the kids that even though our family will look a little different, we can still find joy.”

  “We can,” Mags agreed. “All of us together.”

  “Look at Eric.” Dally laughed. “He’s going to make such a great dad.”

  Mags turned to watch her husband laugh with Ollie while Maya was talking with another girl about her age. “I know.” She couldn’t wait to see him holding the baby, dancing with the baby, feeding him or her bottles, doing all the things they’d dreamed about doing for so long. “I think Eric and I are going to go to bed early.” She couldn’t wait to have him all to herself anymore, to rediscover that connection their bodies had always had.

  Rose smiled. “We’ll make sure not to disturb you.”

  “Don’t stay up too late,” Dally teased. “The kids are probably going to be up at sunrise ready to open presents.”

  “That’s what we used to do.” Those were some of her favorite memories, getting up before sunrise to drink hot chocolate. Their parents always made them wait until the sun was “all the way up” before waking them, so the three of them would make a nest of blankets in front of the bay window in the living room and they would watch the sun inch its way over the horizon.

  “I’m so grateful I get to spend Christmas with my sisters this year.” Rose gave them each a hug, and then sent Mags off with a pat. “You go with Eric now. You two deserve some good quality time alone.”

  Mags had already walked away with a wave before Rose even finished the sentence. Her husband must’ve seen her coming. Right as she walked up, Ollie said, “Aw, Uncle Eric. Do you hafta go to bed already?”

  “I’m afraid so, buddy.” He winked at Mags. “Gotta gear up for the big day tomorrow, know what I mean?”

  “Yes!” Ollie bounced around. Judging from the frosting smudges on his chin, he’d had more than one cookie.

  “We’ll see you in the morning, though,” Mags told him. “We have some special surprises for you.”

  “Oh boy, oh boy!” Her nephew hugged her. “I can’t wait to see what it is! I love surprises! I love Christmas!”

  “Me, too.” Eric took ahold of Mags’s hand. “Don’t stay up too late now,” he told Ollie.

  “I won’t,” the boy promised. “Maybe I’ll just have one more cookie.” He took off for the cookie table at Mach speed.

  “You ready?” Eric pulled Mags’s coat off the back of a chair and helped her slip into it before putting on his own.

  “I’m so ready.” Her whole body seemed to be humming with a warm, simmering anticipation.

  Her husband tucked her under his arm, and they walked out into the snow moving as quickly as they could without slipping.

  “You sure you’re all right?” he asked, tightening his hold on her as they
made their way up the hill.

  “I’m better than all right.” Christmas would come tomorrow. She had the love of her life by her side. And they were preparing to cherish this new life they’d made together.

  “Careful on the stairs. They’re icy.” Eric led her to go in front of him, and they tromped up the porch steps. By the time they slipped in through the door, both of their coats were already off.

  “Come on, come on.” Mags tried to kick off her boots impatiently, but they wouldn’t budge.

  Eric knelt down and untied them for her, gently pulling off the right and then the left. When he stood back up, he pulled her into a kiss, a foreshadow of everything to come. Mags clung to him, and they continued to kiss their way down the hall, through the living room.

  “Stairs,” Eric murmured breathless against her lips.

  “Right.” Mags held on to him and tried to focus on staying upright even with her knees weak. At the top of the stairs, Eric danced her into the guest bedroom that had become hers, and somehow shut the door without breaking their kiss.

  Mags started to unbutton his shirt.

  “Hold on.” He stumbled back a step and seemed to collect himself with a breath. “There’s something I want to give you first.” Eric went to his suitcase and rummaged around until he pulled out a small gift bag.

  His expression had gotten so serious that Mags eased herself down to sit on the edge of the bed.

  “Open it.” He handed it to her and then knelt so that his face was level with hers.

  Carefully, Mags pulled apart the tape that held the top of the bag together. She fished her hand inside and pulled out the tiny little Christmas stocking that was folded up inside. The one she’d bought for the baby they didn’t have.

  Still on his knees, Eric looked at her, tears overflowing from his eyes. “After you left, I bought paint and trash bags, and I went into that room to clean it all out. To erase every reminder of what we’d lost. I thought that would fix things. I thought it would help us move on.”

  Swallowing against her own tears, Mags clutched the stocking to her chest.

  “And then I found that in the drawer,” Eric went on. “I sat down in the rocking chair and held on to that stocking, and I finally understood. I realized you weren’t giving up hope. I realized if you weren’t giving up hope, then I couldn’t either.” He eased closer to her, his hands on her thighs. “I couldn’t stand being helpless, so I wanted it all to go away. But sitting in that room, holding on to that stocking, I could feel all the love you have for our children. All the love you have for me. And I knew I had to come to you. I never should’ve said I didn’t want a baby, Mags. I didn’t mean to hurt you. The truth is, I was afraid.”

  “I understand.” She pushed off the bed onto the floor with him, both of them on their knees, clinging to each other. “But we won’t be afraid anymore.” They would find the strength they needed in each other.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Dahlia

  Mommy?”

  Dahlia’s eyes fluttered open. Maya’s face materialized in front of hers, and she bolted upright in the bed, her heart galloping straight into panic. “What is it, baby? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry for what I said last night.” Her daughter started to cry. “I don’t hate you. You’re not ruining everything.”

  “Oh, sweetie.” She pulled back the covers so Maya could crawl into bed with her. It was still dark outside, but the clock read five thirty. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it. You had every right to be upset.”

  Her daughter climbed in next to her, snuggling up against Dahlia’s body. “I miss it. I miss our family the way it was.” She yawned. “I hate leaving you to go to Dad’s house all the time. And I hate leaving him, too. I wish we could all be together.”

  “It’s hard. I know.” Dahlia stroked her daughter’s hair. “But think of it as having two homes. Two homes where you’re loved no matter what. Two homes where you get to make beautiful memories.” She peeked down at Maya’s face, and saw her little girl. Even though she acted so much older, in many ways she was still her baby. She would give anything to protect her from sadness and hurt, but that would never be possible. The best she could do was help her learn how to process her feelings, how to still look for the bright moments, the positives, even when things were hard.

  “I guess at least you and Daddy don’t fight,” her daughter said sleepily. “My friend Gigi’s parents are divorced, and they’re mean to each other.”

  “Your father and I will always be friends.” That was one thing she would promise. She would never put them in the middle of any ugliness or anger. “We’ll always have a bond because we have two of the most amazing kids in the world together.” She kissed Maya’s forehead. “I’m proud of you, sweetie. You’re very mature and thoughtful. But I also don’t want you to take so much on all by yourself. I want you to know you can talk to me about any—”

  A soft snore cut her off.

  Dahlia gently brushed her daughter’s hair away from her face, watching her sleep in the dim light filtering in from the moon outside. There was nothing like watching her children sleep. The utter peace on their faces, the cute noises they made. She was tempted to try to reach for her phone so she could take a quick video, but Maya would kill her. Besides that, something told her she wasn’t the only one awake in this house.

  It had been a late one last night. After they’d finished cleaning up from the extravaganza, she and the children had come back to the house with Sassy and Rose. They’d made more hot chocolate and had watched Home Alone—one of the kids’ favorites before Dahlia had tucked Maya and Ollie to bed in Sassy’s study. But even with the late hour she’d be willing to bet Rose hadn’t slept much. When they’d gotten home, Gregory and all of his things had been gone. Her sister had put on a brave face, but it wouldn’t hurt to go check on her.

  She peeked at her soundly sleeping daughter once more and then inched her way out of the bed, doing her best not to wake Maya. Jamming her feet into her slippers, she slipped into the fuzzy bathrobe Sassy had lent her for freezing mornings like this one. Quietly, she padded down the hall. Rose’s door was already open, and, not surprisingly, her sister wasn’t in her room. Dahlia made her way down the steps, wincing at the creaks and crept past the study where Ollie was still sawing logs.

  When she walked into the kitchen, she laughed. “What’re you two doing up?” Both Mags and Rose sat at the kitchen table. A mug sat in front of each of them, and a bottle of whipped cream sat in the center of the table. Marigold, of course, had sprawled herself out on Rose’s slippers.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” Rose grumbled. “Every time I closed my eyes, all I could think about is everything we have to do to cancel the wedding.” She put her head down on the table. “It’s going to be a nightmare.”

  “Then let’s not think about it,” Dahlia suggested, joining them. “It’s Christmas. We can start helping you make a spreadsheet of wedding cancelation tasks tomorrow.” She turned to Mags. “What’re you doing up so early?”

  “I’m too excited to sleep.” Mags sighed happily. “Eric and I spent half the night talking about what we need to do to plan for the baby and the other half…well…” She paused, a pinkish hue on her cheeks. “Never mind. I’m just happy. Really happy.”

  Rose raised her head back up. “Then I can be happy, too.” She angled her head toward Dahlia. “What about you? Were you having some insomnia thinking about Ike?”

  “Nooo.” Though she was pretty sure she’d had a dream about him. “Maya crawled into bed with me and apologized for telling me she hated me.”

  “Sweet girl.” Mags added another squirt of whipped cream to her hot chocolate.

  “She’s so much like you,” Rose said.

  “I know. That’s what I’m worried about.” But she would also do her best to bring out her daughter’s strengths since they so closely mimicked her own. “Hey…” She popped up and grabbed a mug to make herself a hot chocolate
. “What’d you say we watch the sunrise together?”

  “Yes!” Mags stood, too. “Oh my God, it’s been years.”

  Rose seemed a little less enthusiastic. “But isn’t Ollie sleeping in the den? We don’t want to wake him up.”

  This was true. Her son was a complete angel…unless he didn’t get his required nine hours of sleep. “We can sit on the porch!”

  That got Rose out of her seat. “Yes! It’ll be beautiful with all that snow outside.”

  Now it was Mags’s turn to frown. “Outside? Seriously? It’s probably ten below out there.”

  “We’ll have hot chocolate.” Dahlia put the kettle back on the stove.

  “And we can bundle up in coats and blankets.” Rose scurried out of the kitchen and came back in with an armload of blankets. “Come on, Mags. When are we going to have another opportunity to watch the Christmas sunrise?”

  “Fine.” Their sister pouted a bit, but she helped Dahlia make more hot chocolate, and didn’t complain as they bundled up in their coats and hats and scarves and boots.

  “I can hardly move,” Rose said, tromping to the porch steps.

  “At least we’ll stay warm.” Dahlia plopped down on the first step, not even feeling the hard wood beneath her thanks to all the padding. Once they sat down, Rose unfolded a warm fuzzy blanket and they squeezed in together, wrapping it around their shoulders.

  Whining, Marigold climbed in between Dahlia and Rose.

  “I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend Christmas morning.” Dahlia gazed out on the inn’s frozen landscape, the sky a light shade of gray. Farther down the hill, smoke rose from the chimney of Ike’s cabin, and she wondered if he was up yet.

  “It’s beautiful,” Rose murmured, holding her mug in her mitten-clad hands. “We need to talk about the inn. About Sassy’s offer.”

  “Yes, we do.” Dahlia had been turning the offer around and around in her head. She already knew what she wanted—what she hoped for. But she didn’t want to make this all about her either. “What do you want to do?” she asked Rose.