A Family For Christmas (Hearts In Georgia; Harmony Cove) Read online

  Grace gaped at her across the table.

  Nora shrugged. “Come on, Grace, why are you still with that guy? It’s been nothing but years of indifference and arguing.”

  Grace’s cheeks burned, but she furrowed her brow. When she spoke, she partially hid behind her coffee cup. “I’m with him because I love him. I thought that was obvious.”

  Nora’s eyes narrowed even further. “Do you?”

  “Do I what?” Grace asked, playing coy.

  “Love him?” Nora repeated. “Because I thought love was supposed to be kindness and respect and an insatiable desire to be together.” Grace set down her cup, wiping the little bit of foam from her upper lip.

  “Love isn’t always rainbows and sunshine, Nora,” she said. “Sometimes it’s just being together and doing real-life things. And we do want to be together; I thought I was making that pretty clear on the phone.”

  “Yeah, but you aren’t dying to,” Nora said. “You feel obligated to.”

  Grace sat back in a huff, rolling her eyes.

  “I’m serious,” Nora went on, leaning forward in her seat. “You are this amazing woman with a blossoming career. He doesn’t seem to care at all about it! He’s only concerned with doing the things that he wants to do. When was the last time he asked you about your work?”

  Grace averted her eyes. “That’s not important.”

  “Yes, it is,” Nora insisted. “A man who is really in love would be invested at all times. Did he even know that you did that amazing spread on variations of pumpkin pie two weeks ago?”

  “He knew I was working on it, yeah,” Grace responded, staring blankly at the tabletop to avoid looking at her friend.

  “But did he see it? Did he even care?” Nora asked.

  “Why are you asking these questions?” Grace demanded. “What does it matter if my relationship is in a bit of a rut right now? We always manage to dig ourselves out of it. Besides, you heard me; we made plans for dinner on Saturday night.”

  “If he keeps them,” Nora added, “which it sounds like he hasn’t been doing lately.”

  Grace frowned. “I thought you liked Aaron.”

  “I liked him before I knew how he really treated you,” Nora said frankly. “Grace, I’m worried about you. And from the way you talk about him, I don’t think you actually do love him anymore.”

  “Nora, I—”

  “I think you did love him once,” she continued. “No, in fact, I know you did. But now… I think it’s just… comfortable for you. Familiar.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Grace said. “I wouldn’t be so much of a coward to stay with somebody if I didn’t love them anymore.”

  “That’s not what I’m saying,” Nora told her. “I’m definitely not calling you a coward. It’s just that it’s all you know. Leaving Aaron would mean a complete life overhaul for you. Everything would change.”

  “What makes you think that I want to leave him?” Grace snapped. “Because I don’t. As I said, I still love Aaron.”

  “Then why do you guys fight all the time?”

  “That’s what couples do,” she rebutted but immediately wished she hadn’t spoken. She’d said it in anger, even though she didn’t mean it. And she didn’t like it.

  “Not in my experience,” Nora said. “At least, not when the relationship is healthy and they are actually demonstrating love to one another.”

  Grace shook her head. “I told you, we’re just going through a bit of a rut. That’s all.”

  “This rut’s been going on for almost six months!” Nora cried. “Let me ask you something else, then. Why hasn’t he proposed to you yet?”

  Grace blinked at Nora. It was a question she’d asked herself time and time again. She didn’t know how to respond.

  “You guys have been dating for four years now. Four! That’s a crazy amount of time! And you’re twenty-eight now. Most of the people we know who started dating after you did are already married, right?”

  The flush in Grace’s cheeks deepened. “I don’t know. He’s been busy with work, trying to get a promotion, and I’ve been trying to build my own business. We just… haven’t had a lot of time for each other, and—”

  “Excuses,” Nora said, shaking her head. “Has he even brought it up? Do you guys talk about getting married? Or about your lives together?”

  Grace opened her mouth and then promptly closed it again. “I… I’ve thought about it, sure.”

  “Thought about is not talked about,” Nora said. She sighed and leaned forward, a sad look in her big, brown eyes. “Grace, I just want you to know that I care about you and your wellbeing, and I really am starting to think that Aaron is just plain wrong for you.”

  Grace shifted in her chair, looking at the thinning fabric of the knee of her pants. She loved those pants, and she’d had them for many years. They were the ones that fit her best. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. The truth was, they were wider in the legs than she liked and tighter in the waist, which was why she always wore a loose shirt to cover it.

  With a twinge of fear, she realized that she did prefer familiar and comfortable things over things that might actually be better for her.

  “I don’t know, Nora,” Grace said. “I appreciate your candidness about all this, but I’d really rather not talk about it right now.”

  Nora studied her friend for a long minute before nodding. “Okay. I understand. Just know… if you want to talk about any of this, I’m here, okay?”

  Grace put on a fake smile and nodded her head. “Thank you. And yes, I know. You’re a good friend, Nora. But really, I’m fine. I guess I just probably let my frustration get the better of me.”

  “You’re only human,” Nora said.

  “So…” Grace leaned forward. “Tell me what’s been going on with you? How’s your job been?”

  Nora rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You really want to talk about work right now? I have something way better to talk about instead.”

  Grace smiled and nodded along as Nora regaled her with stories about Atlanta, but she couldn’t quite stay focused. Her mind was racing as she thought about Aaron and the idea of ultimately breaking things off with him. Had everything become so stale and unfeeling that she had fallen out of love with him and hadn’t even noticed? How was that even possible?

  Just because Nora suggested it didn’t mean it was true, though. She still felt something, because whenever she thought about sitting down and having “the talk” with Aaron, shivers ran down her spine and her stomach twisted into knots.

  Besides, it was four weeks until the official start to the Christmas season. She couldn’t just up and leave him now. That would be hard not only for the two of them, but for their families as well.

  Why was she even thinking about that? She loved Aaron. She wasn’t going to leave him. So what if he hadn’t proposed yet? He was probably thinking about it, especially with so many of his other friends getting married. And Christmas was the perfect time to get engaged. Maybe he kept canceling because he was looking for the perfect ring.

  That was a much better thought. Yes. It was far easier to believe that he was secretly planning to propose all along, instead of assuming that the fire had died and there was nothing left holding them together except the familiarity of presence.

  3

  It was the first of November. The temperature was still taking some getting used to. Lysander didn’t know the last time he’d been able to stand outside in his backyard in short sleeves that late in the year. The last time he’d talked to his parents, they’d had sleet for two nights in a row. He definitely preferred the nicer weather of Georgia.

  There was a gentle breeze that night that was filtering in through the trees. It smelled of the sea. He’d learned that the pale green plants hanging from the tree branches were Spanish moss. They looked so alien to him, and it made him feel like he was living in some kind of fantasy story.

  He’d purchased some solar lamps that were just coming to
life in the backyard. They created little halos of light along the inside of the fence all the way around the yard. He picked up the tennis ball at his feet and tossed it into the air. Sawyer took off after it, careening between the swings to fetch it.

  Lysander glanced down at his phone again. She said she’d call him back in ten minutes. It had been almost twenty. He was running out of time.

  He looked over his shoulder and saw the kids sitting at the kitchen counter, still coloring the pages he’d set out for them to work on that night. He sighed as Sawyer came running back over to him, dropping the slobbery ball at his feet. He stooped to pick it up again and tossed it back into the grass. Sawyer was gone in a flash.

  The phone in his hand finally rang. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mr. Wright,” said the young female on the other end. “I’m so sorry that it took me so long to get back to you. Our play practice went way later than normal, and I just got out.”

  “It’s all right, Margaret,” Lysander said, watching Sawyer trying to get to the ball, which had rolled underneath the slide. “You’ll be here in the next twenty minutes, though, right?” he asked.

  “Actually, Mr. Wright, I won’t be,” said Margaret. “My parents told me we had an emergency in the family and that I really need to get home tonight. I’m really sorry.”

  Lysander sighed, the anger simmering beneath the surface. “All right. I wish you would have told me sooner, but I understand that these things happen.”

  “I’ll be able to watch the kids after Christmas, though,” she said.

  “After Christmas?” Lysander echoed, the anger growing again. “What about the Friday after next?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Wright, but that’s the night of my school’s last football game, and I’m one of the cheerleaders, I can’t miss it. And then every other Friday after that is practice for the play, and then two Fridays before Christmas is when the play actually starts,” she said. “I thought my dad told you that?”

  Lysander pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, he failed to inform me.”

  “Well, I’m really sorry, sir, but I have to go,” Margaret said. “I’m getting in the car, and Daddy doesn’t like it when I talk on the phone when I drive.”

  “Fair enough,” Lysander said. “Give your parents my best.”

  “Will do,” she said. “Goodbye.”

  “Bye.” Lysander sighed heavily, looking down at the screen on his phone.

  “Company bail on you last minute?”

  He nearly jumped at the sound of a voice. He looked up and could just about make out the face of Charlie O’Neill, his next-door neighbor.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you,” Charlie said, leaning over the top of the fence. “And couldn’t help but overhear you. I was out here grilling, and it’s an awfully quiet night, you know. I apologize.”

  Lysander decided it wasn’t worth getting upset over. Whatever Charlie was grilling smelled fantastic, and his stomach rumbled, realizing he hadn’t eaten yet. “No, it’s fine. I probably could have taken that call inside if I didn’t want half the neighborhood to hear me.”

  “Everything okay?” Charlie asked.

  “Well… no, actually,” Lysander said, wandering over to the fence, too. “My babysitter just called and canceled last minute.”

  “Oh, that’s no good,” said Charlie.

  “No, it’s not…” Lysander glanced at his phone. He knew that a quick scroll through his contacts wouldn’t help him find a replacement. “And I have half a mind to believe she was lying to me about why she couldn’t make it tonight.”

  “Oh?” Charlie raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

  “I work with her father,” Lysander said. “He’s one of the lawyers at the firm. I hired her because I don’t have anybody else that I know right now, and now it looks like I won’t have a sitter until after Christmas.” He held back another sigh. “Which really puts me in a bind. I need to head back to the office to meet with one of my colleagues to go a case, because even though he doesn’t have kids, he fills his schedule to the brim during the day and can only meet at night. It’s a little frustrating.”

  “You know,” Charlie said, turning and walking back over to his grill. He popped the lid open, and Lysander’s mouth watered as he eyes his neighbor’s dinner. “Jan and I would be happy to watch the kids.”

  “Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Lysander said. “I wasn’t trying to fish for an invitation or anything—”

  “No, no, it’s all right,” Charlie interjected with a big smile. “When we told you that we’d love to help with anything you needed, we meant it. And it really looks like you could use the help right now.”

  Lysander bit down on his tongue, considering the man across the fence. Jan and Charlie had been wonderful since he’d moved in. Charlie had mowed the lawn for him, and Jan had helped him get the kids fully enrolled in school. Lysander had even taken advantage of Charlie’s expertise and asked him to come and help him mount his flat screen television above the fireplace in the living room, as well as fix some leaky pipes in the master bathroom.

  It wasn’t like he didn’t know them well enough at this point to know what kind of people they were. He had worked with scummy people enough in his career to know good eggs from the bad, and the O’Neill’s were good people.

  He knew that Mr. Riley would not be happy if they had to cancel their plans that night. He’d probably suggest going in on Sunday or something, and Lysander felt like he was away from the kids too much already.

  “You know what, Charlie? I think I’ll take you up on that tonight,” Lysander agreed. “As long as you’re sure I’m not putting you out.”

  “Absolutely not,” Charlie assured him. “We would be very happy to have them. Have you guys eaten yet? I’ll gladly make you some dinner before you head out wherever you needed to be.” Lysander hesitated. “Oh, come on, there’s no need to be shy!” Charlie continued, beaming. “Go on and get the kids, and we can make sure everyone has a good meal tonight.”

  “You are a lifesaver, Charlie,” Lysander sighed. “How can I thank you?”

  “There’s no need,” Charlie said. “I’ll go let Jan know the good news.”

  This became a regular occurrence over the next few weeks. More than once, Lysander would call Jan and ask her to meet the kids as they were getting off the bus from school, or he asked them if they’d be able to watch them while he went to a meeting or had to stay late for a court appearance. He always apologized profusely for putting this burden on them, but again and again they insisted that it didn’t bother them in the least, and they were happy to watch the kids.

  Lily and George seemed to love it, too. Whenever Lysander would walk over and pick them up, they would stumble over each other trying to tell him what they had done.

  “Daddy, we got to climb the tree in the backyard!”

  “Dad, I learned how to make a picture frame! And I got to paint it, too!”

  “You will never believe what we had for dinner! Tacos!”

  He loved hearing the joy in their voices. It gave him great peace to see them as happy as they were. He knew that he was leaving them in good hands.

  It was the first Monday in December when Lysander pulled into the driveway at almost ten o’clock at night. He stepped out of the car, loosening his tie and trying to close the car door as quietly as possible. He decided it wasn’t worth locking it and getting the horn to honk. He walked up to the door into the garage, pulling his keys from his briefcase as he went. He slowly unlocked the door and stepped inside.

  Jan was standing at the sink in the kitchen, finishing up what looked like the last of the dishes from dinner. She smiled at Lysander when he walked in and hung his suit coat up on the peg beside the door.

  “Hi,” she whispered.

  “Hi,” he whispered back. “I take it the kids are in bed?” She nodded, drying her hands on a dishtowel.

  “Fell asleep about an hour ago watching a movie,” she said. Sh
e chuckled and pointed across the kitchen and into the living room. Charlie was on the couch, and even in the dim light from the kitchen, Lysander could see the steady rise and fall of his chest. “They weren’t the only ones.”

  “I can’t thank you enough for watching them this late,” Lysander said. “I know it’s getting closer and closer to Christmas, and I know that I haven’t been able to give you more than a few days’ notice…”

  “It’s all right, really,” Jan told him, gently patting his arm. “They are a joy to watch. Charlie loves it. We don’t have grandkids yet, so this is good practice for him, I think.”

  Lysander smiled at her.

  She considered him for a moment as she slid the dishtowel back over the oven handle to dry. “Lysander, I don’t mean to intrude, but the children said something tonight that I wanted to ask you about.”

  “Oh?” he asked.

  “The movie they were watching was talking about how the mother had passed away… George looked right over at me and said it was just like his mother, that she was in heaven now.”

  Lysander sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Oh, I—I’m sorry,” Jan apologized, “I didn’t mean to dig up bad memories.”

  “No, it’s all right,” he mumbled. “Yes, she died almost six years ago. Terrible car accident. I had the kids, and the weather was awful… Anyway, I think moving out here will really be good for all of us. They hardly remember her, but I think staying in Seattle forever would’ve been too hard on me. Too many memories, you know?”

  “I understand perfectly.” Jan nodded her head. “Well, I suppose we should rouse my husband. He will sleep all night on that couch if we let him.”

  “I wouldn’t mind if he did,” Lysander said with a smirk. “Your husband works himself so hard; he deserves a break. On that same hand, so do you, Mrs. O’Neill.”

  She laughed softly. “Oh, stop it, you. I am retired, so I have to find things to do to keep myself occupied.”

  He smiled at her as he watched her wander into the living room to wake Charlie. His heart was filled with gratitude for her and her husband. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve their kindness, but he was glad to have it nonetheless.