“Why are you in such a bad mood?”
“I’m not in a bad mood,” Dallas lied. “I’m just concentrating on making this meal. I want it to turn out halfway decent, okay?”
Bentley finished another one of the packets. “You know Mom will be thrilled that we even tried.”
“She’ll be even happier if it’s edible,” he snapped, but when both brothers looked at him in surprise, he realized he’d spoken too harshly again.
“Jeez, Dal,” Liam grumbled.
He bit his tongue so that he wouldn’t make it worse and was relieved when the twins came in and the conversation veered toward getting a game of football together tomorrow and trying to decide what time would least interfere with Aiyana’s plans for Christmas Day.
Once it was settled that they’d head to the field after lunch, and they were finished with the salmon packets, Dallas put them in the oven while his brothers hurried out to play video games.
Relieved to be alone, Dallas sat at the table and, even though he told himself he was just making things worse by constantly checking, looked for a text or missed call from Emery.
Nothing.
His thumb hovered over her name as he considered calling her again, but he knew she wouldn’t answer. “Merry Christmas,” he muttered, and shoved his phone back into his pocket.
Aiyana couldn’t believe the boys had attempted to make her salmon packet dinner, a meal she typically made only on Christmas Eve. As they sat around the table together, Ryan and Taylor complained that it didn’t taste quite as good as when she made it, but the thoughtfulness behind the effort made it pretty darn delicious to her. She was proud of her family, had never been happier in so many respects, and yet it didn’t take long for her to realize that something was wrong with Dallas.
She wasn’t the only one who noticed it, either. When he’d grumble at this or that, or simply remained silent when he normally would’ve spoken, Eli, Gavin, Seth or the two younger boys would glance at each other. And when she asked about Emery and how things were going with her mother in Boston, she could hardly get him to answer.
“What’s going on with Dallas?” Cal whispered when Dallas went to the bathroom and he was helping to clear the table.
“I’m not sure,” she whispered back. “I hope his father has honored our agreement. You don’t think he came here while we were gone, do you? Could it be that Dallas knows Robert’s not only out of prison but close by and eager to make contact?”
“Robert promised he wouldn’t interrupt the holidays. But we are talking about a man who murdered his wife and daughter. I doubt he’d have any compunction about taking your money and then doing exactly as he pleases.”
“It doesn’t have to be Robert. It could be that things didn’t end well with Emery,” she speculated.
“He texted you while we were gone that Ethan was going to confess. Won’t that make things better?”
“For her. But I’m pretty sure he’s fallen in love with her, and I don’t think that’s an easy thing for him to face.”
He brought her fingers to his lips. “I’m just glad you’re so open to love,” he teased.
“Hey, I just rinsed off some plates—my hands are wet!”
He chuckled as he kissed them in spite of that. “I don’t care. I’ll take you any way you come.”
She couldn’t believe she’d waited so long to marry him, but her own life had not been easy. She guessed Dallas was battling some of the same trust and fear issues she’d dealt with in the past. He’d learned how to cope on his own, had eked out a life he enjoyed with his climbing, and he felt safer hanging on to that than trusting love—which was sort of ironic, given the more obvious danger of his job.
She was hoping for a chance to speak to Dallas alone, but he surprised her by going to bed early. He knew the rest of them were planning to visit the students who were still at the school and leave stockings full of Christmas goodies by each door, which he usually enjoyed, but he didn’t seem to have any enthusiasm for it tonight.
“What’s up with Dallas?” Cora asked after Dallas disappeared down the stairs.
“We think it’s Emery,” Cal replied.
“Really? Eli told me he’s the one who chose not to pursue the relationship.”
“He was,” Aiyana said. “But maybe he needs a second chance to decide.”
Cal gave her a suspicious look and Cora’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?” they said, almost in unison.
A trickle of excitement ran through Aiyana. “Let’s get the others together and see what we can do.”
“There isn’t anything we can do,” Cora said, perplexed.
“Who says?” Aiyana responded with a wink.
Emery knew she’d done the right thing coming to Boston. She shuddered to think she’d almost left her mother on her own. Connie was bewildered and hurt, being rejected after so many years of marriage, and yet she was doing everything she could to support her own mother. Emery couldn’t help but be proud of her.
She was also determined to follow her mother’s example and fulfill her duty to both women instead of feeling sorry for herself. After all, the only thing she had to worry about now was a broken heart. But it still wasn’t easy. She’d blocked Dallas’s number and refused to let herself cave in and unblock him—an impulse she had to override every few seconds.
“You’re quiet,” her mother said as they sat in the living room after they’d finished the ham and scalloped potatoes she’d prepared for dinner, cleaned up the dishes, and put her grandmother to bed.
Emery held a glass of wine loosely in one hand as she studied the sad little Charlie Brown Christmas tree on a
