“You kidding? Bella ditched Santa when she was four.”
Claire jerked her thumb to her side. “Got that in stereo. But you should still come. You know, join the party. Have some fun.”
Only the presence of his already jaded daughter kept him from asking her what she’d been smoking. “At a shopping mall on Black Friday?”
“Good point.”
“Anyway, today’s when I deck the outside of the house. It’s a tradition.”
Claire glanced up at the thick, nasty-looking clouds hunched overhead, clearly ready to barf all over his plans, then back at him. “Oh, yeah?”
“Eh, this’ll blow off by noon.”
“Whatever you say,” she said with another light laugh, then shifted the car’s gears. “We’ll be back when our money, sanity or legs give out. Whichever comes first.”
Then, with a little wave, she pulled out of the driveway, Jules yammering beside her. Only, for a moment it was Merri driving, his little girl yakking away in that silly hat she used to have with the flaps like dog’s ears covering her cheeks, the two of them going off to have a little “girl time.” And his heart ached.
But whether because it was cracking, or stretching, he wasn’t entirely sure.
* * *
“Honestly, this is worse than Times Square!” Claire said, dodging yet another woman in faux fur and spandex who clearly considered the entire mall her personal space.
Beside her, Laurel—who’d done her own time in the city—pushed out a dry laugh. “Truly. Oh, for pity’s sake... Kelly!” she yelled over the blare of some pop star’s pathetic rendition of “Winter Wonderland,” as the redhead zoomed ahead like a guided missile, energy fairly sparking from her bright, wavy hair. Claire checked behind them to make sure Juliette, who’d been plugged into her phone for the past hour, was keeping up. Because Ethan would probably not take kindly to Claire’s losing the child. “For God’s sake, Kell,” Laurel yelled again, coming to a dead halt. “Stop, already!”
Even though she was ready to drop, too, Claire chuckled. Four hours, she’d been with these women, and while they were each a different brand of crazy, the flavors seemed to blend quite nicely. At least well enough to endure a two-hundred-store mall on Black Friday. Although clearly Laurel, her posture as limp as her straight brown hair, had reached her limit.
Shopping bags from a half dozen stores clutched in her hands, Kelly turned, clearly puzzled. “What?”
Laurel plunked down on a bench beside a cluster of totally incongruous tropical plantings—even more incongruously embellished with Christmas ornaments the size of small planets—blissfully soaking up the dreary light from the three-story-high skylight overhead. Her own back none too happy either, Claire joined her, leaving Juliette to roll her eyes before dropping onto another bench a discreet ten feet away to continue her electronic communication with half the free world. With a sigh, Kelly trudged back.
“You guys are total wusses,” she said, and Laurel snorted.
“Yeah, well, your boobs aren’t about to explode,” she said in a low voice. Although with the roar of shoppers surging around them like the Jersey turnpike at rush hour, it wasn’t like anyone would hear them. Or care. “And no, I wasn’t about to schlep my pump out here to go sit in some ladies’ room lounge to express milk. And how is it you’re like the Energizer Bunny, O Pregnant One?”
“Second trimester,” Kelly said with a shrug. “That hallowed window between being perpetually sick and perpetually winded. I could probably keep going for another three hours—”
“Jules! Hey!”
Almost grateful for a diversion from a conversation she couldn’t relate to, Claire looked over to see a gaggle of kids from Hoover zeroing in on them, with Rosie—wearing a Santa hat set at a rakish angle—at the head of the pack. Mostly the drama kids, Claire now saw. Including the ever-elusive Scott...sans the ever-present Amber. Huh. She glanced at Juliette, who was doing the deer-in-headlights thing, and thought, Oh, dear, this will never do.
“Hey, Miss Jacobs!” Rosie said, radiating enough Christmas spirit to light up the entire state. “Julie said you guys were coming here, but I didn’t think we’d see you! Cool, huh?”
“It is,” she said, then introduced the girl to Laurel and Kelly. “Did you all...come together?”
“Nah, Mom dropped me off, and then I ran into Shawna, and then we somehow started collecting the others. Like a snowball going down a hill,” she said with a chuckle...and a telling glance toward Juliette. Uh-huh.
But whatever. Claire turned to her charge and said, “You should join your friends,” which earned her the buggiest blue eyes in teen history, as well as a stammered, “I...um...”
“Yeah, you should totally come with,” Rosie said to Juliette, nodding a little too vigorously. “We were headed for the food court, in fact. Mom said she’d pick me up whenever—” Rosie turned back to Claire “—but I’m sure she’d be cool with getting Julie home, too.”
“Fine with me. But you should probably check with your dad, honey, make sure it’s okay with him—”
“Oh, I’m sure it is,” the brunette said, “since it’s not like we’ve never been here by ourselves before.”
“Still, he needs to know there’s been a change of plans.” Then Claire looked at Juliette, whose expression was such a mixture of hopeful and terror stricken that Claire’s heart went out to her. “Unless you’d rather stay with us?” she said, touching her shoulder.
Her braces glinting as she caught her lower lip between her teeth, Juliette darted a look at Rosie, then at Scott—dark haired, dimpled and totally engrossed in a convo with two of his compadres—then back at Rosie. Finally, with what Claire guessed were very clammy hands, the girl punched at her phone, then turned away from the group. Seconds later she handed the phone to Claire.
“He wants to talk to you.”
Claire took the phone, plugging her finger into her other ear so she could hear. “You need me to corroborate her story?”
“I’m the father of a fifteen-year-old girl, what do you think?”
“That you’re a very good father of a fifteen-year-old girl. But it’s true. Rosie’s here, she somehow accumulated a batch of kids—”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“And it’s only for an hour or so.” She decided against mentioning The Boy, partly because she sincerely doubted this was an issue, partly because the kids were traveling in a herd. Like wildebeests on the African plains. And she’d trust Rosie in a zombie apocalypse, let alone in a mall teeming with Jerseyites.
“You’ll still be there?”
“Um, actually, I’m not sure. Hold on...” She looked from Kelly to Laurel. “So are we staying or going?”
Shrugging, Kelly nodded at Laurel the Limp. “Up to you.”
That got a sigh. “I really did want to check out Macy’s before we left. Maybe if I...” She grimaced at her chest. “If I could maybe find a cup or something?”
“We will find you a cup or something,” Kelly said, tugging the other woman to her feet. “Trust me, I am an expert on these things. And don’t even give me smack about ‘wasting it,’ there’s plenty more where that came from. Also, I need lunch. Like, yesterday...”
Laughing, Claire said into the phone. “I guess we’re staying. And it looks like we’re all headed for the food court, so we won’t be far. I’ll keep an eye on her, I promise.”
She heard a heavy sigh, then a weary laugh. “I know I can’t protect her 24/7, but...”
“Hey. You’ve got nothing on my dad, who I half expected to move to New York with me. And I was twenty-two, not fifteen. And yes, it made me nuts. Then. But there’s a lot worse things in the world than having someone give a damn about you. So don’t worry about it, I’ve got it covered.”
Silence buzzed between for a mom
ent before he said, “Thanks.”
“No problem,” she said, then handed the phone back to Juliette. A minute later, the kids all shuffled off to the food court as Claire and the others followed at a respectful, unobtrusive distance. The kids commandeered a table or three closest to the Burger King while the ladies decided on Chinese food. After telling the others what she wanted, Laurel—purloined soft drink cup in hand—hustled off to the ladies’ room, leaving Kelly and Claire alone at their table with enough food to feed China.
“So what’s going on with Jules and the hottie?” Kelly said, shoveling in orange chicken at the speed of light.
Claire frowned at her. “Hottie?”
“Shaggy dark hair? Killer smile? Who she keeps staring at like a kid in a toy store?”
“Who, you will notice, is not returning her stares.”
“In all likelihood because she’s probably creeping him out. Seriously...do we need to do an intervention here?”
“Like I’d have any clue how to do that,” Claire said with snort. “In high school? That was me, the one rendered mute any time a boy looked at me.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Kelly said, sighing and shoveling simultaneously. Talented. “Who we need is Sabrina. Matt’s sister,” she said at Claire’s frown. “I swear, boys would follow her with their tongues hanging out. So gross. Fascinating, but gross.”
“So you guys all went to school together?”
Nodding, Kelly bit off half an egg roll. “Sabrina, Matt and I were in the same grade. I lived next door, but I spent most of my waking hours at the Nobles’. And a fair amount of my sleeping hours, too, actually.”
“So you and Matt...?”
“Didn’t happen until later.” Her eyes twinkled. “Much later. Like less than a year ago.”
“Get out.”
“It’s true. Ethan and Merri, though... Joined at the hip from the time they were fifteen or something.”
“Wow.”
The rest of the egg roll disappeared. “Sabrina and I thought it was all terribly romantic,” Kelly said, chewing. “Well, after we got past being scandalized. What can I say, we were ten. We couldn’t even imagine kissing, let alone anything else.” Then, swallowing, she laughed. “Okay, I take that back. I couldn’t imagine kissing. Bree... I don’t even want to know what she was imagining back then.”
Claire smiled. She’d already gathered from Kelly that Sabrina was what her grandmother, now long gone, would’ve called a “pistol.” She forked in a bite of her own sweet-and-sour pork and asked, “What was she like? Merri, I mean.” When Kelly arched an eyebrow, Claire said, “I have her kid in two of my classes, I’m curious what her mom was like.”
Kelly gave her a “whatever you say, chickie” look, then shrugged. “Blond. Adorable. Very sweet, as I recall. But genuine. I moved away when I was sixteen, after Ethan had left for the marines, but before that I remember him being so...devoted to her. Not like your average teenage boy, that was for sure.”
“So he really was the high school football star?” Kelly shot her a glance. “His dad indicated he was very talented.”
“He really was. Next to Merri, football was his life. Matt played, too—and he was pretty good—but he wasn’t consumed by it like Ethan was. He’d even been courted by a couple of major schools. I mean, major schools. Notre Dame, Ohio State. Yeah. He was that good. We’re talking full-ride scholarships, the works.”
“Then, what...?”
“He decided to go into the marines instead. I have no idea why, although I guess he figured he could still play when his six years were up. Who knows. Except...”
“He got hurt.”
“Exactly. Then Merri turned up pregnant, so they got married...” She shrugged. “I wasn’t around, I only know what I’ve heard from Matt and Bree. All I can say is, though—I’ve never known anybody able to make lemonade out of lemons like that man. The way he is with his kids... He should give lessons. Seriously.”
“You should hear how his players talk about him.”
“Yeah?”
“I swear, they practically worship the man. I gather he doesn’t let ’em get away with crap, but he’s always there for them, too. Especially the ones who maybe don’t have somebody there for them all the time. Or ever, really.”
Kelly gave her a funny look. “You got a soft spot for the guy?”
“Who wouldn’t?” she said, knowing full well what Kelly was asking and honestly not caring. “After everything he’s been through... He’s something else.”
“Yes,” Kelly said. “Yes, he is....”
Yakking into her phone, Laurel reappeared...but she didn’t sit. “Yeah, okay, but it’ll take me a minute to get there.” Her voice went all mushy. “Me, too, baby. See you in a few.”
She dropped her phone back into her purse, then consolidated some of her purchases to free up a plastic bag, which she then loaded with her own take-out containers. “Ty and Little Stuff are over at Sears, he needs some tools, or something—Ty, not the baby—so I said I’d meet them, go home from there. That okay with you guys?”
“Sure—”
“Of course—”
Smiling, she leaned over and gave each of them a quick hug, then waved over to Juliette...whose wave back wasn’t exactly all happy-happy-fun-fun. Hmm.
“She okay?” Laurel asked.
“I thought she was,” Claire said, then smiled for Laurel. “But you go on, we’ve got it covered.”
“You sure...?”
“Absolutely,” Kelly said with a sharp nod, even as her eyes darted to Claire.
“Okay...call me!” Laurel said to Kelly before she scooted off like a pack mule on speed. A moment later Claire noticed Juliette glance in their direction again, then get up from the table to dump her trash in the garbage bin, her lower lip quivering.
“Damn,” Kelly muttered.
“Exactly. Should we...?”
“She knows we’re here if she needs us. It’ll be okay.”
Claire looked at Ethan’s sister-in-law, who was finally slowing down with the food consumption. “So how do you know when to stick your nose in and when to let things unfold on their own?”
Her laugh was dry. “Nobody knows. We all make it up as we go along. And anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Also, my kids are ten, three and still inside. I do not know from teenagers. Parenting them, anyway. However, I remember my own teen years vividly—”
Claire sighed. “Don’t we all?”
“So sad, right? But from the little I’ve been around Juliette, I gather she’s one of those kids who needs to work out stuff on her own. She’s also a lot tougher than I was at that age.”
“Me, too,” Claire said, following the kid’s unenthusiastic return to the table, then her short conversation with her friend, who frowned at the oblivious Scott still yukking it up with one of the other guys. After a moment, Rosie nodded, standing to give Juliette a hug before the girl started back toward them. Kelly’s eyes cut to Claire’s again before she smiled up at Juliette.
“What’s up, kiddo?”
“Nothing,” she said with a shrug as she slumped onto the seat beside Claire, her hands stuffed into her vest pockets. Claire nudged the container of egg rolls toward her, but she shook her head. “They want to hit up a lot of stores we already did, so I decided...” Claire saw her swallow before she flashed a fake smile. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m seriously wiped out. You think we can go soon?”
“Of course,” Kelly said, gathering her shopping bags, the leftover food, as Claire did the same. “We’ve got three more Saturdays before Christmas, plenty of time...”
Twenty uncomfortably quiet minutes later, they were back at the Colonel’s, everything transferred to Claire’s car so she could take the girl home. As the silence continued, however, af
ter they were once more on the road, Claire finally couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Wanna talk about it?”
And the floodgates opened.
“Forget t-talking to me, he wouldn’t even look at me!” Juliette said, scrubbing tears off her cheeks. Mad tears, Claire decided, given both how tightly the girl clamped her arms across her chest and the furious set to her mouth. “What a jerk!”
“Well...you were with a large group, maybe he didn’t realize—”
“Oh, he realized. He knew.” The arms tightened. “He simply didn’t want to acknowledge my pr-presence. Never mind that we—”
A chill skedaddled down Claire’s spine. “That you what?”
“Nothing.”
“Julie, for heaven’s sake—”
“He kissed me, okay?”
“What? When—?”
“Tuesday. During rehearsal, when neither of us were onstage. There’s this little janitor’s room or something backstage—”
“Yes, I know it. Go on.”
A heavy sigh preceded, “Scott’d been kind of flirting with me all afternoon. During rehearsal, I mean. I thought I was imagining it at first, but Rosie said, no, he was definitely coming on to me, I should totally go for it. Especially since everybody knew he’d broken up with Amber. So he was, you know. Free. In theory, anyway. Then he slipped me a note to meet him backstage....” She pushed out another sigh. “I am such an idiot. Because he was only... What do you call that?”
“Using you?” Claire said gently.
“Yeah. And you know what the worst part was? It was my first kiss. So now that moment’s ruined forever.”
If Claire hadn’t been driving, she would have shut her eyes. Since she was, the best she could do was blow out a sigh of her own. Juliette glanced at her, then started gnawing on a hangnail before she caught herself, jerked her hand back to her lap.
Harlequin Special Edition November 2014 - Box Set 1 of 2: A Weaver Christmas GiftThe Soldier's Holiday HomecomingSanta's Playbook Page 52