Mistletoe Cottage

by Debbie Mason

  “So what you’re telling me is you were already having a crappy day, and I made it worse. You have to believe me, Soph, the only reason I went ahead without hearing back from you is because I knew you were worried about Mia making friends. She and Amanda really hit it off, so I thought—”

  “No, you were right. It’s just…” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “When she picked you instead of me…It was hard. I’ve never had to share her before. I’ve never been away from her overnight. When she was in the hospital, they let me stay too.”

  “I’ll come and get you. You can stay here. She’s asleep or I’d bring her back.”

  “It’s probably better if I stay here. I have to get used to it. She’s going to want to spend time with you.”

  “I’ll bring her home as soon as she gets up. I’m heading to Boston tomorrow. I’ll be back for Thanksgiving.”

  “Are you leaving because of me?”

  “No, I have things to take care of. When I get back, I was hoping you’d let me take you to dinner and we can talk, get to know each other again as adults. We used to be friends, Soph. I know you’re not exactly thrilled with me at the moment, but I could kinda use your help. This is all new to me. It’s…well, to be honest, it’s terrifying. I don’t know how you did it.”

  “Welcome to parenthood. And honestly, these past few weeks, I wouldn’t win an award for Mother of the Year. I’m pretty sure Mia wouldn’t have voted for me.”

  “Don’t do that. You’re a great mother, and she’s a great kid.”

  “She’s amazing. I just wish she would start talking again, and you’d see what I mean.”

  “I already know she’ll be amazing. She’s just like her mother.”

  “That’s not fair. You can’t say things like that to me after I was such a witch.” She fell back against the pillows before she realized what she was doing. She must have made a noise because Liam said, “What’s wrong?”

  “Just a little dizzy.”

  “Okay, I’m hanging up now. You need your rest. Make sure someone stays with you tonight. If Mia wakes up and needs you, I’ll bring her home. I’m sending you a picture of her sleeping. Please tell me it’s okay that Miller’s sleeping with her. I’m worried he’s going to roll over on her. But every time I try to take him out, Mia scowls and Miller growls at me.”

  He sounded so panicked that she started to laugh. “It’s fine. She’s always wanted a dog, and a daddy. I get this is all new to you, Liam, but I think both Mia and I got lucky that you’re her father.”

  “Don’t say things like that to me, Soph. I might have to come over there and kiss you. Get some sleep.”

  So maybe it didn’t take just the DiRossis to put her back together again…maybe she needed the Gallaghers too. She wondered what her grandmother would think of that.

  Colleen sat in the back corner of the sitting room taking in the drama unfolding before her. She’d never thought she’d live to see the day. She laughed, reminding herself that she was, apparently, neither alive nor dead. Still, it was a grand thing she was witnessing. After fifty years of carrying on a bitter feud—though it hadn’t been nearly as acrimonious since Ronan’s death—Kitty and Rosa were forced to work together for the benefit of their grandchildren and Greystone. Colleen couldn’t have planned it better herself.

  Maybe the end of their feud would wipe another sin from her eternal soul. If it wasn’t for her meddling, the once best friends’ lives would have turned out differently.

  Rosa slashed her hand through the air, interrupting the members of the Widow’s Club’s chatter. “Silenziso. We have work to do. If we want to save Greystone, we must join forces. No more of this pick, pick, pick. We—”

  “Rosa is right,” Kitty said, cutting off the other woman and earning herself a raised eyebrow from Rosa.

  “Good to see you have some backbone, Kitty my girl,” Colleen murmured. “It’s about time you stood up to Rosa.” Colleen had always been fond of Sophie’s grandmother, but the woman was about as subtle as a steamroller.

  A small frown pleated Kitty’s forehead as she cast a sidelong glance at Rosa.

  “Oh no, you don’t. Give that one an inch, and she’ll take a mile. You’ve lived with me long enough. You can handle her,” Colleen encouraged her daughter-in-law, even though she couldn’t hear her.

  She smiled when Kitty squared her shoulders and continued. “Well, now, as you all know, one of my grandchildren is on board to save the manor. We need all ten—”

  “Sí. Sí. They know that already. But they don’t know we have half of one more. We just need to give him a little nudge, and then we have two.”

  “You mean Liam?”

  Rosa nodded her head. “Sí. Liam is Mia’s father. He marries my bella. She says sign, he says sí. Capisci?”

  Ida Fitzgerald stood up. “I’m looking for a husband for my granddaughter. She likes Liam, and Greystone, too, for that matter. Why can’t—”

  “No. Liam and Sophie are meant to be together. I have other grandsons. Let’s focus on one at a time.”

  Rosa smiled. “Grazi, Kitty.”

  “You’re welcome, Rosa.”

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, at the rate you two are going, you’ll be dead before you get this over with,” Colleen muttered, and moved behind the two women. She blew on the papers on the lectern. They fluttered, drawing Rosa’s and Kitty’s attention to the meeting’s agenda. The two women looked at each other and frowned, and then thankfully remembered what they were there for.

  “Evelyn, you need to take back control of the Gazette. Paige and Hazel are wielding their influence over your grandchildren,” Kitty informed the woman.

  Evelyn muttered something about kissing her month in Florida goodbye then reluctantly agreed. She’d write an article to counter Paige’s.

  “Our most difficult job will be spiffing up the manor before Michael and his fiancée arrive for Thanksgiving. Sophie and I had a meeting with Mr. Wilcox this morning, and he’s releasing some funds—not much, mind you—but Dana, you all know Dana Templeton”—Kitty pointed at the woman at the back of the room—“says she can work with it. We’ll be breaking up in groups, and each team will be responsible for specific rooms.”

  Colleen smiled when Dana stood up and handed out her plans for the manor with Ava’s help. She was pleased to see the two girls together. They’d be good for each other. This was working out better than she’d hoped.

  “All right, Simon. Time to get back to work. We have to find the book before it falls into the wrong hands.” Colleen started to walk away when Simon’s insistent meow drew her attention. He looked from her to the women then back at her. She frowned when he did it again. “Bejaysus, are you telling me one of them has the book?” She could have sworn he nodded. Well now, that would explain why she hadn’t found it yet. “A change of tactics then. We’ll keep a close eye on this lot, Simon. One of them will let it slip.”

  Colleen walked through the door, and through Jasper, who had his ear pressed against it. She shivered. Jasper did, too, and then he looked to where she stood. Like the other day in the study, she didn’t think he could see her, but she was beginning to wonder if he sensed her presence.

  “I shouldn’t be surprised. You always were a canny one, Jasper my boy. A fine and loyal man you grew up to be. And you had good reason not to. None of them know you have more right to Greystone than they do. You’re another sin on my eternal soul. I’ll do right by you. You have my word. Come, Simon.” The cat meowed at the women again, but thinking of how well Jasper knew her, Colleen wondered if Simon was mistaken. “You’d have your own reasons for not wanting that book to be seen, wouldn’t you, Jasper my boy? I wouldn’t worry so much if it was in your hands. But until I’m sure, I’ll be keeping a close eye on all of you.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Liam searched the rows of chairs in the school gymnasium for Sophie. The white walls were plastered with colorful fall leaves and equally colorful turkeys. Brie stood up i
n the second row and waved him over. He walked toward the front of the gym, nodding at several familiar faces. He did his best to ignore the leaden weight in his chest. The last time he’d been at the school was for Riley’s Christmas pageant.

  He’d been feeling the same uncomfortable pressure in his chest for the past two weeks in Boston. He’d convinced himself he’d gotten his head back in the game, but the flashbacks had come back worse than before as soon as he walked through the doors of Ladder Company 39. The picture of Billy with his turnout gear and helmet hanging on the wall beside it reminded Liam of that night every time he walked by. The station wasn’t the same without his friend. Liam had spent his last days with his old unit riding a desk and going out with EMS.

  He’d looked forward to coming home to Harmony Harbor. Something he’d never dreamed possible a couple months before. But he’d missed his daughter…and Sophie. She’d called him with daily updates, acting as Mia’s translator.

  After a particularly trying day, Sophie had finally opened up to him, and their conversations had become longer, more personal. They’d talked about what had been happening in their lives since they’d left Harmony Harbor. He’d gotten to know the woman she’d become. And he liked that woman, a lot. What he hadn’t liked as much was Sophie’s insistence that he talk about the warehouse fire and Billy. He’d realized then that the trait he’d admired most when she was younger—her need to step in and fix everyone’s problems—was annoying when applied to him. Annoying or not, she somehow got him to open up.

  It was the first time he’d talked about that night to anyone. It wasn’t easy reliving the nightmare or admitting that he still suffered from his own. In the end, he supposed it had been helpful. He’d felt surprisingly lighter after talking to Sophie.

  He looked over his shoulder before taking a seat beside Brie. He was surprised Sophie wasn’t here. She’d told him she would be.

  “Welcome back, stranger.” Brie smiled up at him.

  “Hey, Brie, thanks for saving me a seat. Have you seen Sophie?”

  “According to my grandmother, all hell broke loose at Greystone this morning. They had a flood in the bridal suite, and the water leaked into the dining room. The Widow’s Club is on the warpath. They think Paige Townsend had something to do with it. Anyway, I guess they’re scrambling because Michael and his fiancée arrive tomorrow. I hope Sophie doesn’t miss the pageant. Mia will be disappointed. They’ve been practicing all week.”

  He pulled out his phone to check for messages. His last one from Sophie had come late yesterday afternoon. It was a picture of Mia in her pilgrim costume. His chest tightened, no longer uncomfortable; it was suffocating. He was worried about Sophie, afraid someone was going to come through that door and tell him he’d lost her too. His reaction, he knew, was over-the-top, and there was no reason for him to be jumping to the worst-case scenario. He knew the why and how of it, but he couldn’t seem to convince his brain or body that he was overreacting, that she was okay.

  It was the same fight-or-flight response he’d been dealing with since the warehouse fire. But with Sophie, and Mia, he didn’t have a choice. He had to fight. Deep down he’d known the moment Sophie’d walked toward him through the smoke at Greystone, the moment Mia gave him her mother’s smile, that his days of running were over. The pages from his playbook tossed out the window—no more simple and easy for him.

  Just as he was about to text Sophie, she burst through the gymnasium doors wearing a red coat and boots. The muscles in his chest loosened and relaxed, and he half rose from his chair and waved. She fast-walked toward him, her face flushed, her hair windblown and wild, with a smile he hadn’t seen in a long time. Brie moved over and Liam had to remind himself to do the same. He’d forgotten how having that smile aimed at him made him feel. How Sophie made his head spin and stole his breath.

  “Hi,” she said with that smile still on her face.

  But it was her breathy voice that got to him now. “Hi,” he said, looking into her eyes. “I missed you.” Yeah, that smile and voice were definitely doing a number on him because he hadn’t meant to tell her. They were doing better, but he didn’t think she was open to considering a relationship with him yet.

  “I missed you too.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. I really could have used you and your toolbelt.”

  “I love when you talk dirty. Feel free to use me anytime.”

  She rolled her eyes and leaned forward. “Hi, Brie.”

  Brie waved her hand with a smile. “Don’t mind me. Keep flirting.”

  “We’re not—”

  “We kinda are.”

  “You probably were, but I wasn’t. It’s been one disaster after another at the manor.” She narrowed her eyes at him as she shrugged out of her coat. “Do not say I told you so.”

  “You just did, so I don’t have to.” He helped her out of her coat. “But if you’ll come to dinner with me, I’m all yours tonight. Sounds like the ceiling in the dining room is going to need some patchwork.”

  “You heard.” She sighed then lowered her voice as the kids filed in. “I could really use your help, but Mia’s been counting down the days until you come home. She has her suitcase packed.”

  He tucked her hair behind her ear so she couldn’t hide behind it. “You don’t mind?”

  “No…” She smiled when he raised his eyebrows. “Maybe just a little, but with Michael and Bethany arriving tomorrow, it’s probably for the best.” He lost her attention when Mia’s class walked by. Sophie twisted at the waist, waving as Mia appeared wearing her pilgrim’s costume. His heart gave an unsteady thump when his daughter spotted him and her face lit up with a smile. Oh hell, he thought when his eyes welled up. He returned her smile, gave her a thumbs-up then looked at the ceiling once she’d walked by.

  Sophie tipped her head back. “Anything interesting up there?” He heard the smile in her voice.

  “Heating duct needs to be cleaned out.”

  She slipped her hand into his and leaned against him. “It’s nice to have someone to share this with. My friends used to come to some of Mia’s school events, but it’s not the same as having someone who loves her like I do.” She tipped her head back again and blinked her eyes.

  “Heating vent on the far right.” He gently squeezed her fingers. “I’m glad I could be here for you, and Mia. Now stop looking at me like that or I’ll kiss you and embarrass our daughter,” he said when she turned her head and gave him a watery smile.

  By the end of the pageant, Liam figured he and Sophie had inspected every inch of the gymnasium’s ceiling. “I’m wrecked,” he admitted once they’d finished clapping and all the kids had filed by on the way back to their classrooms.

  “It would have been worse if you heard her sing. She has the voice of an angel.” She reached for her coat and glanced at him. “Just like her father. I should have known she was yours.”

  He helped her into her coat and whispered in her ear, “Wanna check out the equipment room with me?”

  She laughed. “You have a one-track mind. Come on.” She reached for his hand. “Family are invited back to the classrooms for a snack.”

  Brie joined them as they walked down the hall. “Did you see the boy mocking Mia when she was mouthing the words to the songs and pulling the feathers off Amanda’s headdress? He’s such a bully. I’m going to talk to Ms. O’Meara.”

  “Yep, caught that, and also caught my angelic daughter kick him in the shin when she thought no one was looking.” He’d been feeling exactly like Brie until he saw Mia defending her friend.

  “I see you’re having a proud papa moment,” Sophie said. “When we get our first phone call from the principal’s office, I’ll let you handle it.”

  “I wish Amanda would stand up for herself. Thank God she has Mia in her class. Did Mia tell you…” Brie grimaced. “Right. But she probably wouldn’t have anyway. Two of the girls in class were making fun of Amanda’s pigtails the other day, and Mia accidently g
ot glue in their hair during craft time.”

  Liam laughed. “No doubt about it, she’s a DiRossi.”

  Sophie nudged him. “It’s not funny. I wonder why Ms. O’Meara didn’t call.”

  “Probably because no one would tell on Mia. She might not talk, but she’s really popular,” Brie said.

  “More likely they’re afraid what she’ll do to them,” Sophie grumbled.

  “Honestly, Sophie, I would tell you if you had anything to worry about. I volunteer in their class a couple times a week. Mia’s a sweet, outgoing kid. She just doesn’t take crap off anyone.”

  “Thanks, that makes me feel better. I wish I had more time to volunteer in their class. Maybe in the new year, once things settle down.”

  Liam was about to offer to volunteer in her place, but things were going well, and he didn’t want to blow it. If she wanted him to, she’d ask.

  “What did you have to make, Sophie? I got popcorn balls.”

  “Turkey cupcakes.”

  “Oh cute!”

  “Well, they were. I had the first dozen made when Mia reminded me I couldn’t use miniature peanut butter cups for their faces. I went with blobs of icing instead. I hope they taste better than they look,” she said, sounding concerned.

  Liam thought back to his daughter’s comical reaction to her mother’s cooking and had his doubts. “I’m sure the kids will love them.”

  As soon as they walked into the classroom, they found out that wasn’t the case. Their daughter sat on the bench in the cloakroom, a mutinous expression on her angelic face.

  Ms. O’Meara, who looked like a high school student, broke off her conversation with another parent to meet them at the door. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to put Mia in a time-out, but I didn’t really have a choice.”

  Sophie crossed her arms. “What happened?”

  The teacher looked embarrassed. “Well, one of the boys made an unkind remark about your cupcakes, and, ah, Mia pushed him.”

  Liam held back a laugh when Sophie beamed at their daughter.