Chapter Fifteen

Several remarks flew through my head while I held my tongue, none of them very Christmassy.

Stay positive, Violet, my mother’s voice said in my head.

I smiled so hard it hurt. “Susan, why am I not surprised to find you down here with Doc and Cooper?”

“I came for the liquor.” She held up a bottle of rum, and then leaned back against the bar, crossing her gazelle-like legs. “And stayed for the company.”

I rolled my eyes at her stupid sexy-strumpet act. It wasn’t an easy feat while holding that smile in place.

“Stop with that mad grin,” she snapped. “You look like some kind of creepy clown who escaped the circus of the deranged.”

I smiled even harder at her, making my eyes bulge.

“Come here, my little crazy clown.” Doc caught my hand and pulled me to his side, kissing the smile off my lips.

“Miss me already?” I joked, tugging on both loose ends of the Gomez Addams tie looped around his neck. I’d found the tie online and hoped Doc wouldn’t think it was too sappy of a gift. The smile and flirty wink he’d aimed my way when he’d opened it this morning had squelched my worries.

“Always, but that kiss was for good luck. Coop’s on the verge of kicking my ass.”

I chuckled, taking a step back from Doc. “What a coincidence. He’s always on the verge of kicking mine.”

Cooper threw the dart, missing the bull’s-eye by a good inch. “Damn it, Parker. You’re messing with my concentration.”

“She’s good at that,” Doc said, scoping out the beaded v-neckline of my green tunic that I’d changed into after breakfast. “I haven’t been able to think straight since July.”

“Oh, look,” Susan said, butting into our conversation. “A sprig of mistletoe.” She dangled it out in front of her. “How fortunate that someone left it down here.”

Crazy smile back in place, I strode over and snatched the mistletoe from her fingers.

“Hey!”

I stuffed it down the front of my black velvet leggings. “Not today, sister.”

“Rude!” she said to my back as I walked away.

“How’re things going in the kitchen?” Doc asked when I returned to his side and dropped the crazed smile.

“Aunt Zoe says dinner will be ready in about half an hour.” I glanced at my sister, who was glaring daggers at me. The urge to flip her off came and went. Whew! I was getting good at this positivity shit. “Susan, Mom wanted me to tell you it’s time to set the table.”

She took a glass from the bar and poured two fingers of whiskey in it. “Why can’t you set it?”

“Because I’ve been working in the kitchen.”

“Maybe you should come help me anyway.”

Frowning, I tried to figure out her angle. “Why would I want to do that?” Besides the fact that Mom said I was supposed to help her.

“Because it’s our joint job to play hostess.” She held up the glass of amber liquid. “Coop, here’s your whiskey.”

Coop? I mirrored Clint Eastwood’s squint on the big screen. “Susan, be a good daughter and go set the table as your mother requested.”

She set the glass of liquor down hard. “Take notice, Doc. Violet may seem sweet and innocent on the surface, but underneath that curly nest on her head she’s a bossy bitch.”

This time I did give her the finger, but I waited until her back was turned, so that had to be worth something on the character-building scale.

After she’d climbed the stairs, Doc chuckled and stepped up to the line to throw a dart. “Joke’s on her. I knew you weren’t sweet or innocent from the start.”

“Really? You didn’t buy my virtuous virgin routine?”

“Not with the way you looked at me when we were alone.” He lined up the dart. “Not to mention the things you can do with those lips of yours.”

Cooper groaned, grabbing the glass of whiskey Susan had poured for him. “Don’t you two start with the lovey-dovey shit or I’ll bury the next dart in your ass, Nyce.”

Doc threw, his dart landing closer to the bull’s-eye than Cooper’s last one.

“Nice throw,” I said, patting him on the butt.

“Parker, go back upstairs. You’re ruining the game.”

“Coop’s a poor sport,” Doc said. He caught my hand and lifted it to his lips. “Now, where were we, cara mia?”

“You were reminiscing about my lack of virtue.”

“Right.” His gaze lowered. “Did I or did I not see you stuff mistletoe down your pants a moment ago, gorgeous?”

Cooper cursed. “You two make me want to plant my head in a snow bank.” He moved behind the bar. “Where’s the ice? Your sister pours a lousy whiskey on the rocks.”

Speaking of Susan, I scowled at Cooper. “You let my sister call you ‘Coop’ but not me?”

He smirked. “That’s right.”

I crossed my arms. “It’s not very warm and fuzzy of you to be so mean to me on Christmas.”

“I’ve told you before, I’m not a warm and fuzzy guy.”

“He talks tough,” Doc said, dropping my hand and lining up for another throw. “But I think he just needs some sugar to sweeten him up.”

“Sugar, huh? Where is Natalie, anyway?” I goaded Cooper, earning a glare in return. “Did you scare her away with your sharp and scratchy personality?”

Cooper flipped me off. Apparently, he needed to learn about the power of positivity. “She and Addy went outside to build a snowman.”

I waited for Doc to throw his dart before asking, “What about Reid and my dad?”

“Reid offered to let your dad drive the snowcat,” Doc explained, lining up his final throw. “They went for a ride.”

“And you two let them? My dad wasn’t packing when they left, was he?”

Cooper shrugged. “Martin will be fine. One bullet doesn’t kill you.”

It could in my world. “Not all of us are made of tin and missing a heart, Cooper.”

“I have a heart.”

“They issued it with his badge,” Doc joked and threw his final dart. “Ha! Looks like you lose again, Coop.”

“You suck, Nyce.” He hit Doc with a rare grin. “How about three out of five?”

Doc turned to me. “Do you need our help with anything upstairs?”

“No, but thanks for asking.” I gave him a peck on the cheek. “That’s for more good luck. Now kick Cooper’s whiny ass.”

He grinned over at Cooper. “Will do, Killer.”

I left the two of them to their testosterone-filled ribbing. Upstairs, I grabbed my new coat from the bedroom and headed for the front door. I passed Susan on the way. She had the plates set around the table and was collecting silverware from the china cabinet drawer.

“Violet,” she said as I rushed past. “We need to talk.”

That was never a good thing when it came to her. Talking quickly turned into bickering and that usually ended in yelling. “No time right now, Susan. I’m following Mom’s orders.”

“You’re avoiding me.”

“Don’t think of it as avoiding,” I said over my shoulder. “Think of it as pretending you’re not here.”

Outside, I found Dad and Reid standing beside the snowcat, hands in their coat pockets. The driveway and the road in front of our house were plowed clear for the moment, but the snow was still falling, albeit lighter than the last twenty-four hours.

“Hey, Goldilocks,” Dad said as I approached them. “You remind me of your mom in that color.”

Knowing what I did now about my father’s appreciation for my mom and her yoga, I took that as a compliment and blocked any further thoughts about my parents in compromising positions. “Thanks. Did you plow or Reid?”

“Blake did,” Reid answered. “He got the hang of driving the ‘cat’ pretty quickly.”

My dad grinned like a boy with a new baseball and mitt.

“Good job, Pop,” I said. “Mom wanted me to tell you we have about twenty minutes or so until dinner.” I shaved off some time for my side trips on the way out here. “Have you heard from Quint today?”

“Not since last night.”

“Neither has Mom. I wonder if he’s on his way.”

Reid looked up at the sky. “This storm isn’t supposed to let up completely until late tonight. I’m not sure if the airport is even open.”

I frowned, snuggling into my collar. Damn, it would be fun to see my brother again. We hadn’t talked since Thanksgiving.

“Hey, knucklehead,” Natalie called from the side of the house. “Come over here and check out your daughter’s hard work.”

I left the two big boys with their oversized toy and joined Natalie and Addy.

“Land sakes! You two have been busy.” There was not one snowman, but two with twig arms, penny eyes, and stone smiles. “Where did you find the straw hat, lei, and grass skirt for the little one?”

Addy’s cheeks and nose were pink when she looked up from adjusting the lei. “Nat brought them from her cousin’s house. This snowman is like Grammy, all happy and dancing.”

“Aunt Deborah had the accessories from when she had her big Hawaiian luau,” Natalie said, scooping up a handful of snow. “It was the last family party she had before the divorce.”

Oh, yeah. I remembered my mom’s dress she’d bought for the party. “I love it—a snowman in paradise.” I stepped closer to the bigger one. “I like the green scarf and matching hat. Are those your aunt’s too?” They were pretty fancy for a snowman. I touched the fabric. “Is this cashmere?”

“We borrowed them from Aunt Susan,” Addy answered, adjusting the matching cashmere hat.

I chuckled. “Does she know you borrowed them?”

“Not officially.” Natalie scooped up more snow and packed it onto the snowball she was forming. “It’s going to be a surprise.”

I laughed out loud at how Susan was going to react to her fancy hat and scarf wrapped around a snowman. “I love you, Natalie.”

She blew me an air kiss.

“We wanted to make a snowman of each of the girls here,” Addy said.

“So they could have a girls’ night out after the sun sets,” Natalie added.

“We need to make a snow chicken yet.”

I blinked at my daughter. “A snow what?”

“Your daughter has poultry on the brain.”

“Always.” I glanced down at the snowball she was smoothing out. “Speaking of chickens, I just ran into a certain law dog down in the basement along with my sister, who was batting her eyelashes extra hard at him, if you know what I mean.”

I pulled the sprig of mistletoe from my pants and handed it to Natalie.

She held it up in front of her. “What’s that have to do with chickens?”

“Are you going to do anything about Cooper today or huddle in your safe little henhouse and cluck all night?”

She frowned at the mistletoe. “Why was this in your pants?”

“Don’t change the subject. What are you going to do about your law dog?”

Her lips tightened. “He’s not my law dog. If he wants to dally with your twisted sister, he can have at her.”

I scoffed loud enough to make Addy jump and squeak. “You’re so full of roasted chestnuts.”

“Maybe, but it sounded tough, right?” She jammed the mistletoe sprig in the center of Susan the Snowwoman’s forehead.

“It was totally weak. Are you out here avoiding him?”

“No.” She lowered her voice for my ears only. “If you must know, Nosy Parker, I’m out here cooling down my libido. Did you see how good he looks in that black henley?”

I wrinkled my nose. “He looks like the same ol’ snarly Detective Pissypants to me.”

“Whatever.” She pulled her arm back and launched the snowball. It hit Dad in the leg.

Dad looked over.

Natalie pointed at me.

He bent down and scooped up some snow. “Prepare to eat a snow-burger, Goldilocks!”

“No! Not my new coat.” I screeched and dodged a snowball.

Addy squealed in delight and squished together a snowball, whipping it at her grandfather.

Ten minutes later, I tromped back inside the house, shaking the snow out of my hair. The table was set, and Susan was nowhere to be seen. She was probably back downstairs trying to sex up Cooper.

Slipping off my coat, I headed toward my bedroom. If I found out the Jolly Jezebel had laid one finger on Doc, I’d cram the kids’ Christmas stockings down her throat, my vow not to ruin the day be damned.

I had company in my room. My favorite kind—tall, dark, and happy to see me.

Doc looked up from digging through his bag, his eyes dipping to my waist. “You still sporting that mistletoe, Vixen?”

“Why?” I hung my new coat in the closet. “You feel like doing some kissin’, big boy?”

He grinned. “Something like that.”

“What are you looking for?” I pointed at his bag.

“My phone charger.” He pulled out a cord, coming over to me. He plucked something from my hair. “Looks like you ran over the river and through the woods on the way to Grandmother’s house.”

“Natalie started a snowball fight with Dad and Reid. They bombarded us with snow bombs.” I chuckled at the memory. “They make a good team.”

“Your aunt won’t be thrilled to hear that.”

I walked over to the door and closed it. “While you’re in here, I have something for you.”

He rubbed his hands together. “Bring on that mistletoe.”

“I left it outside.”

“I’ll improvise.”

“My mother would like your positive attitude.” I opened my dresser drawer and pulled out the present I had hidden under the linens my mom stored there. Now that the time had come to give him his last present, my heart was pounding hard. It had seemed like a good idea when the kids and I came up with it, but …

Before I could wimp out, I handed Doc the ten-by-ten inch box.

“What’s this?”

I clasped my damp palms together. “One last present. This one is from the kids and me together.”

His brow lifted. “Should I open it without them here?”

I nodded. If he didn’t like the gift, I’d rather they not be here to see his face.

“Okay.” He tore the paper off and pulled off the box lid, staring down at the gift for one second less than an eternity. When he looked up, his expression was hard to decipher.

My gut flip-flopped. “I hope you don’t mind,” I said hurriedly as he set it down on the bed, my voice sounding fluttery. “The kids and I thought you might like it for your desk at work, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I can tell them—”

He grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed me with an intensity that consumed every single thought rattling around in my head. When he pulled back, I had to blink a couple of times in order to touch back down on Earth.

“Does that mean you like it?” I whispered.

He picked the gift up again, smiling at the picture frame Addy and Layne had decorated together. “I love it.”

Doc’s name was scrawled across the top of the frame in Addy’s best writing. She’d added a puffy chicken sticker after his name. Layne had drawn an orange dragon along the bottom.

Inside the frame was a picture of the kids and me that Aunt Zoe had taken last summer in her backyard. It wasn’t one of my better shots. My hair was spiraling half out of my ponytail and my makeup was sparse, but the three of us were giggling about something, so the photo showed the real deal. The kids had insisted it was one of our best pictures, so I’d consented.

“They both made you homemade cards, too.” I pointed at the envelope that had been under the frame. It held both cards.

He pulled out Addy’s first. On the front was a drawing of a blond stick girl and a stick chicken wearing a sweater. Inside, she’d written how much she loved Doc’s French toast and how happy she was that he liked her mother.

Chuckling, he lowered the card. “Wooed by food. Like mother like daughter.”

“We’re easy that way.”

He set Addy’s card aside and opened Layne’s.

My son had drawn a sword that looked like one of the weapons from his medieval books. Inside, he’d written something that he’d refused to let me see at the time.

“What’s it say?” I asked, leaning closer. “Layne wouldn’t let me read it.”

Doc handed me the card. “Your kids are tough on a lonely bachelor’s heart.”

I looked down at the card, reading Layne’s scrawls:

My mom told me that you don’t have a mom anymore, so when you’re sick or scared or lonely you have nobody to hug you and make you feel better. Since you need a mom and I have a good-smelling one who likes to hug, I will share her with you.

P.S.—Watch out when you have sleepovers with my mom. She has very cold feet and kicks a lot.

P.S.S.—Addy kicks a lot, too.

I looked up at Doc, swiping the tears from my eyes. “Good thing for you I don’t stink, huh?”

He pulled me into his arms, wrapping me in a tight hug. “Thank you, Violet.”

“That gift was partly the kids’ idea.”

He tipped my chin up. “I mean thank you for giving me a wonderful Christmas with your family.”

My heart swelled at the love in his dark eyes. “Don’t jinx us, Candy Cane. The day isn’t over yet.”

“Violet! Doc!” Aunt Zoe called. “It’s time to eat.”

Doc followed me out into the dining room. Everyone else was in the process of sitting down at the table while licking their chops and complimenting the cooks. Doc whispered something in Addy’s ear and then Layne’s, leaving each of them with big grins, before taking the chair next to me.

We’d all settled in at the table with the food steaming in front of us when the doorbell rang.

I looked at Dad. “Quint?”

He frowned toward the front door. “He doesn’t usually ring the bell, but maybe his arms are full.” He started to get up, but I beat him to the punch.

“I’m closer. I’ll get it.” I jogged to the door, my heart pounding with excitement at seeing my brother again.

“It’s about time,” I said as I opened the door.

It wasn’t Quint.

A short, round man with a walrus mustache and one of those furry Russian winter hats was waiting on the porch.

“Uh … can I help you?”

He stared at me for a second, inspecting me from top to bottom. “I’m looking for Violet Parker.” His voice reminded me of Burl Ives’s when he narrated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

“I’m Violet.”

“Great!” His mustache curved upward at the corners. “You’re a hard woman to find.”

“I am?”

He held out an envelope for me to take.

After a moment’s hesitation, I grabbed it. My name was written on the front. “What’s this?”

“A letter from your attorney.”

“My attorney?” What attorney?

“That’s what I was told when I was hired to find you and deliver it in person.”

I tried to process his words, but I hit a wall. “Why were you hired to find me?”

His mustache dipped into an upside-down horseshoe. “I’m afraid I have bad news.”

“You do?”

His expression grew somber. “Your husband is dead.”