Chapter Twenty-Four

“So, um, Tara is at the house. She’s making dinner so we might actually eat well tonight.”

Justin had picked up Marley from her friend’s house, and they made a quick grocery run before beginning the drive to the farm. After much satisfying convincing, Tara agreed to stay, even though she was apprehensive about his sister’s reaction to her being there.

Marley looked at him and raised her eyebrows. “Did she spend the night last night?”

“No, she didn’t. But, um, it is likely she will. Sometime.” He could feel himself blushing in front of a twelve-year-old girl, who looked thoroughly amused at his discomfort. He returned his eyes to the road and attempted to hide a smile. “You see, when a man and a woman care about—”

“No! God no. Just stop, okay.”

Justin laughed loudly as she shuddered.

Marley looked down and toyed with the zipper of her hoodie. “My mom had boyfriends. A lot of them. I used to wonder sometimes if any of them were my father.”

“Did you question that, Marley? I assure you there is no doubt that William was your father.”

Justin had seen the paternity tests himself.

“I know, but those other guys were there, and he wasn’t.”

“You lucked out, kiddo. He was not a good man.”

She was quiet for a long while before she spoke again. “Then how did you learn how to be one?”

Justin had to take a moment to bite down the emotion in his throat. “I guess it helped that I hated the guy. I could see how his actions hurt people, so I would try to do the opposite of whatever he did. My mom was an incredibly compassionate woman. She always seemed to know what people were feeling, probably because she felt things so deeply herself. She hated to see anybody hurting. Ultimately, I think we all have a sense of right and wrong. Our conscience speaks loudly enough, if we just listen.”

She had turned to look out the window, but Justin could tell she was listening.

“I like Tara. You unclench some when she’s around.”

Justin laughed again, enjoying this more relaxed version of his sister. Unclenching had its benefits. “She’s nervous about how you’ll react to her being there.”

Marley looked surprised, which relieved Justin. He had not thought there was any need for concern, but Tara had been so nervous that he began to wonder if he’d missed something.

“So I shouldn’t tease her?”

“No, go ahead. She should know what she’s getting into right away. Besides, she’s used to a couple of hard-assed sisters. What’s one more?”

“I’ll be extra nice, anyway. Just in case.”

Justin realized that Marley wanted this as badly as he did. She’d lost so much. Of course she was worried she would lose this, too. They were so much alike, his two girls. Tara was probably feeling the same thing.

“I will be, too. Just in case.”

* * *

“What are you so nervous about? You’ve had dinner with them before.”

Tara held the phone to her ear as she stirred the sauce she had thickening on the stove. Justin didn’t have much in his fridge that could be thrown together for a meal, but Shelby had been pleased to hear they were getting real macaroni and cheese that night.

“Yes, but it’s different now. They are finally learning to be comfortable with each other. She might resent me coming in and taking his attention.”

“That’s a possibility. But this thing with you and Justin has been brewing for a while now. She’s probably expecting it. If there are any problems, you’ll work through them, unlike our sister, who is currently making a lot of noise pacing in her room.”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but I caught Brandon trying to sneak out of here this morning.”

“What? His truck wasn’t there when I left.”

“He parked down the hill last night to give Justin room in the driveway, remember?”

“Right. They couldn’t have done anything. We would have heard them. What did Brandon say when you saw him?”

“Nothing. He just grabbed a muffin and left.”

“That sounds about right. Has Charlotte been out of her room?”

“No, but I can hear her in there.”

“Ugh. Can we just stay out of this?”

“I don’t plan on mentioning it unless they do.”

“Good plan. I can hear them pulling up. Wish me luck.”

“All right. Talk to you later.”

She put her phone on the counter and drew a deep breath as she heard Justin and Marley come through the back door. A second later, he saw her. Shifting grocery bags out of one hand, he pulled her close with the other, giving her a sound kiss just as Marley came into the room. Tara quickly pushed him away and then shot him an annoyed look as he laughed softly.

“Hi, Tara.” Marley’s chipper voice was surprising as was the quick hug she gave Tara before she set her bag on the table. “Molly’s mom had a bunch of craft stuff, and we watched movies while we made ornaments. Wanna see?”

“Um, yeah.” She cast a quizzical look to Justin, who just shrugged his shoulders as he put away the groceries. She looked back to the table as Marley unloaded her creations. She had mostly done sequined balls and stars, which would pick up the lights when hung in the tree. “These are nice, Marley. They are really going to sparkle in the tree.”

The girl’s smile seemed a little more genuine as she picked up the ornaments. “I’m going to find places to hang them.”

Justin came up behind her as they watched Marley disappear into the living room. “She’s nervous, too. I find it funny that I’m the only one relaxed in this situation.”

She turned around to look at him. “Why is she nervous?”

“Because she wants you to stick around. Unclench already. You’re making the kid crazy.”

She slapped him on the arm. He picked her up by the waist and kissed her in a way that would ensure she was not only relaxed, but completely melted.

“Right. Okay, I’ll stop. I should be making sure Marley is comfortable, not crazy.”

“God, you’re brilliant. It took the better part of a year for me to figure that out.”

“Justin! When are you going to move these boxes? They are ruining the effect of the decorations.” Marley’s annoyed voice sounded from the living room.

“You’d think the exposed studs and patched-up drywall would be what she complains about, but no, it’s two old boxes tucked away in a corner that’s killing Christmas.”

Tara laughed and gave him a quick hug before returning her attention to the stove. She made fast work of assembling the mac and cheese and put it in the oven before returning to his arms. He leaned against the table and held her close.

“You’re so warm. I don’t remember the house being this drafty when I was a kid.”

“I’ve got to replace the windows. I’m worried what we’ll find when we take out the old ones, so it will have to wait until spring. You’ll have to stay with me every night, just to be sure I don’t freeze to death.”

Tara certainly wasn’t cold after that thought. “I suppose I could make the sacrifice. I wouldn’t want your frozen corpse on my conscience. We’d better get out there. I have a little experience with a sister who wants everything to be perfect at Christmas. I’ll help you move the boxes and save the holiday.”

Keeping one arm around her waist, he led her out of the kitchen. “I knew you’d come in handy.”

When they entered the living room, they found Marley peeking into one of the boxes. She looked up guiltily.

“What? The previous owners obviously don’t want this stuff. We can at least see what we’re throwing out.”

Justin tisked. “Bossy and nosey.”

Marley stuck out her tongue at her brother before pulling things from the deteriorating cardboard box.

“Looks like old Christmas decorations. Cool! I think this is part of a nativity.”

Marley turned to show them a worn, nicked-up, brown stable with dried moss glued to the roof. Tara gasped and walked to Marley, gently taking the piece from her hands. She looked at it a moment and then peered into the open box.

“Where did you find this?”

Justin came to her side and put his hand on her back. “The boxes were in the attic when we moved in along with an old easel that pretty much fell apart when I picked it up.”

Tara’s voice cracked. “These are my grandmother’s.”

Sitting on her knees, she emptied both boxes, and soon, she was surrounded by memories. Justin and Marley joined her on the floor as she reverently touched each item. Some were beautiful glass pieces that had miraculously survived being stored all those years, and some were simple crafts that had been made in school. In Tara’s eyes, every single one of them was priceless.

“So they weren’t thrown out with everything else.” Marley seemed fascinated by some of the pieces, especially the yellowed crocheted hearts and bells. Perhaps they could wash and re-starch them.

Tara shook her head. “Fran must have forgotten about them.”

A few weeks ago, those words would have been spoken with enough bitterness to scorch the Christmas tree, but now it was just a matter of fact. Tara was too happy in the moment to think about the resentments of the past. She smiled as tears gathered in her eyes.

“Look.” She showed a wiseman to Marley before assembling the nativity in front of them. “My gram’s father carved these for her when she was a little girl. They were originally bare, but I painted them for her one year.”

Justin kissed her temple. “It’s lovely. You weren’t the only artist in the family.”

“We should put this on the mantle.” Marley jumped up and grabbed a few of the pieces but then stopped abruptly. “Oh, if you want to. You probably want to take all this home, though.”

Tara smiled, appreciating the girl’s enthusiasm and thoughtfulness. “I’ll take some home for Shelby. There are a lot of ornaments here that she made. But I’ll put mine up here if that’s okay.”

Justin rose from the floor and pulled Tara up with him. He cupped her face in his hands, his eyes showing all the love he had expressed earlier. “It’s more than okay, sweetheart. Now the tree will be perfect.”

His thumbs trailed over her cheeks, wiping her tears. Tara suddenly heard music and turned to see that Marley had plugged her phone into a speaker and was playing Christmas carols.

“There. Now we’re ready to decorate.”

Tara could not have envisioned anything more perfect than this, not even in all her previous plans. The three of them worked together to intertwine Tara’s ornaments with the ones Marley had made. The last one Tara picked up, her own clay rendering of the farmhouse, was placed on a branch next to Marley’s.

Justin wrapped his arms around her waist. “I told you it would be perfect.”

Marley agreed. “My mother was very particular about how the apartment was decorated for Christmas. Everything was color coordinated and perfectly placed. It was really pretty, but I like this better.”

“Me too, kiddo. Feels like home.”

They stood there for a long while before the smells coming from the kitchen reminded them it was time to eat. Justin asked Marley to set the table as he poured drinks and Tara pulled the dish out of the oven.

“After we finish whatever smells so delicious, I get to pick a movie.”

“Something Christmasy,” Tara and Marley managed at the same time.

Though she expected him to balk at the idea after having been so inundated with the season the last couple of weeks, he just smiled as he sat down.

“Of course. Whatever makes my girls happy.”

Marley smiled in satisfaction, and Tara sighed, happy to be included in his little world. They laughed their way through dinner as Tara told them about life of the farm when she was young. By the end of the meal, Marley had convinced Justin to buy goats and chickens when the weather was warmer, though he wasn’t crazy about all of Marley’s plans.

“I still think the idea of bathing with goat’s milk is gross.”

“Women have bathed in milk for centuries. It’s the enzymes or something that make the skin healthy. Besides, it’s going to be processed. It’s not like I’m going to go out in the morning, milk a goat, and then throw it the tub.”

Tara laughed as Justin just rolled his eyes and walked toward the living room. “Whatever, it’s still gross. Who wants to watch a kid shoot his eye out?”

Marley followed him, petitioning for something newer, and Tara turned to finish putting away the last of the dishes. Being in the kitchen again felt new and familiar at the same time. It no longer hurt that the farm wasn’t hers. She only felt joy that now it was Marley’s and gratitude that she could share in it.

Tara stepped into the living room but did not join them at the couch. Instead, she went to find her bag, which she had put her sketching pad and pencils in before she left home. Tara had thought that she would do some drawing as she looked around the land, expecting every view to feel different this time.

She still wanted to capture the new energy that Justin and Marley brought to the farm but like the kitchen, those visages would be familiar even in their newness. Instead, she took her supplies into the living room and adjusted a chair to an angle where she could see the tree as well as the two happy occupants, who were currently bickering over movie choices. With a heart full of joy and wonder, Tara settled in and began to sketch from different view.