Declan gave a faint smile. “Strong coffee would be good, thank you.”
“I’ll make it.” Rosie headed back to the coffee machine, keeping her back to them.
Hayley watched her, taking in the slight slump in her shoulders. Last night she’d suspected something wasn’t right between them and she had the same feeling this morning. They were tiptoeing, being careful around each other. She could almost feel the yearning in Rosie, as if she was longing for something she couldn’t have.
She glanced back at Jenny, but Rosie’s mother was rinsing berries and either hadn’t noticed or didn’t seem to think anything was wrong.
Rosie waited while coffee dripped into the cup. The aroma of fresh coffee drifted across the kitchen. “Hayley, did Jamie remember to give you the Wi-Fi password? It’sdontdrinkanddrive234.All lowercase. It was Dad’s not-very-subtle way of getting that message home to us, and all our friends, when we were growing up.”
Hayley typed it into her phone. “That doesn’t work.”
Declan frowned. “You haven’t changed your password for ten years?”
“Oh, it’s been far longer than ten years,” Rosie said cheerfully, handing him his coffee. “Declan will now have a minor heart attack.”
“Becky hasn’t changed it?”
“Now you mention it, she did, but Dad changed it back again. They compromised andDrivehas a capital letter. Try that.”
Hayley did and it instantly connected. “Perfect.”
Declan’s expression suggested he didn’t think it was perfect but was too well-mannered to argue.
“Talking of Dad, where is he?” Rosie glanced at her mother. “I expected him to be up hours ago.”
“He’s been sleeping a little later since he retired.” Jenny tipped the berries into a bowl. “He probably needs the rest.”
“Rest? Dad?” Rosie laughed. “That’s funny.”
Hayley looked at Jenny to see if she was laughing.
She wasn’t.
“He’s getting older,” she said, adding a spoon to the bowl of berries. “And this has been a tiring year for him. Did you and Jamie enjoy your walk on the beach?”
Why had she changed the subject?
Hayley waited for Rosie to question her mother further, but she didn’t.
“The walk was gorgeous. Freezing, obviously, but Jamie brought coffee, which was exactly what we needed. And we had a small snowball fight, so it was like old times.”
“That sounds like a good start to the day.” Jenny was relaxed again, moving around the kitchen gathering napkins and cutlery and placing them on the table.
Hayley had assumed that close families communicated all the time—what she hadn’t known was that so much of it would be unspoken.
She had to stop overthinking. She didn’t know these people. She didn’t know who they were underneath the warmth andgood manners, so how could she possibly understand the more subtle dynamics? Experience had taught her that the only way to really know someone was to spend time with them and see them in different situations, particularly stressful ones. That was when people tended to show their true selves.
Maybe Declan was an introvert who was as uncomfortable as she was with this mass family gathering. Maybe Jamie’s father was exhausted from all the Christmas preparations.
The back door opened and Jamie walked in, bringing with him cold air and armfuls of logs.
“I put the rest in the garage, so at least they’re close by, but these should keep us going for a while. Dad has another lot. He’s just coming.”
“Your dad was out there with you?” Jenny smiled. “That’s good.”
“He showed up after the hard work was done.” Jamie dumped the logs into the large basket by the door and pulled off his coat. “I don’t smell bacon. I was promised bacon. Tantrum incoming.”
“Save your tantrum,” Jenny said. “It’s next on Rosie’s list now she has finished coffee.”
