“But I want to get her a few meaningful things.”
“I have a few ideas,” she said, pulling out her own phone.
His chuckle rolled over her like a warm blanket. “I knew you would.”
Twenty minutes later, six gifts were on their way to the Falcons’ clubhouse. Helia’d stopped him from texting Dottie to ask if she could wrap them, insisting they do it themselves. Midnight wrapping parties were part of the fun of the holidays. They were practically a requirement. His eyes had narrowed, and he’d cocked his head in doubt at that statement, but in the end, agreed. At her suggestion, he had, however, asked Dottie to make sure Kendall’s room was ready when they arrived. She’d heard from Callie that Philly had happily agreed to give her his old one—right next to Collin’s.
Helia veered off to the tasting room when they exited the back room, but a text from Kendall had her changing direction and heading to the third floor.
After knocking on the girl’s door, she poked her head in. “You rang?” Helia asked.
Kendall paced the room, her baggy black jeans swishing with every step. A contrast to the silence of her sock-clad feet hitting the wool carpet.
Helia stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. Kendall paced to the other side of the room, then spun, the sides of her unzipped sweatshirt flying open to reveal the vintage Hello Kitty shirt they’d found in the thrift store.
“Christmas,” Kendall said, coming to an abrupt stop, her already big eyes even wider. “I don’t know anything about Christmas.”
Ah.
“Well, not nothing,” she continued, resuming her pacing. “My mom and I celebrated every now and then. We even had a tiny tree a couple of times.” She held her hand out to about four feet high. “She gave me a pair of socks and a new backpack oneyear. I got my computer three years ago. I gave her a silk scarf I found at a Goodwill and a wallet.” She paused and cast Helia such a look of terror that Helia nearly reached for her. “I don’t know what to do about Christmas. And…and my mom just died, and I don’t know whether I should be excited or sad. And…and I’m worried that I’m going to do something wrong, that maybe I’ll disappoint everyone by, like, being sad about my mom, and then they won’t want me around because I’ll be spoiling their day. And what about presents? How am I supposed to know what to get everyone, let alone have the money to pay for it?”
Helia couldn’t take any more, and she stepped forward and gathered the girl in her arms. Kendall remained stiff as a board for about ten seconds, then melted. “What am I gonna do?” she said, her voice mumbled against Helia’s shoulder.
“First things first,” she said, glad she and Collin hadn’t gone overboard on the presents. “Feeling all these things is fine. Don’t ever think you have to feel, or not feel, something because of other people. You shouldn’t do that ever, but in particular, you don’t need to do that around anyone in this house. Or the Falcons clubhouse,” she added, thinking of the few brothers who weren’t in the castle.
“You know a little of Collin’s background, and unfortunately, his story isn’t unique among that group. And you heard Juliana, Callie, and Lina tell you a little about their lives. If anyone is going to understand how complicated grief and childhood can be, it’s this group of people.” She paused to let that sink in. Three breaths, then four, and Kendall’s body relaxed.
“What about presents? I don’t have any money for presents.”
Helia smiled and led her over to the bed. Climbing up onto the big hulk of furniture, she scooted over, then patted the empty space beside her. “The good news is, one of the rules about Christmas is that kids aren’t expected to give gifts. Not to everyone anyway. I picked up a few small things for Collinthe other day but wanted to find one more present to put under the tree. Maybe we could find it together and it could be from both of us. And before you mention money again, your input is contribution enough. You hear things and see things that I don’t. I’m going to take a wild guess that you’re going to have a better idea what he might like than I will.”
“I think he already got what he wanted for Christmas,” Kendall said, nudging her with a grin as she snuggled against the stack of pillows.
“Rude,” Helia muttered affectionately, making Kendall giggle. Smiling to herself, she tilted the phone for Kendall to see. “Now what do you think of this?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Helia hugged each and every one of the Falcons guys and gals as Collin tossed their bags in the back of his truck. After breakfast, he’d summoned Gretchen, Alessio, and Miguel to the castle for a meeting, then Alessio had offered to do a wine tasting for the adults before they headed out. Most of the group took him up on the offer, but Collin had declined on behalf of the three of them, stating he wanted to get to Sundaram. She couldn’t tell ifhewanted to be with her family or if he wanted to be sureshehad time with them before they headed up to Mystery Lake. Or maybe he wanted time for her parents to get to know Kendall. Each option made her heart patter a little stronger for the man.
Kendall smiled and received hugs from everyone, too, but Helia thought a few quiet days at her parents’ would be good for her before moving into the clubhouse. Sure, there’d be the awkwardness of meeting new people. But Kendall would watch Collin for cues, and Collin’s relationship with them was solid, even after all these years.
“Ready?” Collin asked, his eyes jumping between her and Kendall. Both nodded and climbed into his truck. After a fewlast-minute words with Mantis, they headed down the long driveway and toward Sundaram.
“Excellent timing,” her dad said with a huge grin when they pulled up, her mother standing at his side. “Don’t bother getting out. You can take us to get our tree.” And with that, they climbed in the back seat of the cab, introducing themselves to Kendall as they did. Without a word, Collin turned around and headed to the only place they’d ever gotten their tree from.
As they had for years, the lot attendants—high school FFA kids—led them to a few trees set aside for local families. The pickings weren’t vast, but they found a nice twelve-foot Douglas fir with a few gaps in its branches that her mom declared would be perfect for some of the larger ornaments to hang in.
An hour later, the tree sat proudly in the living room, lit up but not decorated, and Kendall perched on a stool at the kitchen island, cup of cocoa in hand, talking to her mom about cookies. Helia had worried that the flurry of activity would overwhelm her, but, probably exactly as her mom anticipated, it forced communication and conversations that helped break through any initial awkwardness.
“Is everyone on their way to Mystery Lake yet?” she asked Collin, who was helping her dad unpack all the ornaments from their storage boxes.
Monk chuckled. “Not even close. With Juliana and Lina there, Alessio is in hog heaven answering all sorts of questions.”
“They don’t mind the delay?”
Collin shot her a confused look before catching a glass ball that tumbled unexpectedly from its wrapping. “Course not,” he replied. “They wouldn’t have agreed to the tasting in the first place if they had a schedule to stick to. As it is, it’s a unique holiday experience they’re sharing together.”
A practical answer that surprised her but shouldn’t. She was 100 percent certain the Falcons crew wasn’t always so laid-back.She’d heard the stories from all the women. But what mattered, and what didn’t, seemed clearer to them than most people she met.
