Ma blows a raspberry through her pursed lips, flapping her hand at Lizzy. “Pfft. Have at it. Everyone that sits at this table is family anyway.”
“I think we can extend our stay at the B&B,” Olivia hums. “If ‘Lizabeth can find someone to fill in for her at the diner, we’ll stay.”
“I’m sure I can,” Lizzy confirms. She owns and runs Brome’s Diner, an eatery near Brooks’ and Evan’s summer camp, Camp Healing Waters.
Colton glances over to Petro. “What do ya say, babe? Portland won’t miss us for a couple more days. Wanna stick around too? Maybe we cannnn… spray-paint some dumpsters, for old time’s sake?”
Taryn rolls his eyes. “I thought we were past that…”
“We are. Chill out, my dude,” Colton replies, smirking. “But if you can’t rag on your friends, who can you rag on, right?”
“Behave, Colty-Doodle,” Morgan chides. “Just because you were good at starting food fights at camp, doesn’t mean you need to start one here. Besides, Christmas is about coming together, as afamily…” She smiles sweetly, looking over at me, then Brooks. “Family is the best gift,” she adds, blinking back tears as she regards her uncle-turned-father. Brooks’ sister, Ryann, passed when Morgan was eight. As her only known next of kin, he took her in, formally adopted her, and raised her all on his own.
Brooks really was single-parent goals for many years. Kinda jealous that now he and my brother don’t have to go it alone anymore. Add that to the laundry list of things I envy about Evan, like his picture-perfect partnership with his husband.
Out of my periphery, I see multiple heads nodding. Glancing around the table, at each and every one of them who have agreed to stay just to make sure my girls are included—well, let’s just say there’s a knot in my throat that wasn’t there before. Wasn’t I just the one wallowing in my own loneliness?
“You’d—do that for the girls? Stick around so they could repeat this?”
“Gannett, you really are a bigger numbskull than I thought, if you think any of us herewouldn’tdo that for not only the girls, butyouas well,” Dad finally speaks up, his eyes darting between Evan and I—fixing both of us with a narrowed look.
“What are you givingmethe stink-eye for?” Evan balks. “I didn’t say anything.”
Brooks pats my brother’s thigh and smirks. “Of course you didn’t, babe. That’s pretty much your schtick, staying quiet.”
Evan rolls his eyes. “That’s clearly not the caseallthe time…”
“Hardlydinner table discussion, babe,” Brooks retorts, his freckled cheeks turning rosy red. Evan’s guilty-as-charged grin follows, and there’s no way his Grizzly bear ass can disguise his infatuation with his ginger-haired husband—there are only few who know what a teddy bear he really is.
Wagner clears his throat. “Agreed. We don’t need those details. However, I don’t knowwhenboth you boys started to get the impression that you don’t matter, but you couldn’t be further from the truth. I know I spent a lot of your young lives out on the water, but, Morgan’s right, that doesn’t mean family don’t mean nothin’. Just means I was too much of an idiot to appreciate what was right here all along. Why do you think I had Evan drag your sorry ass here, Gannett? You don’t need to be spendin’ Christmas all by your damn self.No onedoes.” He raises one of his unruly, bushy white eyebrows at me, then nods at the empty chair on my left. “Ifyou catch my drift…”
There’s only one person that comes to mind who is currently spending Christmas by himself: Gordy. Dad must know it too, but why would he actively insinuate that I should invite him? I know Dad likes Gordy and all, but that’s because Gordy lets him pay off his tab with crustaceans versus credit card… right?
“I already talked to him. He didn’t want to come,” I admit.
“Who?” Evan asks.
“Gordy,” Dad answers him, confirming my suspicions.
“You talked to my dad, but he wouldn’t answer the door for me and Morgan?” Taryn scoffs. “What the hell?”
Evan’s face contorts. “Why did you invite him, and why didn’t he want to come? Because of me?”
Yes.
“No,” I lie. “He said he wasn’t feeling well, and was going back to bed. He did say he dropped off some gifts at your place though, Taryn.”
Taryn shakes his head. “Ten bucks says he feels just fine, but that he’s home stuffing his face with Christmas Tree cakes andwallowing in self-pitylike the Grinch,” he murmurs.
Dad frowns at Taryn. “Maybe you should cut your old man some slack, kid.”
Just as tensions seem to be rising at our end of the table, chaos erupts. Noodles manages to climb up onto the empty chair, then onto the table. He scoops up Ma’sentirefruitcake and scampers off with Meatball hot on his heels. While it’s commonplace to rag on all things fruitcake, Ma’s is anything but nasty. Truly, you would have to have Christmas here to be able to appreciate just what was stolen from us just now.
While everyone else starts scattering, chasing after the chonky bandits and their pilfered goods, I watch as Brooks whispers something in Evan’s ear. Evan nods, and discreetly passes Brooks the keys to his truck before joining in the great fruitcake recovery mission.
Well, what in thecovert operationshave we got going on here?
Chapter Eleven
