“Seriously, Nathan, thank you. For breakfast. For not giving up on me. For loving me as I am.”
Nathan reached across the table to clasp my hand, playfully bumping my leg with his foot. “Merry Christmas, Bren.”
I nudged him back. “Merry Christmas, Nate.”
Molly stampeded down the stairs, feet loudly hitting each one to announce her presence. “It’s Christmas!” she cheered, “It’s Christmas.” Her feet halted when the lit-up Christmas tree with two piles of wrapped presents came into view. “Wow. Can I open them? Can I open them?”
She bounced on her feet, bursting with more energy than I would muster in a week.
“Go ahead,” I said, following her into the family room.
Molly plopped down in front of the tree and began rifling through presents. Hands landed on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Nathan grinning down at me. I tugged on his hand until he dropped down beside me, his arm snaking around my waist, pulling me to his side. We watched Molly tear into her first present, squealing when she found a bobblehead of her favorite hockey player. She threw her arms around me before hugging Nathan, then flopped back to the ground to choose another gift.
Later, the three of us cooked lasagna and an assortment of appetizers. Molly and I baked, and then ate, way too many sweets. We marathoned Christmas movies while snuggled underblankets on the couch in front of the fireplace, the glow of Christmas tree lights brightening the room.
I’d never been happier.
NATHAN
Now
The day after Christmas, everything went to shit. Molly was collecting rent from me for landing on Park Place when the doorbell rang. Then we heard the click of the doorknob before the door swung open.
I launched out of my seat, snagging a kitchen knife. I wouldn’t take any chances with the two people here with me.
When I turned the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks.
No one was robbing us, though part of me would’ve preferred that.
The woman who stood in the foyer of my family home was the same person who had wrecked it.
Kathy Quinn’s villain aura remained, but she had more wrinkles and blonder hair. She wore a short-sleeved low-cut dress and sandals, despite the cool weather. Heavy makeup. Necklaces, bracelets, long dangly earrings. All of it screamedLook at me!
She swiveled her head, taking in decorations adorning every inch of the house. “Well, isn’t this cozy? The two of you shacking up like you’re teenagers again.”
Brenna appeared a heartbeat later, arms crossed over her chest. “What are you doing here, Kathy?”
She opened her arms wide, beckoning Molly. “Come here, munchkin.”
Molly stood behind Brenna, not moving. The sight broke my heart.
“Ah. I see. You’ve been telling her stories about me.”
“Why are you here?” Brenna repeated. “We weren’t expecting you for three days.”
Kathy fussed with her hair. “Plans changed. Richard needed to go home.”
“You mean he made up with his wife.”
The dynamic between Brenna and Kathy had changed since childhood. Brenna used to allow her mother to steamroll her, never saying a word against her. I didn’t think Bren even realized it, living on an emotional rollercoaster her entire life, willing to do anything for a steady road. Now Brenna did what I’d always wished she’d do back then; she didn’t let the bitch push her around.
Kathy scoffed. “How’s Jack, Brenna? Seen him lately?”
“We broke up.”
Something she damn well knew.
Kathy gestured to me. “Before or after you jumped back into his bed?”
