“First thing being a reasonable hour,” I interjected. “Like nine or ten. Not the middle of the night.”
Addie yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. “Actually, sleep sounds amazing right now. I think all the late-night plotting is catching up with me.”
“Mm, that reminds me. You’re both on kitchen duty tomorrow,” I said as I gathered the empty mugs and carried them over to the sink.
“Working on Christmas?” Sky questioned with a theatrical gasp, asif it was the first she was hearing about it. “How very Ebenezer Scrooge of you.”
“Look, while we appreciate the thought behind your little plan, it doesn’t change the fact that you lied to us about where you were for days,” I said, filling the sink with hot, soapy water before deciding the dishes could wait until morning. “Consider it your penance.”
“Worth it,” she declared with a smug smirk. “Seeing you two finally get your shit together was the best Christmas gift we could have asked for.”
“Language,” I said automatically before remembering I was talking to the child who’d been born without a filter.
Teddy snorted. “Baby, that ship sailed about twenty-one years ago when her first word was ‘fuck’ because someone couldn’t watch her potty mouth around the baby.”
“That was your fault!” I protested, smacking his arm. “You’re the one who taught her that.”
Addie stood, stretching with a groan that belonged on someone twice her age. “Okay, before this devolves into another round of ‘who corrupted Skylar first,’ I’m going to bed.”
She paused at the foot of the stairs and primly adjusted her glasses, her mannerisms so like mine it was scary. “I just wanna say that I’m not sorry we meddled. You two were miserable apart and too damn stubborn to ever admit it.”
“Great. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re still grounded,” Teddy said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Can’t ground adults,” Sky sing-songed as she headed for the stairs. “We have jobs and apartments and pay our own bills.”
“Watch me, brat,” he called after her, but she was already halfway up, Addie following close behind.
“Night, Mom! Night, Dad!” Addie said over her shoulder. “And remember, the living room couch is considered a public space and should remain family-friendly.”
“Yeah, keep it in the bedroom, you two!” Sky added. “Some of us might need water in the middle of the night and would prefer not to be traumatized again!”
Their footsteps thundered up the stairs—how two relatively small women could sound like a herd of elephants was beyond me.
“Better hurry, or Santa won’t come!” I called after them, unable to resist one last joke.
“Mom!” came the mortified chorus from upstairs, followed by Sky’s muffled, “I’m sending you my therapy bill!”
I shook my head and moved through the kitchen, folding the dish towel over the oven handle and switching off the lights.
“Think Santa already came.”
I turned at the sound of Teddy’s low voice, ready with a quip about how that was a terrible line even for him. The words died in my throat.
He stood in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, backlit by the fireplace and twinkling tree lights. In his hand was a small velvet box, navy blue and battered at the corners, like it had been waiting a long time for this moment.
My hands came up over my mouth. “Teddy? What?—”
He held up his free hand, a slight tremor in his fingers betraying his nerves. “Just... let me get this out before I lose my nerve.”
Even in the dim light, I could see the nervous energy radiating off him—the way he shifted his weight from foot to foot, the tight set of his jaw.
“Bought this right after Irish offered me a spot here. Thought maybe...” He trailed off, dragging one hand through his hair. “Thought maybe if I showed you I was serious about starting over, about building something new here together, you’d give us another shot. Thought maybe if I could just get you away from there, we’d find our way back to each other.”
I thought back to that horrible time period, remembering the way he’d come home talking about the mountains and the chapter and how much I’d resented him for running away when I’d needed him most.
He’d been trying to save us, to help us heal, and I’d handed him divorce papers.
“Had this whole plan to bring you here for our anniversary, show you the mountains and the life we could build, but it all went to shit before I could even bring it up.” He swallowed, his nostrils flaring wide as he fought to hold back tears. “Thought about selling the ringor maybe chucking it into the Dillon Reservoir. But every time I took it out of the safe, I just… couldn’t.”
