“Hey, there’s my girl,” Dad said when I strolled inside the kitchen on Nick’s heels. My father set down his glass of iced tea and engulfed me in a warm hug. I loved my dad’s hugs. They were always so comforting. Unlike the ‘typical’ jolly-belly Santa, my dad worked out daily and had a six-pack stomach and bulging muscles. Add in his silver beard and hair, and it was no surprise he was dubbed Hot Santa by most of the women in town.
Luckily, he was happily married and ignored that nickname, even if he might secretly like it.
When he and Mom first announced their decision to divorce, I was devastated. I knew my mom wasn’t happy, and that my parents had slowly grown apart. I could sense it even when I was a young girl, no matter how hard they’d tried. Mom had doneher best to be the perfect Mrs. Santa for my dad, but she just couldn’t do it. She was as much a free spirit now as when she was a teen, and the role of Mayor’s wife was tough on her. What had been a sweet small-town romance became a solid and platonic friendship, and I was glad there hadn’t been the ugliness so many divorced people inflicted on each other.
“Hello, dear.” My stepmom, Fran, kissed my cheek and pointed to the pitcher of iced tea on the counter. “Help yourself.”
Things had turned out for the best in the long run. Fran Silver-Bell was exactly the type of woman my dad needed. She was practical and loved Christmas, Jingle Junction, and my father. And us, of course…allof us. Since her late husband and my dad had been best friends, I’d practically grown up with her and her four kids—Holly, Noelle, Eve, and Nick. Which meant our family’s blending had come naturally to all of us.
“Hey, hey! Poison Ivy,” Holly joked when she and Max strolled in from outside, holding hands. The eldest Silver sibling gave me a peck on the cheek, blue eyes bright with happiness. “Good to see you.”
“Thanks for the text, by the way,” Max said with a grimace. “I was beginning to wonder where Rudy went.”
“Did he make it home safe and sound?” I asked as I handed him my coat. Holly’s boyfriend was taking hers as well and turned back to the entry to stow the three winter jackets.
“He did,” Holly said with a shake of her head. “I tell you, that silly reindeer thinks he has opposable thumbs.” She looked down at my empty hands. “Did you bring cookies?”
I laughed and rolled my eyes at her. “All of the cookies are for paying customers. You all have to make do with leftover pastries.”
“Good enough.” She grinned and hurried over to Nick, eyeing the package he still held in his hands. The two wrestled good-naturedly for the box until Fran put a stop to it.
“It’s like you two are still children,” she huffed, although I could tell she was secretly pleased by their child-like exchange.
It made me miss my siblings. Christopher, the oldest, was a big-city lawyer who lived hours from Jingle Junction. He’d recently been made a partner at his law firm, and so we hardly ever saw him. My other two younger sisters, Joy and Star, both lived in Jingle Junction like me. I was able to see them more often, at least, but since Joy pretty much ran our town and Star had her own bed-and-breakfast to maintain, our lives were just busy enough that dinners at Bell house were about the most frequent we saw one another these days.
“Are Joy and Star coming by tonight?” I asked Dad.
“Joy should be here,” he said, “but Star is busy with Valentine’s Day clients and can’t get away.” He was helping Fran with the salad, tossing the veggies together in the giant bowl. “I guess she’s got some important guests coming in late at the Inn.”
“What about Eve?” I knew Noelle, my other stepsister, wouldn’t be there for dinner. She had a good excuse, working halfway around the world and all with Doctors without Borders.
Holly let out a long-suffering exhale. “Oh, Eve is out playing cop again.” She turned to my dad. “Which reminds me, isn’t it about time you replaced Chief Greer? The man can barely stay awake for an hour at a time, which means Eve runs around pretending to be a police officer and answering his calls.” Her eyebrows pulled together in concern. “I’m worried about her.”
“I don’t think you have to worry too much,” my dad replied, clicking the tongs in his hand a couple of times. “You know the crime stats for this town. They’re practically non-existent and, besides, I think Eve can take care of herself. Fran didn’t pay for all those karate lessons for nothing, you know.”
Personally, I thought the job suited our red-haired and fiery younger sibling, but I didn’t say so to Holly. Also, I’d seen Eve’skarate demonstrations, and I almost pitied anyone who was going to try to tangle with my baby sister.
Dad didn’t say a word. He just smiled at Holly and handed her the salad to carry to the table.
Way to change the subject without saying anything at all, Dad.
A few minutes later, I waved goodbye to Nick as he grabbed his guitar case and headed for his gig, and the rest of us gathered around the dinner table. We’d just sat down when my sister, Joy, came rushing in. Late, as always, and looked frazzled and stressed. Poor Joy. As the town manager, she had so much on her plate I worried sometimes that she barely had a moment to herself. Anytime I asked her if she needed help, she just waved me off and assured me she was fine.
That didn’t stop me from worrying, though. Like me, she had a penchant for making sure no one knew she was unhappy, but it was becoming harder and harder for her to hide it these days, I noticed. Unlike her name, I had to wonder when the last time she actually found any joy in her job. She always seemed to be frazzled lately, as though the weight of her doing a good job for Jingle Junction was wearing her down.
“Sorry I’m late.” She plopped down onto the chair and sighed. “The Cupid I lined up for the Valentine’s Day parade just came down with a bad case of mono, so he’s out. I need to find another Jingle Junction citizen willing to dress in a toga and diaper and shoot foam arrows at people from the back of a moving wagon.”
I snorted. “Good luck with that.”
Joy glanced at me sideways. “I take it you’re not going to volunteer?”
I spluttered with laughter. “I’d rather be dipped in honey and chased by rabid weasels.”
That got a huge laugh from everyone around the table.
“Ohhh,” Joy said as she pulled the big salad bowl toward her, “but I do havesomenews.” She looked around the table at our expectant faces. “Today, I got a chance to meet the new owner of The Sweet Shoppe. Yum!”
I stopped dishing out the gooey lasagna as my heart pattered around in my chest. No, I hadn’t forgotten I was going to talk to Dad about the exact same person. However, I’d let the warmth and comfort of my family’s presence distract me from the day I’d had. And now Joy had to go and bring him up.
