“That’s whatfamilyis for,” Dad confirmed.
Tears pooled in Isabella’s eyes. “I know, I know, I just…I didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry.”
“Well, you’re home now. And I’d say it feels practically like old times,” Dad said.
She pressed her lips together, a sinking feeling in her stomach. “There’s more,” she admitted.
Mom frowned.
She needed to get it all out. Like ripping off a Band-Aid, once and for all.
“Harrison and I broke up. A few months ago. I’ve been crashing on a friend’s couch.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Mom clutched her chest where Rudolph’s red nose blinked distractingly in the center of her sweater.
“Harrison wants to get back together. But now that I’m here, at home, with all of you—and Leo—everything feels familiar and…right.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” Mom whispered.
“But nothing has changed. We have the same dilemma. Leo is Colorado to the core and I’m New York.”
Dad stood and came over to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “I think you need to take these next few days to think about this Harrison fella, and Leo, and what you want your life and your future to look like.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “And if that vision coincides with your dreams.”
Tears burned at the corners of her eyes, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. “Thanks, Dad.” She exhaled a haggard sigh, standing and reaching her arms around his neck, hugging him close.
She went to Mom next and wrapped her up in a tight hug over Ava’s sleeping form. When Isabella pulled away, Mom cupped her cheek and whispered, “You’ll figure it out, honey.”
In her bedroom, freshly showered after the icing fiasco and conversation with Mom and Dad, Isabella sat at the window seat, toweling her damp hair. Dressed in Leo’s old hockey jersey and a pair of leggings, she gazed out the window. If you looked straight out, there was a perfect view of the Hoffman home. But if you sat at an angle, you not only saw the street with snow covering everything like a blanket, but you could also see the ice rink at the elementary school.
In the spring, once all the snow had melted, the field was used for soccer. But in the winter, it was turned into an ice rink. That’s where the Whitley kids and the Hoffman boys had first learned to ice skate. On Saturdays, Mr. Hoffman usually had to work so Dad took all five kids to the rink and let them skate for hours.
A knock on Isabella’s bedroom door sounded before it opened. Norah peeked her head inside.
“Hey,” Isabella said. “What’s up?”
Norah joined her at the window seat, tucking her legs up to her chest like she used to do when she was little. She arched a brow at Isabella. “Nuh-uh, what’s up with you? And Leo?”
Isabella’s eyes flickered away, and she felt her cheeks heat. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
When Isabella looked back at her sister, Norah’s eyebrow only rose even more. “Seriously? I may have been blindfolded for the competition, but I heard all the flirting going on between you two. And I can see. The sexual tension between you two is literally visible in the air. C’mon, spill it.”
Isabella wanted to keep this special, new thing between her and Leo hidden, protected for as long as possible. But maybe if she came clean with Norah, she could get some advice on what to do.
“Fine. But you have to swear not to tellanyone.”
Another knock sounded at the door. Nina pushed through without invitation. “Hey, ladies.” She strolled across the room and plopped down on the bed. “The guys are talking about snow blowers and whose is better, and Ava is all wired up after the gingerbread houses and a nap so your mom is stuffing her full of whole wheat toast and, man, I just can’t deal with the chaos anymore. I need to hide out for a bit.”
Isabella and Norah blinked at her. Nina looked back and forth between them, straightening. “Uh…what did I just walk in on?”
“Izzy was just about to confess what’s going on with her and Leo,” Norah explained.
Nina’s eyes widened, and she grabbed a pillow, clutching it to her chest. “Oh yeah, give mama the good stuff.” She crossed her legs and grinned.
“Gah, okay, but no running off to tell your husbands.” Isabella pointed a warning finger at them both.
“Deal. Now go,” Nina said.
Norah drew an X across her chest.
