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“I ran and got her while you were sleeping.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s downstairs, probably chewing on something. Do you mind if we take her to your mom’s?”
“Of course not.” I rushed to get dressed.
When we went downstairs, the puppy was curled up on the couch. I scooped her into my arms. “She’s precious.”
I held her on the drive to my mom’s, petting her soft fur. I was surprised to see a second vehicle in Mom’s driveway, a truck with a logo for a hardware store on it.
Talon glanced over at me. “Were you expecting someone at dinner?”
My heart rate had picked up. “We haven’t had anyone at a holiday meal since Dad officially left.”
“Hmm,” Talon said as we got out of his truck.
On the porch, I knocked on the front door, wondering what was going on.
Mom answered with a smile on her face, hugging first me, and then Talon. “It’s so good to see you.”
“It’s great to be back,” Talon said easily.
“Who’s this little guy?” Mom asked as she touched the puppy’s head.
“This is a girl. Talon picked her up today. She’s a present for Sebastian’s little girl, Ember. We’re just babysitting tonight.”
Mom gestured for us to come inside. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
There was a tree in the living room, the artificial one we always put up, and a man who stood when we entered the room.
I placed the puppy on the floor, and she immediately moved to the tree to pat at the low hanging ornaments.
Mom moved to his side. “This is John Gardener. He owns a hardware store.”
I smiled stiffly at John, who moved to shake my hand and then Talon’s.
“I wasn’t expecting guests at dinner tonight,” I said to Mom when we were seated.
“We’ve been dating for a while, and I thought it would be nice for you two to meet.” Mom looked from John to me.
“I didn’t know that you were dating anyone.” If she’d dated over the years, she hadn’t shared that information with me.
Mom’s gaze fell. “You were busy with work and Talon. I haven’t seen much of you lately. I thought Christmas Eve would be a good time to make introductions.”
I felt a pang because we hadn’t even made cookies together like we did every other year.
“Gayle says you’re an artist,” John said, attempting to make conversation when silence fell.
It was awkward for me because no man, other than Talon, had been in this house over the years. “That’s right.”
Talon reached over and took my hand. I smiled, grateful that he was here. “She designs holiday ornaments for our tree farm and the inn next door.”
“Your mom said something about that.”
The ornaments were on the tree, but I didn’t bother pointing that out. I felt a little like a petulant teenager who was determined not to like the guy her mom was dating. Except I was twenty-eight and should be past the pettiness. I should be happy for my mom.
My mom shouldn’t be waiting for my father to come back or staying single for her daughter’s sake. She deserved to have a life. The thing was, it had always just been the two of us. Now it was three? Four? I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Things felt different and not in a good way.
