Audrey sent Ryan and Holly a sort of conspiratorial look before she turned back to the little girl. “I already did,” she said. “I wrote him a note about it. I should be good.”
Lydia appeared to find that acceptable. She clearly didn’t want to wait around arguing the matter.
“Let’s go!” she said, tugging Ryan’s hand with one of hers and Holly’s with the other.
Holly laughed, looking bright and lovely as she let her child tow them away from the stage seating area.
“This way, honey,” Holly said, steering the three of them in the other direction.
“Last year they had this outside,” she told Ryan as they made their way through the crowd. “But apparently some of the parents complained about having to stand out in the cold with their little kids.”
“Your Idaho winters aren’t for the faint of heart.”
“I know. But I thought it was magical out there under the stars, next to the big colorful Christmas tree. Apparently I was in the minority. So this year Santa has moved back inside.”
Her ex was right. You couldn’t miss it. The line of excited children stretched about thirty feet from the cozy little structure decorated with lights and candy canes.
They found her ex-husband standing slightly outside the crowd with a tall, statuesque blonde woman who was holding a cute baby, carrying what looked like a designer diaper bag and talking with an older woman.
The younger woman’s face lit up when she spotted Holly and Lydia.
“There you are! I was so happy when Troy said he bumped into the two of you. What could be more perfect than Hudson having his older sister by his side when he has his first picture with Santa?”
By her forced smile, Ryan could tell Holly could think of several answers to that, but instead she greeted the two women with a warmth he had to admire.
“Hi, Lydia,” the older woman said after greeting Holly back. “Are you excited to see Santa? What are you going to ask for this year?”
Lydia’s brow furrowed as she considered. “A dollhouse and some books and some dishes for a tea party.”
She slanted her mother a sly look. “And a puppy.”
Holly arched her eyebrows. “We talked about that, honey. Santa can’t bring you a puppy this year because it would be too scared to ride in the sleigh.”
“What kind of puppy do you want?” Troy Moore asked his daughter.
For some reason, Ryan could imagine the man surprising his daughter with a dog for Christmas, despite Holly’s clear objection, so that he could be the hero of the hour. Troy would then take off again, leaving his ex-wife with all the responsibility.
He knew people like this in the military, who acted without thinking through the repercussions for those impacted by their shortsighted decisions.
His own father fit that description.
“A yellow one,” Lydia was saying, pronouncing the word “lello.” “My friend named Ty has a yellow dog named Sandy.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Holly said firmly, looking at her ex as she spoke so he didn’t miss the message. “We can’t have a dog right now. But maybe you can ask for a puppy next year.”
Lydia’s pouted but with more resignation than disappointment as they all headed into the queue.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend, Holly?” the older woman said, with a pointed look at Ryan.
Pink tinged her cheeks. “Of course. Ryan, this is Brittany, Troy’s wife, and that little cutie is Hudson. And this is Brittany’s mother, Carol Baker. This is Ryan Caldwell. Um, a friend.”
He wanted to help her out so he gave her a private smile and what he hoped was an adoring look—which probably looked like he was swallowing a burp.
“Lovely to meet you all,” he said. “Holly has told me a great deal about you.”
Brittany gave Holly an uncertain look, as if wondering what she had said about them. She suddenly looked painfully young. She couldn’t be much older than early twenties, which made her probably a decade younger than Holly and Troy.
Though tall and striking, Brittany didn’t have any of Holly’s grace or quiet beauty. Why would any man in his right mind choose her over Holly?
