Page 10 of Quiver

“Why don’t you come to my parents’?”

“I don’t want to horn in on your family traditions.”

Bex shifted slightly. “I hope it’s not because I’m—”

“Not at all.” She cut her line of reasoning off quickly. “I’m glad you’re here. No awkwardness.”

Bex relaxed visibly, and while Fletcher still found the fact that Ava of all people had fallen for a big city doctor perplexing, she liked her. She liked Ava, too, a lot, just not the way Ava had wanted her to. She’d tried, and while she never should’ve let things get as far or go on for as long as they had, they’d both needed to learn good intentions aren’t enough to force something that wasn’t there.

Her mind wandered to the image of Kylie standing in front of her yesterday, eyes blazing, lips tight. The connection and how easily she’d made it annoyed her.

“I know you’re not exactly a social butterfly,” Ava continued, unaware of the war waging in Fletcher’s brain, “but I hate the idea of you being alone on Christmas. And don’t hide behind the family argument, because you are family, and you’ve been around long enough to know half the town passes through my parents’ living room at some point over the afternoon or evening. You wouldn’t have to stay long. Just stop by for a bit.”

She grimaced at the thought, but then again, she felt pretty much the same about her alternatives. “I’ll consider it, but I can’t make any promises.”

“That’s more than I expected,” Ava admitted.

The reaction surprised her, too, but after where her mind had wandered, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be alone with her memories on a holiday either.

Chapter Three

“Mom, this is so much food. There’s only three of us.” Kylie still wore her pajamas even though it was past noon. They’d had a more leisurely morning than any Christmas of her childhood, though the general trajectory of the day remained the same. She’d slept later than she had as a kid, but as soon as she got moving, she and her parents had sat on the living room floor around the tree and opened presents, taking a break only to have cinnamon rolls before diving back in. The exercise carried more than enough nostalgia to keep her grounded, but as her mom pulled yet another tray of appetizers out of the oven, Kylie began to suspect they wouldn’t be alone in their happy little bubble for long.

“Some of it’s for our lunch, then this afternoon I need to run the rest over to the Collinses’ house.”

“Who?”

“You know, the Collins. They live on the north side of the town center.”

She shook her head.

“Their daughter was a few years behind you in school.”

Still didn’t ring any bells.

“Anyway, they’ve been doing a big holiday open house for years, and once you left for California, we didn’t have much of our own to do on Christmas, so they started inviting us.”

She didn’t recall ever hearing of these people, but she hadn’t asked much about her parents’ social circle since she moved, which compounded the little tick of guilt she felt that her parents had to go to someone else’s on Christmas rather than spend it with her. “How’d you meet them?”

“Oh, they’ve always been around. We were just too busy with our own families and jobs, but once our kids flew the coop, we all got involved more with people our own age. Mrs. Collins and I are on the planning board for the Christmas market, and Mr. Collins is part of your dad’s cross-country ski group.”

“And the hiking club,” her dad said as he snagged a meatball before her mom could swat his hand away.

“We didn’t know you’d be here, so last week I told them I’d bring over a few appetizers. I didn’t want to flake out on them at the last minute, but we’ll run over real quick. You’re invited, too, but I know you don’t like to be too social when you’re here, what with everyone’s interest in your work.”

She didn’t deny the charge. She didn’t like to socialize too much in town, though her moderate level of fame wasn’t the primary reason. She’d never wanted to run into Fletcher on any of her other trips home, but the worst had already happened this time around. Her jaw tightened at the memory.

“You could make an appearance with us,” her dad offered. “We love to show off our brilliant and talented daughter, but we understand if you don’t want to go. You probably won’t know anyone there.”

She shrugged, not finding that a detractor. Not knowing people in New York was a bad thing, but here it felt comforting, or at least more comforting than sitting alone in her parents’ house while they took enough food to feed an army over to their new friends’ house. The only thing sadder than thinking of them spending the holiday with people she didn’t know when she was away was the prospect of them doing the same thing when she was here. Besides, after the emotional drubbing and multiple rejections she’d suffered over the last few days, maybe having her parents show her off to easily impressed locals might be good for her ego.

She didn’t take any time to consider how far she’d fallen to find such a prospect pleasing before she said, “I wouldn’t mind running by with you.”

Fletcher hung her bow on the rack in the climate-controlled tack room of her barn, then closed the door behind her. She’d had two solid hours of practice, both from a stationary position and then astride her aging carriage horse, Winston. He didn’t get as much personal attention from her these days, as her newer quarter horse needed more training, and he didn’t compete anymore. Still, she’d enjoyed working with an old friend again.

She didn’t even feel a hint of chagrin at thinking of a horse as one of her oldest friends. More than one person had tried to suggest animals didn’t constitute peer groups, but she was secure in her knowledge of how wrong they were. As if to prove her point, Bear trotted up to greet her wearing the new red flannel vest Ava and Bex had given him for Christmas. She bent to scratch behind his ears. “She was right. You do look rather handsome in red.”

The thought of Ava made her glance at her watch. It was nearly two o’clock, and if she had any intention of talking to another human this holiday, she’d probably better make her way into town, but she wasn’t totally sure she did want that. Humans were a mixed bag. She’d had a nice time with her brother and his family last night. She had a soft spot for her nephew, Hunter, who’d recently taken to archery, securing the family line in the sport. She also liked Ava and Bex. If pushed, she’d have to say she generally liked most individuals, but grouping them together in larger clusters made her a little twitchy. And she’d be lying if she tried to tell herself her natural inclination hadn’t been exacerbated by Kylie’s reappearance a few days ago. There’d been a subtle tension tugging at her temperament ever since, which annoyed her. If anyone had cause to feel uncomfortable, it wasn’t Fletcher.