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“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”
For the first time in more than a day, Caitie thought maybe it could be.
* * *
“I told you I’d kill you if you broke her heart.” Daniel’s voice held a hint of amusement as he talked to Breck through the phone. “What the hell did you do, bro? I can’t believe you’re forcing me to commit fratricide. Do you think ‘my brother’s an idiot’ will stand up in court?”
Breck rolled his eyes. “I guess Dad’s been talking to you.”
“Yeah, he called when he landed. He’s wor
ried about you. He asked if we should fly over to give you some support.”
“I hope you told him not to,” Breck said. “He deserves to enjoy Christmas with Maria. And I’m okay. Not great, but okay. I don’t need babysitting.”
“You never did. You were always the one doing the babysitting,” Daniel pointed out. “But you know I’m here if you want to talk. Or if you want me to shout at you or something.”
Breck’s voice softened. “Thanks, Daniel. I appreciate that, I really do. But I made this mess and I’m going to clean it up.”
“So you’re not running away any more?”
“Wasn’t planning on it. I’ve run away enough. It’s time to make up for what I’ve done. I love her, bro. I’m completely and stupidly in love with that girl. If I thought it would help, I’d hit myself for being so stupid.”
“Ah, it can’t do any harm.”
“You should probably shut up now.”
Daniel laughed. “So, is she talking to you yet?”
“Sort of,” Breck replied. “She listened when I went over to talk to her. That’s more than I expected after walking out on her.”
“It’s a start, that’s for sure.”
“I’m not giving up. Not until she tells me there’s not a chance in hell she’ll take me back. Until then I’ll keep trying, keep showing her how sorry I am. It’s the only thing I can do.”
“So what’s your plan?” Daniel asked.
“I’m going to her house tomorrow. I’m not invited, but I can’t go another day without talking to her.” The need to be by her was eating away at him. Seeing her tonight and not touching her was almost too painful to bear.
“You’re going to the Russells’ house on Christmas day? Wow.” Daniel whistled. “That’s brave.”
Of course Daniel would understand. It was where it had all started, the trauma, the pain, the knowledge their mom had died and was never coming back. The last time he’d even acknowledged Christmas was thirteen years ago in that house.
“It’s what I need to do.”
“Are you taking her a gift?” Daniel asked. “You can’t really show up without one. Not at Christmas.” Not again. Daniel may not have said it, but Breck heard it anyway.
“Yeah, I need to figure that out.” And figure out how the hell he was going to find something this late on Christmas Eve.
“I’ve got an idea,” Daniel said. “It’s gonna take all the time you’ve got, a bit of effort, and you’ll probably need to go on Craigslist and beg, but it might work.”
As Daniel outlined his plan, Breck listened, a smile forming on his lips. His brother may have been a pain in the ass growing up, and a real know-it-all now that he’s an adult, but there was no denying he was always full of good ideas.
And maybe, just maybe, this one might actually work out.
29
There was a cool breeze dancing in from the Pacific Ocean as Breck drove through Angel Sands on Christmas morning. It lifted his hair and caressed his skin through his car’s open window, carrying the sound of singing from the Baptist Church on the corner, next to Megassey’s Hardware store. But this time he didn’t wince. Didn’t even blink. Somehow the pain of the past few days had taken away the potency of it all. Christmas wasn’t responsible for him losing his mother all those years ago. Cancer was. And that sucked, but he still had a life to live.
