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“Your father. You mentioned that he had that rule up until recently. What changed?”
She put the final glass down, then tossed the dish towel over her shoulder as she leaned her hip against the counter. “Well, my oldest sister got married, and then my second oldest sister refused to be pressured into getting married. Then Constance, my sister who’s just a little older than me, fell in love and…” She shrugged.
A pastel pink color bloomed in her cheeks, making her appear as though she’d just come back from a hike. Her skin practically glowed.
“Anyway, now that his rules are no longer in the way, I guess my sisters have all started going on dates. Now he gets to deal withthatseries of unfortunate events.”
“And you? Are you currently seeing anyone?” The question was probably too personal and he really didn’t need to know the answer. Part of him didn’t want to know. The whole time he’d been fixated on her, he hadn’t considered whether or not she was dating. Someone as pretty and smart as she was could definitely be in a serious relationship.
For a moment, time slowed down and he held his breath even though he told himself it didn’t matter if she was dating anyone or not. He wasn’t really allowed to date her.
“No. I don’t see the draw to dating right now.”
“Really?” he blurted. “Why not?”
Dianna would have been within her rights to shut him out. The kinds of questions he was asking her were highly inappropriate. But instead of pushing him away, she offered a smile. “Well, you of all people should understand. I don’t mean to be rude, but look what happened between you and Mathew’s mother. Personally, after meeting you, I have a feeling that the fault lies with a specific party. And that happens a lot. Sometimes the fault is found on both sides. I guess I would rather not go through that sort of situation.”
Why did he feel let down?
Dianna wasn’t dating anyone and that meant she was free to spend more time with him and Mathew. He wasn’t supposed to initiate any sort of personal relationship anyway.
But what if he could? She probably wouldn’t be interested in dating him even if the rules weren’t in place.
Not only that, but she made a good point.
She cocked her head to the side and shoved her hands in her back pockets. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to make as many friends as I can.”
“I’ll be your friend.”
They both turned, finding Mathew standing a few feet away.
Dianna laughed. “Boy, you’re quiet.”
He held up a sheet of paper and beamed at her. “I drew you another picture.”
“Oh yeah?” She reached for the page and turned it over, then gave Tristan a sideways glance. “It’s a lovely picture, Mathew. How about you tell me about it.”
Mathew stood on his toes and pointed at the image of two taller people with a smaller person. “This is dad. This is me. And this is you.” All three individuals were holding hands and smiling. “Over there is Molasses. But he’s not part of our family.”
Tristan stiffened as he peered closer at the image. “Mathew—”
“But maybe one day we could get a horse that’s just for me.” Mathew turned his face toward Dianna, then to his father.
Tristan dropped down so he could be at eye-level with his son. His heart ached, twisting in all kinds of knots. This was a new development he hadn’t been prepared to discuss. Mathew had never been interested in what made up their family besides having a father and a set of grandparents. He’d only known Dianna for a few short days and already he was putting her in pictures—pictures that depicted what he appeared to want in his family.
“Buddy, this picture is really nice. But Dianna is just a friend. She’s not going to be part of our family.”
Mathew frowned, his smile dissolving from his face.
Dianna edged closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “But you know what? Friends can be like family, too. If you want to call me your family, I think that would be an honor. But after Christmas, you’re going to head home and I have to stay here.”
Mathew’s frown deepened and he shook his head. “No.”
“Math—”
“You said I could ask Santa for anything. I want a mom.”
Tristan’s eyes widened and understanding washed over him. “Santa is really special, but sometimes he can’t get you what you want. Remember when we talked about his elves and how they make toys at their workshop?”
