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“So,” Robin said as she ruffled Noelle’s blonde curls before sitting next to her at the counter, “is anyone else home?”
“Jack’s not, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Robin blushed. “I ran into him at the café today.”
Holly tucked her lips inward as she sliced the block of cheddar into thin rectangles. “How was that?”
“Fine,” she replied simply. Holly glanced up at her just long enough to suggest that she didn’t believe that for a second, causing Robin to blow out a long breath. “Okay, well, it was mildly torturous.”
Holly knew all about Robin’s crush on her brother. She’d been quiet about it at first, but every time he visited, she had another little thing to complain to his sister about.Littlebeing the operative word since none of it should have riled her as much as it did.
When they’d all meet up at the park, he’d bring a coffee for her and a cake pop for Abby if he was already doing the same for Holly and Noelle.
In the sitting room at the inn, he’d gamely allow Abby to change the channel even if he was watching something that he was clearly interested in.
And then there were the adorably protective things he did … like offering to walk them home if they were leaving the inn at night. She always declined because they didn’t have far to go, but it still touched her that he wanted to see them home safely.
Yes, they were little things, but it bothered her how quickly they added up over the years since she never lost sight of what stood between them.
“Well, you know… heisliving in Snow Hill now. So the long-distance barrier isn’t there anymore.”
Robin gave Holly a sardonic look. “You know that was never the biggest hurdle.”
Holly had finished slicing the cheddar, so she arranged it on the cutting board with some crackers and put the rest of the block back in the fridge before placing the board between them. “Idoknow. But acknowledging the bigger reason you don’t want to be with my brother would mean thinking about something bad happening to him at work, and I don’t want to think about that any more than you want to experience it.”
Robin’s stomach flipped as she reached for a piece of cheese and a cracker. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I understand, and I’ve told Jack that you’re not interested in being with another cop, especially one who works at Snow Hill PD. So if you’re really going to stick to that, I support you, and you can vent to me about how hard it is to be around him all you want.”
“Thank you.”
She held up a finger. “Just not if you’re going to mention how great his butt looks in his jeans. My ears are still bleeding from the last time you crossed that line.”
Robin laughed loudly at that. “Fine, fine. I took it too faronetime… but come on. You’re my bestie—who else can I say that stuff to?”
“Try keeping a diary, woman. I don’t wanna hear it.”
“Hear what?”
Holly and Robin looked up to find her husband, Nick, entering from the back door of the kitchen. He unbuckled his tool belt and dropped it on the counter, then promptly moved it to the floor when he caught the glare Holly shot him.
“Daddy!” Noelle screamed, making Robin jump. The toddler scrambled down from her barstool and ran into her father’s arms.
Nick picked her up and twirled her in a wide circle. “How’s my girl today?” Nick settled her on his hip and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, then did the same to Holly before nodding at Robin.
“How’s theNutcrackerdisplay coming along?” Robin asked, hoping he’d forget the conversation he’d walked in on.
“It’s coming along,” he replied dryly. “But I could use some time with this one. I need to enjoy her before she becomes a teenager who makes me want to tear my hair out.”
“Uh-oh, trouble with your high school volunteers?” Holly asked.
“Yeah. I’d been working on the construction of the big pieces for them to paint all day, and when they got there after school, they were chatting nonstop about some drama that I couldn’t have made sense of if I tried. Teens seem to speak in another language, I swear. I left them there with some of the other adult volunteers to do their painting so I could come home for a break.”
Robin and Holly laughed at that, and then Abby came through the door from the dining room with the perfect timing to remind Robin that her own daughter wasn’t far off from being a teenager herself. Whew. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that.
“Uncle Nick!” Abby yelled, her reaction to seeing him not far from Noelle’s.
Robin watched as she ran over to hug her best friend’s husband, her heart pinching a little. She wouldn’t go so far as to say that Nick was any kind of father figure, but she and Abby spent so much time here with the Pattersons that he definitely fit into an uncle role for her daughter, just like she was Auntie Robin to Noelle.
