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“Mrs. Murphy?”
Helen wanted to tell her to call her Gran, but perhaps that wasn’t okay right then. “Yes, dear Lily?”
“Connor is really great.” Full-on red flooded her face. “I just wanted you to know that. For a long time, I thought men were . . . selfish. Kind of mean, and when my mom and dad divorced, I had honestly hoped that she wouldn’t find anyone else, because I didn’t think—” Lily cut off her thoughts and then straightened her shoulders. “Anyway, I’m glad to find out I was wrong. I’m super thankful for Connor and Reid.”
Big eyes full of tenderness met Helen’s, and then Lily finished with the best thing Helen could imagine. “We love them.”
Helen blinked back the heat in her eyes and gathered Lily in a bear hug. “I’m glad to know that, Lily.” She stepped back and held the girl by her shoulders. “And if Connor is ever mean or selfish, you’d better come straight to me about it.”
Lily chuckled and shook her head. “I can’t imagine that he ever would be. Even when he was a grumpy bear when we first moved to the lake, he wasn’t anything like . . .”
Though Lily’s voice trailed off, Helen could fill in the rest. And she wanted to hunt down the man who had fathered this sweet girl and give him a piece of her mind and maybe the backside of her wooden spoon. Instead, she focused on the first bit of that statement.
“Connor was a bear, was he?”
“Don’t worry—it didn’t last long. I think he liked my mom but didn’t want to. That’s what Reid says, anyway.”
Huh. She’d been left out of entirely too much of this story. “I might just need to have a chat with my son.”
Lily turned laughing eyes toward Helen. “They worked it out. Thanks to Reid and me.”
Brows lifting, Helen stopped stirring the orange juice she’d been mixing from concentrate and leaned in. “What did you do?”
Biting her lip, Lily leaned in close and whispered, “We just made sure that they had plenty of opportunities to get to know each other.”
“Apparently it worked, hmm?”
“What are we whispering about in here, girls?”
In unison, Helen and Lily both stood straight and whipped around at the sound of Kevin’s voice. “Don’t be sneaking around, Kevin Murphy.”
Kevin kept coming until he was close enough to drop an arm around each girls’ shoulders. He leaned down and whispered, “What are we discussing?”
Helen glanced at Lily, playful conspiracy arching her brows. “The fact that your son was a bear to Jade when she first moved to the lake, but Lily and Reid took care of it,” she whispered.
“Ah.” Kevin grinned at Lily. “I heard you parent-trapped them.”
Lily beamed.
“Good job.” Kevin winked and then stood straight.
Lily stepped back, and her expression shifted. “Wait! It’s your anniversary today, right?”
Kevin tightened his arm around Helen, and Helen leaned her head into his chest. “It is,” she said. “How did you know that.”
“Connor told us.” Her eyes grew wide. “Oh I’m sorry! I should have said it first thing. Happy anniversary.”
“Thank you, Lily.” Kevin kissed the top of Helen’s head. “Happy anniversary, love.”
“You too.” Helen looked up at him and smiled.
Kevin turned his attention back to Lily. “I like this kid. I think we should keep her.”
Her grin grew wider, and she looked at Lily again and gripped her hand. “I very much agree.”
Lily didn’t respond with words, but the joy and hope brimming in her eyes was more than enough.
Christmas was looking lovely all the way around.
