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“Cool. I’ll catch up later.”
He turned and disappeared into the bathroom. I blew out a breath of relief and hurried downstairs to the kitchen.
***
By 8am, breakfast was in full swing with French toast, sticky maple syrup, blueberry muffins, and pillowy scrambled eggs. Haley was the last to arrive, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she entered the kitchen.
“Nice black eye you’ve got there, sis,” Chase replied.
“Thanks,” she replied without missing a beat. “My brother gave it to me for Christmas.”
Chase picked up the plate of blueberry muffins and passed it to Haley.
“Would you like a muffin, dear sister of mine? Perhaps a foot massage would help make up for the physical damage I’ve caused you.”
She laughed and plucked a muffin from the plate. As Haley took a seat beside me, she pushed her leg against mine. This was it. We had the family together. All we had to do now was make the announcement.
“Maybe Theo could kiss Aunt Haley’s bruise better,” Brenda declared with a knowing look.
Haley’s eyes went wide and she glanced at me. I shook my head slightly to indicate I hadn’t said anything yet.
Chase pointed at Brenda with his fork.
“What did I tell you about mistletoe and kissing in this house? It’s not happening.”
Brenda frowned. “But I saw Aunt Haley and Theo kissing by the Christmas tree just the other night!”
The table went dead silent. Every eye turned to Haley and me.
Chase’s fork clattered to his plate.
“What?”
“Chase,” Haley started. “It’s…well…we were going to tell you. Actually, we wanted to tell you all today. After Christmas.”
I took Haley’s hand, her trembling fingers clutching mine like her life depended on it.
“Haley and I are dating,” I said.
Mrs. Talbot beamed. “That’s wonderful!”
Chase shoved his chair back and stood, pointing toward the door.
“Can I speak to you, Theo? Alone?”
Mrs. Talbot tried to protest. “Chase, honey, Haley is old enough to make her own decisions about this - ”
“Outside,” Chase barked at me. “Now.”
I pried my hand out of Haley’s grip and stepped away from the table. Chase followed behind me, his mouth set in a grim, unhappy line. When I pulled the front door open, he shoved me outside and I stumbled into the snow. I turned, steeling myself for the punch that I knew was coming.
“What the hell are you thinking?” Chase demanded. “She’s my goddamn little sister, Theo.”
“I know, Chase. Believe me, I know.”
“You saw what happened on her first date. She came home in tears. I will not pick up the pieces of my little sister’s broken heart because you got tired of her.”
“I won’t do that,” I replied. “I promise.”
