Maureen looked so earnest, but history undermined her words.
I thought about my mom’s last year. Neither of my sisters had made a compelling case for allowing yourself to be overcome by emotion. Maureen had barely visited. Every time she’d gone into Mom’s room, she’d come out red-faced and snotty. A few months before the end, she’d declared, “I don’t think I can do this anymore,” and hadn’t come back again until the last day, when we’d gathered to turn off the machines. Miranda had been much the same, with the added bonus of staying near blackout drunk from Mom’s passing until after the funeral.
Meanwhile, I’d held myself together. Made the arrangements. Planned the funeral. Worked with the lawyer. Tackled the paperwork. For sure, I’d cried, and I’d grieved—I’d spent almost a year on auto-pilot—but I’d come out okay.
I held no ill will toward my sisters for how any of it had played out. If Miranda had become stoic and calm, or if Maureen hadn’t covered her pain by burying herself in work, I would have had to add them to my long list of worries back then.
“Maureen, how I acted after mom died and how I am with James are two different things. Apples and oranges.”
“I’m just saying you don’t do very well with big, messy feelings and—”
“Enough, okay? I get you’re my big sister. And you want to help. But I don’t need your psychoanalysis. My relationship with James is not up for debate. For now, we’re together, and that’s all that matters.” She opened her mouth to argue before I cut her off. “I’m serious, Maureen. End of lecture.”
She nodded resignedly. “Okay. He just…seems special.”
“He’s wonderful. And spending these months with him, especially these past few weeks celebrating the holidays, has been one of the best times of my life. That won’t change, no matter what happens in the future. Even if it turns out James is too bright for Coleman Creek.”Too bright for me.
“I think you’re wrong, Marley. Dead wrong. I wish you could see yourself the way I do. The way I’m pretty sure James does.” I glared at her, and she averted her eyes. “Fine. I won’t bring it up again.” She took a sip from her glass. “But you can’t stop me from hoping. Or to put it in terms you’d understand, wishing on a Christmas star.”
My lips flattened as James made a timely return to the table.
“Everything okay?” I asked him.
“Yeah. Leo heard from our parents that the reunion went well and he wanted the details. He kept threatening to blow up my phone with more texts, so I figured I’d better just take his call. Hope that was okay.”
“Totally fine,” I said, moving to get up from the table as I eyeballed Maureen. “It’s time for us to head back to Coleman Creek anyway.”
As we drove home, I forced the conversation with Maureen from my mind. Her opinion meant very little in the long run—how could she know anything when she lived on the other side of the state? We made good time to Travis’s house. Oscar and Bambi came rushing out the front door as soon as it opened, jumping on us like we were returning from a Middle East deployment rather than a long weekend.
Travis and Vivienne came outside with their kids, who’d apparently fallen in love with our dogs. Their youngest even threw a small tantrum, throwing her arms around Bambi and wailing as we attempted to get him into the car.
“We’d love to dog sit again sometime,” Travis deadpanned, peeling his daughter off the labradoodle’s fur. “It’s a wonderful experience for the kids.”
Vivienne smacked her husband on the arm. “Don’t listen to him. We loved having them, and we appreciate the test run. I think the kids might be old enough now for us to consider getting a pet.” Her eyes dropped to James’s hand on the small of my back. I felt a momentary panic, realizing the whole town would probably know James and I were a couple by tomorrow. But there wasn’t any help for it. This was Coleman Creek, after all.
“Want to come to my place for dinner?” I asked once we were back in his car. I still had a full stomach from the Mexican place, but I didn’t want the night to end, and I doubted he did either.
“Maybe something small,” he replied.
“We should drop by your place first, though.”
“Why?”
“To get your stuff so you can stay over. Maybe grab enough for a few nights. Whatever you need for you and Bambi.” I didn’t have to believe James and I had a future to want to make the most of right now.
He smirked. “A sleepover, huh? I know I’ve told you this before, but let me reiterate how much I love how zero bullshit you are.”
“James, last night barely scratched the surface. Weren’t you were the one who mentioned wanting to put your mouth somewhere? And I’ve been waiting all day to get my hands on that huge tool of yours again.” I reached my arm out so I could stroke the back of his neck. “I’m not done with you yet. Not by a longshot.”
“You know, Marley, for someone who doesn’t curse, you sure can talk dirty when you want to.”
I laughed, dropping my voice comically low, “You like it, baby?”
“You know I do.”
James didn’t laugh back. The heated look he gave me rivaled the air coming through the vents. He reached across the console to knead my thigh over my leggings. We pulled up in front of his apartment, and I went inside with him. He brought in his duffel from our weekend, exchanging the clothes inside it for fresh ones, grabbing more toiletries from the bathroom, and a bag of dog food from the kitchen.
This was only the second time I’d been to his place. Very little furniture filled the living room, only a couch and a dog bed. Nothing on the walls. The kitchen appeared similarly bare. Another reminder that James hadn’t exactly put down roots here.
