Mmm. That sounded amazing and…yep, if I took a deep breath, I could smell the custard baking. I guess Lydia was reallytrying to up her cooking skills, the one thing that didn’t seem to come naturally to her.
Or at least, the one thing Ryan dared to admit didn’t come naturally to her.
Janie stopped bouncing long enough to focus on me. “Can we open gifts yet?”
“We have to wait for everyone else.” I held up a finger. “Let me grab some coffee and I’ll be right back. Some of us don’t have your energy and need caffeine.” I hadn’t slept great last night, waking up to check my phone every few hours—to my sisters’ sleepy protests—to see if Nick had texted me back.
He hadn’t.
My stomach knotted. He couldn’t ignore me forever, right? There’d be time to talk eventually. Today, though, was about baby Jesus and family—even if my heart ached to make things right with Nick.
Janie sank down to the floor near the brightly wrapped gifts and plopped her head in her hands. “Mom said the same thing about getting coffeeagesago.” She sighed as if mustering all her patience. “But I’ll wait.”
“Good girl.” I then noticed Kat snuggled into the recliner with a mug of what I assumed was decaf, staring at her cell. “Merry Christmas, sis. Need anything else?”
“Devin to answer his phone.” She waved it listlessly in the air. “I’m a few minutes early for our FaceTime, but if I don’t tell him about this baby soon, I’m gonna pop.”
Janie’s eyes bugged as her gaze lowered to Kat’s belly. “Can youdothat?”
I left Kat to handle that one and escaped into the kitchen. Ryan searched for coffee mugs in the cabinet while Lydia, wearing buffalo plaid pajamas that matched Ryan’s, donned mitts and hovered by the oven window. “According to the recipe, it needs five more minutes.” She clicked on the oven light and peered inside.
“It smells done to me, babe.” Ryan poured coffee into two mugs, then looked up and saw me and grabbed a third. “Hey, Holly Berry. Happy birthday.”
He always remembered. I smiled and took the mug of caffeine he offered, letting the nickname slide. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. “Thanks, bro.” I hip-bumped him before taking a sip.Ahh, caffeine.Then I recognized the black mug as the one I’d used for me and Nick, and my smile slipped.
Did everything have to remind me of him?
“I’m telling you, that kringle is done.” Ryan gestured toward the oven. He’d donned his glasses and had his robe hanging open over his plaid pajamas, making him look more like Dad than he’d probably like to admit.
“Three more minutes.” Lydia crossed her arms as she stubbornly stood guard in front of the oven. “Following a recipeexactlyis important in baking.”
“Agreed, but sometimes ovens can vary a bit temp-wise.” Ryan reached for the door but Lydia blocked him.
“Guys, Mom and Dad are up now.” Olivia popped her head around the kitchen doorframe.
I frowned, resting against the counter. Hadn’t Janie said Olivia was already in here getting coffee? She wasn’t even holding a mug.
She impatiently pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Are we ready for gifts? I don’t think I can hold the munchkins off much longer.”
“What about Paul?” Ryan asked. “When is he coming?”
Olivia shrugged a little, lips twisted to the side, and then disappeared around the corner.
“Well, that’s not good.” Ryan’s gaze darted to mine as he pushed up his glasses. “Any word from Nick?”
I took another sip of coffee and shook my head.
Lydia’s face crumpled and she started toward me, oven mitts outstretched. “Ryan told me everything.”
I forced a smile as she hugged me. Great. The girl who had taken both my brotherandmy mother’s attention and was only a step shy of Mary Poppins—practically perfect in every way—felt sorry for me.
Wait. That was my old way of thinking. I shook my head. I was not going to fall back into old patterns, not on Christmas.
Of course, I couldn’t make any promises about tomorrow, but I had to start somewhere.
Sympathy welled in Lydia’s eyes, the exact look that was the entire reason I’d wanted to avoid coming home in the first place. “I know it’s been a hard year for you. With the IKEA guy and the job loss and now—Hey!”
Ryan darted around her, snatching one of the oven mitts off her hand as he maneuvered toward the oven. Coming to my rescue or attempting to salvage breakfast?
