happy that things weren’t worse between them, but he sure wished they were better. He missed his little girl.
Okay, Joylyn wasn’t a child anymore, but it wasn’t about her being small. It was about them being close. He loved her and wanted the best for her, but he also wanted them to be friends. He wanted to know what she was thinking and feeling. He wanted to be a part of her life—only they’d been apart for so long, he didn’t know how to get them connected again.
About fifteen minutes later, she came out of the bedroom. Her eyes were red and swollen and her face was wet with tears.
“I hate this,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “Being apart from him like this. He’s so far away. I miss him and I can’t do this without him.”
He instinctively reached for her. She jerked free of his touch.
“You can’t make this better,” she screamed. “You can’t. Just leave me alone. I don’t want to see you or talk to you. I don’t want to have Thanksgiving with you. Leave me alone. Just leave me alone!”
She returned to her bedroom and slammed her door shut. Even from the living room he could hear the sound of her sobs. He stood where he was and had absolutely no idea what to do next. Finally he walked into the kitchen and dumped the batter into the trash before changing into sweatpants and a T-shirt and heading out for a run.
* * *
WYNN LOOKED AROUND the kitchen, double-checking that she had everything handled. The turkey was in the oven and three pies were cooling on a rack. She had the casserole dish with dressing ready to go in the oven when the turkey came out. She and Hunter had already watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and now her son was curled up in the family room, watching the football game and reading comic books.
She crossed to the dining room to make sure that was ready to go, as well. She’d set the table earlier that morning, using her good china and the seasonal table linens. Instead of flowers as a centerpiece, she had small gourds running down the center of the table, along with red and orange leaves, a few pinecones and several beautiful seashells she added for texture. The largest shell she placed in the center was red, but the rest were cream and brown and pink, blending with the autumn colors of the linens.
The side table was set up to serve as the buffet. Wynn had all her serving pieces out to make sure there was room for everything. Renee and Jasper were bringing a sweet potato casserole and Drew, Silver and their daughter Autumn had offered to provide green beans and fresh rolls that Silver and Autumn were making fresh this morning. Garrick, of course, had his Waldorf salad.
She liked the idea of a full table at the holidays. Friends that were her family. It gave her a sense of belonging and showed Hunter the importance of community.
She heard her front door open.
“It’s me,” Garrick called.
Her body reacted with a bit of a tingle and a happy lift to her heart. She smiled as she met him in the living room.
“Hi,” she said, stepping into his arms for a hug and a kiss. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Happy Thanksgiving.” He held out a foil-covered bowl. “I bought some wine,” he added. “I left it on the porch. Let me go grab it.”
She took the salad into the kitchen and found space for it in the crowded refrigerator. Holiday meals were always a challenge. She had a countertop convection oven she’d bought at a garage sale a few years back. It was plugged in and sitting on the kitchen table, ready to heat any extra sides that showed up.
Garrick joined her, a bottle of white wine in each hand. “They’re already chilled.”
She looked at him, noting the tension in his jaw. “What happened?” As Joylyn wasn’t with him, she could make a couple of guesses but figured she should hear the whole story from him.
“She’s not coming.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea.” He put the wine on the counter. “She was okay when she got up this morning. Not superfriendly, but not hostile. Then she got a call from Chandler. After that she was crying and screaming and didn’t want anything to do with me. She wouldn’t eat breakfast or talk to me. When I asked her to come over just for a few minutes,