Just One Kiss (Whisper Lake #4) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,82
the miracle they needed. But at the moment, that felt like an impossible dream.
Four hours later, Hannah felt like one part of her impossible dream was coming true. They didn't have Kelly back, but the rest of the family was becoming closer. Brett, her mom, Tyler and she had had an incredible day. After breakfast, they'd taken a walk into town to pick up groceries for Christmas dinner, and to drop off presents at charity organizations. They finished their errands with lunch at Chloe's café, and when they'd gotten back to the house, they'd decided to build a snowman. She couldn't remember having this much fun as a family since her dad had died.
Brett's childhood joy and innocence awakened something in all of them, but especially her mother, who seemed like a completely different person. It was quite amazing. Maybe her mom would be able to remain sober and present in all their lives.
Tyler, too, had turned into the fun-loving kid she remembered. He seemed to enjoy letting go of the stress of law school to build a snowman with Brett. When they were finished, she ran inside the house, grabbed a red scarf, and came back to drape it around the snowman's neck. Then they all stood back to admire their work. It wasn't a snowman that would win any awards, but it was still pretty good.
"Can we build another one?" Brett asked.
She smiled at his never-ending energy. "It's time for you to take a nap."
"I'm not tired."
"Well, you'll have to try to get a little sleep."
"Is Santa coming tonight?"
"Yes, he is," she said, as she grabbed his hand and took him into the house.
Her mom and Tyler followed, and they all tossed their coats and gloves onto a big pile on the chair by the stairs.
"I'll put Brett down for his nap," her mother said.
"Are you sure? You've been doing a lot of the heavy lifting," she said.
"It's past time for me to do that." Her mother turned to the little boy. "Come on, Brett, I'll read you a story before you go to sleep."
As her mom and Brett went upstairs, she and Tyler made their way into the living room, flopping down on opposite chairs.
"That was fun," Tyler said. "Even though at times it felt like we'd entered some alternate universe with Mom. But I'm not complaining."
"I know what you mean. Brett has awoken something in Mom, and it's beautiful to see. But now he needs his Christmas wish to come true, and that's for Kelly to come back. I've been trying to think of where she might go to hide, and I just can't come up with anything."
"I wish I could say I knew her well enough to guess, but, honestly, I don't remember her that well. That sounds terrible, but it's the truth. I have images of her in my head, but they're fleeting moments in time. Sometimes I'm not even sure I remember the scene or if someone just told me about it. Like, I have this vision of her pitching a softball game. Was I there or did you just tell me what a great pitcher she was?"
"You were there. You were usually playing in the dirt when she was pitching."
"Then I guess I do remember something." He cocked his head to one side, giving her a thoughtful look. "What do you remember about her?"
"She used to do my hair and nails when she was stuck babysitting us. I remember her talking on the phone a lot. She had a laugh that sounded like a musical melody. It started out slow and just kept going, like a song that starts to wrap around your heart."
"I kind of remember that."
"She was fun, reckless, and impulsive. In some ways, she was a lot like Mom. Maybe that's why they couldn't get along. But in the end, she was Daddy's girl. She was definitely his favorite."
"Did that make you feel bad?"
"Middle children are always out in the cold," she said lightly. "Not the desperately wanted first child, or the adorable third child, just the one in the middle."
"I don't even think of us as being three. It was really just you and me."
"We were a good team; we still are."
His expression turned serious. "Sometimes, I feel like I let you carry too much of the load, Hannah. I didn’t help enough. You were going to be a doctor, but you didn't go that route, because you were raising me."