say this, but you’re acting a little… nutty…”
“Nutty?” She squinted her eyes at him. “Harry, don’t you go getting on my bad side today.” She scooped up the dust bunny, tossed it into the trashcan and breezed past him to go back into the kitchen. Harry followed along like the devoted husband he was.
“Why are you getting so worked up over this, Dixie?”
She finally stopped and let out the big breath she’d been holding since she heard Carrie was coming to town. “Because she’s your daughter. And my new stepdaughter. I want her to like me.”
Harry poked out his lip and put his hands on her shoulders. “Darlin’, never in the history of this planet has there been a person who didn’t like you.”
She chuckled. “That ain’t even a little bit true.”
“Well, I sure can’t imagine it. And my daughter is going to love you. The real you. Not this worked up, crazy, dust bunny hunting version of you. Just be yourself.”
Dixie took in a deep breath and then blew it out. She knew he was right. There was no reason his daughter would hate her. She was just being dramatic again, something she did all too often. Everything would be fine.
Just as she was getting herself calmed down, there was a knock at the front door. She looked at her watch and knew it had to be Carrie, and her heart started racing all over again.
“Why don’t we answer it together?” Harry said, putting his hand on her lower back. She nodded and walked toward the door.
It’s funny, the weird things a person thinks to themselves in stressful situations. For some reason, all she could think about right now was what outfit she’d chosen to wear. Her favorite pair of white jeans, a colorful Christmas sweater with a red bird on the front and a pair of sparkly white tennis shoes she’d bedazzled years ago with her bridge club. Maybe it was too much, but it was a little late to think about that now.
Harry opened the door, a huge smile on his face. “There’s my beautiful daughter!” She stepped through the threshold and hugged her father tightly, not noticing Dixie yet.
“Daddy! I’m so glad to see your face in person! You look good!”
“Well, I feel as good as I did twenty years ago!” His deep voice bounced around the small foyer and caused Dixie to turn down her hearing aid a bit.
“You have Parkinson’s,” she said, laughing at what she thought was the absurdity of her father feeling good with a progressive disease.
“Honey, this thing doesn’t control me. And I also have an amazing wife to share my life with, so it doesn’t get much better!” He stepped back a bit and put his arm around Dixie like he was showing off his most prized possession. “Carrie, I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Dixie.”
Dixie smiled nervously. She didn’t get rattled easily, but she felt like she was meeting royalty or her favorite TV cooking show host.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Carrie. Harry has bragged on you so much that I feel like I already know you.”
Carrie, who looked like she just stepped out of a fashion magazine with her perfectly coiffed blond hair and her smooth, flawless skin, smiled. But it wasn’t a genuine smile. It was the smile of someone who was trying to play a part. A woman could tell when another woman was faking a reaction, and she was certainly doing that. The question was, why?
“Nice to meet you, Dixie. Dad has spoken highly of you.” She reached out her manicured hand, complete with French tipped nails, and shook Dixie’s. Now, Dixie had grown up in the south, where girls were taught how to have a firm handshake. Carrie’s handshake felt a bit like a dead fish, and she worried she might break the poor girl’s delicate bones.
Harry pulled Dixie close to him and kissed the top of her head. “She’s the best thing that’s happened to me in years. You know, we’ll start traveling again after Christmas, and we’ve got some big adventures planned!”
Carrie blew a quick breath out of her nose, almost imperceptibly, but Dixie noticed it, nonetheless. This girl had a problem with her, and she didn’t know what it was. Happy holidays, Dixie thought to herself.
Chapter Two
Darcy rang up the last customer of the day and walked out from behind the counter to lock the front door. It had been an exhausting day and she was ready to