“And now you’ve changed your mind?” Mom asked.

  “When it comes to Zo, yes.” His expression looked bleak in the rearview mirror. “Listen, Blake. I know what a dipshit I was before. I know I’ll be lucky to win your sister back. But if I do, trust me, I’m not going to blow it again.”

  “Good.” Dad pointed out the windshield. “Take a left into that parking lot. The store is around the side.”

  “How can I help you win Aunt Zoe back?” I asked, eager to play cupid.

  “By keeping your nose out of your aunt’s business,” Dad said, beating Reid to the punch. His grin took the sting out of his reply.

  Mom patted my knee. “I’ve found that things work themselves out if you give them enough time and space.”

  “Oh, really?” I guffawed as we pulled into the minimart’s parking lot. “And how’s that working for you when it comes to Susan and me thirty-two years later?”

  Her gaze hardened. “Violet Lynn, you are impossible some days. You have so many new wonderful things happening in your life right now, but you just can’t see the sunshine through the gnarled old trees.”

  Reid and Dad opened their doors, stepping out.

  “That’s because I’ve been stabbed in the back too many times to count.”

  “You need to let all of that negative energy from your past go,” she advised as the back doors opened. “Focus on where you have it good in life, like with Doc and your family, before you go and screw it up again.”

  “Again?” I growled at the roof. “Susan is the one who screwed up my chance at a family in the past, not me.”

  “Would you please stop playing the victim for a minute and try to look at it from an outsider’s perspective?”

  “Okay. How’s this? Violet Parker’s slutty sister seduced the father of Violet’s unborn children and decided the most appropriate place to fornicate with him was in Violet’s bed. What do you think? Newspaper worthy?”

  “Not even close. Nobody uses the word ‘fornicate’ any more. It’s old fashioned. You need to get with the times.”

  I cursed under my breath while I followed her down from the snowcat.

  “Let it go, Goldilocks,” Dad said to me as he steadied me on the packed snow. “Today is not the day to fight this battle with her.”

  “I’ve let this go too long. You stay out here with Reid.” I stormed after my mom, yelling over my shoulder, “And be nice to him!”

  The aroma of freshly made coffee greeted me inside the store. My need for caffeine had me gnashing my teeth as I looked for Mom. Overhead, a tinny version of “Jingle Bells” played through the speakers, strumming my nerves.

  The minimart was mostly empty except for a few stragglers, including a grizzled-looking, older guy wearing camouflage from neck to toe except for his Santa Claus hat. He was standing several cooler doors down from my mom, scanning the single soldiers of beer through the glass. In one hand he held a jar of salsa, in the other a jumbo bag of tortilla chips.

  “Mom.” I joined her in front of the cooler doors. “Please explain to me how an outsider’s perspective makes a difference on Susan boinking Rex behind my back.”

  Camo-Claus glanced our way, his focus lingering on my mother’s butt. Her yoga was paying off yet again.

  “It’s simple, really. Because of your sister’s interference, you have learned how to discern a good man from a loser.”

  Talk about making a leap! “So, in your eyes, Susan did a good thing?”

  She made a face. “I wouldn’t use the word ‘good’ in this case. ‘Beneficial’ seems more fitting.”

  What was with her and this new fun-with-words game? More to the point, “Why do you always take Susan’s side?”

  Mom sighed. “There are no sides, dear.”

  “Bull hockey.” I crossed my arms. “Every time Susan does something to screw me over, you turn it around and make it part my fault.”

  “Language, Violet.” She smiled apologetically at Camo-Claus.

  “I didn’t use any bad words!”

  “And lower your voice.” She grabbed two cartons of eggs from the cooler. “We’re in a store, you know.” She handed me the eggs and then reached in the cooler again.

  “Fine,” I said several decibels lower, clutching the egg cartons. “But I want an answer. Why do you always place half the blame on me when Susan is clearly the one who is at fault?”

  She placed two more cartons of eggs on top of the others, forcing me to stack them up to my chin so I didn’t drop any. “I believe there are two sides to every story, and it’s best to hear both before passing judgment, especially when it comes to my children.”

  “And what was Susan’s side of the story for sleeping with Rex? That she was protecting me?”

  Susan had given me that bullshit excuse before, explaining that she’d been showing me via a visual demonstration of how inadequate Rex was as a father figure.

  I glanced over my mom’s shoulder. The old guy with the chips and salsa stared at us openly now. He should pull up a chair and bust open that bag.

  “She said that she fell in love with him,” Mom explained.

  I gaped. “And that was enough for you to forgive her?”

  “It’s not my place to forgive her. It’s yours, if you want to move on with your life.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

  “Violet, forgiveness will set you free of this negativity that keeps your aura blotchy with shadows.”

  “Chinese checkers! Have you been hanging out with Cornelius and bumming his aura pills?”

  “There are no such things.” She turned back to the cooler, holding her chin. “Do you think I should get more eggnog?”

  “It’s on sale,” Camo-Claus told her.

  She graced him with another smile, making him blush. “And what a bargain, too.”

  I grunted at their little flirting display. “So, Susan believes she fell in love with Rex all of those years ago. How did she explain sleeping with my other boyfriend, then? The one after Rex? Wait, let me guess, she twisted her ankle in those thigh-high hooker boots she liked to wear and accidentally fell onto his Yule log?”

  Mom gasped. “Really, dear. Do you think this gentleman wants to hear such things on Christmas morning?”

  “I don’t mind,” he said with a grin.

  My mother tittered. “You’ll have to excuse my daughter. She’s trying to work through some negative issues in her life.”

  He looked at me, sizing me up. “Pessimism will turn you into a bitter old prune long before your time. You should try smiling when you talk. It’s hard to be upset when you smile.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Camo-Claus,” I said through a toothy grin.

  He winced. “Well, you’re a might bit purtier when your eyes aren’t bugging out so much, anyway.” He focused back on my mom. “Outside of that creepy clown look she’s sporting, I can see where she gets her good looks.”

  “Oh, you.” Mom waved him away. She grabbed a carton of eggnog and tucked it inside the front of my coat. “All I’m saying is that when it comes to your sister and Rex, I understand how people will move heaven and earth for love. You should comprehend that concept now that you have Doc.”

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe I’d gone so far as to put my lifelong friendship with Natalie on the line for Doc, but Natalie wasn’t sleeping with him when I’d had sex with Doc the first time. She’d only staked a claim on him.

  A claim that I blatantly ignored, though.

  I shook off the guilt gorilla that had made itself at home on my chest for a moment there. “So, she fell in love with the creep. Dammit, I was pregnant with Rex’s kids at the time. Couldn’t she have told me how she felt instead of screwing him first? And why my bed? What was wrong with the back seat of his car or some skanky hotel room?”

  Camo-Claus ripped open his bag of chips. “Hell, any flat surface will do in a pinch,” he said and stuffed a handful of corn chips in his mouth.

  Mom pointed her thumb at him, her mouth pinched. “Way to go, Violet. Now you’re going to have the neighbors talking about us.”

  “You don’t even know who he is! Criminy, you’d probably take his side over mine if we got into a brawl.”

  Camo-Claus held up his bag of chips, grinning through beard crumbs. “I’m more of a make-love-not-war type of guy.”

  Mom grabbed me by the shoulder of my coat and dragged me over to the milk cooler. “Violet Lynn, I’d hoped you’d have this figured out now that your kids are a little older, but I can see that you’re too stubborn to understand the truth about your sister.”

  “That she’s a man-stealing, toy-burning brat?”

  “Besides that.”

  “Ha! So you admit that she’s a weasel.”

  “I admit that my youngest child has some problems she’s dealing with, yes.”

  “The problem being she’s psycho.”

  “Name calling doesn’t fix anything.” She grabbed two gallons of milk from the cooler, kicking the door shut with her foot. “Now you listen, child, and you listen good, because I’m not going to say this again.”

  “I’m all ears and eggs.”

  “I can’t give up on your sister. She’s my child, just as you are. We all do things in life that throw kinks into our plans. Like you, I got pregnant with Susan by accident. Also like you, I have done what I could to make the most of my life since then, raising my children to the best of my abilities. I’m not a perfect mother and I know it, trust me. I also understand that you want me to stand here and agree with you that Susan is broken. However, I have to keep trying with her, because I love Susan just as I love you and Quint.”

  “But what about—”

  “I’m not finished.” She led the way to the counter. “If I start openly choosing sides, I’ll lose Susan completely. I’m not blind when it comes to her crimes against you. My job is to try to help her become a better person through love and support.” We got in line behind Mr. Camo-Claus, who was paying for his Feliz Navidad supplies. “That doesn’t mean I love you any more or less.”

  I sighed, shifting so the corner of the eggnog carton wasn’t jabbing into my boob. “Sometimes it just feels like you pick on me more than her.”

  “Do you understand how strong you are?”

  “Are you referring to my muscles or my body odor?”

  “Neither, wiseacre. Since you first started walking, you showed signs of a fierce independence. I believe that inner force is why you have struggled so much with finding a suitable partner.”

  “Let’s not rehash my rotten history with men today.” We’d be standing here for hours if she started down that road.

  “You’re a strong woman, Violet Lynn. Not just any man will do. Rex was certainly not the caliber of man you needed. Your father and I could see that from the get-go, but you had to find that out for yourself. In some ways, it was a relief when Susan drove you two apart.”

  I started to object, but she held up her gallon of milk to stop me.

  “If she hadn’t, I feared you might’ve stayed with the jerk through thick and thin because you were pregnant with his kids. Thanks to your sister’s seduction, you have two lovely children and yet are free of a loser who would’ve only dragged you down.”

  I sniffed. “He is a major piece of shit.”

  “Sounds like you’re lucky to be rid of him,” Camo-Claus added over his shoulder as he collected his change.

  “And you have Doc now,” Mom added. “Don’t you think it’s time to move on and let go of your past woes?”

  “I’d love to, but Rex has other ideas lately. Do you know anyone I can hire to perform a contract kill?”

  Camo-Claus pulled a business card from his vest pocket and handed it to me. “Merry Christmas, ladies,” he said and tipped an imaginary cowboy hat before heading out into the snow.

  I looked at his card and chuckled.

  Mom leaned closer, trying to read the card. “He’s not really a killer, is he?”

  Takes one to know one, I thought, and stuffed his card in my coat pocket. “He’s a taxidermist.”

  For a moment, I entertained the notion of having Rex stuffed. I could use him to practice my batting skills.

  Mom put the two jugs of milk on the counter, and then helped me offload the eggs and eggnog.

  While the clerk rung us up, she beamed at me. “Did you see Doc’s face this morning while he watched Addy and Layne open presents?”

  “No.” I’d been busy watching my kids, too. “Why?”

  “He loves your kids. Trust me, Doc will be ten times the father Rex could’ve ever hoped to be.”

  “Don’t be counting chickens before they’re hatched, Mom. We’re not married yet.”

  She handed the clerk a wad of cash. “I know, but I have a feeling wedding bells will be in your future very soon.”

  I grabbed the bag with the eggs and one of the milk jugs. “Keep that to yourself, please. I don’t want you and Dad scaring Doc away with a bunch of talk about commitment and raising my kids.”

  She grabbed the other gallon of milk and the eggnog. “I’m more worried about you running off than him.”

  “I thought we agreed you weren’t going to start in on me about my lousy history with the male sex.” I shouldered open the door, holding it for her.

  “Not today, dear. It’s Christmas.”

  “Thank Santa for that.”

  She paused on the way past me. “But have you considered that Doc might want a child of his own someday with the woman he loves?”

  I shuddered at the notion. Raising twins on my own had burned me out on the idea of babies. They were cute to hold, but I liked giving them back these days.

  While reliving the soul-sucking middle of the night feedings and the frustration of day-after-day teething whines, I followed my mom to the snowcat, where Reid was showing my dad something behind the blade.

  If Doc wanted another kid, that could be a major snag in this happily-ever-after fantasy of mine. I’d closed the doors to my baby-making factory after Addy and Layne popped out, and I didn’t plan on reopening the plant ever again.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I spent the next few hours ducking Susan so many times that I felt like quacking.

  After eating some of my mom’s blue ribbon–winning bacon and cheddar cheese quiche, and then letting the kids open a few more presents that weren’t from the North Pole, I joined Aunt Zoe, Harvey, and my mom in the kitchen. Christmas dinner preparations were the main topics of discussion initially as the three of them got a rhythm going, and while my cooking skills were shitty at best, my dishwashing abilities were legendary. Not to mention that staying within range of the oven kept me away from Susan, who also made a habit of avoiding anything having to do with the culinary arts.

  One way or another, I was determined to get through the day without ruining Christmas, and that meant keeping my distance from my sister. My mother might have made a strong case at the minimart for pardoning Susan’s enthusiasm for bareback riding my boyfriends, but I wasn’t naïve enough to forget the tinsel tart’s ability to wreak havoc in my life in general.

  “You tryin’ to rinse all the color off that plate, Sparky?” Harvey asked, dishtowel in hand.

  “Shush up and dry.” I shoved the dripping plate at him.

  He took the plate and grinned in the direction of my mom, who was rolling out a piecrust over on the bar. “Did she get her quick temper from you or her pa?”

  Mom pushed a loose strand of blond hair away from her face, smearing flour on her cheek in the process. “Blake always says Violet is a chip off Zoe’s block.”

  Aunt Zoe looked up from the prime rib she was checking for temperature. “She does have the stubborn streak that runs deep in our family line.”

  And a killing streak, too, I thought as I scrubbed out the pot in which Harvey had boiled potatoes.

  “Make sure ya save those meat drippins,” Harvey told her. “I’ll need ‘em for my Yorkshire pudding and the gravy for the taters.”

  I licked my lips, remembering the last time he’d made Yorkshire pudding. Forty-plus years of playing bachelor had turned Harvey into one hell of a cook. If it weren’t for Doc, I’d pester the ol’ boy to move in with me and the kids to take care of our bellies.

  “Speaking of family business,” I said while rinsing out the pot, “a little birdy told Mom and me today that you recently turned down a marriage proposal.”

  Aunt Zoe froze.

  Harvey hooted. “Well, slap the dog and spit in the fire.”

  “Is that true?” I asked, handing the pot to Harvey.

  She shoved the prime rib back in the oven and slammed the door. “I’m going to clock Martin in his glass jaw for running his big fat yap.” Scowling, she pointed the thermometer at me. “You need to keep your lips zipped about that. Nobody else needs to know about it, not even Doc.”

  “Blake knows,” Mom said as she cut out a pattern in the pie dough.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I dried my hands with a corner of Harvey’s towel.

  “Well, for one, I turned him down, so it’s a moot point. For another, I didn’t figure it was anyone else’s business. Apparently, Reid thinks otherwise.”

  “He did find a way to join us for Christmas,” Mom observed, fitting the dough on top of the heap of cherries in the pie pan. “Something tells me he didn’t hear your rejection in his heart.”

  Aunt Zoe scoffed. “He should’ve. I did my damnedest to punch it in there.”

  “Don’t be mad at Reid.” I dropped onto one of the bar stools across from my mom, who was pinching the edge of the crust. “He was only explaining to Dad what his intentions are this time around.”

  Mom giggled. “Reid did share your response to his proposal, which couldn’t have been easy in front of the three of us.”

  Poor Reid. I’d been witness to more than one dose of humiliation doled out by my aunt. The first time was when she’d punched him hard enough to knock him off a cliff. The second happened after we hauled him back up from the ledge below the cliff. He’d asked her to consider becoming a couple again and she’d turned him down, hopped in her pickup, and driven away, leaving me behind to keep Reid company. Then there was today’s admission. Coming clean in front of my parents had to have been up there with waltzing down Deadwood’s Main Street in nothing but his favorite red underwear. It was a wonder Reid even wanted me around anymore.