Don't Tell Mother (15 page)

Mom had offered to throw a New Year’s party at our house. I’d never had a real party before. All of my teammates and even some of my classmates said they were coming. Other kids were having parties, but they chose to come to my house. They must like me now.

Mom and Ted promised to keep to their bedroom while we had the house to ourselves. Mike was on house-arrest for eternity because he went snowboarding without permission. Mother promised to add another eternity of restriction if he ruined my party.

My family had just returned from Christmas at Grandma’s ranch. Although there were a few annoying moments when I had to listen to Mike whine at the dinner table because he couldn’t cut his meat with a broken arm, or when he pouted because Grandma, Mom and I went horseback riding without him.

Other than that, my life had gone from total crap to totally perfect.

Well, almost perfect.

Every time I looked at the spiky green needles of our table-top Christmas tree, I was reminded of Bob.

Things change, AJ. Time to move on.

So why couldn’t I get over him?

Eyeing the tree with more determination, I decided it was time to let go of the past. Pulling down the empty ornament box from the top of the bookcase, I went over to the tree and began tearing it apart.

“AJ, what are you doing?” Krysta demanded. “That’s the centerpiece for the party.”

“It’s not Christmas, anymore, Krysta,” I huffed. “Time to move on.”

From the corner of my eye, I caught Sophie and Krysta exchanging knowing glances.

Heaving a sigh of frustration, I turned to both of them. “What?”

“Do you miss him?” Krysta asked.

“Who?” Trying to mask my true feelings, I didn’t move a facial muscle while pretending not to know what they were talking about.

Sophie cocked a brow. “Don’t lie to me, AJ. I can
feel
it.”

“Look, can we drop it?” Tonight I just wanted to have fun and not think about what could have been.

Mom liked me now. My house was actually peaceful, well, with the exception of the few reporters who kept calling the house and asking to interview the boy who fell three hundred feet and only broke an arm.

Mom wouldn’t allow them an interview as she refused to let Mike enjoy any fame for his stupidity. Besides, if they asked too many questions, they might discover the real reason Mike was alive, and Grandma, Mom and I had pledged to keep our gifts secret.

As I thought of the new bond the women in my family shared, a sense of belonging swelled my chest with happiness. I wasn’t going to give Mom a reason to hate me now, no matter how much I missed Bob.

“Wow! Your emotions are all over the place,” Sophie exclaimed.

Shaking my head, I just laughed. I definitely had weird friends.

The smell of something yummy assailed my senses. Mom was in the kitchen cooking for me and my friends. She really was cool.

Walking into the kitchen, I put my arm around Mom. Something we’d been doing to each other lately. “What smells so good?”

Mom flashed a sly smile. “It’s a new recipe.” She pulled a pan out of the oven. “Veggie quiche.”

“Can I have a taste?” But before she could answer, I carved out a small bite with a fork. The quiche warmed my tongue and then a combination of spices, cheeses and veggies exploded in my mouth. “Mmmm, this is good,” I said before stealing another bite. “You’ve never made this before.”

“Well, I thought some of your guests would appreciate a few meat-free dishes.” Turning her gaze down, she focused on arranging a mountain of chocolate chip cookies.

My heart fluttered wildly in my chest.

Bob was the only vegetarian I knew and I hadn’t invited him.

Would Mom ask him to my party? Was she really that cool?

The doorbell rang and Krysta raced to get it.

As I eyed my mom suspiciously, she kept her gaze averted. I thought I saw the traces of a slight smile.

I turned as a horde of friends piled into the living room. Paige, Keysha and a few other teammates were removing coats and hats and handing them to Sophie. Several more friends came in after them.

An odd sensation curled in my stomach before slamming my chest with a punch.

I knew no one would bring an extra Christmas tree along.

So that tall, towering pine leaning against the wall had to be Bob. My jaw dropped and I looked at my mom who was grinning sheepishly. I launched into her arms for a big hug before pulling back and rushing into the living room.

Making my way through the crowd, I said ‘hi’ to all my friends before I spotted him against the back wall.

“Hey.” A familiar pair of soft, gray eyes glistened down at me. Looking kind of out of place, he played with the frayed end of some duct tape on his wrist.

As I struggled for the right words to say to him, I finally gave up and reached for his hand, lacing his fingers in mine. What could I say to this totally perfect guy who’d come back even after I’d tried to change him and then dumped him?

He looked down at our entwined fingers and then his gaze found mine, as a soft smile curved his lips.

Neither of us spoke.

Even as the noise from the crush of teens grew louder, we stood there mute, just holding hands.

Then I was bumped from behind. I turned to see Krysta standing on the stepstool, hovering above us with mistletoe in one hand and a thumbtack in the other. She let out a low whistle as she hung the mistletoe.

Feeling the crimson tide surge in my cheeks, I looked into Bob’s beautiful cloudy eyes. In the next second, his lips were on mine.

This time, I wasn’t going to faint.

I kissed my green-haired BF in my Mom’s living room, surrounded by tons of cheering friends.

Life definitely didn’t suck anymore.

A word about the author…

A former Texas high school teacher, Tara West is taking a break to raise her baby girl. She enjoyed coaching her writing team and even the hectic deadlines that came with running the school publications. Tara longs for another classroom of her own. In her spare time, Tara loves to write – anything. She's also obsessed with photography and graphic design. She contributes the cover art for her own novels. She'd love you to visit her at www.tarawest.com .

Thank you for purchasing this Wild Rose Press publication. For other wonderful stories of romance, please visit our on-line bookstore at www.thewildrosepress.com.

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