Home with My Sisters (14 page)

CHAPTER 15

Hope stood on the sidewalk of the adorable downtown with her petulant sisters and company. They'd had their first big snowfall, and the town was covered in a beautiful white blanket. Yet her sisters were still moody. Faith had risen with the sun to go for a run, but when Hope peered outside she saw Faith pacing by the side of the barn, talking on her cell. Was she arguing with Stephen or was something else going on?

Joy, on the other hand, had spent the morning sucking up to their grandmother. Waxing poetic about the commercialism of Christmas and trying to sneak in the merits of espresso. Finally, Hope had corralled everyone into this trip downtown. Yet Faith and Joy were sporting sour faces. What in the world was it going to take to break through to those two? How could anyone gaze at these snow-covered mountains and pout? Brittany and Josh were lagging behind, and Harrison still seemed conscious of letting the girls have some alone time. Joy wasn't having it. Any time he pulled away, she grabbed his arm and clung to him. Oh well. They were still together, even if Joy didn't have eyes for anyone but Harrison. Surely they would be just as charmed by the downtown as she was. Because even if Yvette didn't want to celebrate Christmas up at the log home, the town was certainly celebrating it down here. Christmas lights were strung in the windows of every shop, electronic reindeer grazed in a patch of snow in the median, wreaths dotted doorways, shop windows boasted decorative themes, and in the center of the town was a gigantic Christmas tree. There was a tree-lighting event coming up with costumes, and singers, and lantern parades led by old-fashioned Santas, and swarms of people swept up by the spirit of Christmas. Hope was going to have to find a way to get everyone to attend. Forcing them to have a good time was another matter altogether. At least they were here now. Having fun. Weren't they?

“Isn't it adorable?” Hope said, gesturing to the quaint street.

“Picture-perfect,” Faith agreed, staring at the chalet façades.

“Too perfect,” Joy said. “Wonder what weirdness lurks underneath.”

“Like a Stephen King novel,” Harrison said.

“Let's stick with Norman Rockwell,” Hope said.

“Who?” Josh said.

Hope ruffled his hair. “A famous artist. He painted a lot of quaint, small-town scenes just like this one.”

“Okay,” Josh said in a tone that conveyed
whatever
.

“Look,” Brittany pointed. Across the street you could see kids careening down a snow-covered hill on sleds. The overnight snowfall had brought all the outdoor activities to life. Farther still, Hope could make out a horse and carriage making the rounds. “Can we do that?”

“Yes,” Hope said.

“No,” Faith said.

Hope nudged her. “You used to love sledding.”

“That was before I was a mom. One of these two will break an appendage and spend the rest of their holiday in a cast.”

“It's sledding,” Hope said. “Not skiing down Black Diamond.”

“Today we're just going to wander the shops and get a bite to eat.” Faith forged ahead without awaiting a response.

“We'll go soon,” Hope said, looping her arm around Brittany. She tried to bring Josh into the mix, but he deftly avoided her touch.

“I love sledding,” Brittany said.

“We can ice skate on Yvette's pond too,” Hope said.

“I love this place.” Brittany grinned.

“I do too!” Hope said. Why couldn't her sisters be as enthusiastic and happy? Or her nephew. He was definitely scowling. She turned to him. “How about you, Josh? Willing to try out the hills or the ice?”

“Nah,” he said.

“Why not?” Brittany asked. She looked at Hope, then glanced at Josh. “
Moody
.”

“Shut up,” Josh said.

“We can build snowmen and have snowball fights too,” Hope said. “Then make hot chocolate and string popcorn.”

“This is going to be our best Christmas ever,” Brittany said.

“Ironic,” Josh said. “Given that our great-grandmother said we're not to celebrate it.”

“We're celebrating already,” Hope said. She took a deep breath and tried to convince herself she was having a good time.

“Do I have to come?” Josh asked as he caught up with Hope and Brittany. Faith was still bulldozing ahead, and Joy and Harrison were lagging behind.

Hope tried to keep her tone light. “What's wrong? Aren't you looking forward to a good Bavarian meal?”

“No,” Josh said.

“Told you. Moody,” Brittany said.

Hope put her arm around Josh. “I'm sure they'll have cheeseburgers and fries on the menu too.”

Faith had already disappeared into a shop but by the time Hope caught up, she couldn't be sure of which one. Hope wanted to go into the first shop anyway. It was a cooking shop, and in the spirit of Christmas you could smell sugar cookies baking in the oven. She tried to get Joy's and Harrison's attention. She waved frantically and called their names until a look of pure horror on Josh's face brought her to a stop. Yikes. She was now at the age where she was embarrassing teenagers in public. She would get a grip; there was no need to worry where everyone was.

“Come on,” she said to Brittany and Josh. “Let's check this one out.” A bell chimed as they stepped in. It was warm and welcoming. A kitchen was set up in the middle of the store with a counter filled with a tray of just-baked cookies, along with a rolling pin and icing waiting to be piled on. Cookie cutters were lined up along the counter. Hope took in all the different shapes. Santa, reindeer, trees, and ornaments. Customers were busy squeezing bags of icing onto their creations, laughing if too much squirted out. This was what family and friends were for—laughter, and doing things with one another. Hope wished Joy and Faith were here, ready and eager to decorate cookies together. If this were a Hallmark movie, they'd all be here, squealing, connecting, and maybe even getting icing in one another's hair.

“Can we decorate a cookie?” Brittany asked, jumping up and down.

Josh rolled his eyes. “Don't be such a baby.” Brittany winced.

Hope grabbed Brittany's hand and began jumping up and down too. “Christmas gives us license to act any age we want,” she said. She grinned and grabbed Josh's hand. He shook his head, and finally a little smile escaped from his lips. Hope stopped jumping, laughed, and ruffled his hair. She headed for the cookie line. “Let's also decorate one for Faith, and Joy, and Harrison.”

“Do you think they have any non-Christmas cookies for Great Grandma?” Brittany asked. She was taking on Hope's old role: The Peacemaker.

It took all of Hope's restraint not to reply:
What's so great about her?
“Why don't you go ahead and make her a Christmas one. I don't think she'll mind if it comes from you two.”

“Using us to force her to celebrate Christmas,” Josh said. “You're diabolical, Aunt Hope.”

Hope laughed and hugged him. It was like hugging an irritated ironing board.

“Where's Mom?” Brittany said, looking around.

“Probably making one of her phone calls,” Josh said.

There was something in his tone. Bitterness. He and Brittany exchanged a look. What did it mean? One of her phone calls. To Stephen? Someone else? She wanted to ask more, but Josh turned away. “I'm going to wait outside.” They were next in line.

“Please,” Hope said, hooking his arm and pulling him in. “Decorate this.” She grabbed a tree from the tray and shoved it at Josh. Next she nudged a bag of green icing toward him.

“You're crazy,” he said. But he picked up a bag, hovered it over the cookie, and began to squeeze.

Brittany giggled and grabbed a reindeer from the tray.

“This is so much fun.” Hope picked up an ornament. Then two more. She would make three—Faith, Hope, and Joy. Surprise her sisters.

“You have to pay for those,” a nasal voice said from behind. Hope whirled around to see a surly girl with blond hair and an apron glaring at her.

“Before we decorate them?” Hope said.

“After,” the girl said.

“I was planning on it,” Hope said. “No such thing as a free cookie for Christmas, is there?”

“The first one is free. But you have three.”

“I said I'll pay for them. They're for my sisters.” Brittany's head popped up when Hope's voice grew a little sharp. She tried to smile. Why was she letting some clerk in a small-town shop get her all worked up? Why was everyone so grumpy about Christmas? It was one thing to reject commercialism and embrace the spirit instead, but where was the spirit? After she decorated her cookies and paid for the whole lot, she spied some reindeer antlers on a shelf and grabbed three. She put one on her head, then plopped one on Brittany and Josh. “I'll pay for those too!” she said.

“Aunt Hope?” Brittany said.

Josh went to take his off.

“We're celebrating,” Hope said. “We're having fun.”

“I'll wear two,” Brittany said, swiping up Josh's antlers and putting them on her head.

“ ‘It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,' ” Hope started to sing.

“You guys are weird,” Josh said. “I'm going outside.” He dropped his cookie on the counter.

Brittany's hand snuck over and snatched it up. “I'll finish it,” she said. They were almost out the door when Brittany tugged on Hope's sleeve. Her face was somber.

“What's wrong, sweetie?” Hope asked.

“I'm worried about Josh,” Brittany said. “He really is moody.”

Hope smiled. “All teenage boys are moody,” she said. “But it probably doesn't help to keep pointing that out.”

“Okay,” Brittany said. “But he's so different.”

Hope put her arm around Brittany and gave her a half hug. “Moodiness is in our genes,” she said. “It's definitely in our genes.”

Josh wasn't outside when Hope and Brittany emerged from making cookies. There was no sign of him or any of the others. They stood gazing at the people, and the lights, and the snow.

“It's magical,” Brittany said. “I wish my dad was here.”

Me too,
Hope thought about her own dad. She smiled at Brittany. “He'll be joining us soon, won't he?” Hope eyed her niece, ready to catch any shift of expression that might indicate trouble.

“Depends on work, I guess,” Brittany said with a shrug.

“I'm sure he'll be here for Christmas,” Hope said.

“Nobody really wants to celebrate this year.”

“I do,” Hope said. “Don't you?”

“I do,” Brittany said. Her eyes had a twinkle. Now that's what Hope wanted. That was the spirit, right there. All these grownups so focused on themselves. Brittany would only get so many Christmases as a child.

“We're already celebrating,” Hope said. “We just made cookies.”

“Not all of us.”

“Let's find them. Eat cookies in front of them. Make them feel guilty.” Hope nudged Brittany and kept nudging until her niece laughed.

“Do you think Grandpa Garland would have liked me?” Brittany asked.

Hope stopped in her tracks. She'd been so focused on the fact that she'd lost out on a father she hadn't even considered that they'd lost out on a grandfather. And her father would have adored them. She knew it beyond a doubt. “No,” Hope said. “I think he would have loved you to death.” Brittany beamed and then nodded. They turned into a shop with thick hand-knit sweaters displayed in the windows. An image of Austin flashed in her mind. He would look good in one of those. Not that she was going to buy a Christmas present for a man she barely knew. Although he had driven all the way to Portland to pick her up, hadn't he? Of course she was going to get him a present. She tucked the sweater idea away.

“There they are,” Brittany said. Hope looked up to see Faith, Joy, Josh, and Harrison standing in front of the Winter Biergarten restaurant, looking around as if waiting for them. And the expressions on their faces were anything but festive. Brittany hurried up to them and Hope followed. Faith immediately threw her arms up in the air.

“Where have you been?”

“Looking for you guys,” Hope said.

“Josh said you were baking cookies.”

Brittany dug one out of her bag, stuck it in her mouth, and handed one to Hope with a wink. They bit into their cookie at the same time.

“You'll spoil your lunch,” Faith said. She actually reached to take the cookie out of Brittany's mouth.

Hope slapped Faith's hand away, giving Brittany time to finish the cookie. “It was my idea. Since you weren't there to make them with us we were going to tease you.”

“Real mature,” Faith said.

“Sorry, Mom,” Brittany said.

Hope couldn't believe poor Brittany felt guilty about eating a cookie. They were on vacation. It was Christmas. Hope was going to kill Faith if she didn't get into the spirit of things. “Why are you so angry? We were supposed to check out the shops and you disappeared. I'm the one who should be angry.”

“We decided we were going to eat first,” Faith said.

“When did we decide that?”

“In the car.”

“Brittany, Josh, and I didn't know that.”

“Well, Joy and Harrison did.”

“No, they didn't. They were making out on the street corner.”

“Do you have a problem with that?” Joy said.

“I don't know,” Hope said. “Were you charging for it?” Harrison laughed, Joy glared.