Season Of Wonder. RaeAnne Thayne

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      After a long, difficult day, following a long, difficult week, all Dani wanted was to pop a batch of popcorn, sit on the sofa and watch something light and cheery with her girls for a few hours. As she stood at the kitchen sink of their three-bedroom cottage drying the last of the dishes Silver had washed after school, she thought that what she would really like was a long soak in the tub. By the time her daughters were in bed most nights, she didn’t have enough energy left to even run water in the tub.

      The kitchen was small enough that cleaning it never took long. The house Frank Morales had provided as part of her internship compensation wasn’t big but it was comfortable, with three bedrooms, a living room and a lovely glass-enclosed family room facing the lake, which had become their favorite spot.

      Someday she’d like to have a little bigger house, maybe with an actual dining room, but that would have to wait awhile. She had thousands of dollars in student loans to pay back first. Meantime, this house worked well for their needs.

      Her life could have been easier. Occasionally, she tormented herself by playing the old what-if game, wondering how things might have been different for her and her daughters if she had been able to ignore her conscience and taken money from Tommy.

      If she had accepted the ill-gotten gains her late ex-husband had tried to give for child support, she might have been able to start her professional life as a veterinarian with a clean slate, even with a little nest egg, instead of feeling swallowed by debt. But she would have had to sell her soul in return and she wasn’t willing to do that.

      Yes, she was tired of the constant scrimping and saving and striving, but at least when she finally made her way to bed each night, she could close her eyes with a clear conscience.

      Mostly clear, anyway.

      She set the dish towel over the oven handle to dry and made her way to the family room. Silver was, as usual, on her phone while Mia was doing more somersaults, this time on the carpet, while their ancient little mutt Winky watched from her favorite spot on the floor, blocking the heater vent.

      “Movie night!” Dani said cheerfully. “Who’s ready? I’ll make the popcorn. You two just need to pick a show.”

      “Yay! Movie night. My favorite!” Mia grinned from the floor.

      “I think we should watch a Christmas movie. What do you say? Elf, Grinch, Arthur Christmas or something off the Hallmark Channel.”

      The previous Christmas, during Dani’s rare moments off from school, they had binge-watched movies on the Hallmark Channel. Dani had felt a little world-weary to truly appreciate the sweet happy endings but Silver had adored them.

      It had been several months since Silver had been interested in anything sweet. Right around the time she’d dyed her hair and started begging for the tattoo Dani would not let her get until she was eighteen.

      “Elf,” Mia declared without hesitation.

      “Okay. One vote for Elf. What do you think, Sil?”

      “I think you’re going to have to watch without me.” Her daughter rose from the sofa with the long-legged grace she had inherited from her father. “I’ve got to go. Some friends just texted me and they want to hang out.”

      Dani felt her temper flare at Silver’s matter-of-fact tone but worked to keep it contained. “Are you asking me or telling me?”

      Silver’s jaw worked. “Asking, I guess. Can I go hang out with my friends?”

      At thirteen, she seemed to think she didn’t need permission these days for much of anything. Dani had a completely different perspective on the situation.

      “Which friends? And what did they want to do?”

      “Just friends from school,” Silver said, impatience threading through her voice. “Why do you have to know every single detail about my life?”

      “Because I’m your parent and responsible for you. I’m not asking for every detail but I have to СКАЧАТЬ