Page 16 of Holly Jolly Rebel

Aurora put one more piece of tape on something that was suspiciously shaped like a hockey stick.

“Hatch or Conor?”

“Both. Thought I’d make them share it.” She grinned. “Just kidding. I got Hatch a jock strap, candy cane colors.”

I chuckled. “Evil.”

“That’s why I’m here. The embarrassing old great-grandmother.” She set the package aside. “Not like you to be up so early, though I guess Christmas throws the whole routine out of whack.”

“I was kind of restless and for once, Theo wasn’t, so I’m letting him enjoy the extra hours of sleep. He works so hard.”

“He does. But he also loves it. The pressure, the competition, the craziness of it all. And he’ll love a new baby.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. “He told you?”

“No. I guessed when you were looking a bit peaky this past week. Thought I’d give you a chance to figure it out for yourself.”

Those oh-so-intuitive Kershaws. “Theo’s thrilled. I didn’t expect him to be so open to it.”

“But we both know he’s not the one who has to do the work. Don’t get me wrong—he’s a great dad. A present dad, just like I taught him to be. But this will mostly be on you. And me.”

“Aurora, you would not be expected to pitch in.”

“Why ever not? I raised Theo and while I wasn’t on hand day-to-day with my great-grandlittles, I still know how to change a diaper and burb a baby.” She cocked an eyebrow. “But that’s not the issue here. You can have all the support in the world, but if your heart’s not in it, that’s a tough road to hoe.”

“What’s a tough road?” Adeline had just arrived in her holiday PJs.

“Oh, just …” Aurora trailed off at the same moment I said, “You’ve been avoiding me, young lady.”

“No, I haven’t.” She shuffled to the coffee maker. “It’s just been crazy here the last couple of days.”

“And you’ve spent all your time over at Rosie’s. Cade said you even have your own mug in their cupboard.”

Adeline chuckled. “So they’ve adopted me. Takes a village, Mom.”

“I’m going to drop these under the tree.” With a significant look my way, Aurora gathered her gifts and headed into the living room, leaving me with my daughter.

“You know you can talk to me—to us—about anything.”

Adeline took a cup with reindeers on it and poured some oat milk to make her morning latte.

“I know. I had a chat with Dad the night before last and I ran it by him. If you don’t mind, I’m going to switch to somewhere local. If I can’t get in for the spring semester, I’ll start again in the fall. Maybe travel for a bit before then?”

She grimaced slightly, waiting on my reaction.

“Your dad didn’t say a word.”

“I asked him to keep it to himself until I could talk to you personally.”

“Okay. First question: did someone hurt you?”

“That’s what Dad said! Sheesh, you guys have been married too long.”

Her reaction was too light for that to be an issue. My heart stopped thundering and settled down.

“Is this okay, Mom? I don’t want to upset you. Or disappoint you.”

More relieved than I thought possible, I put my arms around my daughter. “Yes, it’s okay, and no, you could never upset me. I’ve never understood this compulsion to leave home purely because a certain birthday or milestone comes around. Or the idea that every kid should feel the same way and want the same thing. You want to stick around the nest a little longer, then I’mall for it.” I hugged my girl tight, unaccountably happy that she felt safe with us.Stay forever, baby.“Please don’t ever think that anything you could do would disappoint us. This is your life and we will be proud of you whatever road you take.”

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