Page 57 of Christmas Promises

“I do.”

“Treat her right, do you hear me?” Penelope asked. “If you hurt her, I swear to God, I will end you.”

Nolan swallowed. “I have no intention of hurting her.”

“Good. See that you don’t.” Penelope slung her expensive-looking handbag over her shoulder. “Night. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Tucker nodded farewell and took his wife’s hand to escort her out of the room.

Edna gave his hand a quick squeeze. “Go see your girl.”

He didn’t need another invitation.

13

LANEY

“Hey there.” Nolan sat next to Laney’s bed. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay. A little sore. My throat feels like it was scratched with sandpaper. But mostly I’m thankful to have made it out alive.”

“You scared me.”

She clucked sympathetically. “I’m sorry. It all happened so fast. One minute I’m in the back of a cab, thinking how proud I was of myself for standing up to my mom, and then next thing I know I’m here.”

“You don’t remember the accident?”

“Not really, no. Which maybe’s a good thing.” She reached for Nolan’s hand. “Thanks for being here when I woke up.”

He stroked her knuckles with his thumb in a way that made her want to close her eyes and just stay like this for as long as it took to heal.

“Can I do anything for you?” Nolan asked softly.

“I’m thirsty. The nurse said it was okay to drink water.”

He let go of her hand and took hold of the cup of ice water on the small table. It had a bendy straw, which allowed him to bring it close to her mouth. After a few sips, she lay her head back against the pillow, thanking him.

“That was bliss,” Laney said. “I felt really nauseous at first, but I’m much better now.”

“How did it go with your parents?”

She found his hand again. “It went fine. Mom came in hot, but she calmed down once she saw that I was okay. My dad was super sweet. Like he always is. I felt bad they were so scared.”

“We’re all just so thankful you’re okay.”

“My mom said your entire family showed up to wait with you?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure your mother was too impressed with that.”

“She told me a story. One I’ve never heard before. About your dad.”

“Yeah?”

“They went to high school together,” Laney said. “Which I didnotknow. He was in Aunt Edna’s class, and my mom was a year behind them. She said he was the most popular guy in school and that all the girls wanted to date him and all the guys wanted to be him.”

Nolan smiled, letting go of her hand to push away her hair that clung to her cheek. “I’ve heard that before. Folklore says that many hearts were broken when he returned from college with my mother by his side. But what’s the story?”

“Edna and my mother lost their mom when they were in junior high, and their dad kind of went off the deep end—drinking a lot. He lost his job and they basically had no money, other than some government assistance. She and Edna had only a few outfits, so they wore the same thing to school every day. One time, a group of mean girls cornered my mom in the hallway and started ridiculing her about her clothes and that she smelled. Walter Hayes, who happened to be walking by, heard the ruckus and went to put a stop to it. He said something about people with low characters and mean hearts and that they should be ashamed of themselves. Mom said the girls left her alone after that.”

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