Page 74 of Family Bonds: Alana & Brennan
“They are coming here,” she said. It’d give her time to tell her family about Brennan. She hadn’t talked to her mother much in the past few weeks. Nothing more than some texts here and there. That was normal for them.
The doors opened and a couple of families came in. She took their names and then found the bags and boxes with their gifts and handed them over.
Ten minutes later, Diane said, “You don’t have to stay. There are only ten left and we’ll clean up now.”
It was a little after eleven. She was getting hungry anyway, but being here kept her mind off of Brennan and what he’d been doing.
A knot of anxiety twisted in her stomach at the thought of his potential anger.
There was no worry about him being with his ex. That ship sailed faster than what she felt for Jonathan.
The concern was his mental state and if Rene didn’t show up. That it kept him on edge and could upset Becca.
“If you don’t mind,” she said. “I think I will take off. I’d love to be involved again next year for sure.”
“We’ll reach out when we are ready,” Diane said. “We have a lot of fundraisers we do throughout the year if you’re interested as well.”
She knew about them since she dealt with their books and saw where the revenue came from.
“I’ll let you know,” she said. In the past she would have jumped on that, but now that she had a boyfriend, she didn’t have as much free time to gobble up all the events on the island to keep her busy.
When she pulled into the driveway twenty minutes later and saw her parents’ car in the garage, she was so glad that she and Brennan had plans and had departed.
Oh lord, if they’d showed up when Brennan was here, she’d have to explain that.
She intended on telling them, but just not today. They’d never said a word they were coming this early.
Not that they had to. It was their house.
She pulled in her spot and got out, then went in through the mudroom. Her mother was in the kitchen baking, the scent of vanilla and chocolate filling the air.
Christmas cookies!
“Hi, Mom,” she said, moving forward and giving her a hug. “What a surprise.”
“Your father and I came today and will stay for the week. He’s going to work remotely for a few days, but otherwise we are taking some time off.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said. She slid her jacket off and hung it up. “And you’re making cookies here. I can help.”
“That was the plan,” her mother said. “I hadn’t known you’d be out.”
“Sorry. I was handing out toys for families for the drive I’ve been part of for the past two weeks.”
“Told you,” her father said.
“Dad,” she said, going toward him for a hug. “What did you tell Mom?”
“That you’d be doing that today and not home relaxing. By the way, the house looks nice and festive.”
She’d put the tree and decorations up last week too. In the same spot they always were by the fireplace.
Being an adult didn’t take away from those memories.
“Thanks. It was fun to decorate it.”
Last year her parents did it when they helped her move and get settled. Not that there was much to move. She’d put all of her furniture into storage from her apartment and moved her clothes and some other personal possessions here.
Her plan wasn’t to always live here, but she wanted time to decide if this was where she really wanted to be and then to find the right place to move into.
