Page 59 of The Blessings of Christmas
What were her parents doing right now in Florida? Probably sitting out by the pool in their condo complex. Still irritated her no end that they had not responded to the baby shower invitation. Any other grandparent would be thrilled but her folks apparently remained happily cocooned in Sarasota.
Maybe they were worn out by the whole baby thing. Her father had helped them with the in-vitro fertilization expenses early on, no questions asked. She felt guilty that his investment hadn’t paid off. Growing up, she’d heard a lot about return on investment, or ROI. Her dad checked his investment portfolio every day. Now they were doing in vitro maturation,and her father was once again helping them out financially. Connor hated it. He’d insisted on setting up a repayment plan with her father.
When the possibility of adoption had come out of left field, they’d grasped at it. Loaded the bases, as Connor called it.They’d do the in vitroandproceed with adoption paperwork. See what happened. Of course there was a charge. They were going to take out a loan but when her mother caught wind of it, another check arrived.
Now she’d had no word from her parents about tomorrow and didn’t have the nerve to call them. Her father was being weird about the whole adoption thing and maybe that was the problem. The last time she talked to her mother on the phone, Amanda could hear him in the background. “Who gives their kid up for adoption? The mother’s probably on drugs.” Her dad had never been known for his tact. Still, the words stung.
After he sold his business, her parents had headed south. They hadn’t seen the day-to-day struggles Connor and Amanda went through trying to have a family. Connor’s mom said they were losing their smiles. Amanda couldn’t deny the stress had taken a toll.
She slogged her way around the corner and the wind blasted her full force. But her in-laws’ house lay just ahead. McKenna’s orange jeep sat out front, mounded with snow. Amanda trudged on. At least the walk was shoveled and someone had salted the front steps. When Amanda got to the top, she stomped her boots on the mat with Christmas elves. Music blared from inside the red brick bungalow—“White Christmas,” no less. Well, they’d sure have that. Pushing open the front door, she sniffed the aroma of corned beef and cabbage, along with the pine from the Douglas fir in the corner. The Kirkpatricks had never succumbed to artificial trees and were darn proud of it. The sudden onslaught of warmth stung her cheeks and ears.
Plenty of Christmas spirit in this house. Greenery and ornaments hung everywhere, from the mantel to the handrail that led upstairs. The stockings attached to that banister numbered the seven children and their spouses, as well as their children. Santa would be busy.
Would their baby’s stocking hang in this cluster next year? The warmth curling in her stomach cooled. “Hello! Anybody home?”
“Amanda!” McKenna rushed into the hall from the kitchen. In four steps her sister-in-law had enveloped her in a fierce hug. “Where have you been, lady? We were getting worried. Oh, your cheeks are cold.”
“I got stuck. Do you believe it?” Breaking the sisterly embrace, Amanda shrugged out of her coat, hung it on the coat tree and kicked off her boots. She owed so much to her sister-in-law. Their hopes for a baby had dimmed until McKenna became involved. Angie had been a student in McKenna’s natural childbirth class. “The car’s sitting over on a side street about six blocks away. Connor will kill me.”
“Amanda! You’re here! We were worried.” Auburn hair flying, Harper threw herself into the group hug.
Youngest of the family, Harper looked different, her long locks cut into a shoulder-length style. Amanda pulled away to get a better look. “Every time I see you, you’re more beautiful. You’ve grown up! Savannah must agree with you.”
Pulling away, Connor’s youngest sister blushed. “Guess so.”
“Oh, I think it’s more than just that southern air, my dear,” McKenna drawled in a ridiculous southern accent. Harper had gone to school in Savannah, staying for a stint as a nanny when she couldn’t find another job. Cameron Bennett had started as her employer, but ended up being so much more.
“Is Cameron coming for Christmas?” Amanda couldn’t wait to meet him.
“Yep, he’ll be here.” The flush in Harper’s porcelain skin deepened.
Connor’s two sisters were knockouts. The entire family had that auburn hair in a range of shades, all of them striking. Their eye color differed too, since Maureen had green eyes and BigMike, as Connor’s father was known, had brown eyes. Amanda had always loved Connor’s brown suede eyes, soft but sensual.
She shivered and brought her attention back to Harper. “Is Cameron bringing his little girl with him?”
“Of course. Here only two days and I miss them both like crazy.”
“You don’t come home to Chicago enough, Harper.” Maureen bustled down the hall, wiping her hands on her green checked apron. “You should persuade that man to move here, the way Mallory did after he married Amy.” Amy was one of McKenna’s close friends. She’d met a man from Savannah, who eventually bought a home in Oak Park so it would be easy to visit her folks.
“Mallory’s move was temporary. Cameron’s work is in Savannah, Mom. And now mine is too.” Harper swung one arm across Amanda’s shoulders. “Besides, there are already way too many Kirkpatricks up in the Windy City. We have to spread out.”
Maureen gave Amanda a sound kiss on the cheek. “This is your party, mother-to-be, but you certainly didn’t have to come out on a day like this.”
“Oh, I wanted to be here to help!” Amanda had been dreaming of this baby shower for a long time. Was this a miracle or what? “Looks like you’ve outdone yourself with the decorations.”
Blue crepe paper twirled in long loops around the living room, including the Christmas tree. A large stork commanded the front window, with blue paper baby booties set on every flat surface.
Such outrageous flaunting. Uneasiness tempered Amanda’s excitement.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Harper gave her one more hug and then went back to decorating.
But McKenna pinned Amanda with one of her x-ray looks. “Anything wrong?”
So it showed? “Just tired, I guess. Be glad when Christmas break starts.”
“When is your last class?”
“Tuesday and I can’t wait. The kids are bouncing off the walls.”
