Page 48 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
19
CALLUM
“Dad!”
Two bony little knees pressed into my chest. I grunted and cracked open one eye to see Asher on top of me. His hair was a wild mess from sleeping, and his smile was huge.
“Dad! Wake up!” He began bouncing, driving his knees down into my chest with more force.
“Oh God,” I groaned, rolling over and wrapping my arms around him in a bear hug. He giggled gleefully as I pulled him in tight and nuzzled my chin against his cheek. “Time to go back to sleep.”
“No!” Asher cried between giggles. He tried to wriggle out of my grip, but it was useless. He was stuck fast, and he knew it. He struggled anyway. This was one of our favorite games.
Asher tugged wildly at my arm until he tuckered himself out. Then he lay still and drew his knees up to curl up against my chest as he caught his breath. “Lina is downstairs already.”
“Is she?” I asked.
He nodded. “She’s making breakfast. It’s a mess down there, Dad.”
I had a flashback to Lina cooking in my father’s kitchen when we were seventeen. She’d been wearing one of my sweaters and a pair of leggings. She managed to dirty every bowl and cooking utensil just making pancakes. I winced. “I can only imagine. Come on. Let’s get up. I’m going to shower, and then we’ll go have breakfast. Keep her company while I’m washing up?”
“Okay,” Asher said.
“Okay.”
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
Asher was quiet for a couple seconds. I could practically hear him thinking. “Isn’t it bad that we’re lying to Lina?”
I couldn’t help the swell of pride that filled me. “It’s temporary, Ash. And this is a special circumstance. Lina can’t remember who she is. And we are the ones who have to be there for her and help guide her back to her memories. Does that make sense?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. When the time is right, I will explain everything to her. But in the meantime, we just have to be as honest as possible. If you don’t know, come to me, okay?”
“Okay.” We lay still for another minute. Asher cleared his throat. “Dad?”
“Yeah, kiddo?”
“You have to let me go if you want me to go see Lina.” I chuckled and let him climb free of my arms. He jumped down off the bed and padded to the door. “Hurry up! I want to go tree shopping!”
He tore off down the hall, and I fell back down on my back, running my hands down my face, and stared up at the ceiling as I let out a big sigh. “All right, Cal. You can do this.” I clapped my hands together, rolled out of bed, and made my way to the shower.
After my shower, I got dressed and made my way downstairs. Lina was in the kitchen with Asher, who was sitting at the island watching her cook up a storm. He looked positively mind blown. The entire sink was overflowing with dishes.
I ran my fingers through my wet hair and looked around. “What are you cooking up in here that smells so good?”
Lina turned from the stove and smiled at me. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a loose braid. She had no makeup on, and her skin was bright. She looked healthy, like herself. She was wearing blue jeans and a long-sleeved black turtleneck sweater. “Well, we have eggs, bacon, and French toast in the works. I also chopped up some fresh fruit which is on the table. I was going to make a batch of cookies for later while we decorated the tree, but I lost track of time.”
“And dishes,” I said.
Lina looked around at her mess. “Yes. Things got out of control a lot faster than I expected.”
I laughed. There was fresh coffee in the pot, so I helped myself to a mug and offered to help her cook. She refused and told me breakfast was almost ready. A short few minutes later, everything was being put on plates, and we were taking our seats.
It was delicious. I’d give her that. I didn’t remember her being this good of a cook when we were young.
