Page 294 of Screwged for Christmas

“You grew up running that place. We all did in some way. You can do this with your hands behind your back. And it is Christmas, right? The season of miracles? Or do I have it all wrong all these years? Being in Dixen can’t be all that bad. You need some time to yourself. Figure out what you really want to do. This is your chance.” His tone, the familiar older-brother-knows-best tone grated on her nerves as much as it made her want to tell him everything. Infuriating, really.

A couple of seconds passed before she answered. “Gran said something similar. And miracles? Where were the miracles when my house was on fire? I don’t know. Do you think maybe Christmas miracles are for children? Seems irresponsible holding out hope everything will work out on its own. It’s just that I can’t fix my life from here, Jon.”

What she didn’t say was that she couldn’t do it this close to Aspen.

A wave of fiery tears stung the backs of her eyes as she fought them off with her thumb and forefinger pressed into the bridge of her nose.

“This coming from a woman with Neve as her middle name. Such little faith. Miracles, faith, fate, whatever you want to call it…no one is too old to believe.”

“Like you, for example. You’ve worked through every holiday since…” Ivy cut off, not wanting to dredge up the past and stick her foot in her mouth.

“It’s okay. You can say it. Since I lost Heather.”

“I’m sorry.” Now she really wanted to smack her forehead with how insensitive she’d been. Heather was her brother’s wife and her best friend. They’d both loved winter and when Heather had insisted on a Christmas wedding, the whole Winters family did everything possible to make it happen. It had been spectacular. For their one-year anniversary, Jon had gifted Heather with her dream vacation with a trip to the Alps. No one was prepared for the tragedy that struck. Heather died in a freak skiing accident after a blow to the head in a fall. Now Jon avoided Christmas and it worried her how alone he must feel this time of year.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m the perfect example but follow my words not my example and all that crap.”

Ivy followed Jon’s lead and stayed away from taking the conversation deeper into the topic of Heather. “It’s not my fault I’d rather skip Christmas. It’s—”

“Oh, wait. I know this one. It’s the Ivy Effect,” he finished for her, not amused. “Yeah, where have I heard that one?”

“It’s true and I’m sorry I don’t mean to sound so snarky. I’m just…” What the heck was she? Mad at her gran or just mad at how things took a one-eighty from her well-thought-out and detailed plan?

“You believe in something you made up when you were a kid more than miracles? Plus, what’s there to fix, sweetheart? You’re finally free from that self-absorbed douche face you called a fiancé and you’re better off for it. I never liked him anyway.”

Jon didn’t hold punches; she’d give him that. “You don’t like anyone so that voids your opinion.”

Jon chuckled over the speaker. “Not true. I like plenty of people. It just takes me a little longer to warm up to them than it does you, that’s all. I like you, don’t I? Our motley crew of siblings, though a couple of them push the limits. And speaking of friends, have you seen Aspen yet?”

The mention of Aspen’s name brought a rush of heat to her cheeks and she pressed the tips of her fingers into them to cool the burn. Had she seen Aspen yet? She basically eye fucked him on her front porch and kissed him once already.

“Oh, yeah. I ran into him today.”

“Is that a hint of happiness I hear?”

“Don’t even. I just broke up with someone. I’m not ready for a new romance with anyone, especially an old boyfriend.”

“Fiancé,” her brother corrected.

“Details! Besides, I’m on a man-hiatus.”

Jon’s deep laugh carried and she pulled the phone away from her ear. Well, he could laugh all he wanted, but she was on a full no-man strike and intended to keep it that way. “Is it strange that I don’t miss him? The man who must not be named, I mean.”

“Lewis. There’s power in a name, Ivy.”

“Lewis who?” She cut in dryly.

“Funny. The more you say it the less power it—he—will hold over you. He’s a graceless dickfaced coward who doesn’t deserve your kind heart, even if you are too nice for your own damn good. What kind of man dumps his fiancée using a text message while he’s out on a date with another woman? A pussy is who. I’m surprised you haven’t mailed him a festive package of shit yet.”

She mirrored her brother’s sentiments to the letter.

A mutual friend at the time had spotted him out that evening while she lost her home. “You heard about that?” she asked in a perfectly normal tone, unlike the freak show she had going on in her head of all the horrors bound to unwind between now and Christmas Day.

“Sweetheart.” He sounded as exasperated as she felt. “Everyone did. Juiper and Carol, in particular, have a few more ideas of how to serve up some cold-hearted payback. It took a while for Mom to talk them down when she realized Colden and I wouldn’t be the ones to rein their over-protectiveness at this time. You should have heard the colorful string of words they used to describe what they would do to Lewis and his shriveled dick if they ever saw him again.”

Their younger twin sisters and their brother were loyal no matter what and it made her heart ache less. “I might call them up just hear their plan. Colden should know better than to let the tornado twins rope him into their crazy schemes, though. I’ll thank them for what I am sure would have been excellent ideas next time I talk to them.”

“You should stop dodging their calls and they would tell you all the gritty details themselves. You might even like a couple of them. I know I did.”

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