Choosing Christmas (A Piper Anderson Novella) (Piper Anderson Series) by Stewart Danielle

Author:Stewart, Danielle [Stewart, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2013-10-31T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

 7 Days Until Christmas 

“Uncle Sean is coming home today,” Chris chimed as he tousled his son’s hair. “He’s really excited to see you.”

“And to meet Sydney?” Little Chris asked, looking over at the beautiful woman who’d become a constant presence in their home since the basketball game.

A large portion of the last two weeks had been spent in the kitchen as they tried hard to make some decent home-cooked meals. Some were completely inedible, others weren’t so bad. Then they’d all watch a movie or walk the neighborhood trying to decide who had the best Christmas light display while Sydney pretended not to participate.

“Yep, he’s really excited to meet Sydney, too. And he’s going to be helping us plan our special Christmas. We’re going to go buy some lights and decorations. Then we’ll cut down our tree. We only have a week and a half left to whip this place into shape. Santa won’t visit if we don’t have it looking like a winter wonderland.”

The snow had started falling that morning and hadn’t stopped. It was the most snow Chris and his son had ever seen, and they were both anxious to go out and play in it, but they were waiting for Sean. And, finally, the time had come; Chris was on his way out the door to get him.

The ride to Sugar Leaf rehab facility was far more nerve wracking than he imagined it would be. It seemed like an eternity since he’d seen his brother in any other state but disheveled. He wasn’t always high or drunk, but he was usually a mess. He tried to temper his high hopes with the statistics he had read about drug addicts and relapses.

The instant he opened the heavy glass door and saw his brother standing there, he ditched the sobering statistics and let the feeling of pride overtake him. His brother looked amazing. His normally matted and wild hair was cut short. He had gained some weight and looked healthy. The dark bags that had always been around his eyes were gone, his face glowing, made brighter by his smile.

Chris was walking quickly toward his brother, not for a minute self-conscious about how it might look to people watching. They embraced with a fierce thud against each other and both fought back the emotion welling inside of them. They hadn’t really had time to talk after leaving Edenville; Sean had gone right into the treatment facility because Chris knew if he didn’t put him in there immediately he would likely cave and not do it at all. They weren’t just celebrating Sean’s sobriety, his victory, but the freedom they had both won from a life they never intended on living.

“It’s so good to see you, bro,” Sean said, squeezing his brother even tighter.

“You look great, Sean, you really do. I’m so proud of you.” Chris choked out the last sentence. He’d been waiting years for his brother to give him a reason to say that, and Sean likely had been waiting equally as long to hear it.

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