Christmas Karol by Faith Moore

Author:Faith Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781956007305
Publisher: DW Books
Published: 2023-08-13T16:37:50+00:00

“That was the moment things started to change, wasn’t it?” The little girl was kneeling up on the futon, craning her neck to try to meet Karol’s eyes where she sat on the floor against the wall. “Just a tiny bit but, after that—after what Beau said—you started to . . .”

“Pull away,” Karol whispered.

“Uh-huh.”

“He didn’t understand,” Karol said, her cheek still on her knees. “He didn’t get what I was doing. Why I suddenly had to do all this. He wanted me to quit. He thought we’d be fine without that giant salary. And I . . . I wanted to be sure. It was different being Fran’s guardian instead of just her sister. And that promise. I . . . I had to . . . and when he said that, I . . . I decided he wasn’t really on my side. That he didn’t really understand. It was all about keeping my promise.”

“But that wasn’t the promise she wanted you to make. Beau was right. That wasn’t what she meant.”

Karol’s head snapped up and she pressed her palms against her forehead. “I didn’t know that. And besides, I still think . . .”

“And after a while it wasn’t even really about your promise, was it? After a while it just became easier. Easier than . . .”

The screen lit up again.

~ ~ ~

The door to the brownstone in Park Slope flew open and Annabel—now nearly four—rushed out onto the front stoop. Her hair was shoulder-length—still blonde but no longer riotously curly—held back from her face by a red velvet headband. She wore the clothes she’d been in at preschool—jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt with ruffled sleeves and pink and purple hearts. She hadn’t stopped to put on her shoes. She stood in her purple socks, hugging herself against the cold.

“Mommy!” She jumped up and down, grinning.

Karol was coming down the block. She wore a long white cashmere coat over a tan tailored pantsuit. Her feet, in navy blue stilettos, clicked smartly against the sidewalk. She carried a slim beige briefcase in one leather-gloved hand. Her expertly straightened hair hung down her back, one lock pulled forward over her shoulder. She looked up when she heard Annabel’s voice. She smiled a perfectly lipsticked smile.

“Hi Annabel!” she called out. “Aren’t you cold?”

“Yes!” Annabel said, grinning.

“Well let’s get inside then!”

Karol clicked up the steps and crouched down—awkwardly in her high heels—to hug her daughter. Annabel grabbed for Karol’s hand and they went inside together.

A rush of warm air enveloped them as they came inside and closed the door. “Baby It’s Cold Outside” was playing from the speakers in the kitchen. The smell of cookies wafted to them down the hall. An ache opened in Karol’s chest and she wished, for a moment, that she could skip past all this—the music and the cookies and the tree and the presents. Christmas hadn’t felt the same since her mother died. Her mind flicked back to her to-do list. To the new client she’d just brought on—her fifth.

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