Final Score by Taylor James

Author:Taylor James [James, Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-31T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

As much as I might act indifferent to the holidays, Christmas is my favorite time of year. Between the lights, the music, and the overall atmosphere, it brings me joy. Though I wouldn’t let anyone in my personal life find that out.

My mother has made Christmas an entire production year after year for as long as I can remember. We spend Christmas Eve baking sweets, watching our favorite holiday movies, and going to a midnight mass service at our local church. Christmas morning would be organized chaos. Full of presents, a large breakfast, helping at the firefighters’ local toy drive, then an evening swim on the beaches of Southern California. As kids, my brother Trey and I used to hate volunteering at the toy drive, but this year I’m looking forward to it.

Maybe it’s Kat’s influence, but I want to make this holiday memorable. Not just for myself but for my family, too. I hate knowing that she’s spending Christmas alone. Well, not alone since she’s spending it with Fallon and her family but without her mom. Having one parent missing during the holidays is hard enough, but spending it without either, I couldn’t imagine.

It’s those memories that run through my head, filling me with nostalgia as the cab pulls up to my parents’ bungalow style home. The tan house blends into lush gardens, with pink flowers lining the entryway and a large tree in the middle of the yard. I had fallen off that tree one summer after Trey dared me to climb to the highest branch, breaking my arm at the age of 9. Mom had been furious. ‘The trouble twins’ she had called us from then on, despite Trey being five years older than myself.

Smiling at the thought, I grab my bags from the back of the cab before tipping the driver. After finding a last-minute connecting flight, I was three hours ahead of my scheduled arrival. I haven’t seen my family since last Christmas, and at Mom’s request, all her children would be under one roof this year.

I texted Kat to let her know I had arrived safely as I walked inside the house.

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