The Christmas Inheritance by Clarke Addison

Author:Clarke, Addison [Clarke, Addison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Delaney

A couple of days had passed since their eventful night in the barn, and Delaney still hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to Charlie about it. Either Sadie was around or Charlie was out on the farm, or Delaney was on a work call that she couldn’t end soon enough. And now they were all putting decorations on their new Christmas tree, which meant one more night they wouldn’t get to talk.

Not that Delaney knew what to say, anyway. Her mind had been a jumbled mess of thoughts since her hands had been all over Charlie’s body Sunday night in the barn. Delaney could still feel the way Charlie’s body felt in her arms and she was thankful the cup of hot chocolate was in her hands to disguise the blush on her cheeks. She adjusted her position on the couch as she tried to focus back on the decorating happening in front of her.

“What do you think of this ribbon, Mom?” Sadie held up a red and green plaid string of ribbon she and Charlie had purchased at the store earlier. She was wearing a red Mickey Mouse pajama set that matched the ones Delaney and Charlie were also wearing. It would have been easy for an onlooker to think they were a normal family decorating for the holidays. “It was this or burlap that was left, and we didn’t want burlap.”

“Can’t say I blame you there. I think this one is perfect for the tree.”

“You know,” Sadie turned her attention to Charlie, who was unraveling a string of lights near the fireplace, “we’ve never had a Christmas tree before.”

“What?” Charlie dramatically dropped the lights onto the floor as her mouth hung agape. She put her hands on her hips and glared over at Delaney. “You mean to tell me you have been depriving this sweet, precious child of a quintessential Christmas tradition?”

“Yeah, Mom. Sheesh,” Sadie played along with Charlie’s mock annoyance. “You’ve been depriving me all these years.”

“Oh, I don’t think I would call holidays in Europe a deprivation, my dear.”

“Europe? Wow.”

“Have you ever been?” Sadie asked.

“No, I haven’t. I’m not big on traveling. I’m more of a homebody.” There was a hint of sadness in Charlie’s voice, and Delaney wished she could take it away.

“So, how did you and my mom meet?”

Sadie’s question hung in the air between them as they stared at each other, frozen in time. Charlie methodically wrapped the string of lights around her arm as she walked toward the tree. With Sadie’s help, she stung the lights onto the tree while avoiding making eye contact with Delaney.

“We went to high school together, sweetie. I told you that.”

“Were you friends?”

“Sure.”

“Kinda.”

Sadie arched an eyebrow at them as she adjusted the lights on the tree with Charlie. Delaney had hoped her daughter had picked up on the fact they didn’t want to talk about their past, but alas. She was too much like her father and didn’t know when to stop asking questions.

“And you played softball together, right?”

Delaney involuntarily snorted a laugh.

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