How (Not) to Fall in Love(78)

“I’m keeping this one.” He grinned at me.

“I bet you have one just like it.”

“Nah. I never needed braces.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course you didn’t.”

A pile of wrapped packages spilled around the base of the tree. Just like on Thanksgiving, my heart overflowed with the love I felt from everyone. Lucas retrieved a small box wrapped in reindeer paper. He sat down next to me on the loveseat. “Open it,” he said.

I glanced around the room self-consciously but no one was watching us. “It’s not even Christmas yet.”

“Haven’t you heard of the twelve days of Christmas?” His eyes danced in the glow of the fire. “There’s more where this came from. Open it.”

“Okay.” I felt myself blushing with anticipation. I’d never had a present from a guy before, except for the stuffed Elmo my kindergarten crush had given me, then taken back at nap time.

I unwrapped the package slowly, savoring the moment. Inside was a tiny box that said “Build Your Own Stonehenge.” I flipped it over to see a picture of a tiny green mat and tiny stones, a miniature replica of the original henge in England.

“I hope it’s okay,” he said softly. “It made me think of you. And your dad.”

“It’s perfect,” I whispered. “Just like everything else tonight.”

He leaned over and kissed me softly on the cheek. I leaned against his shoulder, absorbing his warmth, wishing we could stay like that forever. But with everyone there, I knew it was time to tell them about my plan.

Mom and I had run the gauntlet and survived. We’d left our old life behind and were starting a new life together. But while I’d spent the past few days unpacking, I’d had a lot of time to think. And all I’d thought about was Dad. About all the signs and clues we’d missed. About the appearances he’d skipped last summer, or the ones where he showed up but dialed it in.

I’d remembered one day in the summer, hearing J.J. and Dad screaming at each other in Dad’s office and slinking away from confrontation rather than asking what was wrong. Holding the tiny Stonehenge model, I turned the box over and over in my hands. If the last few months had taught me anything, it was that I could deal with all kinds of crap, and survive.

“Hey, Pickles, come here sweetie.” She’d been lying on the floor with Toby, using him as a giant pillow. She scrambled over to me and I wrapped an arm around her. “I need to have a grown-up talk with everyone right now, so I’d like you to go play in my bedroom for a little while.” She gave me a sour look, earning her nickname. “I have some new beads, and a sparkly gold cord to string them on. You can make a Christmas necklace. Come on.”

Lucas’s penetrating stare hooked on me when I returned. “You all right, Shaker Girl?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Just do me a favor. I need you to rein in your inner Lancelot, okay?”

He frowned at me. “What?”

Ignoring him, I spread out my map on the coffee table as everyone stopped talking to watch me.

Mom set her mug down and worry creased her face. Charlie and Liz watched me with concern and curiosity. Lucas sat up straighter. I could practically feel him reaching for his imaginary sword. So much for reining it in.

There was silence for a few moments as everyone stared at the map. I’d marked all of Dad’s postcard locations with yellow post-its, and potential next stops with red stars.

“What is this?” Charlie asked.

“It’s Dad’s route, where he’s been so far.” I looked into his worried eyes. “And my best guess of where he’s going next.”

“No way,” Lucas said next to me, his words clipped and angry. “No freaking way. You are not doing this, Darcy.”

“Doing what?” Liz asked.

“Going on a damn rescue mission,” Lucas snapped. His nostrils flared and in spite of my frustration, I had to suppress a giggle because I could practically see him storming through his castle, barking orders.

“What?” Mom sounded panicked. “Rescue mission? Darcy, we’ve talked about this. Honey, you can’t do this. Not now. Not after we…” Her voice broke and she started to cry, making me feel terrible. But I couldn’t give up.

“See, this is exactly why I warned you to rein it in.” I turned on Lucas. “If you’d let me explain rationally—”

“I agree with your mom, Darcy,” Charlie interrupted. “You can’t possibly go off on some sort of crazy road trip based on random post—”

“This is why you wanted the truck fixed, isn’t it?” Lucas’s voice was low and angry. “How long have you been planning this?”

I looked into his stormy eyes, and knew I had to press on, no matter how upset he was.

“I can do it, Mom. I can find him. I know his path looks random, but he’s chasing clonehenges. I’m pretty sure he’s—”

“Pretty sure?!” Lucas exploded next to me. “You think you’re going to just hit the road and—”

I whirled on Lucas. “I told you about this before, Lucas. About my map. Why are you acting like this?”

“Because you think you don’t need anybody!” He was pissed. “You think you can fix everything by yourself.”