A Fool's Gold Christmas (Fool's Gold #9.5)(51)

“When I was a kid,” Heidi said, breaking the eggs over the bowl, “Christmas was a big deal. We had our extended, carnival family and planned out who would cook what. Someone took the turkey, someone else the potatoes and so on.”

“My holidays were quiet,” Annabelle said. “When my parents were together, they were fighting, and after they were divorced, they traveled.” She smiled. “Don’t feel bad. I liked when they were gone. I spent the holidays with my friends, and their parents felt sorry for me, so they went out of their way to make me feel welcome. It was like being a visiting princess.”

“I liked the holidays,” Charlie told them. “Especially when my mom was away performing. Then it was my dad and me.”

“So we’re all dysfunctional,” Evie said, keeping her tone light. “Except for Heidi.”

“Yes, but not to worry.” Charlie grinned. “No one likes her.”

“Cheap talk.” Heidi stirred the peanut butter into her cookie batter. “I know you all love me.”

As far as Evie could tell, no one else knew about Heidi’s pregnancy. She really was keeping it a secret until Christmas Eve when she told Rafe. Evie wasn’t sure why she’d been Heidi’s confidant, but she had to admit she liked knowing about the tiny life growing inside of her sister-in-law.

“What was Shane like when he was a kid?” Annabelle asked. “Any embarrassing stories you want to share? Something I can torture him with later?”

“He was in a band,” Evie told her. “When we moved to L.A. For about six months.”

“A band?” Annabelle leaned against the counter and sighed. “You’ve just given me the best gift ever. Did he sing?”

“I think he played bass and maybe sang backup.”

Charlie and Heidi both stared at her, their expressions expectant.

“And?” Charlie prodded.

Evie tried to remember what her brothers had done when they’d been younger. “Clay dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz one Halloween and Rafe crashed his best friend’s car the same day his friend got it as a gift.”

Heidi’s eyes widened in horror.

“It wasn’t a bad accident,” Evie added quickly. “Just a fender bender. Actually I think it was the fender that had to be replaced.”

“Thank goodness,” Heidi said. “If it was serious, I couldn’t tease him about it.”

“He was humiliated, not hurt,” Evie assured her.

While they’d been talking, Charlie had finished mixing the chocolate chip cookies and was putting spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. When she turned to put the trays into the oven, Annabelle picked up the spoon.

“I’m not supposed to eat raw cookie dough, right?” she asked. “It’s the eggs.”

Charlie pushed the cookie sheet onto the oven rack, closed the door and straightened, then grabbed the spoon from Annabelle’s hand.

“No, you’re not supposed to eat that.” She held up the bag of chocolate chips and shook it. A few rattled inside. “I saved you some.”

Annabelle smiled, then sniffed. “You’re so good to me.”

“I swear, if you cry, I’ll…”

“Yes? You’ll what? Hit me? Hit a pregnant woman? I don’t think so.”

“You’re so smug.”

“I know. It’s not as good as being tall like you, but I’ll take it.”

“They’re always like this,” Heidi told Evie. “They squabble and then they make up. I think it’s because they’re total opposites and yet completely alike.”

“That’s not possible,” Charlie said.

Evie studied the two of them. “I see what you mean.”

Heidi handed her a fork to start making the cross marks on the peanut butter cookies.

This time last year, Evie had been in Los Angeles, in her tiny apartment, working as a waitress and spending her Sundays as an L.A. Stallions cheerleader. She’d been pretty much on her own, with only a few friends she could depend on. This year everything was different. She was with her family, had new friends and was crazy in love.

Sure there were complications, but she had to admit, when comparing the two scenarios, her life had taken a turn for the better. The much better.

Chapter Sixteen

Evie stood on the stage in the high school auditorium and looked out at the rows of empty seats. With the upper-level seating, there were nearly eight hundred seats. That was a huge intimidation factor for her students, which was one of the reasons all their practices were now going to be here. They had to get used to the bigger stage and the—

Her cell phone rang.

“Hello?”

“It’s Gideon. Where are you?”

Evie frowned and glanced around at the empty auditorium. She and Gideon had a noon meeting to discuss the changes he wanted to make in the voice-over for the show. He was late. “I’m at the high school. Where are you?”

“At the convention center. The sound system sucks, by the way. I’ve already put a call into Mayor Marsha. She said I can bring in any equipment I like.” He chuckled. “She has no idea what she’s agreed to.”

“Why are you at the convention center?”

“Because that’s where the performance is.”