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“Whatever it is, I trust Dad to do the right thing.” Bailey rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Leave it to Sophie…. Now she was worried again. Their father was smart—she hoped. Deep down, she couldn’t believe he was involved with Danielle. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more certain she was. He might have brought Danielle with him, but from the moment he arrived Kent only seemed interested in Beth. Danielle was far more attached to her cell phone than she was to their father.

“Mark my words, Dad doesn’t care about Danielle,” Bailey insisted in a confident voice.

Sophie sighed loudly. “I wish I could believe that.”

“Maybe we should help him along.”

“Bailey, no!”

“No?”

“No,” she repeated. “If we step in now, it’ll just complicate everything. Dad has to do this on his own. Otherwise, we’ll sabotage the whole reconciliation.”

Bailey slowly absorbed her sister’s words. Although Sophie was younger—and not studying psychology—she could occasionally be really smart. “Have you ever thought of going into diplomacy? You’d be great.”

“You think so?” Sophie loved getting compliments.

Well, everyone did, but her sister was so transparent. She made no effort to hide how much she enjoyed hearing nice things about herself. Bailey could almost see Sophie’s self-congratulatory little smile.

“Trust me,” Bailey said, returning to the subject at hand. “Mom and Dad are going to remarry. I can feel it.”

“Well…we can wish.”

“Oh, come on,” Bailey urged. “Believe it.”

“You really buy into that positive thinking idea, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Bailey concurred. “And you should, too.” In her opinion, it would go a long way toward raising Sophie’s spirits.

“I’ll consider it,” Sophie said.

Pulling the sheet and blanket up over her shoulder, Bailey shifted onto her right side, her back to her sister. Despite Sophie’s pessimism, Bailey believed with all her heart. She remembered the look her parents had exchanged in church that night. The look of love, of regret and the promise of reconciliation.

Tomorrow morning, when it was Christmas, the biggest and best present wouldn’t be under the tree. It would be the fact that her parents still loved each other and wanted to remarry.

On Christmas Day, they’d finally acknowledge their feelings, and the rest of their lives would begin.

Bailey was sure of it.

Chapter 18

“Merry Christmas,” Bruce Peyton whispered as he drew Rachel into his arms.

Smiling, Rachel arched her back and yawned. “Is it morning already?”

“It sure is. I’ve got coffee brewing and Jolene’s up.”

Rachel turned her head to look at the clock. “Bruce, it isn’t even eight.” She could easily have slept another hour. Or two.

“I know, but Jolene’s anxious to get to the presents.”

With some effort, Rachel sat up. She was noticeably pregnant now and the baby was more active every day. Thankfully the worst of the morning sickness had passed.

The pregnancy had been unplanned and Jolene, her thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, hadn’t yet adjusted to her father’s remarriage when she was forced to deal with the news about the baby. The marriage itself had resulted in a difficult transition for the girl, but the pregnancy complicated everything that much more.

Her relationship with Jolene had grown tense. The stress became too much for Rachel and eventually she felt she had no choice but to move out of the family home. Only recently—just weeks ago—had she returned.

The counseling sessions had helped a great deal and they were learning to coexist and work together as a family. Rachel was excited about spending Christmas with her husband and stepdaughter. She and Jolene had planned the dinner menu together and they’d spent most of yesterday in the kitchen, preparing vegetables and side dishes and dessert.

During the afternoon they’d also made a breakfast casserole to put in the oven Christmas morning while they opened gifts. And Jolene had baked her first cinnamon rolls from scratch. Rachel hadn’t told her, but this was her first experience, too.