“What do I get if I stay?” he asked.

My heart beat a little faster. “After you help me pump up TropiSanta, we can lie on the floor of the great room and watch the Christmas tree lights.”

“Yeah, I saw the lights. It’s a good thing I’m not prone to seizures.”

“Those are the very same lights I loved as a child. My mother carefully stored them for me, along with every Popsicle stick ornament I ever made. And from this day forward, they’ll be on every Christmas tree I erect, until my mother either moves to Alaska or forgets how much I loved them when I was four.”

“Too bad that woman never paid attention to what you loved or needed, isn’t it?”

I toasted him with my cup. All the little things I’d discounted, things as simple as saving Christmas lights, were beacons I couldn’t ignore. Arlie Gracey had been the mother I needed, no more or less.

“Has she told your father that you know who gave birth to you?” he asked.

I liked the way he’d phrased it. “At this point I don’t think she wants to mention Wendy to Dad. If it weren’t for his health and the holidays, he’d be rallying flocks of private investigators.”

“After watching your mother orchestrate the party, I’m more surprised that she hasn’t hired a dozen professionals.”

“I asked her to trust me a little longer.”

“And she’s buying it?”

“I don’t think she’ll be patient forever.”

“And the girls’ father?” He finished with the most obvious question. “Does Bryce really care what’s going on here?”

I’d gone over that in my head, with no clear result. “Bryce is infatuated with his job. What kind of man disappears for months at a time and leaves his family behind? Can I blame Wendy for not wanting to play second fiddle to a nuclear sub for the rest of her life?”

“To answer the first question, a man or woman in the military disappears for months. It’s part of the job. Nobody lies about that when you enlist.” Between high school and college, Teo had done a stint in the army as an MP, so he knew what he was talking about.

“That may be true, and Wendy knew Bryce’s life plan when she married him. But maybe reality was harder than she thought.”

“Has she ever complained that he’s away too much of the time?”

“When you’re with my sister, she makes you think her world is absolutely perfect.”

“A high pedestal to fall from.”

I was building a case against Bryce in my head, although I wasn’t quite sure why. Now I tried to be fair. “I’m assuming he misses the girls. I’ve sent reassuring emails with photos. But from his responses, photos and reassurances aren’t cutting it.”

“Have you considered he might make a surprise arrival?”

“Some part of me hopes he will. And then once we’re face-to-face, I can tell him the truth.”

“You’re ready to do that?”