Noelle continued to load the dishwasher. “Mom, quit treating me like a guest in my own home.” The menial task gave her something to do. Furthermore, she hoped it would help take her mind off her disastrous meeting with Thom at the mall. She’d reviewed their conversation a dozen times and wished so badly it had taken a different course. Their second attempt at a relationship had staggered to a halt before it had really begun, she thought with regret as she rinsed off the dinner plates and methodically set them inside the dishwasher.

“Thank you, dear. This is a real treat,” her mother said, walking into the family room to join her dad.

Sarah had returned from her shopping trip in a subdued mood. Noelle didn’t ply her with questions, mainly because she wasn’t in a talkative mood herself. Even Carley Sue seemed to be avoiding the rest of the family. Except for dinner, her sister had spent most of the day in her room, first on her computer, and then wrapping Christmas presents.

As Noelle finished wiping the counters, her youngest sister entered the kitchen. Carley glanced into the family room where her parents sat watching television. Their favorite courtroom drama was on, and they seemed to be absorbed in it.

“Wanna play a game of Yahtzee?” Noelle asked. It was one of Carley’s favorites.

Her sister shook her head, then motioned for Noelle to come into her room. Carley nodded toward their parents, then pressed her finger to her lips.

“What’s going on?” Noelle asked, drying her hands on a kitchen towel.

“Shh,” Carley said, tiptoeing back toward her room.

“What?” Noelle asked impatiently.

Carley opened her bedroom door, grabbed Noelle’s hand and pulled her into the bedroom. To her shock, Thom stood in the middle of the room, wearing his overcoat.

“Thom!”

“Shh,” both Thom and Carley hissed at her.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered.

“When did you trade bedrooms with your sister?” he asked.

“A long time ago.” She couldn’t believe he was in her family’s home. Years ago, he’d come to the house and tapped on her bedroom window, and she’d leaned out on the sill and they’d kissed. Amazingly, her parents hadn’t heard—and the neighbors hadn’t reported him. “Why are you here?”

“I came to see you.”

Okay, that much was obvious. But she still didn’t understand why he’d come.

“It was a bit of a surprise to bump into your little sister.”

“I didn’t mind,” Carley said. “But he scared me like crazy when he knocked on the window.”

“Sorry,” Thom muttered.

“You said he broke your heart,” Carley said, directing her remarks at Noelle. “We threw popcorn at him, remember? At least, we thought it was him, but then it wasn’t.”