Page 38 of The Lie That Stole Christmas
A humorless laugh slipped from him as he brought his eyes from the remains of his gingerbread house to his mother.“I wouldn’t know.I never met the man.”
“Consider yourself lucky.”
Another dreaded bout of silence descended upon the table.
Cole’s jaw tightened, lips curved into a sneer.“Because you had nothing to do with him taking off.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Why?Because the truth hurts?”He shoved the broken gingerbread wall aside.“Or because nobody can have a real conversation in this family.”
“Because you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Oh really.Then enlighten me, Mother.”
A simmering rage glowed behind Marilyn’s eyes as she glared across the table at him.“Some things are better left in the past.”
“Easy for you to say when it’s a past you know and I know nothing about.Just fucking tell me why you kept me from my own father.”
Marilyn pushed from her seat, the loud clatter of her chair falling to the floor, echoed through the deadly silent dining room.“We’re done here.”
She snatched the bottle of wine off the table and stormed from the room in one fluent motion.
Cole slammed back in his chair, his shoulders rigid with frustration.“She’s unbelievable.You see that?”He pointed toward the doorway Marilyn had disappeared through.
“Maybe it wasn’t the best time to bring it up,” Gabe said.
“Easy for you to fucking say when your father is sitting right there.”
Gabe’s lips parted, but before he could say anything, Dad beat him to it.
“Because I stayed, which is more than your father can say,” Dad said matter-of-factly.
Ashley’s eyes widened at her father’s words, shock flooding through her.Ashley hardly recognized this blunt honesty.Maybe holding back for so long, he was just done.Ashley couldn’t blame him.Maybe they all spent years pretending everything was fine.A Wetherby family tradition, really.That’s why Grandpa had finally unloaded on everyone at Grandma Lily’s funeral.Why Aunt Marilyn had hurled a bottle of whiskey at the wall when his words hit a little too close to home.
Aunt Marilyn rarely mentioned Cole’s father.Ashley had been too young to remember the man.All she knew were the random snippets mentioned over the years, but Cole had a right to know.
Dad picked up a couple of green gumdrops and stacked them like a tree against his house, then looked up at Cole.“So maybe stop acting like your mother is some horrible woman who kept you from your father and start realizing she did the best she could for you.”
Cole scoffed.“Of course you’re defending her.You’re her brother.You all stand up for each other even when you know the other one is being an asshole.”
Dad’s expression hardened; the easygoing warmth Ashley had always known disappeared.“The only asshole I see right now is you.”
This time Ashley’s gasp cut across the room.Dad hated confrontation.He’d spent Ashley’s entire childhood smoothing over arguments before voices could rise.It’s why he and Mom had worked for so long.He’d been the one willing to swallow his own feelings to keep the peace.
Cole shot up from his chair, glaring down at Dad.Dad didn’t budge, just focused on placing red and green hard candies along the perimeter of his gingerbread house.
Cole stood like a stone-cold gargoyle, staring and waiting.Ashley caught Taylor’s eye across the table; she bit her lip and shrugged.
Gabe’s gaze silently swung between Cole and Dad.Ashley waited for Gabe to jump in and take the lead, as he always did.He didn’t.For once he looked as confused as everyone else.If Gabe didn’t know how to fix this, maybe no one did.
“Cole.”Tori rested her hand on Cole’s shoulder, and he cut his glare toward her.
“What?”
“Let’s go get some fresh air,” she suggested.
His jaw tightened, his teeth clenched.“Fuck this.”His hand flew out, swatting his haphazardly built gingerbread house across the table.It crashed into Taylor's pristine two-story house with a thud, collapsing her structure.
