Adam had followed her into the next room. ‘All the girls helped decorate. They’ll be disappointed they didn’t get to see your reaction.’
Meredith frowned. ‘Where are the girls?’ She’d run straight into the living room after spying the tree through the window when they’d come through the front gate. She just now realized how quiet it was. The house was never this quiet.
She caught the glint in Diesel’s eyes just before Adam turned her around, so that she faced back into the living room, which had suddenly filled with people.
‘Merry Christmas!’ they all shouted, and that fast she was surrounded by Mallory and all the girls who lived at Mariposa House. Adam rushed to Meredith’s right side, making himself a barrier between her and anyone who didn’t remember that her arm wasn’t completely healed and tried to hug her.
‘This is amazing. You girls did a wonderful job!’ Meredith sniffed and smelled cookies. ‘You guys even baked for me?’
‘No,’ Mallory said. She’d started GED school right after New Year’s and was doing so well. They were all proud of her. Although Meredith still did a double-take whenever she saw her. Inspired by how different she’d looked with a wig, Mallory had dyed her hair and learned valuable makeup skills from Kate. It gave her confidence a boost, made her believe she could walk down a street and not be recognized as who she used to be – a victim.
Which made Meredith so happy she could cry.
‘We don’t bake,’ one of the girls said. ‘Miss Wendi always bakes the cookies.’
‘Except when I have help,’ Wendi called, coming through the kitchen doorway with a big tray of holiday cookies. She was followed by Kendra, Bailey, Scarlett, and Delores, with Faith and Kate bringing up the rear, each carrying a tray of goodies. ‘Parrish?’
‘We’re coming!’ Parrish called back from upstairs. He clomped down the stairs, dressed in a Santa suit, with a fake beard and a sack of presents over his shoulder. He was followed by all the partners and husbands, each carrying something useful – another sack of presents, a boombox, a karaoke machine (um, no, Meredith thought), a video camera, and . . . a dog?
Stone O’Bannion was carrying a young yellow lab, who looked perfectly at home in his arms.
Meredith recognized the dog right away. ‘Mac.’ She looked over her shoulder at Adam who was watching the dog happily. ‘Are we taking him home today?’
Adam nodded. ‘I finished fixing the fence last night. He won’t be able to escape.’ He’d chosen the dog at Delores’s shelter two weeks before – or the dog had chosen him would be more accurate – but the fence around Meredith’s backyard hadn’t been tended in years and it had had some weak places. Now that the fence was whole, they could take the dog home.
‘You named him Mac?’ Mallory asked.
‘Actually it’s Mac-N-Cheese, for the crayon color,’ Meredith told her. ‘We figure no matter what dogs we get in the future, they’ll always have crayon colors to name them.’
‘I picked a dog too,’ Mallory confided. Meredith knew that she’d been out at Delores’s several times a week, scouting all the new arrivals for a good fit. ‘She’s small, like a toy poodle size, but she’s a mutt. Dolores says I can work at the shelter to earn money for her food, and Wendi says she can sleep in my bed if I keep her clean. She’s so soft and she cuddled up in my arms and went to sleep. And my new therapist says if I get her certified as a therapy dog, I can bring her to school with me, in case I have a panic attack.’
Meredith gave her a one-armed hug. ‘It sounds like you’ve got a plan. Let’s go say hi to everyone.’ Because Adam had already hurried over to Stone to claim his dog. The two had bonded from the first moment and it was simply lovely to see.
Dani Novak came in the front door, closing it quickly behind her. ‘Sorry I’m late. I got delayed at the clinic.’ Mallory took her coat, revealing the delicate lacy shawl draped around Dani’s shoulders and Meredith did another double-take. Because she’d seen that shawl before – on Diesel’s knitting needles as he’d kept vigil with her and her family during that difficult week after Christmas.
‘This is beautiful,’ Meredith said, touching the lace after giving Dani a hug. ‘Where did you get it?’
‘It was the weirdest thing. It was in a wrapped box on my desk chair in the clinic. Had my name on the label, but nothing to say who it was from. It is so soft. And the color is perfect – the black with white streaked through it.’ Just like Dani’s hair. ‘I just love it.’
She should, Meredith thought. Diesel had worked damn hard on the thing. Meredith looked across the room to where Diesel was helping Colby give gifts to the younger girls, who were thrilled to be getting presents for the second time in two months. Diesel met Meredith’s eyes, his pleading her to silence and she sighed. Sooner or later something would happen to shove the two together.
Meredith just hoped it wasn’t a murder. Or murders. Because Wyatt Hanson had taken nearly twenty lives in a single weekend before Adam had ended his life. God only knew how many others he’d killed over the years. Others like Paula.
‘Well, it’s a gorgeous shawl,’ Meredith told Dani. ‘Whoever made it obviously knows you well. Hey, have you heard from Linnie lately?’ she asked, because it had looked like Dani wanted to ask what she’d meant by knows you well.
Dani’s smile lit up her face. ‘Linnie is doing well. The folks up in Chicago found her a doctor right away and she’s been taking her meds. She’s not having any side effects and she’s gained a little weight. I don’t talk to her, but Shane says she’s looking into being a social worker. She wants to do better than the caseworker in Indianapolis who betrayed them.’
‘Well, she’s set the bar pretty low,’ Meredith said wryly. ‘I think Linnie can do far better than that. But I’m happy that she’s doing so well.’ She tucked her arm through Dani’s. ‘Let’s go mingle.’
They found Wendi, who looked pleased as punch at the surprise she’d pulled off. ‘I didn’t suspect a thing,’ Meredith told her. ‘How did you manage it?’
‘It was mostly Adam,’ Wendi said with a smile. ‘I didn’t know there was such a good guy under all that bitter broodiness.’
Dani sighed. ‘I kept telling you. But he had to prove it himself. I’m so glad he did.’
‘Me too,’ Meredith said. She caught Adam’s eye because he’d been watching her, Mac lying peacefully at his feet. She gave him a look that promised future reward, shivering when his eyes darkened. She turned back to her friends, finding them smiling smugly, like they knew exactly what she was thinking. ‘I think he’s won everyone over,’ Meredith said, pretending like they weren’t right, and that she wasn’t imagining them home in her bed. But they just grinned and she knew she’d been busted. Still she pressed on. ‘Bailey and Ryan like him. Alex and Daniel seemed to too, and Papa has adopted him.’ Which was a good thing, because Adam’s father continued to be horrible and his mother either hadn’t tried or hadn’t succeeded in getting away to visit her son. Even on Christmas Day. ‘I just wish we could have had more time with my family before they all had to go home.’
‘You wish that?’ Wendi said.
Meredith frowned. ‘Of course I do.’
‘Good.’ Wendi raised a toy horn to her mouth and blew. Everyone went silent, almost as if it were a prearranged signal, Meredith thought suspiciously.
Her suspicions were proven when the kitchen door opened again and Alex, Daniel, and Clarke pushed into the already crowded room. Meredith’s mouth fell open and Alex laughed. ‘Did you think we could miss your Christmas?’ she asked, hugging Meredith’s left side as Daniel kissed her cheek.
‘You look so much healthier,’ Daniel said.
‘You got some meat back on your bones,’ Clarke said jovially. He looked behind him, stretching out a hand for the tall, slim woman who’d followed him in.
‘Sharon,’ Meredith said warmly, greeting her grandfather’s new girlfriend. ‘You two look disgustingly tan.’ The Florida sun was good for them. ‘How did you all get here?’