Some Christmas, she thought. Neither of them could converse with the other. He resented being there, and she—she had to smile wryly at her predicament—she, who wanted no commitments, had saddled herself with this little savage for the duration of the holidays. She shouldn’t have been so impulsive. She had already spent a lifetime paying for her impulsive marriage. Would she never learn? She forked the last piece of chicken from the frying pan, wondering just how she was going to entertain the child. Hiking? One could only hike so much. Camp-outs? Too chilly now. Besides, he would have to build the fire, and she would bet he would be just stubborn enough to sit there until their faces turned blue. The front door suddenly opened. Robert was hitting the road already! “Damn!” she muttered and dropped the fork, heading for the living room at a run. She came up short to find Cody standing in the doorway, his hand resting on Robert’s shoulder. Slowly, purposefully, Cody shut the door behind him.
