Angels in Pink: Holly's Story (Lurlene McDaniel (Mass Market)) by Lurlene McDaniel Page A

over.”
    He touched her hand. “Honey, it has nothing to do with the work. I really don’t think your mother can stand to see all those decorations— all the stuff you and your brother made for our trees when you were kids. She’s not up to it. And I’m not sure I am either.”
    Dismayed, Holly sorted mentally through the collection of old ornaments. She and Hunter used to have contests to see which of them could make the prettiest or the most unusual items for the family Christmas tree. And Evelyn had supervised so much of the crafting—stained-glass baubles made with specially colored sand baked in the oven, felt reindeer and wreaths, glitter-covered stars and angels—every item held a memory. And naturally, there was the crèche. They had worked on that as a family over the years, sanding bisqueware, painstakingly painting the pieces and taking them to be kiln-fired, turning them into the Holy Family, shepherds, wise men, angels and a barnyard full of animals. It was Hunter and Holly’s job to set up the crèche every year on the credenza in the family room. They usually dressed the surface with angel hair, a few fake palm trees and a wooden cutout of a stable and manger Hunter had made. It had been a family tradition, and now it was being taken away.
    “Where will we go?” Holly asked.
    Her father brightened. “A ski lodge in upper New Hampshire. I checked it out on the Web and had the place send brochures. I’ll show them to you.”
    “We don’t ski.”
    “It doesn’t matter. It’ll be a real change for us. Don’t you think a white Christmas would be fun?”
    “Tons,” she said without expression.
    “I’ll get the brochures. The place is really nice. You’ll see.” He stood, but she caught the sleeve of his shirt.
    “Dad, is Mom going to be okay?”
    He looked down at her, his expression switching from eager-happy mode to confused sadness. “I hope so, baby. She just needs some time.”
    Holly’s heart thudded. There was so much she wanted to say to her dad, so many questions she wanted to ask. Their world had turned savage and dark, and now all the things she had been taught to believe in seemed fanciful and shallow. As she looked up at him, at the tired lines in his face, her throat closed up. She let go of his sleeve. “It’ll be fun to see snow,” she said, because she knew he needed to hear it.
    “Maybe your dad’s right, though. Getting away might be good for your family,” Kathleen said.
    Holly had gone to Kathleen’s to tell her the news. School was out for the holidays, and without the usual Christmas preparations, Holly had nothing to do except pack a suitcase. It didn’t help that Kathleen’s house was gaily decorated.
    “I guess,” Holly said. “Sometimes I think things will never be normal again.”
    “What’s ‘normal’ anyway?”
    “They don’t even gripe at me anymore. I feel invisible.”
    “What about you and Chad? How’s that going?” Kathleen changed the subject.
    “We’ve gone to a couple of movies together.”
    “Want to double with me and Carson over the break?”
    “We won’t be back until New Year’s Day, then it’s back to school.”
    “We can still double sometime.”
    “I’m not sure I want to date Chad.”
    “Why? I thought you liked him.”
    “I do. But I feel sorry for him too.” Holly picked at the fringe on a Christmas pillow beside her on the sofa. “I’m not sure I want to get mixed up with a guy who is probably going to die before long.”
    Kathleen looked startled. “You don’t know if that’s going to happen to Chad. Some CF patients live a long time, what with all the new drugs and stuff.”
    “Like I want to wait around for the other shoe to drop. Why start caring for him in the first place? Where’s the smarts in that?”
    Kathleen said nothing, so Holly assumed she’d gotten her point. Across the room, the lights of Kathleen’s tree twinkled. Holly had never felt less like facing Christmas. Maybe she’d take a