More Than Once by Elizabeth Briggs Page A

with me. After that…I’m not sure.”
    “She’d be a fool to only want one,” Trish said, and I couldn’t hide my smile.
    “But why would you do this?” Matt asked. He was a quiet one, but he watched me now with suspicious eyes. “We let you spend Christmas with us. You even stayed in our house. Under the same roof as our daughter. Why?”
    “I did it because I care about Becca and—”
    “It’s okay,” Trish said, taking Matt’s hand. “I knew who he was when I asked him to stay. He and Becca met back in California before she moved here. They have a…history.”
    “Patricia, you knew about this, too?” David asked as Evelyn drained her mimosa, her hand shaking.
    Trish shifted in her seat. “I did, but cut Becca some slack. She’s worked hard since moving to Dallas to show you that she’s changed.”
    “But has she changed?” Evelyn asked, waving her empty glass. “She can’t seem to keep a steady job
or
a steady boyfriend!”
    "Her job was the worst," Trish said. “And why does it matter who she’s dating? Her entire worth isn’t wrapped up in the man she’s with.”
    “Well, of course not,” David said.
    Trish’s face took on the fierceness I’d glimpsed before in her sister. “Is it any wonder she lied when you’ve put so much pressure on her to find the perfect guy and settle down? She’s completely changed herself to be exactly what you want, and yet she still can’t get you to help her go after her dreams.”
    “Trish,” Matt said, his voice uneasy.
    She glanced at her husband and yanked her hand from his, and I got the feeling she was speaking about more than just Becca. “It doesn’t matter who she’s dating. You should help her because she’s your daughter and she’s trying to make her life better and she can’t do it without your support.”
    Trish stood and walked out of the room, and Matt sighed and followed her a moment later. Hannah continued to play her game, completely lost in her own world. David and Evelyn just looked horrified and confused by both of their daughters’ actions.
    Probably time for me to get out of here as well. I scooted my chair back and stood. “I’m sorry that I lied to you both, and I’m very thankful for your gracious hospitality. For what it’s worth, I think Becca is an amazing woman, and I know she just wants you to be proud of her. I’ll see myself out, but I hope you have a merry Christmas.” I gave them all a quick nod, then gathered up my things from the guest room before letting myself out.
    Becca was outside, curled up on a bench on the front porch, shivering and staring off into space. With her knees drawn up to her chest, she didn’t look like she wanted company, but I couldn’t leave her like this. I ducked back inside and grabbed a white, fuzzy blanket off the guest bed we’d both slept in. When I returned to the front porch, I draped the blanket over her shoulders, tucking it around her. She barely seemed to notice.
    As I sat beside her, I saw she was gripping her phone tightly. I rested my hand on her knee and gave her a slight, reassuring squeeze. “I’m sorry your parents are upset, but it was good that you told them the truth.”
    “Yeah.” She sighed, finally registering that I was there. “You were right all along. I should have been honest with them from the beginning.”
    “Maybe, but you did the right thing in the end. I think they’ll come around soon.”
    She nodded, but she seemed distracted. Her eyes kept flicking to the phone still clutched in her hand.
    “Is there something else bothering you?” I asked.
    She hesitated, but then shook her head and shoved the phone in her jeans. “No, nothing.”
    I waited a moment longer to see if she would reveal anything else, but for once, she didn’t seem to want to talk to me. I missed the Becca who had shared so freely with me before, but I could tell she was hurting and I wasn’t going to push her.
    “You’re cold,” I said. “Come here.”
    She