Holiday in Holly Oaks

Chapter 12

Tallie skipped down the stairs the next morning, her steps feeling lighter than they had in a while. "Morning!" she sang to her parents as they greeted her from the kitchen table.

She grabbed a cup of coffee and was joining them at the table when their doorbell rang. Her parents looked at her curiously. She knew it must be Case and for a weird moment, she froze, realizing that she was still in her pajamas and her hair was a messy pile on the top of her head.

But the moment passed quickly when she reminded herself that Case had seen her looking a mess in her pajamas throughout high school.

"I'll get it," she said, and sure enough it was Case standing on their doorstep, looking way more put together than she did. He was wearing an old sweater and his favorite beanie.

"Hey," she said, nervous butterflies swooping through her stomach at the sight of him. The feeling was strange and she couldn't help but laugh. "This is weird right?"

"But in a good way?" he hoped, rocking nervously on his heels.

"Yes! Definitely good," she rushed to clarify, "it's just you're still you and I'm..."

"Looking fabulous in your pajamas as always," he teased. She reached out to slap him but he caught her arm and pulled her into a hug. She didn't fight it as she wrapped her arms around him.

She looked up at him, for the first time realizing how much taller he was than her. Even with him looking down at her, their faces were still inches away from each other. "

Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she said back, the nerves in her stomach settling into a peaceful, happy feeling.

"Is that Case?" her dad called from the kitchen.

They jumped apart like two guilty teenagers then laughed at their reaction. "Come on," she said, leading the way into her house.

"Good morning Case," her mom said as they entered the kitchen. "Would like some breakfast?"

"Good morning," he said, hugging her mom. "I just ate at my house."

"I made fresh scones," her mom added.

"Breakfast sounds great," he said, taking a seat next to her dad.

Tallie laughed and shook her head. There was an Irish scone recipe that had been passed down in her family for generations and they always made the scones around Christmas. No matter how full Case was he always had room for a scone. As Tallie's mom gave Case a fresh, warm scone Tallie slipped upstairs to get dressed.

The irrational part of her brain was telling her to search through her closet for her cutest sweater which would need the right shoes and a cute hairstyle. But the rational part of her brain reminded her it was Case she would be trying to impress.

He had already seen her at her worst and at her best. He knew what he was getting, so she pulled on a comfy sweater, her favorite pair of jeans, and threw her hair into a ponytail, barely looking in the mirror.

When she entered the kitchen, her parents were sitting at the table with Case discussing some legal case they had seen on TV. Case looked up when she entered and smiled. Tallie smiled back until she remembered they had two extra pairs of eyes watching them. She moved to refill her coffee, and grab a scone, but saw Case already had a scone waiting for her on the table.

"Thanks," she said, taking the last chair at the table.

Tallie could tell her parents would be happy to spend a while at the table talking with them but once the scones were gone Case was up. He cleared the dishes and pulled Tallie up from the table.