6 Mountain Brothers for Christmas

“Emily, leave her be,” Sean said firmly. “She’ll calm down.”

“She’s five,” I said softly, so Tommy wouldn’t hear. “Are you sure you want to let her rage like that? I can talk to her.”

“Leave her be,” he said again.

His eyes were set, and I knew there was no use arguing. I didn’t agree, but I didn’t have to. If this was how he wanted to deal with Sarah’s outburst, then that was that. I sighed and nodded, my shoulders slumping slightly.

“I just think I can help her,” I said.

“I’m sure you can,” Sean said, nodding in agreement. “Just not right now.”

“Okay,” I finally conceded.

Sean smiled and glanced behind him to make sure Tommy wasn’t paying attention. He leaned down and kissed me swiftly before he disappeared into his study. I sighed and returned to the table. Tommy finished eating, and I washed the dishes quickly. Sarah was still locked away in her room, throwing things around and screaming occasionally.

It took everything inside me not to march up the stairs and let her have it, but I knew Sean didn’t want that. He’d made his wishes clear, and I wasn’t in the position to challenge him, despite the fact that I wanted to.

When I was done cleaning the kitchen, Tommy and I headed upstairs to build a fort. We started in his room and made it so big that it extended all through the hall and into my room. By then Sarah had quieted down so I knocked on her door. When she poked her head out, her eyes flew wide at the sight of the fort.

Excited, she ran out to join us. Her attitude was gone, and in its place, was the sweet little girl I’d grown to know. Still, I didn’t want her to think it was okay to throw fits. While she played with Tommy, I watched silently and thought of a way to help her see why her actions were unacceptable. Everything I thought of would have upset Sean, so I stayed quiet and vowed to talk to him about it later.

***

“Hey, you,” I said, opening the door to Sean’s study and stepping inside. He was sitting behind his desk, typing away at his computer. “I brought you some lunch.”

He held up his index finger to silence me. I shut my mouth quickly and frowned. I didn’t appreciate being silenced, but I tried to be understanding. He was working hard and didn’t want any interruptions. I placed the food on his desk and turned around to leave. As I reached the door, I glanced over my shoulder.

He was still focused on his computer, not bothering to look at me or the food. I waited for a few seconds, hoping he would take a break and at least look at me. He didn’t. Finally, I gave up and stepped into the hallway.

***

Sean didn’t eat dinner with us that night. Instead, I brought him yet another plate of food which he ignored. I tried to engage him in conversation, but he was having none of it Eventually, I was forced to give up and retreat.

As I stepped into the hallway, my anger was building. I went upstairs to give Sarah her bath and tuck her in. She was in a much better mood than this morning, but every once in a while, she shot me a bold look that told me she wasn’t over my refusal to take to her to mall. I didn’t like the way she was behaving, but there wasn’t anything I could do. Sean basically forbade me from disciplining her.

When Tommy and Sarah were both asleep, I went downstairs. I wasn’t going to interrupt Sean again, but I also wasn’t ready to sleep. I thought I would sit in the living room and read, but when I got there, Sean was already seated in my usual chair.

His face was downcast, and he looked to be on the verge of tears. I walked over to him quickly, kneeling in front of him and taking his hands in mine.

“What’s wrong?” I asked softly. He ignored me. “Sean, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” he said without looking at me. His voice was flat and devoid of all emotion.

“Stop shutting me out.” I sighed. “Please, just talk to me.”

“I said it’s nothing,” he said, anger crossing his face. “Leave it be, Emily.”

His words felt like a slap to the face. I frowned and dropped his hands, finally sick of the way he was treating me. I stood up and shook my head slowly, preparing myself for a fight.

“Look,” I said boldly, spinning around to face him. “That’s enough.”

“What?” Sean asked, his eyes narrowed.

“You’ve been treating me like shit, on and off, for days now,” I said. “And I’ve had it. All I’m doing is trying to help you. I take care of the kids because—”

“That’s your job,” Sean said.

“Excuse me?” I snapped.