“Young lady, why did you attack Cannon?” he asked in that stern voice I disliked.
“H-he…” Fresh tears filled my eyes, and I felt my chin wobble. “He… He said Santa isn’t real.”
“Jesus Christ,” a voice boomed nearby. “Cannon, get your ass up. I swear to God, boy. I can’t take you anywhere without you causing some kind of trouble.”
“Cannon.” Aunt Dallas’s voice was full of anger and disappointment. “You promised you would be on your best behavior tonight.”
“I was being good,” he defended himself. “And then I tripped over that little brat because she was crawling on the floor like a little baby. Look at the mess she made me make!”
“So you told her—” Aunt Dallas broke off, and through my tears, I saw her press her lips together as her blue eyes drilled down into her son. “I’m so disappointed in you.”
“Big deal,” he mumbled, but I heard the strain in his voice. It did something weird to my tummy I didn’t like. “I’ll clean up the mess.”
“The mess isn’t the problem,” his dad snapped. Uncle Axton put his hand on Cannon’s shoulder and squeezed before guiding him toward the kitchen. “Did I raise you to be a heartless little asshole? Huh? Why are you this way with her? God, if I were a different person, I would whoop your ass, son.”
As Uncle Axton’s voice faded and Cannon started complaining, Daddy asked, “Is that why you attacked Cannon? Because Cannon said Santa isn’t real?”
“Mostly,” I mumbled, lifting my chin even higher.
“Whatever her reason, I’m sure he deserved it,” Shaw muttered as she and Violet walked by. “Did you see how badly his nose was bleeding?”
“Looks like the lessons Ric and Luca gave her paid off,” Violet said with a soft giggle that made me want to smile.
“I think we should go,” Mommy muttered to Daddy. “She’s obviously upset, and I guess we need to take her home and have a talk.”
Daddy’s face turned sad. “I thought we would have a few more years before we had to do this.”
“Me too,” Mommy whispered, her voice almost as wobbly as my own had been.
I didn’t like being sad, but I hated it when Mommy and Daddy were. My heart began to ache, and I looked at Daddy with big eyes. “Cannon was lying about Santa, right, Daddy?”
He shifted me in his arms so he could kiss my forehead. “Let’s walk home, angel face.”
That was when I knew.
Cannon hadn’t lied.
Santa wasn’t real.