Irreplaceable
Chapter 17

The turkey smelled marvelous when Mia opened the door to her parent's house on Thanksgiving morning. But she knew it was going to be dry. Her mom had never made a good turkey. Even so, she always showed up and ate, and she always complimented her mom's cooking as any good daughter did. Her mom, Dotty, was busy in the kitchen with two of her sisters, Darcy and Kelsey. Both sisters' husbands were in the living room with her father, watching some sport. Both sisters now lived in Fargo and liked to talk about all the stuff they did all the time. Mostly just to annoy Mia. This year, her sisters, Bianca and Faith, weren't coming. They were going to see their husbands' families for the holidays. Kipling, the baby, was probably in her room, avoiding everyone. Mia wondered if her little sister wanted company. Waving at her dad, Roger, as she passed the doorway to the living room, she walked into the room with all the food. It was her favorite room, even when there were too many cooks in it, like today. Her parents still lived in the old farm house they had raised their girls in. And even if her old room now contained her mom's sewing stuff, it also had half the stuff she had left in it when she moved to town.

But she would leave it there. It was nice to know where it was when she needed it, if she needed it. So far, she hadn't, but you never know. Besides, then she didn't have to have it in her small apartment.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Mia," Dotty called to her. Her mom's cheeks were red from the heat of the kitchen and the activity of getting the meal ready. Mia hadn't been blessed with her mom's blonde hair or blue eyes, but she got her mom's wide hips and her red cheeks. Most of her sisters got the better qualities of their mom while Mia and Kipling were stuck as the brunettes like their dad.

"Happy Turkeyday, Mom." Smiling, she put her bag of wine bottles on the table. She brought four, but they would be gone before the turkey made it to the table.

"Mia, you came," Darcy said, as if Mia, who lived closest to their parents, would not be here.

"I did. No other offers," Mia half-joked.

"No boyfriend this year either?" Darcy said from behind the bowl she was mixing something in. Like every other year, her married sisters liked to point it out if she wasn't dating someone for the holidays, and she usually wasn't. "No, no boyfriend," Mia stated, biting her tongue to stop herself from saying that she did have a husband, he just wasn't there because they weren't exactly talking right now. Every few days she saw him, but she didn't talk to him. Their relationship was the exact same as before they got married.

So far, she had been able to keep every secret she had to keep from everyone. Even during book club after their trip when Mandy had commented that she looked tan-curse her ability to tan easy-after being sick in bed for days. She actually broke down and said she took an impromptu visit alone to Las Vegas, saying she just needed to get away from it all for a day or two. Everyone seemed to buy it, even if she didn't. After swearing everyone at book club to secrecy, she hadn't slipped again.

"Maybe next year," Kelsey stated, and then she gave Darcy the look. You know the one that said how pathetic she was to not have a boyfriend or husband at almost thirty.

Mia ignored the comment and started arranging place settings around the big table. It took some time with all the people who would be there for the meal, even if some of the sisters were missing. Over the years, the once-close sisters were getting more distant. Or maybe it was just her who was feeling the distance. The others all had husbands and offspring, but she was single still. Only her baby sister Kipling was also single, but she was in college, so she was forgiven by the middle four. But Mia knew Kipling's day would

come.

Mia felt closer to her cousins, Dotty's kids, than her sisters. She had always been close to Julia because they were the same age, but these days, she was way closer to Mandy, who was a part of book club and lived next door. Even if Mandy was six years older than her, it didn't feel like it.

"Mia, did you hear who bought the Baker place?" her mom asked from across the room.

"No, I hadn't heard it was sold." Mia's heart sank a little. Her house was gone. Her old wish was that Ruth bought it to live in. Then she could visit, probably every two weeks. But now it was in someone else's hands, and she would never see the inside. "I heard it was Rafferty Brooks," her mom said in a whisper. It must have been heard from a secret source, which was probably her sister.

"Why would he buy it? Doesn't he have a house in town?" Mia asked her mom. His house was a little ranch on the edge of town. Mia had driven by it a few times over the years just to see. And maybe once or twice during the last few weeks-not to check up on her spouse, though.

"He sold his house to buy this one. Maybe he wanted a nicer one. He just had a little one on Kinley. Maybe he met someone, someone special this time," her mom told Mia's sisters.

Mia arranged the silverware on the place setting she was working on a little too long. Rafferty had stolen her house. Or the house she wanted Ruth to raise her baby in. How could he? He didn't even know which one it was when they talked about it. This was crazy. "Wasn't that your favorite house in town, Mia?" Darcy asked.

"When I was a kid, it was. I like newer houses now," Mia lied and continued to lay out the silverware.

"Are there any new houses in town?" Kelsey wrinkled her nose as she asked from by the stove.

"Yes, Kelsey, there are. Not many, but there are some. And the thing about new houses is that you can just build one," Mia stated to her sister, who was a year younger than her, and she still liked to put her in her place when need be.

Everyone let the conversation drop with Mia's argument. It turned to babies, always babies. Each of her sisters, except Kipling, had at least one. Her mom was a grandma twelve times over, the same number as her sister. Mia wanted to point out that Dotty had two more kids than Dolly. And if her cousin Kit didn't have five children of her own, Dolly would never have gotten to the lofty number she had. But instead, she stayed silent.

When the meal was over, and dessert had been served, so Mia felt she could head out. As with every holiday, she was the only one able to leave her parents' house. The rest stayed for a few days, but Mia lived in town and could leave, so she did. With leftovers in hand, she said goodbye to everyone, stopping herself from running to her Jeep to get away from these people. A few hours were all she could take with them.

Sure, she loved her family, but four hours was more than enough time with them. Way more. Apparently, her sister Kelsey was going to have a baby by summer, putting her mom in ahead in the grand baby race again. She would have to tell Mandy when she saw her. Maybe she could get kit to have a few more, even without a husband. Before today, the number had at been dead even with Math's new baby, but her mom was pulling ahead again. And Mia was sure that Dolly's run was over.

Parking in front of her apartment, she saw Mandy's car in the street but decided her information could wait. Mia needed a nap more than a gossip session right now. Heading up to her apartment, she was happy to be home early enough to get some movies and a nap in before she had to work in the morning. She could maybe even get some online shopping in.

Changing into orange lounge pants and a Landstad Tiger's T-shirt, she sat down to look through the movie offerings on the TV. Christmas movies started today, so she was thinking about watching one of those. Get the season started right.

Before the TV couple had even met, there was a knock on her door. It was probably Mandy coming to spend the evening discussing their family's holidays and remembering holidays past when they spent them together. Mia could tell her about the new development in the baby race.

But instead of her cousin on the other side of the door, it was her husband. Today, he was wearing gray sweatpants and his fall jacket-black with his name in white stitching.

"Rafferty." She hated how her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.

"Beautiful wife." His eyes ran up and down her body with a s*xy grin as if she wasn't in the most uns*xy clothing known to man.

Her eyes darted to her neighbor's door. "Shut up. Someone will hear you."

"Who? The school teacher who lives across the hall is probably gone for the weekend. She doesn't know you anyway."

"She does too." Not much, but they've talked ... once maybe.

"We need to talk." Rafferty let it drop.

Mia agreed with the house stealer. "Yes, we do."

"Can I come in, in case your neighbor is still here?" He looked at the neighbor's door again.

She opened the door wider and let him in. Once inside, she closed the door and watched him slide off his jacket to reveal a white Landstad Tigers shirt stretched tight over his muscles. Muscles she wished she could remember feeling. Turning to her as he kicked off his shoes, he said, "We've been married so long we're starting to dress the same."

"Which is why I'm still divorcing you the first chance I get." She shut the door and leaned against it.

"Admit it, Mia, you're madly in love with me," he teased her.

"You have me figured out." Still leaning against the door, she wondered why his words made her stomach drop a little. Love wasn't a part of their relationship. It never was, and it was never going to be. "Now what do you want?" "What are you watching?" He changed the subject as he walked towards the TV.

"A movie. You wouldn't be interested." She followed.

"A Christmas movie, Mrs. Brooks?" he asked as he sat down on the couch.

"Don't call me that," she hissed.

He ignored what she said and kept talking. "Isn't it a little early to be watching these?"

Still standing, she folded her arms. "Once turkey has been eaten, Christmas season is here."

"Good thing I didn't eat turkey. The season won't be able to start for me yet," Rafferty said, looking at the screen.

Mia's eyes followed his to the TV and saw that the couple had met, and she had missed it. Now she had missed the best part. "If you missed turkey, that's on you. The season starts anyway."

He leaned back into the cushions.

"So, the season comes no matter what?"

"Yes." Her attention was on the screen. Now she realized that she had watched this one last year.

"Sit down, Mia. You can't watch it from there." He patted the couch next to him.

Glancing over at him, she reluctantly sat down on the other end of the couch and pulled the blanket already there over her, deciding she could watch the movie and ignore him at the same time. After all, she was a good multitasker. Even when he pulled her closer to him, stating he was cold and wanted to share her blanket, she ignored him.

But the movie had captured her attention, and his arm was nice around her. Far too nice. Perfect, in fact.