Hey all! Welcome back to day 4 of the Hart of Dixie countdown to Christmas story. We will be getting to some Wade and Zoe interactions shortly, I promise.

Enjoy!

Zoe stood with their luggage, while her mom went to check them in and find a luggage cart for them to use, as there was no way they could carry all of their luggage to their room by themselves. They piled their luggage in a neat little pile off to the side where it was out of the way. And yet it didn't stop a strange teenage boy from tripping over a corner from one of the suitcases that belonged to her. Zoe scowled at the retreating back, mouthing about manners.

Zoe rolled her eyes at the bag in her mom's arms when she returned with their room keys and a cart for them to use. Ever so quickly Zoe helped her mom stack their luggage onto the cart and head to their room. They headed straight to the elevator. Their room is located on the top floor of the smallish resort.

"I'll take the cart back down to the lobby," Zoe told her mom, once all of their luggage was safely placed in their room. She wanted an excuse to explore and see what the lobby has to offer, since she didn't do so when she was waiting for her mom to check them in.

"Hurry back so you can get unpacked, you don't want wrinkly clothes for the whole stay," Candice told her, grabbing one of the provided plastic cups to pour some wine into.

"It wouldn't be the be-all-end-all, mom," Zoe said, rolling her eyes. Pretty sure they have an iron in the small closet by the door. Her mom may have forgotten how to use an iron, but she's learned from her nanny before she no longer needed one.

The walk to return the cart was peaceful as she didn't run into anyone on her way down to the lobby. As much as she wanted to look out the window and take the sight in, she did want to hurry back to her room and see if her dad had called to inform them when he would be getting in. From the glimpse of the window in the main area of their room, she'll have a better view from there than in the lobby.

"Hold the elevator," Zoe called out, sighing when she made it to the elevator bank, to see she'd be waiting for one of them to make their descent from the 3rd and 4th floor. The wait wasn't a long one. Before she knew it was entering her home away from home. "Has dad called yet?" Zoe asked, moving her suitcases and bag into her room. Their room is more than a standard room. They each have their own room off the main living area.

"No," Candice sighed, pouring herself yet another glass of wine, from the bottle she had bought upon their arrival. One look at the bottle tells Zoe that her mom has drank over half the bottle already. "I love your father, Zoe, but he's always had a hard time in keeping his promises, you know this," Candice stated, grabbing the half bottle of wine. "We can't rely on him, Zoe," her mother sighed, shutting the door to her room.

Taking a deep breath, Zoe shut the door to her room, placing a suitcase on the bed. She pulled her cell phone out and dialed the right number to get ahold of her dad. While she waited for her dad to pick up, she unzipped her suitcase and started to get her clothes put away.

"Zoe," Ethan answered, out of breath, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, kiddo," he apologized.

"You're not coming are you?" She asked, tossing a handful of her undergarments into the top drawer of the dresser.

"I really wanted to be there, but things have come up and I couldn't get away," he told her.

"Things at work or other more personal matters came up?" She asked her father, falling onto her bed, abandoning putting her clothes away. If they get wrinkled so be it.

"Zoe," sighed Ethan. "You'll understand when you get older, that not everything can suddenly be dropped," he stated.

"It wasn't suddenly, though was it?" Zoe asked, with a snipe in her tone. "This family vacation has been in the works for months now," she quipped out.

"Zoe, it's not that easy, when you have people that count on you," he tried, changing his tactic to get her to understand where he is coming from.

"Why do you care about them? You don't care that I count on you, my feelings don't matter to you, apparently," she stated. "I know you won't ever get back together with mom, and I don't want that, I just want to spend time with you, my father," she stated, rapidly blinking her tears away.

"Your feelings do matter to me, Zoe. But you have to understand that I have a job to do, and I need to be here," Ethan stressed.

"A job or another family, because it's hard to know what one you're talking about. Every time we have plans, things come up or it's complicated," Zoe stated. "I can't do this back and forth anymore. I can't have you get my hopes up with promises, only for you to cancel because you were never going to commit to coming with us," she told her father, sniffling.

"I'm sorry, Zoe. I'll try to do better," Ethan sighed. Zoe huffed, not for a nano second believing her dad.

"Yeah, okay," Zoe sighed, ending the call, and tossing her phone onto her bed.

She made quick work of the rest of her clothes, working through the anger she felt over her dad not wanting to spend valuable time with her. She gets being a workaholic because that's her mom to a tee, but she still makes time to spend with her daughter, and to have relationships with guys, even if it is just a one-night stand. Not that she's supposed to know about those.

So for her dad to use the excuse that something came up, for what feels like the millionth time, she wonders if maybe he doesn't have another family, that he loves more than he loves her. It makes perfect sense. He won't tell her about them wanting to spare her feelings. And if he does have another family, she wonders if they know about her. Wonders if he has other kids if she has a sister, a brother, or both. Wonders if she has a step-mom that she's just never going to meet.

She tried to get the image of her father's imaginary family out of her head that she dreamt up. Not wanting to deal with the looks of I told you so from her mom, or the pure thought of crying if she sits alone in her room, she checked to make sure that she has a key card. And left to see what she can do to get her mind off wanting to cry because her dad can't be bothered to show up.

She didn't want to impose on the teams playing dart or pool. Video games aren't her thing, never have been her thing. Instead, she dropped onto the empty couch to do a bit of people-watching. A weak smile crossed her lips watching the couples, enjoy themselves, siblings fighting over what they should be doing. Families coming in for the night off the slopes.

It was watching the families come in either from their rooms or from outside, and seeing how gentle the dads are with their daughters that made the tears she fought off when talking to her dad start to pool in her eyes. Closing her eyes, she let the tears stream down her face, finding no use in trying to fight them any longer. Maybe she can get them out of her system early enough into her winter break that she can enjoy the rest of her stay.