A/N: Yup, a nice family Christmas has been (partially) ruined by Candice, but hey, read on and you might find it's not quite as bad as you might think ;) Big thanks to those who took the time to drop me a review! :) (ETA: Yes, I know this chapter is a day late, but FF wasn't letting me in yesterday - this is the soonest I could post here! The new chapter was on AO3 yesterday - always check there if you don't see an update here on the expected day.)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 20

Wade thought he knew what the word awkward meant. He had a whole lot of experience in that area, that was for sure. Still, when Candice Hart showed up in the middle of what had been a real nice family Christmas for him, Zoe, Harley, and Earl, that was probably the biggest heap of awkward he had ever been in, the whole of his life!

The introductions alone were all kinds of interesting, with Zoe having to explain to her mother how Wade was her boyfriend and Earl was his father. That they were all spending Christmas together, the way families did. If the hard tone in her voice and look on her face didn't hurt Ms Candice Hart at all, then it sure ought to.

As it was, it all seemed to bounce off the woman like she was made of steel. Wade might have been impressed, if she was anybody else. The truth was, he saw Zoe's momma as the woman who had lied to her for her whole damn life, causing her pain and confusion that she should never have had to deal with. Not to mention, the same woman had been the major reason Zoe and Harley were apart for twenty years. Neither one of them deserved that, as far as Wade knew.

Of course, Earl had said maybe he and his son should make a swift exit and leave Zoe and her folks to talk. Wade opened his mouth to agree, when Zoe's grip on his hand tightened up.

"Please, I don't want you to go," she said urgently, looking first at Wade and then to Earl. "There's nothing that's going to be said here that you can't hear. You two mean as much to me right now as anybody else in the world. If Harley doesn't mind you staying, I certainly don't."

"Well, I..." Harley took his turn at being just about as awkward as anybody else.

Wade took pity on the poor guy, as well as Earl, who looked as if he wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

"C'mon now, Zoe," he said softly, pulling her closer so he could speak into her ear without everybody else hearing. "I know we called this a family Christmas, and it's been a good one, but you need to talk to your momma, and she needs to talk to you and to Harley. We didn't ought to be here for that."

He hoped the look he cast her way then was enough to convince her. She wasn't helping anybody by making the situation more awkward than it already had to be. Looking from him to Earl, then finally Harley and Candice, Zoe huffed out a sigh.

"Fine," she acquiesced. "I guess maybe you should go. I'm so sorry about this."

"No problem to me, little lady," Earl assured her. "We have had a fine day, one than I won't soon forget, and I got you and your daddy here to thank for it," he said with a smile. "I'm sure we'll have a lot more family occasions in the future too," he added, looking to Candice then and tipping her a wink. "You know, when we're all in-laws."

With that, he turned and headed for the door, and Zoe walked with Wade, following on behind him. At the front door, after Earl stepped outside, Wade made sure nobody could see as he leaned down and planted a sweet kiss on Zoe's lips.

"You need me, you call me, alright now?"

Zoe nodded. "Pretty sure you'll be hearing from me before this night is out."

"Well, that's somethin' to look forward to at least." Wade smirked a little, holding onto her hand even as he backed up out of the door. "Good luck in there."

"Thanks, I think I'm gonna need it. I love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart," he assured her, even as her fingers slipped from his grasp and he left, closing the door behind him.

Back out on the porch where this whole thing had started, Wade blew out a long breath, then turned to his father; "C'mon, old man. Best we get ourselves home."

Earl was too busy staring back up at the house to move any for a while. "She's a real nice girl," he said, clearly talking about Zoe. "Beats me how a woman like that raised such a sweetheart."

Wade smiled at that. "From what Zoe says, Candice didn't do much raisin'. She left that to nannies and such. I actually think her husband, the guy Zoe thought was her daddy before, did more raisin' than Candice ever did."

"Girl deserves better than that," Earl huffed as they began to walk home together.

It was tough for Wade to keep the smile from his face as he followed his dad along the sidewalk. He was absolutely right, of course. Zoe deserved a whole lot better than the start she had with her mother and step-father, but at least she had a real family now. Harley was the best man for the job, that was for sure, and Wade knew he and his own father were going to love the heck out of Zoe Wilkes for just as long as she was around. She sure didn't have to worry about being lonely or feeling less than loved anymore. They were all going to see to that.

"Nice to see you again, Candice," said Harley politely as they all sat down together.

Zoe couldn't help the scoffing sound that escaped her lips when she heard that remark. Of course, it was in-built in people from the south to be as polite as possible to everybody, Zoe had learned that one pretty fast, but she also knew it was in-built in her mother to make any and all situations revolve around herself alone. She was so good at it, and Zoe really didn't appreciate that, most especially not today.

"Why are you here, Mom?" she asked sharply. "I know you didn't really come for Christmas. You're Jewish, you don't even celebrate."

"Zoe, I came here because it's where I knew you would be," said Candice calmly but with a distinctly tight smile. "Isn't it normal for a mother to want to visit with her daughter?"

"I'm pretty sure that our particular mother-daughter relationship has never been normal," she replied, rolling her eyes. "I mean, don't most mothers tell their daughters who their real father is?"

"Zoe," said Harley in a way that sort of sounded like an admonishment, but only just. "I'm sure that Candice is sorry for the secrets she kept in the past, but if she has come here with good intentions, hoping to make amends..."

"Exactly," Candice chimed in, once Harley had already done all the heavy-lifting for her, of course. "That's why I'm here. With good intentions, to make amends."

Zoe was less than convinced. "Maybe that's why you're here, maybe," she said with a look, "but let's be honest, Mom. Mostly, you just didn't want to think that you were missing out on something. I was spending a really nice Christmas with my dad, my real dad," she said pointedly, "and my boyfriend and his dad too. We were having a nice time. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel like I'm a part of something and it feels really, really good."

She hadn't known she was crying, until suddenly it was hard to get any more words out and tears were streaking down her cheeks unchecked. Zoe hated that she was so upset, because it was the last thing she wanted. She really had enjoyed her day with Harley and Wade and Earl so much. To have her mother show up like this had spoilt it all by making her think about how much she had hurt her, it wasn't fair. She wanted to tell her that, but she just couldn't.

"Zoe, honey," said Harley, reaching to take a hold of her hand and gently squeeze it. "Why don't you go take a moment, splash some cold water on your face, take some good deep breaths while I have a little talk with your momma?"

It could have sounded so patronising if he wanted it to, but Zoe already knew that wasn't Harley Wilkes at all. Her father was such a good man and he loved her so much. He only wanted what was best for her, in stark contrast to her mother, who only ever seemed to want what was best for herself first and Zoe somewhere after that.

"Okay," she said, hiccupping a little as she nodded her head, dislodging further tears.

Squeezing Harley's hand back, she managed a watery smile at him before turning away and leaving the room. Heading quickly up the stairs, she went right to the bathroom to clean herself up and calm down too.

Right after, she went to her room, sitting down on her bed with the door firmly closed so she didn't have to hear any conversation, or worse, maybe an argument from downstairs. That was bound to give her flashbacks to when Candice and Ethan would yell sometimes. Now, at least, Zoe understood why they got so mad at each other at times.

A lot of it probably came back to her and how she wasn't really a Hart at all.

Reaching for her cell phone, Zoe checked the time and wondered if Wade would be home yet. It was probably silly to call him so soon, but he had said that if she needed him, she should. As her mother's raised voice could be heard from downstairs, Zoe hit the speed-dial and crushed the phone against her ear.

"That bad already, huh?" said Wade, sounding almost as sad on her behalf as she felt herself.

"I just can't do it, Wade," she said, sniffing back further tears. "I can't deal with her. She has spent enough of my life making everything about her and not even having any time for me because there were more important people to see, more important events to be at. Well, now it's my turn. I have better people to spend my time with and better things to do than listen to her lies and excuses!"

Wade sighed in her ear. "Baby, you know that I am on your side in all of this. Okay, nobody could be more mad at your momma for the way she treated you than I am, well, 'cept maybe you and Harley, 'cause you got the right," he amended, "but the point is, I do get why you wanna pretend like you hate Candice right now, but we both know that you don't."

"I never said I hated her," Zoe admitted, swallowing hard. "I don't hate her, I just... I don't like her all that much right now."

"Which I get," Wade assured her, "but sweetheart, just think about this for a second. Somehow, you ended up with two dads, but you're only ever gonna have one mom. Much as she's done wrong, I guarantee if she was suddenly gone from your life, you'd miss the hell out of her."

His voice was so soft, Zoe barely heard him, and she knew why. It wasn't so much that he was worried about what her reaction would be to things she might not want to hear. It was more that he knew whereof he spoke when it came to losing a mother. Today of all days, she knew how much it hurt him to be without his momma. Maybe Zoe was being a little childish right now.

"I'm sorry, I'm being selfish-"

"No, you're not," he told her fast. "I'm not sayin' you have to love Candice and forgive her for everything in a second just because... well, just because of what happened to my momma. I just think maybe you might regret it if you go cuttin' her out o' your life for good. Might be worth hearin' her out if she wants to apologise at least, don't you think?"

Zoe took in a deep breath and let it out slow. "I guess so. How come you're so smart all of a sudden?"

"Beats me, baby," he told her, a smile on his face that she could just hear. "You feelin' a little better now?"

"Kind of, yeah," she admitted. "Thank you, Wade."

"You are more than welcome, Zoe Wilkes. Now, maybe go save ol' Harley from bein' alone with your momma too long, okay?"

"I will."

They said their goodbyes then and Zoe tossed the phone onto her nightstand. Taking a few moments to tidy up her face and hair, Zoe headed back downstairs, glad to note there was no more yelling going on by then. As it turned out, Candice was alone in the living room, currently looking at a photograph she had clearly picked up from the table.

"That's my Christmas present for Harley," Zoe told her mom, catching her attention in a second. "I bought the frame in Tuscaloosa, Lemon Breeland helped me pick it out. The picture is from Thanksgiving," she explained, looking past Candice at the photograph she spoke of, which Wade had taken for them last holiday.

"You know, you look like him sometimes," her mother said then, shaking her head slightly. "I notice it now more than ever."

Zoe wasn't sure how to react to that and didn't really get the chance as Harley returned to the room, carrying a tray with cups and a coffee pot on it. He smiled at the sight of his daughter and put the tray down on the table.

"Don't let me get in the way," he said, backing up towards the door right after.

"Please, don't go," Zoe urged him. "I really think we should all sit down and talk together, as a family," she said pointedly, looking from her dad to her mom. "Please?"

"If that's what you want." Candice nodded, sitting back down on one end of the couch.

Zoe took the other end, as Harley sat back down in the armchair. Silence reigned for a few more awkward moments.

"I guess I should start," said Candice eventually. "I'm sorry," she admitted, looking between Zoe and Harley. "I know my behaviour has hurt you both and... and all I can really say is that I am sorry."

It didn't change anything, that was what Zoe wanted to tell her, but when she looked at Harley and saw the expression on his face, she knew the greater path was forgiveness, especially if her mother was willing to be so contrite. It really wasn't like her at all. Obviously, she really was trying.

"Okay," said Zoe then, reaching to pour coffee into the waiting cups and keeping her expression neutral as she did so. "I guess that's a good place to start..."

To Be Continued...