Christmas in Silver Springs by Brenda Novak

Author:Brenda Novak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2019-08-22T13:25:11+00:00

* * *

Harper had Tobias set an alarm so they wouldn’t oversleep and curled into his warmth. “I love the way you smell,” she murmured as he pulled the blankets up around them. “I’ve never had that kind of reaction to anyone but you—you just smell good.”

“That surprises me, since we both smell like sex,” he said with a laugh.

She laughed, too, as he smoothed her hair back. “I like that smell. Don’t you?”

“Absolutely.” He leaned up on one elbow. “So...you cuss like a sailor—”

“Only when I’m highly aroused,” she joked.

“Only when you’re highly aroused,” he echoed, “and you like the scent of sex. Anything else I should know about you?”

She pulled him back down with her and burrowed closer. “I think that’s enough for one evening.”

He assumed she’d drifted off to sleep. She wasn’t moving and her breathing seemed steady. But after a few minutes, she roused herself enough to ask, “What are you doing for Christmas?”

“Depends.”

“On...”

“A couple of things.”

“Are you being purposely evasive?” she asked.

He chuckled. “No. I’ll go to Maddox and Jada’s house, if Jada’s mother isn’t going to be there.”

“And if she is?”

“I’ll stay here.”

“Why’s that?”

He hesitated. This was dangerous territory, which was why he’d tried to avoid getting into a conversation on the topic. “She’s...difficult. Hanging around with her isn’t exactly fun, especially at Christmas.” That was a euphemistic explanation, but it was true—Susan was difficult—so he figured he could leave it at that and still feel as though he was being somewhat honest.

“But if you stay here, won’t you be alone? Because Maddox will have to be with his wife and daughter, won’t he?”

“He will, but I’ll just buy a turkey dinner and have my mother over.”

“Your mother wouldn’t do a dinner herself?”

“My mother isn’t the homemaker type.”

“What type is she?”

His eyelids were feeling heavy. “She’s the meth-addict type.”

Silence. “Oh. I see. That’s why you said you and Maddox had to raise yourselves.”

“Sadly, she’s more of a child than we ever were.”

“Do you even know how to roast a turkey?” she asked.

She was lying so close to him her lips nearly brushed his when she spoke. He loved that. “I didn’t say anything about roasting it. I said I’d buy a turkey dinner.”

“From where?”

“I’ve heard the larger grocery stores sell them. Uriah mentioned it once. I’ll have him over, too, if Carl’s gone by then.”

“So you’ll have a store-bought turkey dinner with your mother and your landlord.”

“Maybe.” He wasn’t sure why she was still talking about this.

“And then?”

“I don’t know. I’ll go on a hike, I guess.”

“You really like being outdoors.”

“I do.” After being cooped up in a six-by-eight-foot cell with only one hour of yard time a day, he couldn’t be outside enough. That was part of the reason he liked his job. He was never stuck behind a desk; he was always moving, always busy.

When she fell silent again, he started to drift off—until she asked, “What happened to Atticus? Why’s he in a wheelchair?”

A shot of adrenaline brought Tobias back to full consciousness.

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