Full Moons and Candy Canes by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Author:Alyssa Rose Ivy [Ivy, Alyssa Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-04T16:00:00+00:00

9

Nancy

Nancy

“No tree?” I looked around the dark but comfortable living room. We’d only been at Norm’s place for a few minutes, and I was belatedly taking in the place.

“Why should I have a tree?” He paused on his way over to me with two glasses of red wine in his hands.

“You don’t put up a Christmas tree? Ryder does.” It wasn’t as if I was Mrs. Christmas. I had an artificial tree I’d been tempted to leave in the basement this year, but Norm’s house needed a tree. It would take the cozy factor up a whole lot of notches.

He stared down at the wine as if it held the answer. “Ryder never put up a tree before Alex.”

“Do shifters not decorate for the holidays?” I was done caring if I sounded uneducated about shifters. It was better than making assumptions that might be wrong.

“Some do. Some don’t. That’s like asking if humans put up trees.”

“Oh sorry. I didn’t mean to imply...” I wasn’t even sure what I was implying, but it wasn’t good. Generalizations were dangerous things.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to be so careful about what you say around me.” His gentle smile put me at ease.

So of course instead of dropping the conversation, I pushed forward with it. “You have a great place for a tree. Over there by the stairs.” I pointed to where I’d put it. “You’d be able to see it from the front windows while sitting in the living room and on your way downstairs. It’s perfect.”

“Duly noted.” His smile grew larger.

“I think white lights would look especially nice.”

He was outright grinning now.

“What?” A hint of self-consciousness crept over me. I’d gotten much better at not caring about what people thought of me, but I cared about what Norm thought of me, whether I liked it or not.

“You are decorating my nonexistent Christmas tree.”

“So?” I looked back at the empty spot. “I’m trying to distract myself. Besides, you don’t have to let me stay with you.” Despite my claim, I pulled my legs up under me on his huge black couch. I wasn’t the only one getting comfortable. Remington snored on the other side of the couch. He lay with his belly up, which meant he felt safe. Cats were supposed to be cautious of new environments, but not Remington. He’d been more than happy to take the trip with us. I’d been afraid if anyone came back looking for me they’d hurt him. Norm had been perfectly fine with the cat joining us. He was earning points with me left and right, not that he needed to be earning points. He was helping me through a crisis, not trying to date me.

“Where else would you stay?” Norm set a glass of the red wine down on the end table beside me.

“At Alex and Ryder’s.” The suggestion was a weak one, but I couldn’t accept his generosity without at least offering to leave. I liked having outs, and I figured he did too.

“But they are away.

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