Rush by Shae Ross

Author:Shae Ross [Ross, Shae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2016-05-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Priscilla

“Oh my God. What is that?” Chloe asks, tilting her nose upward and inhaling a long, tall hit of turkey-laced air. My sisters, Chloe and Cate look nearly identical, except Chloe’s hair is straight, chestnut brown, and usually flipped off her forehead with a headband, and Cate’s is a blonde bob of spiral curls.

My arms circle her shoulders and squeeze. “That’s the smell of a real family holiday. It’s turkey. I woke up early and got it started.”

“How do you know how to do all this?” she asks, hoisting three grocery bags onto the counter as I tie on the vintage apron Jace gave me as a gift.

“Preston told me,” I reply, grabbing two red peppers and cradling them against my chest.

“Who’s Preston?”

I pause and drop them in the strainer, flipping the water on. “My boyfriend.”

“No shit?”

“No shit.”

“Mom must be thrilled.”

“Mom is going to pee herself when she sees him. This morning she even suggested he could stay the night so he wouldn’t have to drive home late. I about fell over with shock. I was too enticed by the thought to tell her he only lives twenty minutes away.”

“Hey, hey!” A baritone voice sings out from the front of the house.

“Ben’s home,” Chloe says, dropping a bag of potatoes and spinning out the door. I turn the water off and follow her. Ben sets Chloe down from a bone-crushing hug and sweeps me up. I kiss his cheek and move to hug his girlfriend Devi.

“How was the drive in from New York?” I ask. Devi unloops her scarf and shakes the sleeve of her jean jacket off of her arm.

“Beautiful. Sunshine all the way.”

“Where’s mom?” Ben asks.

“She’s getting a massage and a mani-pedi at the club.”

“On Thanksgiving?”

“Yep, it’s a special thing they do in the morning to relieve the holiday stress. You know, it’s stressful for those country club moms. All those decisions on Thanksgiving morning—what should I wear, what should I make my kids wear, who are we all going to avoid when we get to the club.”

“Not this year, though,” Ben’s voice booms, smiling at me. “Got everything under control?”

“Of course. Dinner will be ready and on the table when mom gets here so she won’t feel the need to ‘help’ us,” I say, making air quotes.

“Cate home yet?”

“Nope. She’ll wait until most of the work is done, then make her grand entrance,” Chloe says.

“She had rehearsal this morning,” I add, hanging Devi’s jacket in the closet.

“Hello,” a deep voice echoes from the front porch, and my heart soars. Preston. The screen door casts a light shadow over his handsome face. He steps in with his gaze fastened on me, and I want to clap and jump like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Looks like I’m in the right place,” he says, panning an appreciative look over the frilly edges of my apron.

He is in the right place. I fold my hands and time seems suspended as I overdose on the image of him, standing in my house, here to celebrate a holiday with me and my family.

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