Tarnished Saints' Christmas by Elizabeth Rose

Author:Elizabeth Rose
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: small town romance, christmas short story, lake romance, bad boy romance series, free romance holiday story, saga romance series, series prequel to tarnished saints

Chapter 8

Simon

Wednesday morning was the first day of winter break and I’d hoped my brothers would all sleep late so I could catch up on my sleep as well, but in a house with so many people, sleep deprivation was normal.

Since the house only had four bedrooms and my parents claimed one of them, that only left three bedrooms for the twelve of us. I shared a room with Levi and John, and the twins shared a room with Pete and Philip. In the fourth bedroom, Simon stayed to watch over Thad, Nate and Andrew. Judas just slept on the couch.

Judas should have been staying in my room, but half the time Levi was so pissed at him that Judas decided not to be in the same room at all.

Well, this morning Levi was snoring and the room had the faint smell of alcohol wafting through the air, so I got up and made my way to the kitchen to find Ma looking out the window at the lake.

“What’s the matter, Ma?” I asked, rubbing a weary hand over my face and taking a seat at the table, pouring myself a glass of juice. I heard a slight noise from my parents’ bedroom and knew my pa was probably already saying his three hours of prayers he said before breakfast every day and reading from his Bible. He’d made Philip read from the Bible aloud for an hour last night as penance for his little escapade with his robes.

“Simon went out ice fishing early this morning and he took Thad with him,” she said.

“I’m sure they’ll be warm enough,” I said, knowing that ever since Thad was born, Simon had always taken him under his wing and acted like the kid’s mother.

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” She came and sat down across from me, and I could see the concern in her eyes. “I’m sure the lake isn’t frozen in the center. It’s dangerous out there.”

“Ma, Simon loves the water and knows it better than any of us. I’m sure he won’t take Thad on thin ice.”

“I guess you’re right,” she said, looking back at the window, and I knew she wouldn’t stop worrying until they got back alive. She may have had twelve children, but she worried about every one of us as if we were her only one.

“I’ll go out and make sure they’re alright if you want, Ma.”

Her eyes snapped up and I saw relief in them, then she just reached out and grabbed my hand and bit her lip. “I’m sure they’ll be fine, just like you said. How about something for breakfast, Thomas?” She walked over to the sink to grab a clean plate and I saw her glancing out the window toward the lake again. “You know your Aunt Penelope is coming back from one of her crazy trips soon and will be spending Christmas with us.”

“Oh, thanks for the warning. If Aunt Cappy’s back in town I’ll be sure to keep my car off the roads to avoid her crazy driving.

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