Holiday Trap by May Gordon

Author:May Gordon [Gordon, May]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Gabriel

I can feel her pulling away and I fucking hate it. I’m doing everything I can to show her I’m the man for her, and I thought she was accepting that, but she gets in her head, and it messes with what I know her heart is telling her. She needs more time, but I don’t have it to give.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and while the roads are still covered, I’ve already scheduled people to start clearing them later today. My mom has been texting all morning asking for an update, but I haven’t responded yet, hating that I have to admit it’s not going as I’d hoped. Not that I have any intention of giving up. Instead, I’ll just kick things into higher gear.

Whipping up some breakfast, I fill a mug with coffee, and put both on a tray before heading upstairs. Joy hasn’t gotten up as of yet, our activities last night exhausting her. When I walk in, she’s already waking up, her hair mussed, and I smile at the knowledge my fingers did that as I set my offerings down, and tell her good morning.

“Morning,” she replies after a yawn.

“I thought we could eat, then get a start on our day,” I inform her as she takes a sip.

“God, that’s good,” she says with a moan. “And what did you have in mind?”

I’m thankful her shyness seems to have disappeared, and loving how easy this conversation is going so far. “There’s one thing that’s missing?”

She looks at me, her eyes lighting up when she figures it out. “A tree.”

“Exactly. I thought we could get one.”

“How? We’re snowed in.”

“True, but there is a forest.”

Her mouth drops open in shock. “You're just going to walk out there and chop down a tree?”

“We are,” I correct her. She laughs, but I can tell she’s excited. I urge her to hurry, and we both finished our food quickly, then get dressed and head outside, putting the sleds I’d had sent here last week to good use. It takes us an hour to find the perfect tree, Joy checking each one before making her decision.

“This one,” she declares, pointing at her choice. I agree, then hand her the axe. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”

“It’s our new tradition, you get the first swing.” She looks so happy as she rears back and aims for her target, and I enjoy the sight as she takes two more. When she’s done, she gives it back to me and I take over. Once it’s down, I hook it to the sled and we return to the cabin where we proceed to arrange everything, Christmas songs playing in the background, and hot apple cider to help warm us up as we work. I want Joy to see how wonderful the holiday can be, especially when you’re with the one. She tears up with each ornament she removes from the storage box, then carefully chooses where to place it. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“It’s…the handmade ornaments, your traditions, your family.

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