Sweet Christmas Romances 2017 by Sharon Kleve

Author:Sharon Kleve [Kleve, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Romance
ISBN: 9781977843999
Amazon: B0764NVF6W
Goodreads: 36714148
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2017-10-04T00:00:00+00:00

Rejoice: A Burden

Elizabeth Inglee-Richards

Rejoice: A Burden

The last Sunday before Christmas found me sitting in a church in a Boston suburb waiting for my fiancée and her band to sing in front of the community, instead of being at home preparing for my last ice hockey game before Christmas. I’m sure some of the people in charge would say my actions showed a lack of commitment to the Nahant Nor’easter organization, but this gig was a big deal for the band. All of them had gone to the church as children and the five had grown up together. I didn’t know if the band so tight because of that or if something else made them close. It had taken me a few years before I stopped being jealous of the other men in my girl’s life, but I got over it eventually. I probably realized the relationships in the band were all platonic the same time I realized my girl’s name was Anna on my tongue. But in my mind, she would always be Branna, the crow.

In the church every surface that could, held pine and holly decorations. There were flowers and incense and the air was thick with smoke from candles. The place smelled like a perfumer’s idea of Christmas. I knew it would, and had taken enough anti-histamine to tranquilize a bull before I came. Even with the pills, all the scents and smoke were too much for me. I rubbed my face and noticed as Branna’s grandmother looked at me hard.

“You look like crap,” she whispered.

“I got off a plane at one. I’ve only had a few hours of sleep,” I told her. It was true. Our team had played the night before in Georgia and we flew in late.

“Don’t lie in church, Arttu,” my fiancé’s Maimeó said to me, “it isn’t nice.”

I didn’t tell her this wasn’t my church. I sniffed and rubbed an eye. “All the pine.”

“I always forget,” she patted my hand gently, “your allergies.”

Everyone forgets. The allergies hit three times a year— fall, spring blooming and right at Christmas. For some reason, the Christmas allergies bother Branna’s family the most and they were bad that year. The team doctors said it was stress, and they had a point. I had been more reactive since the arena that the Nor’easters used was destroyed in a storm. Our ice and equipment had been trashed, the offices and everything else were gone as well. I was constantly worried that the team would be sold, moved or sold and moved. After the loss of our home ice, injuries and illnesses had run through the team. All of us were stressed out and upset and just weren’t handling the normal bumps, bruises and exhaustion well.

We had a game that night—the last game before Christmas— and after the game we were scheduled to have a party. After the party, we’d get a few days off for Christmas.

I looked forward to having a few days off. I’d thought about

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