“I can’t do this anymore,” Leslie said. The family was catching up now, her sisters and their husbands, cousins and aunts, all attracted to the chum in the water, the scandal, the drama. The words had just fallen from her mouth, but they felt right, so she straightened her spine and said them again, stronger. “I can’t do this anymore. I want to like the holidays again, and Kieran helps me do that. The most fun I’ve had this season is the time I spent away from you guys.” She shook her head at herself. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. She’d never been brutally honest about her feelings before because she’d always thought her feelings mattered less than other people’s.
Mom looked equal parts horrified and enraged, and her sisters were smirking at each other.
“I don’t want to do any more Christmas traditions with you guys this year. I think you’ll be less stressed if I’m not around. And I know I’ll be less stressed, too.”
She gave an apologetic smile at her Dad, but he didn’t seem angry or even surprised. Just sad.
“Merry Christmas,” Leslie told them just before she turned and walked away.
****
“Oh, my gosh, I thought we were going to do a mic drop and make a speedy exit,” she punched out through her laughter as he handed her five—yes, a stack of five—salted pretzels.
“I didn’t know if you liked the cheese sauce so I got some just in case. He handed her little containers of cheese as he climbed up in his truck. “You said you would forgive me if I got you pretzels, and if it’s that easy to get out of a fight, I’m getting the lady some salted forgiveness bread.”
She tossed her head back and laughed as he started the truck. “We really did just mic drop Christmas.” Her heart was still going a mile a minute.
“You did. It was glorious. You’re a new woman, Leslie. She don’t take no shit!” He pulled out of the parking spot and then rested his hand on her thigh as he drove them through town.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they drove straight out of Missoula.
“To Florence.”
“Are you going to show me your house?” she asked, excited.
“Yep, and let you meet Burke. He’s a dipshit, but he’s all the family I’ve got.”
The drive was only twenty-five minutes from the tree-lighting ceremony, and it was a pretty one at that. And when they pulled up to his home, she was awestruck. Whatever she’d expected Kieran’s house to look like, this wasn’t it.
They drove down a long, snowy driveway and pulled to a stop in front of a sprawling Victorian home with a wraparound front porch. The house was painted light blue with white trim.
“This is your house?” she asked, staring out the front window. The woods surrounding it were like a snow-covered holiday wonderland.
“Yep, this is the house I grew up in, and now it’s mine.”
She got out of the truck, followed him up the porch stairs, and then across the pristine porch. Firewood was stacked on one side of the door, and a pair of work boots on the other. She took her snow boots off and set them carefully by his. He was grinning when she stood up to go inside.
“That was cute. You don’t have to take off your shoes when you come in anymore.”
“So you’re saying you will invite me over again?”
He flipped on a light switch and said, “You can come over whenever you want.”
Inside, it was all dark wood floors and a country kitchen painted in grays and whites. The walls were wooden like the inside of a log cabin.
She ran her finger along the knotty wood of an old antique dining table. The furniture was all different and eclectic, but fit together perfectly in the space. “I love the furniture in here.”
“It’s not new or fancy. My mom used to go to garage sales and estate sales and find ‘treasures.’ That’s what she called them. I don’t think she ever bought a piece of furniture new.”
“I love that,” she whispered reverently. “You don’t have any Christmas decorations,” she pointed out. “Like when she was alive.”
He leaned his back against the kitchen island and cocked his head. “I haven’t decorated since they passed.”
“Well…” She looked around and could see all the possibilities. “We could do it as a present for her each year. Decorating could be a nod to her.”
Emotion swam in his eyes. “I never thought of that before.”
“Where did the tree used to go?”
He pointed to the corner by the stone fireplace where an old recliner now sat.
She popped the last bite of a pretzel in her mouth. “I mean, you have like eight hundred pine trees outside.”
His smile was so slow, so handsome, and so perfect. Why? Because she’d caused it. He gave her those smiles, and that was her gift. They made her happy and loosened the tight spots in her chest.
He sauntered up to her, kissed her on her lips, and then swatted her butt. “Go put your boots back on. I’ll get the decorations and a saw from the shed.”
“Eeeeee!” she squeaked out, jumping up and down. “Tonight is the best night!”
And as she watched him jog across the wintery yard toward a red barn on the tree line, she leaned against the open doorway and drank in the moment. The day had started off so bad because it was without him, and now she’d never felt happier. Because she was with him. Kieran Dunne was magic. No one could convince her otherwise.
An old, lifted Bronco on huge tires came barreling down the road and parked behind Kieran’s truck. A man with familiar features hopped down from behind the wheel. He had blond hair like Kieran’s and the same high cheekbones and gold eyes.
“I’m assuming you’re Burke,” she called out, jogging down the porch stairs.
“I’m assuming you’re the human my brother can’t stay away from.” His smile even looked like his brother’s. Maybe they were twins.
He shook her hand and sniffed the wind, looked out toward the barn. “What’s he doing?”
“Getting Christmas decorations.”
“Oh shit, really?” His eyebrows were nearly to his hairline. “You broke him.”
“I what?”
“I never in a million years thought he would be into the holidays again. Before you came along, he was fucking boring.”
“At least I’m not a jackass!” Kieran’s voice echoed through the clearing.
She cracked up and zipped her jacket to her chin, followed behind Burke as he led her to the barn, her boots crunching through the snow. She carried one box back, but the boys each had four stacked up in their arms and acted like the weight wasn’t even a burden. Okay, Otter Brothers, you’re a little much with your animal strength.
The night was fun. Easy. Burke was an easy talker with a quick wit, and he and Kieran ribbed each other constantly, but it wasn’t like the insults in her family. They were always joking and with smiles and they laughed a lot. She could tell they loved each other, and that’s how it should be.
And when they teased her for almost knocking over the tree they cut down when she fell into it, or her bright pink leggings that clashed with the red and green theme of the living room, there was no sting behind the jokes. Just fun.