Page 13 of Havoc's Fox

“Goodnight. I’m Christian, by the way. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come by or, just shout, I’ll probably hear you.”

“Thanks, Christian, I’m Addie.”

“Good to meet you, and Merry Christmas!”

Christian managed to keep up his happy persona until he got back inside and closed the door. Then his fake smile fell. “And who the fuck is that helping her bring shit in?” he demanded of his empty home.

He stomped away from his front door and through his living room to the front window his tree was standing in front of, flipping off the overhead lights on his way. He stood in the shadows, lit only by the Christmas lights on the tree, watching the neighbor’s house, wondering why it pissed him off so much that a male was carrying in dishes for a female he’d never seen before, and only just learned was named Addie.

He stood beside the window snarling off and on for no less than ten minutes, the first five of which was spent watching Addie come and go picking up the dishes that held their Christmas dinner and carrying them back inside the house. At one point another male came out to make sure nothing was missed, then went inside and closed the door behind himself.

Christian remained there for a couple of more minutes making sure Addie wasn’t coming back out before he gave up and went to dig through the items Brandt and Tempest had left on his kitchen island. They hadn’t left a full family dinner, knowing that he’d be joining the clan dinner tomorrow, but they’d left him two bottles of his favorite Pappy Van Winkle Ten-year-old bourbon, along with several other bottles to add to his collection, and some of his favorite pâté and gourmet crackers to eat it with. They’d also left him six boxes of Fiddle-Faddle. He laughed. As much as he loved his expensive bourbon and pâté snacks, he couldn’t stop eating the damn Fiddle-Faddle he’d been addicted to as a kid. Toffee coated popcorn and almonds was his favorite guilty pleasure. Taking one box of Fiddle-Faddle, and an almost too full snifter of bourbon with him he went over to sit on his sofa, taking advantage of the quietness of the night to try to unwind a bit.

As he sipped and munched, he looked around his living room. He didn’t know how they’d done it, but Brandt and Tempest had managed to turn his living room, and the outside of his home as well, into the epitome of Christmas. The thing that got him, though, was that they’d been with him, at Kaid’s house. So, how the hell had they gotten time to do all this? Shaking his head at the lack of sense that it made, he reached for the remote and started flipping through the channels for something to watch.

He was still flipping channels two hours later, when someone knocked on his door. Jumping up quickly to answer his door, he was surprised and a little disappointed to find Analise standing there.

“Hey,” he said, looking around behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“Couldn’t sleep. Thought maybe you’d be up and might not mind some company.”

“Yeah, I’m not sleeping either. Come on in,” he said, opening the door wider to let her in. He glanced around outside once more, pointedly looking over at Addie’s house, but didn’t see any sign that anyone was up and moving over there. He closed the door and followed Analise into his living room.

“This is really nice.”

“Yours will be, too. All you have to do is tell Brandt you’re ready for it, and what you want it to be like.”

“I’m not quite ready to move back home. Not sure I ever will be.”

“Well, if you ever do, it only takes a few months,” Christian said.

“You want something to nibble on?” Christian asked, offering her the box of Fiddle-Faddle he’d been eating from earlier.

She grinned at him and accepted the box, taking a handful out of its opened top. “Some things never change,” she said, laughing as she popped a piece in her mouth.

“Some things…” he agreed.

“So, I noticed you didn’t even talk to me at Kaid’s tonight,” he said, going straight for the heart of things. “Are you upset with me?”

“No, not at all. Just so many vying for your attention, I figured I’d get a chance to say hi later. And you knew that, or you wouldn’t have been comfortable enough to come over here tonight.”

“You’re right.”

“You doing okay?” Christian asked.

“I’m trying. Think I’m going to head home tomorrow, though.”

“Aw, ‘Lise. You just got here. Everybody is so glad to see you.”

“I know. I can’t do this, though.”

“Why not?”

“You know why not.”

“No, I don’t. It’s been six years, and you still can’t be in the same house with him?”

“I can. I was! And neither one of us started hurling insults at the other, so, progress, no?”

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