Page 33 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

No matter what was going to happen, I had Rook.

He was all I needed.

14

ROOK

“I’m going dress shopping with Mom,” Kitty sighed over the phone. “I think it’s her attempt to smooth things over between us, but it’s not going to stop me from being pissed at Dad.”

“Do you want me to come?” I rested against my car, tossing my keys back and forth as I debated what to do with my day off. They were rare but built into my contract, and that was the only reason I wasn’t with Kitty today.

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Kitty sighed. “Besides, it’s your day off! You get to go and do… Well, whatever it is you do to unwind. Actually, whatdoyou do to relax?”

“I work out,” I replied. “Go for a jog, do some weightlifting.”

“Does that count as a day off?”

“I mean, it makes me feel relaxed.”

“Are you sure?” Despite not being able to see her face, I could hear the way her mouth was twisting in teasing disbelief, the adorable way her lower lip would press into her upper lip and twist.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m a simple guy, Kitty. There’s not a lot that keeps me entertained.”

“Is that a soldier thing?”

My chest pulled slightly. “You could say that.”

“You need to find something to do,” Kitty insisted. “I don’t care what it is, just don’t stay in your motel room all day, okay?”

I glanced over my shoulder toward that exact hotel room and bit back a smile.

“Rook, I mean it,” she scolded. “Do it for me?”

“For you?”

“Yes! I don’t care what you do, just don’t stay there all day. Go and do something fun. Buy something you enjoy. Pretend you’re a normal guy for once.” Kitty chuckled at her own comment, and then her voice became muffled as she spoke to someone away from the phone. “Alright, I gotta go. Talk to you later!”

There was a strange silence in Kitty’s absence. Spending all of my time with her, keeping her safe, meant that her liveliness was always around me. She was always either talking, humming, or getting up to some shenanigans that kept me on my toes. Suddenly being without her left a strange emptiness in my chest and the air around me.

I wished she’d asked me to come along. Protecting her will be a job for her mother’s security team today. While I trusted them to do their jobs, they weren’t me. They wouldn’t watch her as closely as I would.

I sighed and turned on my heel, about to head back to my motel room when Kitty’s words danced around my head again.

Do something today.

I’d always been a man of simple tastes, even when I was a kid. I didn’t party. I didn’t go clubbing. I preferred my own company and entertaining myself. But for Kitty, I would make an effort.

I climbed into my car, coaxed the thing to life, and started to drive. When I’d arrived here six months ago, I’d spent a lot of time driving around to get the lay of the town. Silver Hills was a quaint little town nestled right into a forest that was stunningat a glance. I hadn’t been able to imagine anything sinister happening in a place like this.

Then I met Samuel and saw that he was very different from the man I’d become friends with all those years ago. Being the mayor had changed him, and greed had corrupted him. Seeing the wreckage from the spring flood and hearing the tales from the townsfolk while wandering with Kitty had quickly removed the polish from this place.

Still, it had its charming spots and after driving around for an hour, I ended up back at The Anchor.

This counted as getting out of my room and doing something, so I was ticking off two boxes, Kitty’s request and my desire for a drink.

The Anchor was only just starting to fill up at this time in the afternoon. When I walked in, I was greeted with a wave from Melanie as she glanced up from dealing with two customers tucked in a booth. There were a couple of other patrons scattered around the place, but I paid them no mind as I headed straight toward the bar. Luckily, no one had clung to the drama that happened here the other night. Kitty had informed me that most people saw her being dragged away as a slight against her father and proof that she was on their side.

A silver lining to an overbearing parent trying to be too many things at once.

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