Page 13 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

I sat up slowly. There was one person who could help, but we hadn’t been in touch for a long time. Rook’s arrival had stopped me from communicating with them until I was sure no one was monitoring my email, but at this point, I didn’t care if they were.

Sliding from my bed, I sat in front of my computer and within a few clicks, I had an email waiting and open. I quickly typed out all the information I could remember about my father’s upcoming meeting, including the time and location, and then I hit the address book.

Darius was the only name I knew him by. I’d come across him online not long after my father secured the highway contract. He was the most vocal protestor against the construction, and since the deal was secure, his group had grown in number and popularity. It wasn’t enough to make the rich assholes take notice, but then again, they’d never had access to the information I could provide.

I filled in Darius’s address and hitSend, which sent my heart into a flurry of nervous, rapid beats.

I waited for the yelling to start and security to break down my door, furious that I was spilling secrets. I waited for my father’s yelling.

None of it came.

No one broke down my door. No one yelled. There was just silence and the gentle patter of rain against my window.

Then, a single bleep rose from my computer.

It was a thank you email from Darius.

6

ROOK

Afew days after the grocery incident, Kitty approached me with a twinkle in her eye. Keeping an eye on her day after day had become more enjoyable ever since I’d had a taste, but the more days that passed, the more guilt started to worm into my thoughts.

She hadn’t mentioned our night together, and I hadn’t been able to bring it up so that we could talk about it properly. I half wondered if it was to be just that, a sweet secret between us that would never repeat. If that was the case, then I would be disappointed. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to taste her again. I wanted to hear those sweet sounds, feel that warmth around my cock, and watch her face as pleasure danced through her like magic.

So, when she approached me with that look in her eye, I had a hidden hope about what she wanted to talk about.

“Do you like dancing?” Kitty asked, stopping next to me and leaning against one of the pillars scattered throughout the entrance hall.

“Can’t say I do,” I replied. “Why?”

“Because I may have become an actual genius and I might need help with something.”

Was it wrong of me to stare at her lips when she talked? Possibly. Was I going to do it anyway? Absolutely.

“What have you done?”

“I haven’t done it yet,” Kitty clarified, pursing her lips, “but I’m in the process of it.”

I raised one brow and waited for her to elaborate.

“Okay, so you know how I’ve spent the last few days basically in my mother’s pocket? Well, it’s because I had an idea. The Yuletide Ball that she throws each year used to behugebecause of the money she would raise for charity. These past few years, my Dad’s taken over and made it some exclusive party for anyone with a big enough check.”

Having only been here for six months, I had to take her word for it so I merely nodded along.

“So I got talking with my mother and reminded her of thegood old Gala days, and I may have persuaded her to throw a different type of ball this year.”

“Different how?”

Kitty ground her teeth and parted her lips. “More of a… town ball.”

“What do you mean?”

“I may have persuaded her that to help repair the relationship between my father and the town, she should throw the ball here and invite the entire town because I’m also hoping that once my Dad talks to the people he’s screwing over, he might actually change his mind.”

“And you need my help for this because…?”

“Because she took my suggestion literally and wants to throw the ball in the manor.” Kitty winced. “In the old ballroom, actually.”

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