Page 2 of Yule Tied Up

“But there’s the girl.” He gives a small shudder as if shaking the idea off.

I raise my eyebrows and twist in my seat to face him. “Girl?”

He holds my gaze. “Yeah, you know, the one who fell from the tower.”

“Shut the fuck up about dead girls and ghosts.” Kirill peers out into the darkness. “This is supposed to be a romantic getaway.”

He hates the dark.

I twist back around and put my hand on his thigh. “There are lights all around the cabin,” I say. “Beautiful fairy lights. It’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah, unless there’s a power outage,” a voice says from the back seat.

I swivel my head and throw daggers at Dom with my eyes. He makes a face as he realizes what he’s said. Kirill’s knuckles tighten on the wheel.

“Yeah, that won’t happen,” Dom adds quickly.

Tino sits back, slinging his arm over the back of the seat. “There’s a back-up generator, so even if it did, we’re fine.”

Kirill’s knuckles relax a bit. I let out a breath. Sometimes Kirill scares me. Out of the three of them, he’s the one with the potential to go most off the rails. I love him, but the guy comes with more baggage than Louis Vuitton.

Finally, we reach the cabin, and, as the online brochure promised, the Hideaway is twinkling with gorgeous lights, all around, casting a glow on the entire clearing.

I get out of the car first and look around. While the clearing is pretty, and the cabin utterly charming, pressing in on us on all four sides is nothing but pitch-black woods. I suppress a shiver and spin to grin at Kirill when he joins me, not wanting him to notice it the way I did.

Something wet tickles my nose, and I look up.

“It's snowing!” I cry, putting out my gloved hands to catch the delicate flakes and then poking out my tongue. I think of something else. “Shit, are we going to make it to the market tomorrow if it sticks?”

“We’ve got snow chains for the tires,” Kirill reassures me. “We’ll be fine.”

I hope he’s right. While I don’t mind getting snowed in with these three, it’s our daughter’s first Christmas, and I’d be heartbroken not to make it back in time. I’m already feeling guilty for not bringing her with us, but her grandfather reassured us that he’ll make sure she has a lovely time, just the two of them. I know it’s important that they spend quality time together, too. Even though there’s no biological proof of her parentage, Nataniele has taken to grandfather-hood like a champ.

It had taken a little time, but now he’s fully accepted that Domenic is one of her dads, biology be damned.

Dom checks his watch as he joins us, along with Tino. “It’s nearly five,” he says. “The markets go on until eight p.m. Shall we put the bags in and head down now? Take a look?”

“I’d like that.” I could murder a hot drink, and, while we packed food, I’d like to grab some snacks for the evening.

I head inside the cabin, eager to explore. The nostalgic scent of pine hits my nose the moment I walk in. It’s a log cabin and looks exactly like the photographs on the website. A real, giant tree is positioned in one corner of the living area, fully decorated with baubles and ribbons and candy canes, and stockings hang from an open fireplace. A thick, white fur rug covers the wooden floor, and the cast iron chandelier is strewn with garlands. Everywhere I look are more twinkling lights. It’s absolutely perfect, and my heart lifts with happiness.

The guys carry the bags in, not letting me help, even though I’m perfectly capable.

I hear them arguing, voices raised, and I focus on what they are saying.

“You were supposed to pack them,” Dom says to Tino.

“No, you were.”

Kirill sighs. “Well, this isn’t helping, I think we ought to drive somewhere and buy a gun tomorrow.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask, getting in their space to focus their attention on me, and diffuse the building anger.

“Tino forgot to pack the fucking weapons,” Dom snarls.

“No, Dom did,” Tino grumbles.

I laugh. “Guys, we’re at a cabin in the woods. There’s no one for miles. And there’s three of you and you’re all big and strong. Don’t worry, I feel quite safe.”

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