Page 3 of Kept for Christmas

I nod, but none of that’s true. I don’t want Emma to leave. The past week has been better than I imagined. Usually, I sit up here alone, working nonstop while simultaneously contemplating every fucking life choice I’ve made. This week, there’s been a beautiful girl sitting next to me, watching me work, cracking jokes, reading me articles she finds interesting. Hell, she even made me cookies at one point. These big, fresh things she calls cowboy cookies with pecans and coconut.

“No problem,” I say, following Dr. Thorpe out the front door and toward the driveway. “I’ll keep her calm. No more stress.”

He nods and heads toward his truck, nodding to my brother Sam as he pulls in. I have no fucking clue what he wants, but I have a feeling I’m going to hear all about it. Out of all my brothers, I’m closest to him. I think it’s because he was the oldest and I was the baby. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting into too much trouble, so he made sure to light all my firecrackers and go with me four-wheeling through the woods every time I went out. He can say it was for my safety all he wants, but we both know he enjoyed having someone looking up to him.

I stand at the door, watching the snow fall peacefully as a light wind brushes across the horizon. My cabin is set away frommost that goes on at the tree farm, and I have to say, I’m pretty grateful for it. I like the separation from the crowds. Sam, on the other hand, wants to be right in the middle of everything.

“You’re here, on a Sunday, after dinner. Isn’t that frowned upon?” I hold the front porch door open, and he pushes past me and heads into the kitchen.

“You know anyone named Jen Holden?”

“Name sounds familiar, but I don’t think so. Why?”

“She just called and offered me two thousand bucks to attend the eclipse party with her,” he stares toward me, “as her fiancé.”

“What?” I grab him a beer from the fridge. “Why? You know her well?”

“Don’t know her at all, man. She emailed me out of the blue. She said she saw my picture on the tree farm website and wanted a piece, I guess.” He laughs. “It’s the weirdest fuckin’ thing, man. I don’t know what the hell to say.”

I wrinkle my brows. “How about no?”

“Yeah, that would be the logical answer, but the money would be nice.”

I laugh. “Dear fucking God, you’re losing it. You don’t even know this girl. Where is she from?”

“Kansas, I think. I don’t know. I haven’t responded to the email yet, but I looked her up online.”

“Don’t do it. We’re gonna be busy as hell here. We’re already trying to plan something for Chevy coming home, and it’s almost Christmas, so… just don’t.”

He nods as though he agrees, though I get the feeling he’s still thinking of doing something crazy. “What about you? How are things going with the mental patient?”

“She’s not exactly a mental patient, but… I officially suck at taking care of people. Actually, I might be the worst.”

“How so?” He takes a swig of beer and leans back against the counter. When that man leans into anything, I start to worry it’s not secure enough. We’re all big boys, but Sam’s always been a standout. If you ask him, he’ll say he took all the good genes before we got here.

“Well, she blacked out.” I glance up at the microwave clock. “She’s been out for hours. That’s why Thorpe was here.”

“Fuck.” Sam laughs and tugs on his beard. “You’re a mess, man. Thought you liked this girl.”

“What? No. What makes you think that?”

“Jesus. Get the fuck off it and just be real. You look at her constantly, but she’s too young. So, instead of playing it cool, you’re thinking you’ll throw her off the scent by being an asshole, right?” He shakes his head and grins, tossing back another sip. “You’re a mess, man. If you like her, go for it. Everyone else in this family’s been getting serious with someone lately. We’re basically on an island with just the two of us now.”

“Is that what you’re doing? You’ve got yourself some mystery girl who wants to wine and dine you to the tune of two grand.Does that mean you have to put out?”

He rolls his eyes and sets the glass bottle down on the counter beside him. “Grow up. I could use the extra cash.”

“For what? This year has been better than ever. The farm is doing great with all the tourism. You don’t need the money.”

“I could always use the money,” he groans and looks away as though he has something he isn’t telling me about.

The bedroom door creaks open and soft footsteps make their way down the hall. Shit! I have a million questions for Sam, but I don’t want Emma to have to deal with company the second she wakes up. My goal is to keep her stress low.

Sam looks toward me and grins before heading out the door. “That’s my cue to leave. Good luck. I’ll let you know what happens.”

The door has barely slammed shut before Emma makes her way into the kitchen. Her hair is a mess, and her face is pink from where she’d been laying.

She’s so beautiful.

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