Page 17 of Season of Gifts

Henry

Losswasinevitable.

Henry surveyed his available cards.Jay and Alice were both positioned to win in this round if they’d set themselves up properly; he would need another to bring his plan to fruition.No sooner had he announced the end of his turn than Jay, in a flurry of movements, declared victory.

Receiving much acclaim, Jay shoved himself up from the floor and ostentatiously bowed.Alice scrabbled in the popcorn bowl and turned up nothing but kernels.She nudged the bowl toward Jay.“Ahem.”

The family game night was clearly the true victor.He would have to incorporate more such things after dinner throughout the year rather than reserving it for the calendar of gifts.Though the Christmas tree did add a festive air.“Winner makes a fresh bowl of popcorn is, I believe, what we’ve decided.”

Jay, laughing, snatched the empty bowl.“On it.”He backed toward the kitchen, waggling the bowl enticingly.The flames flickering in the fireplace cast a mosaic of light and shadow across him.“Just means I get the first bite of hot, buttery goodness.”

Alice mimed launching a pillow at him, and Jay agreeably ducked.The light came on in the kitchen.

Hefting the game box, Alice gazed across the coffee table at Henry.“Time for a switch?That’s one railroad commerce win for each of us.”

He glanced at the stack of already played games—one—and the stack of yet-to-be-tried games—eleven—and raised his brow at her.“You may be on to something.”

With a snort, she swept colorful miniature train cars into plastic baggies as he gathered the cards.“Okay, just because we named like forty-three games at breakfast after we opened the card didn’t mean you were obligated to buy half of them today.”

He hummed softly.Their excited chatter had been too delightful to ignore, and he’d intended to augment the few games he’d already selected in any case.“And yet I do so enjoy having enough on hand to keep you both well satisfied.”

“Are you…” A slight furrow creased her forehead.She took her time pinching the tops closed on the bags.From the kitchen came thewhirrof the popcorn machine starting its cycle.“Are you worried that we aren’t?”

Well wasn’t that an interesting question.If the topic hadn’t been on her mind, she wouldn’t have asked—which meant something was potentially worrying Alice about their relationship.And as Alice rarely acted without evidence to bolster her hypothesis, she’d experienced something worrisome.Perhaps his distraction on the deck last night had been noted.

“I’m not, no.”He answered gently, pruning any defensiveness from his tone.“I am mindful of the stressors in our lives, most recently Jay’s brush with mortality, but I am not fearful regarding the strength of our marriage.”

She clasped her right hand around her left, guarding her ring, the proof of their commitment.Her face relaxed as she nodded.“Okay, good.That’s good.”

The game board folded, she set it neatly in the box and lowered the lid.The glossy paperboard emitted a quiethonkas the air rushed out.“Fart box.”She laughed.“Should’ve saved that until Jay was back.What should we play next?”

He offered up a medieval mapping game, and they began unpacking the contents.When he was certain she thought the previous conversation behind them, he touched the back of her hand.“Was there something that gave you cause to worry, Alice?”

“Me?What?No, I—” She glanced at the kitchen.The popcorn had reached the apex of its explosions, a riot of sound.“I saw you in the hall.I couldn’t…” She lowered her voice regardless.“I couldn’t read your face.Nothing was bothering you?About…” A square game tile tumbled over and over in her fingers.“About me?Or anything?”

In the hall.In the—ah.Before dinner, yes.If he’d been pensive watching his lovers, the reasons had naught to do with the two of them.Intrigued, aroused, inspired—he’d been all of those things also, and as he hadn’t noticed her observing him, thinking the two of them quite engrossed in their play, he couldn’t say with any certainty what expression she might have imagined him wearing.But the experience had disquieted her.

Cupping her face, he stroked the side of her neck, the sensitive places beneath her ear, lulling her tension as he held her gaze.“Dearest girl.You are, quite simply, mesmerizing.Do you know”—he mirrored his hold with his other hand, cradling her in his palms—“the only trouble with our grand house is that now, rather than taking a short stroll down the hall to assist me in planning the timing for dinner, I must climb flights of stairs to ascertain the status of your play.Perhaps a bit more volume?Though that shriek was exquisite.”

Gazing dreamily, she required three blinks to comprehend his teasing.Her cheeks heated delightfully.“More volume, got it.And the flogging?Did you see?Was it…” She attempted to dip her chin, but his hold wouldn’t allow it.“Was it okay?”

Sweeping back her hair, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.“Jay appeared enthusiastically satisfied, which I believe is your answer.”

Though he’d sidestepped her central question.Any melancholy he’d accidentally revealed had been the result of generalized thoughts—Jay’s instinctive self-blame, his if-only wishing to have prevented his unfortunate client’s death, and the use of impact play as a therapeutic tool for exorcising such self-flagellation.But Jay had seemed an enthusiastic participant this evening, not one seeking an outlet for lingering, misdirected guilt he harbored.Henry knew the difference firsthand; he could, if not rest easy, at least relax his vigilance for signs of underlying trouble.In Jay, that was.Alice’s insecurities needed repeated unwinding, lest she tangle herself in them again.

“Are you worried about your skill with the implement, sweet girl?”He whispered the question into her ear, cognizant of the sounds from the kitchen—no longer the pop of the corn but what might be the clink of ice into glasses.Wise Jay, delaying as needed.“Or is something else troubling you?”

She breathed deep, her body relaxing into him.“No…” Fiddling with his shirtfront, she touched the base of his throat, stroking lightly.“I’m still gathering data.Not ready to ask yet.Not sure what I’d ask.But when I figure it out?”She drew her head back and met his gaze, her eyes hopeful.“We can talk?”

“Whenever you’re ready.”He clasped her hand, rubbing the wedding ring he and Jay had settled there less than three weeks earlier.“I’m not going anywhere.”

Chapter ten

Henry

Blinkingslowly,Henrygreetedthe invisible mantle of dominance settling across his shoulders with a slow-burning hunger.The stories of the day had been told, and Alice and Jay had nearly finished clearing the dinner table.The morning’s calendar card sat propped against the basket, the sketch of his own eyes facing Jay’s seat as it had throughout the meal.

Would his pets have guessed what this Friday night held for them?The magic of the holiday season may open us to new perspectives, he’d written.A message vague enough to have kept them preoccupied all day with discerning its meaning.

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