Page 26 of The Mistletoe Trap
“At the physical therapist,” Darlene said, closing the oven door with her hip before Julie could catch a glimpse of what delicious treat had gone inside.
With the fudge fully mixed, Mom took the bowl and poured it into a buttered dish to set, and Julie moved to the burbling coffee pot.
“By the way,” Mom said as she passed the sugar. “How was your date last night? Sounds like you were quite taken with Kory.”
Julie’s spidey senses ignited, and she forced her features into an expressionless veneer as she slowly pivoted to face her mother. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Just that people saw you out and about, and from what I heard, it seems youreallyliked him.”
Oh-kay.Back in the day, she used to take the bait Mom dangled in this method of fishing for information. Now she remained quiet, determined not to get caught. Evidently, the rest of the town didn’t feel the same way, although how would any of them know how much she did or didn’t like Kory? Was making polite conversation nowadays considered beguilement?
“Don’t feel like you have to rush things. Since he lives in Arizona, you can take it slow and continue seeing each other there.”
Julie opened her mouth, but that was how unsuspecting fishies ended up with hooks embedded in their mouths. Don’t have to rush things? You can take it slow? Surely Kory hadn’t told her mom she’d come on strong. No way would he do that.
Would he?
Leave it to her to pick a guy who actually wanted commitment for her first attempt at a fling. Especially ironic considering she used to accidentally pick players all the frickin’ time. But Mom had called him Kory instead of not-Gavin, which was the typical sign she didn’t like a guy, and had sabotaged more than one of her relationships. No response would be the right one, so Julie asked Darlene how she could help.
The moms were all too quick to inform her that Niki was working on signs in the craft room, and she should assist with those, since baking wasn’t her strong suit. In other words,You still haven’t been forgiven for those two batches of cookies you burned seven years ago.
“Oh, but before I forget,” Mom said, and Julie turned around. “We signed you and Gavin up to work the first shift at the toy drive tomorrow night from five to seven. I figured you’d enjoy watching the kids get their toys, and a lot of them will be thrilled to meet a professional quarterback. Just make sure to show up thirty minutes in advance so they can go over the rules and instructions.”
“We just hand out toys? That’s it?” Where was the catch? Usually, the moms signed them up for booths without telling them. It’d started in high school and persisted through college, despite the counterargument about them being grown-ass adults.
They’d claim to understand, but then Julie and Gavin would come home for the holidays andSurprise,guess whatyouvolunteered for.Last year she ended up struggling to paint faces, as if her parents weren’t aware she failed at even stick figure art. While she’d attempted snowmen, snowflakes, and yellow blobs meant to be stars, Gavin merely put a black stripe on the kids’ cheeks, as if getting them ready to play football.
One mom griped that her daughter looked like a prostitot thanks to the face full of makeup Julie had given her when she’d asked for that instead of Christmas art. How was she supposed to know her mother didn’t allow her to wear makeup?
But she and Gavin had done the same thing they’d always done: reminded themselves it was for a charitable cause.
Same way they had the yearFrozenwas all the rage and they’d been volunteered to play Anna and Kristoff. The oddest thing about that was while Julie had blond hair and needed a wig to play Anna, Claudette Hamilton, who had auburn hair, had to borrow a wig to play Elsa.
Both sets of parents were shocked that being dressed like old-timey Norwegians didn’t lead to a Frozen Ever After type fairy tale.
Now she wondered if she and Gavin should prepare a speech similar to the one they’d delivered after that debacle, while she had drawn-on freckles and a cape to swing around for emphasis, and Gavin was still wearing lederhosen. It’d involved letting go of the notion of marrying off their childrento each other,demanding everyone accept Kristin as a more permanent figure, and ended with a diatribe that boiled down to “Let us live our own freaking lives.”
“It’s going to be so much fun, just you wait,” Darlene said. “This year will be the biggest and bestest bazaar yet.” The gleeful grin she and Mom shared had foreboding pricking at Julie’s skin. Those two were definitely up to something.
Normally she’d assume it had to do with their matchmaking efforts, but the introduction to Kory and inquiry about their date was throwing her off. Given how content and secure Julie felt in her best friend’s arms last night,shemight be the one in need of a reality check.
…
There were the kind of torture tactics used by spies, and then there was the kind you signed up for with physical therapists. Gavin was sure they’d be against the Geneva Convention Laws, but no one required them to be submitted, due to the instructions sounding so innocuous.
Turn your neck to the left. Now the right.
Pain fired across the top of his shoulder, and he gritted his teeth.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold it for six little seconds. Then repeat it until you cry.
To be fair, the therapist said ten times, but semantics. Just when he felt like it wasn’t all that bad, Maggie instructed him to hold on to a wand and lift it over his head. All fine and well till the horrible thing was level with his shoulder.
Fuuuuuck.Such easy movement, but it caught every time he attempted to lift it over his head.
“That’s the thing about muscles,” Maggie said. “When they’re working together, they’re amazing. When one gets hurt, the others try to help. It just makes them too tight to do much helping sometimes.”
Sure. Whatever. Considering Maggie had been working on him since high school, he’d heard the spiel before. Never made him feel much better, though. He didn’t want to know the whys; just make it go away. “I need my throwing arm back as soon as possible.”
