Page 19 of Daniel
“This would be amazing in coffee,” Andrew said, as Jacob chuckled.
“Sacrilege,” Dad said sternly, but his eyes were smiling. “You don’t taint good whiskey with anything beyond a single ice cube.”
“That’s the kind of crap we expect from the baby,” I said, nodding toward Jacob.
“Yeah, well Mom said I’m the youngest and most precious. So there.” He stuck out his tongue, causing Andrew to elbow him in the ribs.
Dad stared up to the stars twinkling above us. “Your mother has turned back into a dancing machine, and you boys are all twelve again. Definitely feels like Christmas.”
His head twitched up and to the west, sniffing the air.
We all followed suit. “Snow tomorrow,” I said. “A bit more than usual, I’m guessing.”
“No,” Andrew said. “Just a dusting.”
Jacob shook his head. “I honestly can’t tell if you are all full of it.”
“Maybe when you get a bit older you’ll start to feel it,” Dad chuckled, reaching out to mess up his hair.
I took a peek in the window to see Prairie laughing with the others, looking completely at home in my family’s living room.
No doubt about it, this was the best Christmas Eve of my life.
12
PRAIRIE
When the men snuck out, I knew it was for a male family bonding thing. In any other situation, I might have been nervous at being left in a room with strangers. Yet we all were getting along really well, and the atmosphere was both festive and relaxed at the same time.
Mary, Robin, and Sierra were all utterly delightful, and it was nice that we were all getting to know each other at the same time.
When Mary went to the kitchen to put the coffee on, Robin said, “So I guess the three of us are going to be our own little team.”
“A secret club,” Sierra grinned. “The girlfriends of the King boys.”
“Yeah,” I said, lowering my voice conspiratorially. “My cousin Lila warned me that everyone in town sort of watches the Kings to see what they’re up to. So if anything gets weird, maybe we can help each other out.”
They laughed, and Sierra added, “My Aunt Lucy says that it won’t be so bad once the town gets used to us, and finds out that we’re nice girls.”
“Arewe “nice girls”, though?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “We’ve just scooped up the best men in town. Somebody’s bound to be ticked off about that.” They both laughed uproariously, which made me happy.
“So what about you, Prairie?” Sierra asked. “Someone said that you just came back from art school…?”
“Yes. But I suspect that drawing and painting aren’t very productive pursuits in a small town, so I don’t know what I’m going to do for work.”
“Do you have any photos of your paintings on your phone?” Robin asked, as Mary returned and sat with us.
“Sure.”
I opened an album primarily of paintings of florals and landscapes, with some abstract patterns thrown in as well. They passed the phone around, and as soon as it was in Mary’s hand, her eyes widened as she flipped through.
“You said you needed a job?”
“Yes. I mean, I’m living with my parents, so it’s not an emergency or anything.”
“You’re hired.” Mary gave me a warm smile as the guys came back in.
Daniel snuggled in beside me as his arm automatically curled around my waist. He always smelled incredible, but now he had a faint scent of whiskey and the forest. It distracted me from what Mary had said.
