Page 8 of Christmas Agreement
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s… That’s… You talking about the two of you going pro just brings it home. You and Kyle are going away. Leaving Majestic Falls. And…” She lifted a shoulder. “I’ll be here. I always figured you’d go, but neither of you have talked about it, so I guess I never really thought much about it.”
Crap, I should have waited with that info. I didn’t want her to pull away before I make her mine, before she knew I wouldn’t never desert her. Still, the last thing I wanted was to be less than truthful with her. My future job was a bridge we could cross later.
“I have no intention of leaving you behind. You might be here for awhile, until you’re ready,” I offered ambiguously, not spelling out all my intentions. “But I’ll always be back. Both Kyle and I will. This is home. And when you’re ready, you can come to Charleston.”
“More coffee,” a voice interjected. My startled gaze shifted to the waitress. I’d been so focused on Katie, I hadn’t seen the woman approach. I declined another refill, and Katie shook her head, too. My girl seemed lost in her thoughts, and it worried me.
“Ready to get your apartment full of holiday spirit?” I asked, once I’d paid our bill. I slid to my feet and held out my hand. Katie placed her small fingers in mine, and I pulled her up.
“Let’s do this,” she said. “And maybe, we should talk about the dates next week, too.”
She did air quotes arounddateswith one hand, and I didn’t like it. But that was the state of things. For now
“Yeah, we’ll do that, too.”
By Wednesday night, she’d know I wasn’t faking anything.
Five
Katie
I’d almost teared up when Rugar had mentioned going pro with Kyle. If Rugar had asked, I’d hoped I could have passed it off as sadness around losing my brother. But really, it was more that Rugar would be leaving. His family had moved away. Once he left Majestic Falls, he had no reason to return. My brother, on the other hand, would always come back.
I have no intention of leaving you behind…
What did that mean? What did any of this mean? With breakfast this morning, our two fake dates had just turned into a third, and if he was serious about coming back to decorate on Monday, a fourth. My head was spinning.
Rugar had insisted I needed arealtree, so after breakfast we’d driven to the lot on Henderson Mill Road that was run by a local tree farm. The line had been super long, though, so I’d begged him to just let me use the artificial tree I already owned. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend more time with him, but I was sure he had better things to do than stand in a long queue, waiting to get an unnecessary pine.
He’d dropped me off at my apartment, promising to return Monday night with pizza and tinsel. For a moment, we hesitated, and I swore he’d inched forward, bending closer, as ifhe were going to kiss me, but then he’d straightened suddenly. I gave him a soft smile before fleeing into the solitude of my apartment.
I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon cleaning, not wanting Rugar to come over on Monday and find a stray sock in the couch or something equally embarrassing. I wasn’t a slob, but I lived there, and with full-time classes and a part time job, the apartment occasionally fell to pieces.
When everything was wiped down, vacuumed and fluffed, I stared around, pretty proud of myself. My home looked great, and I’d made plenty of room for the tree in the corner by the window.
I opened the door, ready to go down to our small storage locker in the basement, and shrieked in surprise as a fist stopped just shy of my forehead.
“Hey!” Rugar said brightly, pulling his hand back quickly. “I was just about to knock.”
“Or knock me out,” I countered, clutching my heart and gasping. “What are you doing here? You’re two days early.”
“Well, I was out driving and noticed there wasn’t a line at the tree lot. So…” He took a few steps into the hallway then came back, lugging a massive fir tree with him.
“You bought me a tree?” I asked, stunned at his thoughtfulness. “I would have been fine with my fake one, Rugar.”
“Nah,” he argued. I stepped aside to let him into the apartment. Stunned, I watched him wrestle the pine inside, his effort sending a few needles flying onto the clean floor.
“Every girl,” he panted, “needs…some holiday cheer…and a sweet smelling pine…in her place.”
He dragged the thing closer. It was way too big for the available space, but after I pointed, he lugged it to the corner. He leaned it against the wall and looked around.
“Where’s your tree stand?”
“I don’t have one,” I said, theduhclear in my tone. “Because I have a fake tree. I also don’t have enough ornaments to fill one side of this thing.” I stared up at the tip that brushed the ceiling. “What on earth possessed you to get one this size?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I’m impulsive, I guess. I thought you’d like it.”
