Page 49 of Fire and Ice
“You are the best.” She raised one of them. “Moscato, my favorite. And Chardonnay for DeAndra and Chelsea.”
Grady lifted a six-pack of green beer bottles out of the last bag, along with a bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling cider.
“Rolling Rock.” Brad relieved Grady of the six-pack and the bottle of cider and carried them to the kitchen. “Best beer ever. I’ll get them and the cider to the fridge.”
“Awesome on the beer.” Joe gestured to the paused form of Nyx Cox, the main character of Myth Hunter, currently on the TV screen. “Wanna join us? We have a couple of extra controllers.”
Brad returned, and they walked to the living room. “The girls keep kicking us out of the kitchen.” He pretended to look disappointed. “Guess we have to play the game until they’ll let us near the dining room.”
Joe heaved a big sigh. “We get clean-up and dish duty after dinner.”
The twins plopped onto the tan leather couch, and Grady took the matching armchair. A fire crackled in the fireplace, and he smelled the burning wood. The flames were bright and high, and it looked like a log had recently been added to the fire. A stack of logs was on the right side of the hearth, the poker and ash bucket on the left.
Brad handed over a blue game controller for their PlayStation, and Grady logged into his online account so that he could join their game. The screen was partitioned to show each player. Soon, they continued from where the twins left off.
They were in a jungle, searching for the truth behind a myth and the treasures that came with proving it to be true—if it was. As they maneuvered through the game, they could end up in a trap, a distraction perpetrated by the boss of the level they were on.
Joe took the path on the right, and Brad went to the left.
Grady went down the middle. “I’ve met Ellie McLeod.” Grady’s character used a machete to make his way through the dense jungle. “She’s a great voice actor. In real life, she sounds nothing like Nyx.” The main character had a commanding yet sensual and sophisticated tone. “I hear she does a lot of other voicework for stuff like anime.”
Brad found a bottle of elixir, grabbed it, and continued on. “When did you meet her?”
“When I was at her husband’s horse ranch, before they got married.” Grady barely managed to duck under a falling tree. He hit the ground, rolled, and bounded to his feet—only to come face-to-face with a tribesman, an NPC—non-player character. The tribesman bore a spear dripping with poison.
“I saw her on a talk show,” Joe said. “She is one gorgeous woman.” He flashed a grin at Brad. “Just don’t tell her husband I said so. I hear he’s a big guy.”
“He knows men find her attractive. She attracts a lot of attention at game cons.” Grady battled the tribesman, dodging the poison-tipped spear and running the character through with his longsword. “That’s one thing about her career that he’s not keen on.”
The guys continued on with the game, and Grady felt like he’d known the twins for a long time, probably because Chelsea had talked about them now and then.
The smell of honeyed ham, potatoes, and freshly baked rolls made his belly shout in protest. Grady had to force himself to focus on the game, rather than being distracted by his beautiful woman as she and her sisters made dinner. It was a wonder he did well at the game, considering his thoughts were mostly on Chelsea.
* * *
Chelsea was thrilled at how well Grady fit in with her family. She had been sure he would, but she hadn’t taken it for granted. Christmas dinner had been filled with laughter and chatter, and Grady joined in. She was glad he had been able to arrange his schedule so that he could celebrate Christmas Eve with them, especially since he was so far from all his family. He had to work the rest of his shift tomorrow and the next couple of days after that.
Her mind wandered as she returned to the kitchen to help put away leftovers. She wondered if she and Grady would be together next Christmas. She reined in her thoughts—she didn’t need to go there.
Tomorrow, Chelsea and her sisters and the twins would play board and card games most of the day. Their family tradition was making Christmas Eve the big meal and opening gifts. Christmas Day was pasta and games.
After all the dishes and counters were clean and the food put away, DeAndra turned out the lights and took the dome-shaped dessert Anneka handed her. Anneka lit a long lighter and poured brandy. It caught on fire, and the flames flowed down and over the dessert with the brandy.
Everyone at the table “ooohed” and “ahhhed” as the dessert lit up, the flames dancing. Gradually, the flames died away, and Anneka turned on the lights. DeAndra carried the serving plate to the table and set it close to where she would be sitting.
Chelsea turned to Grady, who sat beside her. “We make figgy pudding, also called Christmas pudding, every year for Christmas Eve.” She gestured to Anneka and DeAndra, who were starting to serve what was a steamed cake-like dessert.
“What’s in the figgy pudding?” Grady looked almost nervous.
Chelsea listed the ingredients, which included raisins, currants, almonds, and candied citrus soaked in brandy. The hard sauce was made with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and brandy.
Grady smiled at Anneka as she served the dessert and held up his hand in a “stop” motion. “It looks and sounds delicious, Anneka, but none for me. I’m allergic to almonds.”
“I should have asked if you had any allergies.” Chelsea looked apologetic. “It never occurred to me.”
Grady smiled. “That’s all right. I’m still pretty full from that wonderful dinner you all cooked.”
It occurred to Chelsea that Grady probably said no because of the brandy, no matter how small an amount it might be. He might not be allergic to almonds, but hadn’t known what else to say, and hadn’t wanted to risk it. Then again, he might have a nut allergy, and it had never come up.
