Page 2 of Knot what I want for Christmas
“Of course I’m here!” I say, grinning so widely my cheeks might actually be splitting.
I can’t help it when I’m around Annie. Her energy and enthusiasm are infectious, and it’s impossible to be in a bad mood when you’re with her. Well, it’s impossible for me anyway. Her big brother Clay seems immune to his sister’s high spirits; you couldn’t get two people who are more polar opposites. Clay rarely smiles, rarely seems happy and rarely gets excited about anything. In fact, most of the time he looks unamused and unimpressed. Especially when small, snotty little omegas sneeze all over his face.
“I was beginning to panic,” she says. “I was right by the exit gate watching for you. I even had a welcome sign and everything.” She unravels a long sign, hand-drawn in an array of felt-tip colors.
I shrug. “I must have snuck right past.” I hug her again, whispering in her ear, “You probably got distracted by that football team that was on my flight.”
“Oh my goodness,” Annie whispers back. “I’ve never seen so many hot men in one place.”
“That,” I say, “is because you live out in the middle of nowhere. If you were back in Rockview–”
“Yeah, yeah,” she says, hooking her arm through mine and motioning her head toward the trolley with all the luggage.
Clay gets the hint and strides right toward it, pushing the thing with no effort at all. In fact, the misbehaving wheel now seems to have mended its bad behavior altogether. I’mnot exactly surprised. There’s something about Clay Jackson, something authoritarian, which means everybody does as he says and everybody behaves well in his presence. Well, at least most people do. Annie seems immune to her brother’s superpowers just like he’s immune to hers.
Clay and the trolley stride off determinedly in front of us, and Annie and I walk behind.
“How was your flight?” Annie said. “Did you manage to bag a seat next to any of those football players?”
“No,” I say, “they were all in first class. I was stuck between an old lady with a fear of flying and a middle-aged man who thought I wanted to hear about his upcoming divorce.”
“You poor thing. Probably in need of a stiff drink.”
“Oh,” I say, “I may have had one or two of those on the airplane.”
“Good for you,” Annie says as we walk onto the car lot, catching up with Clay, who’s already loading my suitcases into the back of a smart-looking pickup truck.
“Is this yours?” I ask Annie.
She rolls her eyes. “Of course not. This is Clay’s. My baby’s at home.”
“Her baby wouldn’t make it out to the airport and back,” Clay said. “It’s unreliable. She needs to replace it.”
“I most certainly do not,” Annie says. “There’s nothing unreliable about old Dina at all.”
“Hmm,” Clay says, opening the passenger door and letting Annie slide inside. I follow her in, and he shuts the door after us.
“Wow,” I say.
“What?” Annie fastens her seatbelt and shifts round to look at me.
I lean in and whisper to her, “I don’t think a man has opened a car door for me… ever.”
Annie grins at me. “Welcome to Colorado, Hollie, where men – well, most men – have manners.”
“Right,” I say. “Maybe I am going to like it here.”
“You’re gonna love it,” Annie says, taking my hand in hers and squeezing it. “And I’m so pleased you’re here, Hollie. I couldn’t bear the thought of you stuck all alone in your apartment back in Rockview. Not for the holidays.”
Clay opens the driver’s door next and jumps up into the seat in one swift move, slamming the door and revving the engine.
“She’s going to really love it here, isn’t she, Clay?”
Clay’s eyes flick up to the rearview mirror, clear blue rimmed in a curtain of dark lashes. He meets my gaze with his usual indifference. “Depends,” he says. “She might find it too cold.”
“No, she won’t,” Annie says. “That’s the best thing about this time of year. You can snuggle up by the fire, drink hot chocolate and watch the snow fall. Can’t do any of that back in Rockview. Even in the middle of winter, it’s still baking hot.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I quite like the idea of snuggling.”
