Page 17 of Christmas on Ice
“Everything!” She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me smack on the nose, drooling a bit of sticky maraschino cherry juice. Kami hid a smile as she headed down the bar to greet new customers.
I laughed and settled her back on the stool. “Okay, then.”
“What are you going to be tonight?” she asked.
“To be?” I wasn’t following.
“I’mThinter Bale. Butyou”—she pointed at my shirt—“are just a boy.”
Ouch. I hoped her mother didn’t share that opinion.
“So … you want me to dress up?” I glanced at the clock behind the bar. One o’clock. Plenty of time to pull my favorite costume out and get back here.
“It’s a rule on Honnoh-ween,” she said with a shrug.
And rules had to be kept.
10
Kami
By seven o’clock, Eat-Before-You-Treat had wrapped up, and my feet were killing me. Trask had left an hour earlier with the Antonovs and the Wards, after an impromptu photoshoot of the girls in front of the brewing equipment, which had been decorated for the event.
“Where’s Ryleigh?” I jumped, my shoulders tightening at the familiar voice of Sutton Spencer. I froze, holding tightly to the soda glass and ice scoop. Anger boiled to the surface when I thought about how he’d let Ryleigh down, and I had to count to three before I turned around.
I felt Brenna behind me before she spoke. “She’s trick-or-treating, Spencer. Whereelsedid you think she’d be on Halloween night?”
“I’m supposed to take her. Why isn’t she here?” he growled.
I glared at him. “Do I need to remind you how you unceremoniously and irresponsibly left her here this afternoon becauseyouhad better things to do?”
“I had a meeting!” he snapped. “I couldn’t miss it. I told you I might make it back.”
“Might is a far cry fromwill,” I fired back. “What was more important than your daughter? You know how much she loves Halloween. How could you even think of ruining it for her?”
He ignored my question. “Who’s she with?”
“My friends,” I said through my clenched teeth.
He glared back at me. “Brenna is here. She going with Chelsea, then?”
I didn’t answer.
“You’re supposed to run any other babysitters by me before you let her go with anyone else.”
“No, I don’t.” I seethed. “It’s the other way around, since I have primary custody. Check your paperwork, Sutton. And next time, don’t leave me in a pinch.”
He squeezed his fists. “So who’s she with?”
“Friends.”
“Who?”
“What was so important?”
“Why don’t you want to tell me?”
I stared him down, not willing to be the one to break this time.
