Page 193 of Eight Years Gone

Nah, don’t let me hold you up. I want you guys to have fun. I’m not sure how long I’ll be, but I’ll be home as soon as I can.

Be safe, Grace typed.

I will. I love you.

I love you too.

He put down his phone, grabbed the camera from the front seat, and zoomed in, snapping pictures, only to set the camera down thirty minutes later to tail Greg and Jimmy to the Range Rover dealership up the street.

Picking up the camera again, he documented Jimmy and Greg following the same procedure, knowing in his bones that whatever Jimmy and Greg were up to had everything to do with whatever would eventually go down. Because nothing about Jimmy and Greg’s car shopping made any sense. Ray could get them whatever inventory they wanted at Millsdale Automotive.

Fifty

Grace’s eyes wandered to the clock as she selected the Christmas Classics station on Spotify. She turned the music up while Colton and Amanda worked as a team to string the lights around the massive tree.

It was possible that she, Colton, and Amanda might have gotten carried away as they carefully selected the perfect blue spruce at the farm, but Grace didn’t regret it one bit.

This was the first time in a long time that she’d gone big. Over the last several years, she’d picked out a small coffee table tree, finding that the joy and fun of Christmas had vanished the same year that Jagger did.

But everything was different now as her brother laughed at something Amanda said while they struggled to untangle a knot in the strand of white lights.

Glancing at the clock again, Grace realized she’d lost another ten minutes as Colton and Amanda nearly finished their task.

She hesitated as she grabbed the two full boxes of the ornaments she’d purchased over the last eight years. During every Christmas season, she’d added to her collection, tucking them away for a moment just like this. Now she hoped Jagger would be home in time to help hang them on the tree.

She’d been looking forward to this night since she and Jagger had spoken about it on Thanksgiving. If she was honest, she’d been craving this fun-filled evening for nearly a decade. But now they would have to see if it came to fruition.

The morning had started out with such promise when Jagger had woken in their bed. When she’d headed to the kitchen to make his breakfast, she’d anticipated an opportunity to spend some much-needed time together. It had been days since they’d seen each other.

Shortly after Jagger had gotten the information he’d needed from Colton last Saturday morning, he’d mostly been gone, except for the two hours he’d been home Tuesday evening for a quick dinner. Otherwise, they’d communicated by an occasional text, much like they had today.

Colton’s gaze wandered her way, and she smiled, making sure it was bright, knowing that he was watching her.

Her brother had constantly been on edge, always looking over his shoulder, heading to the shop directly after school to keep an eye on her, she knew, while Jagger was away.

Jagger had hired people to discreetly watch them both on the days and nights he was gone, but Colton was wound tight nonetheless.

But tonight, Colton had let his guard down as they selected their tree and cut it down. He and Amanda had easily eaten a half dozen of the warm apple cider donuts Jagger had talked about. Colton had laughed more than ever as they fought to secure the eight-foot monster of a tree on top of the Sorento. They’d been home for almost an hour, and he still seemed relaxed. She’d be damned if her melancholy mood would bring the troubled light back to his eyes.

She brought the boxes to the coffee table, removing the lids. “I’ve got the garland and the ornaments for when we’re ready.”

Colton frowned. “Where’s Jagger?”

“He’s on his way, but he wants us to get started,” she fibbed because the truth was, she hadn’t heard from him in close to two hours, not since he’d texted her while they were at the farm, letting her know that he would be a bit longer yet.

But as time ticked by, she grew impatient to hear his Stingray pull into the driveway. “If you guys want to work on the garland, I’ll grab the charcuterie board and make us some hot cocoa. And I picked up more of your favorite cookies at Brew.”

Colton held her gaze as he nodded. “Sure, that sounds good.”

“Great.” She shot him another bright smile. “Just give me a few minutes, and we’ll get to the main event.”

She turned away, walking to the kitchen, quietly sighing as she noted it was just past six. “Where are you?” she whispered, focusing on the ingredients she needed for their hot drinks instead of her disappointment.

* * *

Jagger quickly pulled into the driveway, then jogged up the walkway, hating that he was incredibly late.

It was just past seven thirty as he twisted his key in the lock and opened the door, stepping into the glow of white Christmas lights brightening the beautifully decorated tree.

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