Page 194 of Eight Years Gone

As he took off his jacket, his gaze wandered from the gorgeous tree skirt Grace had bought at some point during the day to the large charcuterie board in the center of the coffee table, noting the crackers and grapes and the six or seven slices of his favorite pepperoni that hadn’t been eaten.

The noise of Colton and Amanda laughing as they fought to pull the gigantic beanbag from his bedroom down the hallway filled the space as Perry Como’s “There’s No Place” played through the speakers.

Without warning, Colton tackled Amanda to the bag, creating another round of laughter from them both before he moved in for a kiss.

Colton paused and lifted his head as Amanda pushed at his shoulder and rushed to her feet when they realized they weren’t alone.

Unconcerned about Colton and Amanda’s flirty roughhousing, Jagger tossed his jacket on the arm of the couch. “I’m late.”

Colton nodded as he stood. “But you’re in time for the movie.”

Jagger frowned as he glanced around, looking toward the dark master bedroom—the only other place Grace could be. “Where’s your sister?”

“She’s putting the last of the boxes back in the garage.”

“I’ll give her a hand,” he said as he headed for the laundry room, opening the door to the garage.

Grace stood straight from putting a box in the plastic bin, meeting his gaze as she sent him a small smile. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he said, recognizing the guarded hurt she tried to hide. But her big blue eyes gave her away.

He sighed as he walked down the steps, painfully aware that he’d broken his word again. “The tree looks great, Gracie.”

She nodded as she turned to get back to her project, putting the lid on one of the bins. “Colton and Amanda did a great job. They had fun.”

He stopped before her, gently tugging her arm until she faced him. “What about you?”

She nodded again as she forced another smile. “It was nice.”

He clenched his jaw, understanding that she was trying to be a good sport, but nothing about him missing tonight was okay. Christmas had always been Grace’s favorite holiday. And this Christmas was even more special after his time overseas. “I’m sorry I missed everything, Grace.”

“I understand,” she said as she shrugged. “It’s fine.” But she didn’t meet his gaze as she told him so.

“Will you look at me?”

“Just leave it alone, Jagger,” she said as she turned away again.

He turned her back before she could grab the next box. “Don’t do that thing where you pretend stuff’s okay. Because it’s not.”

She blinked as her eyes grew teary. “What do you want me to say? That I’m frustrated and disappointed? Am I supposed to tell you that I’m mad?”

“Yes.”

She huffed out a humorless laugh. “What good does that do? What does it change? You’re helping my brother, so it hardly seems fair to be upset with you—”

“But you are.”

She nodded as a tear trailed down her cheek. “But I shouldn’t be. I know you were looking forward to tonight, too.”

He nodded. “I was. There’s nothing I wanted more than to be here with you and Colton, but I also couldn’t ignore a lead.”

She sniffled as she wiped her cheek. “And that’s why I don’t want to be mad. None of this is your fault.”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.”

She jerked her shoulders. “We’ll decorate the tree together next year.”

He pulled her against him, wrapping her up in a hug. “I’m sorry, Gracie.”

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