Page 17 of Another Christmas from Hell

Was late, Bryce realized when he heard his phone chiming from the other room. Sighing heavily, he turned off the shower and grabbed a towel off the shelf, quickly drying off before heading to his room and resigning himself to the long day ahead. Once he was dressed, he went to grab the pie that his sister told him to bring for dinner, only to remember that he already ate it. Shrugging it off, Bryce opened his apartment door, and-

Wondered why he’d agreed to this asinine plan when the smoke detectors went off.

* * *

“Why areyou doing this to me?” Cayley demanded as she struggled not to fall off the chair as she frantically waved the Christmas baking magazine that she’d picked up for inspiration in the general direction of the smoke alarm that wouldn’t stop blaring. It would probably be more effective if she released the death grip that she had on the back of the chair so that she could stand up straight, bringing her closer to the smoke alarm, but since that would most likely result in her falling to her death, Cayley decided that this would have to do.

“Stupid turkey,” Cayley muttered with a heartfelt sigh as she stared at the large turkey that had moved past the lovely golden color that she’d been hoping for and settled on charcoal.

She probably should have taken it out when that little plastic thingie popped up, but in her defense, she didn’t have a meat thermometer, mostly because she’d never had a reason to buy one before, so she decided that the best course of action was to leave the turkey in the oven for a little bit longer just to be on the safe side. That had resulted in regret, the smoke alarm going off, and for some strange reason that she couldn’t understand at the moment, the large man that she’d found herself thinking about over the last two days standing in her kitchen, once again, glaring at her.

“What the hell are you doing?” Bryce asked, sighing heavily as he reached over and plucked her off the chair and placed her on her feet before making his way to the small kitchen window and opened it, which, in retrospect, was something that she probably should have done as soon as she realized that the turkey was on fire.

“Proving your brother wrong,” Cayley said as she shifted her attention to the potatoes that she’d been boiling and-

Sighed when she realized that they’d turned to slush sometime in the last five minutes. Damn it. That led to her discovering that the bag of frozen corn that she’d tossed on the counter had thawed and was now a watery mess, which was followed by the realization that she forgot to turn on the burner for the butternut squash, the white sauce that she’d made for the creamed onions was filled with lumps, and her biscuits…

She forgot to make them.

“How’s that going?” Bryce asked as he turned off the oven while she stood there, trying not to wince because she probably should have done that too.

“Great,” Cayley said, sighing heavily as she grabbed her cellphone off the kitchen counter and did a quick search for restaurants that were open near her, deciding that perhaps she’d start a new Thanksgiving tradition, one that didn’t involve burning a turkey.

“Is there a reason why you’re here instead of at your aunt’s house or with your father?” Bryce asked, taking in the mess that was her kitchen while she tried to remember if she’d locked her door last night. Probably not, considering the fact that he’d been able to walk into her apartment without knocking. She should probably start locking it, Cayley decided as she followed his gaze, only to sigh when she saw the mess waiting for her.

“My father made other plans,” Cayley said, deciding not to mention that he’d made those plans after she’d assured him that she was spending Thanksgiving with Kevin and his family since that would only lead to a conversation that she wasn’t in the mood to have right now. “And I’m banned from Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house,” she said with a shrug that had him frowning until she added, “Your brother.”

“Why didn’t you go with Sean to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving, then?” Bryce asked as he reached over and plucked the phone out of her hand.

“Because I wasn’t invited?” Cayley said, blinking up at him and somehow pissing him off more if that small muscle twitching in his jaw was any indication. Well, that and the way that he was glaring down at her really just said it all.

“My brother didn’t invite you to Thanksgiving dinner knowing that you had nowhere to go this year?”

When she only stared at him, his eyes narrowed dangerously on her. “Sean doesn’t know that you didn’t go see your father, does he?”

“I felt that it would be in my best interest to tell him as little as humanly possible,” Cayley explained, plucking the phone back out of his hand as she debated between Denny’s and the Chinese place on Main Street that she hadn’t had a chance to try yet.

“Why?” Bryce demanded, once again plucking her phone out of her hand, only to slide it into his back pocket while he stood there, waiting for an answer that she would rather not give him.

“Because I hate him,” Cayley said, nodding solemnly.

When he only continued glaring at her, Cayley felt her shoulders drop as she mumbled, “Because he would ask questions.”

“And that would be bad because…”

“It would lead to questions that I would rather not answer at the moment,” Cayley said, hoping that would be enough to end this line of questioning.

It wasn’t.

“Like…”

“Exactly,” Cayley said, nodding solemnly only to grumble, “I haven’t told my father about Kevin yet,” when he continued glaring.

“You broke up six months ago,” Bryce pointed out, still glaring for some reason.

“Which is why showing up to Thanksgiving dinner alone would be awkward,” she explained.

“Because you’re hoping that you get back together?” Bryce asked after a slight hesitation.

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