Page 58 of Bright Lights, Big Christmas
“I love dragons,” Austin said, his eyelids fluttering.
Haltingly, Kerry and Patrick sang the rest of the song as Austin’s chin began to sag slowly to his chest.
Kerry stood and gathered the drowsy boy into her arms. “Hey, buddy,” she whispered. “You wanna go check out Murphy’s bunk?”
His eyes fluttered open. “In Spammy?”
“Yeah.”
“But I gotta watch out for the bad guys.”
“There’s a window right beside Murphy’s bunk. You’ll have a perfect view in case anybody tries to make trouble,” she said.
“Okay, but I need my light saber and my binoculars,” he said.
Patrick picked up the backpack. “Got it right here,” he assured his son, as Kerry transferred Austin to his arms.
She opened the trailer door and pointed at her brother’s bunk.Patrick deposited him on the bunk and she unzipped the sleeping bag and pulled it over him.
In a moment, the boy’s breathing slowed and softened.
“He’s out,” Patrick whispered, looking up at Kerry. “Hot cocoa for the win.”
chapter 33
“Did your whole family really live here for an entire month?” Patrick asked, stretching out on the opposite bunk, looking around the cramped trailer.
Kerry sat down on the edge of her bunk.“We did. As a little kid, it seemed fun. Back then the bathroom and stove worked. Mom fixed a lot of soups and stews in a crockpot. She made even the mundane seem magical. Once we went to the Macy’s at Herald Square to see Santa. We took the subway and I thought that was just the most awesome thing ever. Even better than our Santa back home in Tarburton.”
Patrick smiled and leaned back against a stack of pillows. “I’d like to have seen New York through the eyes of seven-year-old Kerry.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek and stroked her hair. Slowly, she turned her face and her lips met his. The first kiss was tentative, but slowly, things grew more fevered.
Kerry wrapped her arms around Patrick’s neck. Being with him like this felt so warm, so right. She sighed.
“What?” he whispered. “Are you sad?” He kissed her forehead and then pressed his lips to hers. “Don’t be sad.”
“I’m not. I’m thinking how nice this is. I’m… content.”
He pulled his face a few inches away from hers and frowned. “Is that supposed to be a compliment? My kisses make you feel… content?”
She touched a fingertip to his chin, tracing the stubble with her nail. “It’s definitely a compliment. This… snuggled up in here with you, it feels right.”
Patrick reached for the folded blanket at the foot of the bed, and stretched it until it covered them both. He managed to unzip her quilted jacket and started to slide his hands under her sweater, but paused.
Austin stirred slightly and mumbled something incoherent.
“It would feel a lot nicer if my kid weren’t sleeping two feet away from us,” Patrick grumbled, glancing over at his sleeping child. “When can we be alone?”
“Shh. He’s asleep, right?” Kerry kissed his frown away, and he tugged at the hem of the sweater, only to encounter the flannel shirt she wore underneath.
“Just how many layers of clothes are you currently wearing?” His whisper was urgent.
“I work outdoors, remember?” She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bunk. She leaned down and unlaced her work boots, then stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“Just gonna step into the bathroom to remove some of these pesky clothes,” she said, giggling. “Maybe you could do the same while I’m gone?”
