Page 76 of A Lifetime of Afters
Disgruntled, I furrowed my brow. “I haven’t figured that part out yet.”
He hummed. “Lucky for you I still have the key.”
My head flew back in shock. “What?”
His half smile failed to lift the sadness in his eyes. “Hunter left me his things. He still had the keys we made.”
Tears came to my eyes, but he brushed them away as he agreed with my plan. “Let’s go be bad.”
The trip to town took longer than we expected. Which was only partially my fault. There were still too many stores I hadn’t visited.
“I thought we were going to Mary Lou’s for treats?”
“Hm,” I paused to look in the window of the art co-op, waving to the owner who was knee deep in shards of glass. “I think Rachel’s making Harley’s lamp! She called this morning to say she’d drop it off on her way home tonight.” I waved excitedly and Rachel laughed, pointing to her watch to indicate she still had time.
I stuck my head in the door. “We’re just going to Mary Lou’s and Krippy’s, then we’re heading home. What time do you think you’ll be by?”
“Give me a couple of hours. I’ll send Pete to drop it off. There are a few more things I have to get done…” She petered off, her attention drawn back to the exquisite piece of glass in her hands.
“It looks beautiful, Rachel,” I squealed.
She looked up as if surprised I was still there. She waved me away, promising, “It will be.”
I closed the door and met Hawkley’s amused eyes. “What? If you didn’t rush me through my shopping, I’d have had a chance to talk to everyone.”
Brushing the backs of his fingers over my face, he smiled into my eyes. “You looking for more punishment?”
I threw my arms around his neck, the glint of my bangle between the cuff of my coat and my mitten a happy thrill. “No. I’m looking for candy. Let’s go to Mary Lou’s and see what Anita brought in for Christmas!”
Going to Mary Lou’s was like drawing back Oz’s curtain. All the wonders of the candy universe could be found in her shop.
She bustled back and forth, filling our little bags and recommending more. “You kids going home after this?”
“We’re heading to Krippy’s first to pick up dinner,” Hawk said, pointedly looking at the time. “We’ve got to get there before it closes.”
“Hang on.” Anita grabbed her cell and held it up to her ear. “Kristen? I’m sending your order over with Hawkley and Noelle. Is Brittany still cooking? These guys want dinner.”
She listened for a moment, then looked at Hawk expectantly. “What’s your order?”
Leaning over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, he answered, “Two number threes with extra coleslaw and a number four on the side.”
Anita blushed to the roots of her bright red hair and put her mouth back to the phone. “You got that? Good. I’ll send them over.”
We almost didn’t make it to the carousel. After stuffing ourselves with deep fried fish and chips, onion rings, extra coleslaw, and sending our blood sugar into orbit, we passed out on the couch.
Waking just asLove Actuallycame to an end, I tugged on Hawk’s hand. “Hawkley! You want to go? We can make it there before midnight and be there as it turns to Christmas Day!”
Blinking sleepy eyes, his hair a mess, I began to reconsider. All of a sudden, climbing into bed and messing his hair up even more seemed a lot more appealing.
His deep chuckle did nothing to dampen my ideas and everything to dampen my knickers.
“Let’s go, baby. Christmas only comes once a year. And this year it’s special.”
There are winter nights when the blanket of snow deadens all sound. When the wind sleeps. The trees stand still. And the twinkling of the stars alone betrays the movement of the universe. That night was one of those.
Once we cut the engines, only the crunch of our footsteps broke the silence until the gears of the carousel slowly came to life. Hawkley jumped on first then held his hand out for me.
Sitting on my chosen pony, Hawkley standing beside me with his arms loosely encircling my waist, I took a deep breath.
