Page 13 of Chased at Christmas

“You know what I mean.” She pokes my stomach in jest and rolls her eyes. “I should call him right now, tell him everything. He—”

The barn door rattles as though it’s going to open. Any one of my brothers has a key.

Shit.

I reach for Mira’s coat and slide it over her naked frame before grabbing my jeans and tugging them on. We’re half-dressed when my brother Nick makes an appearance.

“Oh shit! What the fuck?” Nick wears a Santa costume with an axe slung over his shoulder. In this light he looks like he’s from some sadistic horror movie, not the friendly Santa Claus he means to be portraying. “Fuck,” he laughs, “you guys are ballsy. Right here, in the Christmas barn? With the trees and the Christmas magic?”

“Okay… leave.”

Mira zips her coat up and stuffs the rest of her clothes into the pockets before glancing up at me. “I should go.”

“No, you’re not leaving. Nick is leaving.”

“I was actually looking for you two because Emma keeps calling the main line looking for Mira. She was in an accident up on the ridge. She went off the road on her way to work and hit a tree.”

“Oh my God! Is she okay?”

“Yeah. She’s fine by the sounds, but I guess you were her emergency contact. The hospital has been calling, and when they couldn’t get you, they called the main line. I saw your car, so I thought maybe you were up here waiting out the storm.” He clears his throat. “Guess I was right.”

What the fuck?I turn back toward Mira. “You get dressed. I’ll meet you outside.” I kiss her forehead and finish buttoning my flannel as I head toward the barn door.

I’ve imagined this going a million ways over the years. This wasn’t on any of the scripts.

“Wow,” Nick kicks his boot into the snow, “you’re insane. Chevy is going to kill you.”

I sigh, and glare at him. “He’s not going to kill me. I’m going to take care of Mira, and he’s going to be thankful she’s with someone who loves her as much as I do.”

Nick laughs. “Oh yeah? Is that before or after he separates your head from your body?”

I roll my eyes and bite the inside of my cheek. “Don’t say anything. We’ll tell him in time.”

Nick tugs his hand down over his beard. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

“Anyway,” I groan, “you been out on the roads yet?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty bad out there. I’ll take you guys up to the hospital. I have the plow on my truck, and everything is warm and ready to go. We’ll be fine in that thing.”

He’s not wrong. The truck he drives is built for the arctic and the plow he has on it could wreck a field of zombies or, in this case, at least six feet of snow. I know, because it had to last winter. He hasn’t stopped talking about it. Everyone he meets gets to hear the story about the winter he pushed that plow through nearly six feet of snow—on the main road, too.

The barn door slides open and Mira squints into the bright landscape before stepping outside. “You guys ready? I tried calling Mira, but she’s not picking up. I’m such an idiot. I put my phone down when Gabe and I were…”

“It’s okay.” I wrap my arm around her. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

“She is by the sounds,” Nick adds as we crunch into the storm toward his truck. “A little concussion is all. Sounds like she’s going to need someone to stay with her.”

“Stay with her?” Mira glances toward me with panic in her tone. “I love her and I want to take care of her, but I can’tstaywith her twenty-four seven. I have finals at school this month and Emma doesn’t have anyone else.”

This isn’t what I want from this moment. I don’t want Mira to remember losing her virginity to me as something stressful. I need her to associate me with happiness.

I glance toward Nick, who’s put the truck in drive. “Nick can manage something like that. He’s got no responsibilities around the farm these days due to this whole plowing situation. So, when he leaves, Emma can ride with him.”

“Fuck, bro! Not a chance. Just cause I’m wearin’ the Santa suit doesn’t mean I’m generous.”

I could kill him right now.

“You owe me, man.” My tone is darker than necessary.

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