Page 40 of Harley

Dante peered at Phoe.

She grinned in response and raised a wine glass. By my reckoning, Phoe was well past merry and heading for paralytic. As were most of the old ladies. They lounged on the sofas and watched the fireplace with interest.

Some were laughing hard with heads buried in cushions. The brothers stood around with wide grins. I guessed they thought this was payback.

“Get the wood. Yeah, Mom stacks that and shoves paper in the gaps to make it burn,” Dante said and caught my attention.

“Should we get some gas to ensure it burns?” Nashoba asked.

“Don’t you little fuckers dare! Phoe would tan your asses red if you burn down the Hall!” Drake yelled. “Go get your dads! Dante, if you set that alight, I’ll make your life a living misery.”

“In that case, it’s all the more reason to put the fire on,” Dante replied.

Shit, what a comeback!

I snorted and began giggling, and Jodie shoved a cushion at me. I held it over my mouth as we all watched avidly.

A ruckus came from the chimney and a tearing noise followed by a shout. Drake landed on his ass, legs splayed out and filthy dirty.

“You were going to burn me alive,” he snarled at Dante as he rubbed his back and winced.

“Mom told me to,” Dante replied, shrugging.

Drake glared at Phoenix, who repeated Dante’s actions. “Needed that after today.”

Drake opened his mouth to argue and then shut it. He glowered at everybody as they broke into gales of laughter.

“There’s only one Santa, Drake!” Axel boomed, looking smug.

Drake began cursing as everyone laughed.

I wiped tears from my eyes.

Harley looked at me, doubled over from laughing. I dreaded to think what tomorrow would bring.

Chapter Eight.

Oakley

Ilay in bed, snuggled up warmly as I stared out of the window. It was Christmas morning, and I experienced a mixture of emotions, mainly relief warring with sadness. I didn’t have to face my parents and their cold, stuck-up version of the holidays. The day wouldn’t be regimented with barely any joy to be had. And thank God I wasn’t married to Bronson. No doubt he’d have expected me to play the little woman.

My sadness was because I’d no idea where Aspen and Archer were. I could only hope they were safe and having some sort of Christmas. There was no doubt my parents and Reverend Jeffery were behind Aspen’s disappearance.

Aspen and I had spoken two days before she disappeared.

She had told me they were forcing her to marry Bronson so they could get control of her inheritance and Archer’s. She said they were constantly watched by either the family or one of the church attendees. Aspen also told me that Reverend Jeffrey and Bronson intended to send Archer away. They didn’t want a ‘defective kid’—their words, not mine.

Sure, Archer was autistic, but he wasn’t fucking defective. Archer was low on the spectrum, but his autism was obvious. He hated crowds of people he didn’t know and would avoid eye contact, even with Aspen and me. Archer loved a routine, and Aspen ensured he stuck to his.

He was also obsessed with motorbikes. Archer did have trouble understanding body language and verbal and nonverbal cues. He also struggled to understand complex emotion. He did recognise basic emotions, happy, sad, hurt, etc. Luckily, Archer didn’t throw a tantrum or act violently when he got anxious or his routine was disrupted, but he would shut down.

Aspen and I had long ago learned to handle Archer. His symptoms were minor, and not extreme, and he loved the park or playing with toys. If he was in a crowd surrounded by people he knew, Archer could cope; he just couldn’t deal with being around strangers.

In an anomaly to autism, Archer was sociable. He loved meeting new people, but only one or two at a time. Archer could also communicate very clearly and had no qualms stating his needs and wants.

A single tear trickled down my cheek, and I wiped it off. Wherever they were, I hoped they knew I was coming for them. I’d not stop until I found them. I sniffed as more tears fell and wiped them away as there was a knock on my door.

Harley entered and stared before hurrying to my bed. He sat on it and pulled me into his arms… and the dam broke.

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