Page 53 of The Map Home
Rock Around the Christmas Treewas battling it out withAll I Want for Christmas,making Dakota want to gouge his ears out. Tad, of course, would be in blissful holiday heaven. The thought made him smile—he liked it when Tad was happy.
Glancing across the street, Village Jewelers caught Dakota’s attention. He wasn’t ready to buy a ring. Not yet. He knew he would be, but not quite yet. But what about apre-ring, a promise for their future? People did that, right? He had no idea.
Stepping off the curb, he weaved through the slow-moving traffic and came to a stop in front of the jewelry store’s window. The glittering display of rings, necklaces, and other stuff was too much, entirely overwhelming, and sort of made his chest pinch. A weird feeling ofwantingsomething but not confident he’d be able to keep whatever it was if he got it.
Tad would tell him to stop being silly. And Tad would be right.
Dakota’d had the whole day off, dammit, and no gift to show for it. He might have to resort to a sexy firefighter calendar and a gift card from Gustoso. He’d just started to turn away from the display when his cell phone buzzed. It was Tad, of course.
“Hey,” Dakota said.
“Hey back.”
“Why are you calling me? Are you at Odette’s already?”
“Yep, I got here early. Are you on your way?”
“I guess.” Like it or not, the right present wasn’t going to magically appear.
“What’s the matter?” Tad asked.
He might as well confess. “I still can’t find a gift for you. It’s pissing me off.”
Tad laughed before lowering his voice to say, “Kota, you already gave me the best Christmas yet. I don’t need a gift when I have you.”
In spite of himself, Dakota smiled.
“Gross. Maybe you should quit your fancy job at The Chron and start writing sappy greeting cards.”
“Ha, ha, ha. Quit stalling and get over here. I ordered us drinks and some appetizers. They’ll be here any minute.”
“I thought we were sitting on the patio?” He liked the outdoor with its propane heaters and fire pit.
“Change of plans. I’m inside, at the back.”
Even though he couldn’t see Tad’s face, Dakota could tell he was excited about something. Or up to something.
“I’m suspicious but on my way.”
It tooka second for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting inside. Odette’s owners liked their candles and fairy lights. Looking quickly around, he didn’t see Tad so, as instructed, he started toward the back and the area normally reserved for larger groups. Dakota only knew this because Penny had celebrated her birthday at Odette’s earlier in the year. Since she knew just about everyone in town, it had been quite the party.
A sixth sense crept up his spine, making Dakota slow and then stop in his tracks. Tad had been up to something. He’d been secretive over the past couple of days—talking on his phone at weird times, ending the calls when Dakota appeared. And suddenly Dakota thought he knew what the calls had been about.
Rolling his shoulders and taking a deep breath, he forced himself to start moving again. His idea would also explain why Niall had been extra Niall on the phone the other day. His half brother had seemed distracted, muttering something about airports but stopped himself before finishing his thought. At the time, Dakota had assumed Niall had to travel for West Coast Forensics, something that often seemed to piss off his brother even as he loved his job.
Nope.
“Surprise!” Tad whisper-yelled when Dakota came around the corner. His suspicions were confirmed.
Niall, Mat, and Tad sat around a rectangular table. Tad grinned a bit sheepishly and patted a chair next to him.
“Hey, Dakota, merry holidays and all that,” Niall said. He wore a knowing grin that said he too hated this kind of stuff.
Before he could sit down, Mat rose to give Dakota a hug.
“Merry Christmas. It’s good to see you,” Mat said, squeezing tight before releasing him and thumping Dakota on the shoulder for good measure.
“I just want you to know, they were already planning on coming out,” Tad said. “I just thought it would be fun to surprise you. Besides, if you’d known they were coming, you would’ve brooded about it for days.”
