Page 48 of Hiding for the Holidays
The front door lock clicks as Grant locks the gym for the night. He switches the main light off as I finish closing out the point of sale system.
“Busy day,” Grant says, stopping to lean on the counter.
“Yeah, busiest one yet.”
“When we hired her, I didn’t actually expect her to work this hard; I just wanted to give her a safe space and a way to earn money.”
“I know, Grant. I’m the one who offered her the job before knowing her education, remember?”
I power down the system and round the counter as we head back to where Clara and Asher are sprawled on the mats.
“You two look tuckered out,” I say as she sits up to look at us.
“I feel like I didn’t stop all day.”
“You know you’re allowed to take breaks, right?” Grant asks her.
“In fact, they’re mandatory,” Asher adds.
Clara nods once but doesn’t respond, telling me we are going to have to force her to stop more often. And that gives me an idea.
“Speaking of breaks, I vote we close tomorrow.”
“What?! We can’t!” Clara says worriedly.
“You love work that much, huh?” I ask with a chuckle.
Her shoulders drop as she looks down at her hands. “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” Grant prods.
She shrugs. “I dunno.”
“I think you do,” he says, kneeling down beside her and tipping her head up with a finger under her chin. “Tell us.”
She licks her lips as her eyes bounce between us. “I like to stay busy. I wouldn’t even know what to do with time off anymore.”
“Lucky for you, you don’t have to worry about that,” I tell her, feeling proud of my plan.
“I don’t?”
“Nope. The four of us are going to spend the day together, doing every Christmas activity we can think of.” Her eyebrows raise, and she glances at Asher. He shakes his head softly, and she relaxes a little.
“So, what do you say?” I ask again.
“That sounds fun.”
“Great! It’s a date!”
Chapter 16
Rosalie
Ikind of felt like I’m living in the twilight zone. One moment I’m basically homeless, alone and living in constant fear, and then, within a few weeks, I now have a safe place to sleep, a job I love and… friends that I want to spend all my time with.
Last night was the first relaxing evening I’ve had in a very long time. The guys insisted we marathon The Santa Clause movies and order Chinese food. Then when I told them there was a TV show, too, we started watching that until I had to go to bed, afraid I would fall asleep and drool on one of them.
I did, however, keep my door open while I slept. I wasn’t sure if they’d think it was weird, but if they did, they didn’t comment. Just the thought of being behind a closed bedroom door alone again made me anxious.
