Page 70 of Stained Hearts
“I’m sorry if I scared you, Olivia.”
“My heart ran off with those kids. I might never get it back. That freaked me the fuck out!”
Aiden leaned in. “You can tell because she’s swearing. Livvy almost never swears.” He took her hand. “Come on. That was like the best Halloween prank ever.”
“Yeah, until they get home and start crying to their parents they watched a man get electrocuted. What then?”
“Then we tell them it was a trick, that no harm was meant, and we give the kids a ton of Aiden’s candy, even if it means we have to dip into the reserves.”
“Wait. What? You’re going to give away my stuff?”
I leaned over and kissed him. “The nicest thing about Halloween is all the candy is on sale tomorrow.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes. “Oh. Yeah, okay. That’s fine. Give it away.”
The rest of the night was fun, but it couldn’t top that first reaction. The kids we scared eventually came back, just like I figured. Curiosity was a strong draw. They ended up laughing, albeit a little nervously, and went home with a story and enough candy to rot their teeth before they hit puberty.
The only thing I cared about was the look on Aiden’s face. The sheer joy I saw there had me on top of the world, because I helped to put it there. He had the time of his life, scaring kids, then making them laugh. He promised them that next year it would be even better. My mind was already working on ways to make that happen.
I was planning a future with Aiden. I wanted him with me every night.
But in order to do that, I had to say those words. I had to let him know how I felt and hope he was feeling the same way. And it had to be soon.
Chapter Seventeen
“AIDEN, PASSthe mashed potatoes.”
He grabbed the big red bowl with the white trim that had been in the family for two generations and handed it to Dad, who dug deep with the spoon and put an entire crop on his plate. He then drowned it in homemade gravy.
I looked around the table. Galen and Robert sat next to each other, holding hands under the table, while Galen’s best friend Andy, and his lover, Marco sat beside them doing something under the table. Considering how those two behaved, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Olivia was beside Mom, Dad was at the head of the table, and Aiden was next to me. Mom was right. It had been too long since we had a family dinner like this. Last Thanksgiving, I hadn’t come because I was too mired in my grief. This year, with Aiden and Olivia with me, nothing could have kept me away.
“Tom, if you’re done daydreaming, I need some more dressing.”
I looked up and caught the twinkle in Mom’s eyes. That was never good. She was up to something, and I had a feeling it involved me.
“Sorry.” I passed the bowl down the line.
“Thank you, dear.” She put some on her plate, then handed the bowl to Olivia. “You know, I was thinking about Christmas this year.”
Dad groaned. “We’re not even done with Thanksgiving. Can’t we finish this before we start worrying about the next holiday?”
“You hush! I like to plan ahead.”
That was crap. Mom did her best work on the spur of the moment. This meal probably required six trips to the store for things she’d forgotten while putting it together.
“I want a real tree this year, and I’d like us to get together as a family and decorate it.”
Dad tilted his head. “You know, I think that’s a great idea. I love the smell of pine, and it would be great to have everyone here to slap on the ornaments.”
I leaned in closer to Aiden. “That’s because it means he won’t have to do it all this year.”
He covered his mouth and tittered. When he saw Mom giving him “the look,” he sat straight. “Sorry.”
She shrugged. “I’m not saying Tom’s wrong. Dwight would be happy to decorate a fake tree, and after the holiday, he’d wrap it up in a garbage bag until next year, then put it up on Christmas Eve and take it down the day after.”
“Why not? It’s not like the tree changes from year to year.” Dad took a big spoonful of mashed potatoes. “Besides, we’re getting old. It’s time to start thinking about our waning years.”
Mom’s eyes went wide. “Old? I’m sixty-two—you’re sixty-four. We’re a long way from the home, mister.” His gaze softened, and she let out a sigh. “Okay, maybe it’s time we told them.”
