Page 8 of The Christmas Fix
“I have plenty of fun,” he argued.
“No. You don’t. You work, and you lecture me, and you worry about stuff. Zero. Fun. Ever. I kinda wonder if maybe you don’t know how to have fun.”
Noah did the only thing a father could do when faced with such an accusation. He hit his daughter in the face with a pillow.
CHAPTER FOUR
Cat finished up the email and pushed away from the work station in her apartment. Rain, a deluge of it, made it impossible to see through her fourth-floor windows. The edges of Hurricane Veronica were doing their best to remind New York City that no one messed with Mother Nature. She couldn’t imagine what a direct hit would look like.
The TV screen mounted on the wall flickered, catching her attention. She picked up the remote and turned the volume up.
“Hurricane Veronica has made landfall over Long Island and continues to head for the Connecticut coast.”
Cat squinted at the screen, stepped closer. “Crap,” she muttered. Right between New Haven and New London, directly in the path of the tropical bitch, was Merry.
She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found Kathy Hai.
“Kathy?” Cat said, as soon as she heard the woman’s voice.
“Cat? I can’t hear you very well. Reception’s spotty.”
“Are you guys okay? I just saw on the news that you’re in for some rain.”
Kathy’s laugh was forced. “Oh, just a little sprinkle. Nothing to worry about.”
Cat heard static, and then Kathy’s voice came through clearer. “Sorry. I had to come upstairs. I didn’t want April to hear me freak out over the phone.”
“Oh, geez. Are you guys okay?”
“Michael and I are debating whether or not we should go to the shelter.”
“Kathy, you live eye-level to a river that’s about to be raging. Get the hell out of there.”
“I know, but I’ll be worried about the house the whole time.”
“You can rebuild a house,” Cat reminded her.
“Yeah, but not as nice as you can,” Kathy gave a sad laugh. “This place is our home, and you made it that way for us.”
“I’ll be up with my tools and my brother if need be,” Cat promised.
“You’re a good person, Cat King,” Kathy told her.
“Yeah, well let’s just make sure you’re a safe, dry person. I’ll call you guys tomorrow and make sure you weren’t total idiots who decided to stay home.”
Kathy’s reply was cut off by static, and the line went dead.
Cat looked back at her computer, at the pile of work waiting for her, and then at the TV screen. The Hai family was one of her favorites from the show. A few years back, their car had been hit by a drunk driver. A hit and run. Between the medical bills and not working, the Hais had come within weeks of losing their home.Kings of Constructionhad swooped in, not only renovating the home but paying off the mortgage, and the town had chipped in with a generous donation to help with the family’s remaining medical bills. Since then, the Hais were back on their feet, and Cat stayed in touch with the family, even managing to get together once a year or so.
The town of Merry itself was postcard adorable. No box stores graced the town limits. The downtown was all mom and pop shops, kids walking home from school, and waving neighbors. Merry’s fame came from its Christmas Festival. The entire town decked its halls to the nines and hosted late shopper nights. Every year, they transformed the park into a winter wonderland with three acres of Christmas lights viewed from the country club’s borrowed fleet of golf carts.
There were hot chocolate and kettle corn stands, handmade crafts, and an entire Santa’s village. On Christmas Eve, the town could rival the North Pole in festivity. If you lived within one hundred miles of Merry, you went there for Christmas Eve. It was part of thousands of families’ Christmas traditions.
Where would they go this year?Cat wondered.
She picked up her phone again, dialed.
“Hey!” Her sister-in-law’s cheery greeting was undercut by Gabby’s squeal of delight or frustration. The one-year-old certainly had gotten the volume from the King side of the family.
