Page 71 of Wounded Christmas Wolf
“I know,” Holly said. She fidgeted a little. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the Rob situation sooner. But Iaman adult, and I’m used to handling situations on my own. That being said, however.” She glanced at Jace. “Sometimes I forget I don’t have to anymore.”
A smile tugged at the corner of the Colonel’s craggy mouth. “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Tell me something, honey. Are you too grown-up to give your old man a hug?”
“Of course not. Never.”
She put her arms around him, and for a long minute the two clung to each other. When the Colonel finally stepped back, his eyes were suspiciously bright, and he cleared his throat a couple of times.
“Well now. What do you say we go back inside and fill in your sister on how everything turned out? It is Christmas Eve, after all, and it’s cold out here.”
HOLLY
After all the commotion,they enjoyed a wonderful, low-key family evening. After a quiet, early dinner, they watched Christmas movies (punctuated by an occasional SQUEAKA from under the couch), ran the train for Kaden, and oohed and ahhed at the tree. Eventually Noelle took a drooping Kaden upstairs to bed, and Holly made a decision.
“I think I want to spend the night in the Mistletoe house with you,” she told Jace softly. “Would you be all right with that?”
He laced his fingers through hers. He wasn’t wearing his gloves at all anymore. No one had commented on it, or even noticed, as far as Holly could tell.
“I’d love that,” he said quietly.
Noelle came down, grinning. “Holly, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but my son has stolen your dog as well as his toys.”
“Is that where he went?” She had become so used to the constant squeaking that she’d stopped noticing it for the most part. Bacon theft aside, Cupcake and Kaden seemed tobe getting along beautifully; Cupcake had learned very quickly that Kaden was a source of both treats and pets. “No, that’s fine. In fact, it saves me from having to decide where to put him. I think Jace and I are going up to the Christmas village for the night. We’ll see you in the morning.”
She wasn’t sure if she expected resistance, or even an unwanted amount of attention about it. But Noelle just said, “Good night then, see you in the morning!” and her dad smiled at her.
They walked up the hill through softly falling snow, hand in hand. The lights of the Christmas cottages gleamed through the drifting snowflakes. Picture perfect weather, Holly thought; even in her best childhood Christmases, she’d rarely seen one that provided such ideal, white Christmas conditions.
“How’s the Georgia boy dealing with the snow?” she asked, leaning against Jace’s shoulder.
“I think I could get used to this,” he said, leaning back. “At least if it’s not all year around.”
“I can promise you it’ll melt. Probably sooner than we want.” She thought about the usual slush and mess of spring, then pushed the thought away.
For now, the weather was as perfect as a holiday card, and being in their own space felt wonderfully domestic. The decor was pleasantly festive without being overwhelming. Holly made them cocoa from a powdered mix. Jace brought in wood for a fire, and found Holly reading the sign on the wall.
“Good grief, Dad,” she sighed, reaching out to run a thumb underneath the final rule. “I can’t believe this is still up.”
DO NOT DATE THE COLONEL’S DAUGHTERS.
“Well, I manage to follow all the other rules,” Jaceremarked, laying out wood in the fireplace. “That one’s a toughie, though.” He flashed her a quick grin.
Holly grinned back. “It made a lot more sense when the house was full of teenage girls and the cottages were full of twenty-something young soldiers. Dad made it pretty clear that bothering us was grounds for immediate eviction. As far as I can remember, they were all perfect gentlemen anyway.”
“A grouchy, overprotective bear dad will have that effect. Hey, have you done this before? I don’t have that much experience building a fire.”
“Really?” Holly teased, crouching beside him. “There’s something Jace Wheeler can’t fix?”
“It’s more like I’m not sure that I’ve fixed itwell.”
Between the two of them, they soon had the fire crackling merrily. “Why does this place have a furnaceanda fireplace?” Jace asked as they sipped cocoa, snuggled together in front of the glow of the flames.
“Because starting the fire is a hassle, and sometimes you just want to push a button for heat. But the fireplace is nice for ambiance.”
Jace looked around the little house. “It’s not actually as tiny as I thought when I first got in here. It’s honestly really cozy.”
“Homy,” Holly murmured.
“Yeah.” He hesitated, then said softly, “I’ve never really had a home before.”
