Page 42 of A Bloody Merry Christmas
I walked in on Dalton poking Ezra in the shoulder, and Ezra wriggling away, laughing while smacking at Dalton’s hand while he did. He’d grown comfortable around my family and I liked that. If I had it my way, he’d be around for a long time to come.
“I didn’t need all this.” Ezra waved his hand around at the feast we were setting up on the table.
“Selfish to assume it’s all for you,” Dalton joked, which earned him a slap on the shoulder from Bee.
“You literally admitted it was for me before you came into the house,” Ezra retaliated with a smug grin. “Can’t deny it, old man.”
Dalton gasped and wobbled like he’d been struck with a bullet. “The insult. This is the young man we’ve raised in the time he’s been here? I remember when he was so timid. Innocent! He was innocent.”
“Stop being a drama queen,” Bee muttered, mouth twitching. She bumped his hip with hers. “And get out of the way. Some of us have been smelling this food all day and I’m starving. I wasn’t allowed to have any.”
Lucy huffed. “It didn’t kill you to wait until this afternoon, did it? This is for Ezra.”
Ezra watched the exchange, his eyes slightly wet as he looked at the three of them. I ate up the distance between us and laid a kiss on his forehead, and he leaned into me with a happy sigh. I nuzzled his hair, breathing in the apple scent of the new shampoo we’d bought together. I wished I could say the words I was feeling to him right now, but I wasn’t sure if either of us was ready yet. It wasn’t about the pain that came with speech, but rather the fear of scaring him away. I couldn’t imagine what I’d do if he ran from me. Probably hunt him down. He was mine now. I couldn’t let him go.
“We have birthday presents, too.” Lucy yanked out a flat gift wrapped in paper with a bow. While I didn’t know what it was for certain, I could guess it was a gift card because it couldn’t be anything else. “Here.” She shoved it at Ezra, excitement lighting up her eyes.
Ezra’s cheeks burned a bright red, vibrant even under the fading bruises, and he took the gift shyly. Everyone watched, enraptured, and he had no choice but to open the present with four pairs of alert eyes on him. He cleared his throat when he pulled the gift cards out, the flush spreading down his neck. “Oh. Wow.”
Lucy beamed, obviously proud of herself. “I hate to say it, but we don’t know you well yet and I didn’t want to buy something you’d hate or wouldn’t use, so Bee and I agreed on gift cards for the mall. You can use them in any of the shops.” She clapped her hands together, rocking on her toes.
Ezra ducked his head and gave them a shy smile. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“Boring.” Dalton smacked his hip against Lucy’s, and she shoved him. He laughed as he pulled out a small gift from theinside of his coat, wrapped in red-and-white striped paper with a red bow. “Happy birthday, little man.”
Ezra frowned. “Who are you calling little?” His mouth twitched into a smile as he opened the present with more delight than I’d expected. He paused when he came across a piece of cheese and eyed Dalton suspiciously. “There’s no humans in here, is there?”
Dalton burst out laughing and crossed his heart. “I promise. Nothing.”
Bee stared at Dalton in exasperation. “Why did you give him cheese for his birthday?”
“Everybody loves cheese.” Dalton gave her an incredulous look. “Are you from another planet? Venus, perhaps? Get it? Because women are from Venus.”
I sighed loudly. If I could choose my family, I probably still would’ve chosen Bee and Dalton, but sometimes I wondered where they came from. They were certainly one of a kind.
Ezra chuckled and held up his cheese like it was a trophy. “I love it. I seriously do. Nobody can get enough cheese.”
Dalton pointed at him. “At least he has the right idea.”
Bee groaned.
Lucy clapped her hands, earning everyone’s attention. “Let’s eat!”
An hour later, I was stuffed. My stomach felt like it was about to explode, and Ezra must’ve been feeling the same way because he leaned against me with a yawn. He smiled at me, and I laid a gentle kiss on his mouth.
“Aw, you two are just so sweet,” Dalton cooed like a little old lady, blinking dramatically at us. “It warms my ice-cold heart.”
Bee snorted and leaned back in her chair, laying her arm around the back of Lucy’s seat. She watched us carefully, and I didn’t miss the concern in her blue eyes. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and I wished this wasn’t such an issuewith her. I understood her worry about the situation, but our aunt had helped me when I’d murdered my father, the person responsible for my trauma, and now it was my turn to help Ezra.
“I’m going to walk a bit around the house so I can digest all this food.” Bee patted her stomach before she rose, and I watched her back as she left the room, and so did Lucy.
Lucy smiled sadly as she glanced at me, before she signed. “You know what she’s like. She cares about you and doesn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m fine,” I signed.
“I know,” she said aloud, but she didn’t sound very convinced. Maybe Bee had been in her ear about the entire situation. The longer this went on, the more Bee would lament about my plan, so I decided it was time to have a talk with her.
I kissed Ezra on the cheek and made a gesture for him to stay as I rose from the table and followed the sound of the TV, which had been switched on. An anchorwoman on the screen greeted the audience before she went into her story.
