Page 37 of Loving Words
I laughed. “I’m not sure. Over two dozen at least. Mom refused to let us keep them.” There was no rhyme or reason for when they were found. We never could figure out the pattern. I don’t think there ever was one.
“Wait, you don’t have pants on,” Harrison said as he put on a mismatched outfit of outside wear.
“I’ve got my fuzzy robe on. I’ll be fine for the few minutes we’ll be outside.” I unlocked the door and headed out, Harrison right behind me. I carefully walked to the log. Even though the sidewalk had been shoveled clear yesterday, I knew that with the fresh snow, it could be slick.
“Holy shit.” Harrison burst out laughing as I rounded to the front and found the gnome adorned with a strap-on that seemed to be stuck in the log. Harrison pulled it out, and I couldn’t hold my laugh in. The “dildo” was a small anal plug. We both lost it as we took the statue back inside.
I stomped the snow from my boots, hung everything back up, and returned to preparing the coffee.
“Where should we put it?” Harrison asked, still holding it in his arm like a baby.
I shook my head as a giggle escaped my lips.
“Shh,” Harrison whispered. “We don’t want to wake Gran.”
“Where do you want to put him?” I asked. An idea popped into my head, and I giggled. “Wait, let me take him. He’d be the perfect inspiration for Jack’s books.”
Harrison ran a hand down his face. “I don’t want to know.”
The oven dinged, indicating it had reached the temp he’d set it to. I glanced around the counter, realizing the pan of cinnamon rolls weren’t out.
“Shit, I forgot the rolls.” Harrison opened the fridge and pulled out the extra-large pan of cinnamon rolls. “They’ve gotta sit for at least twenty minutes.”
I nodded. “Thirty would be better.”
Harrison grumbled something I couldn’t make out in reply.
Gran shuffled into the kitchen, and I quickly tossed a towel over the gnome and pushed him into a corner, moving the tea tray out for her.
“Good morning, sweetheart. I see you and your brother are getting breakfast ready.” She pulled her electric kettle toward her. “Oh, you’ve already filled it.” She scratched her head as she yawned before clicking the on button. I pulled the Christmas mugs from the cupboard. Each one had our names on them, and we only used them on Christmas morning. Happy and I had pointed them out at the Lodge’s gift shop years ago because we rarely found things with Harrison’s name on it. Gran had found mugs with the rest of our names and bought them all. We’ve used them ever since. I moved a few regular mugs around to find a general Christmas mug for Jack.
“Morning, Gran.” Harrison kissed her cheek. “I’ve got the cinnamon rolls covered, Kennedy is on coffee duty, and you’ve got the kettle on.” He smiled. “Merry Christmas to my two favorite gals.” He threw an arm around my shoulders and Gran’s.”
Gran patted his chest and moved from under him to put a tea bag in her mug. “Merry Christmas to you too, Harrison.”
Gran turned to look out the window. I saw a ghost of a smile on her lips before she poured hot water over the tea bag and added a teaspoon of sugar and a good dollop of honey. “I think I’ll go sit in my chair and watch the world wake up around us.”
Her smile niggled a small idea in the back of my mind, an image forming of Gran creeping around town as she staged a naughty gnome for the town to find. I shook my head. It couldn’t have been her. That was even a bit much for Gran’s pranks, not to mention I remembered being with her when we found one years ago. There’d been no way for her to stage it and be with me at the same time.
I turned to fill both my and Jack’s coffee cups. I added creamer and sweetener to mine. “I wonder how it got out there.”
Harrison shrugged. “No clue, but it’s fucking hilarious.”
I nodded and took a sip from my mug. “I’m going to check on Jack.” I grabbed his coffee, tucked the towel-covered gnome under my arm, and headed toward the stairs.
“Sis?”
I turned back toward Harrison.
“Jack’s my best friend. If you are what he wants and you want him, I can’t stop you. But if you hurt him, I’ll never forgive you.”
My heart constricted. I didn’t want to ruin the friendship Harrison had with Jack, but I couldn’t back away now. “I understand.” I nodded. “Jack’s different, Happy. I want more with him, and it scares the shit out of me,” I admitted.
“Be honest with him about it. He needs to know how you truly feel.” He crossed his arms. “It’s weird, you two together, but I only want you both to be happy. I’ll come to terms with it. Just don’t fuck things up.”
With his words swirling through my mind, I made my way up to my room. Slowly, I turned the doorknob so it wouldn’t squeak. Jack was still knocked out. I quickly placed the gnome on its side, the dildo pointing straight at Jack’s face. I couldn’t hold back my smile as I placed his coffee on the side table.
I sat on the edge and leaned over, gently moving his tousled hair from his forehead before giving him a kiss there. “Good morning, sunshine,” I whispered and kissed his ear lobe before peppering small kisses down the side of his neck.
