Page 12 of Wild Christmas
She’s teasing me, and I rub my chin where growth from the day has left a blunt stubble. “Yeah, I know.”
She puts the kettle on and makes a mug of the chamomile tea she likes. “You want a decaf?”
It’s been less than a week and Freya knows my routine. “Thanks.” She knows I’ll make a decaf coffee and disappear to my gaming room, where I’ll play online with a bunch of guys I’ve never met until I crawl to bed sometime after midnight.
But tonight I don’t feel the draw to the game like I usually do. Tonight I don’t want Freya to leave with her chamomile tea and disappear upstairs.
“Goodnight.” She takes her mug like she does every night and turns for the door.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” I blurt out.
Freya turns slowly, looking confused. “Together?”
My eyes dart to her lips, and I lick mine. “Yeah.”
She shrugs. “Okay.”
7
FREYA
Nate choosesDie Hardproclaiming it to be a Christmas movie. By the time it finishes, we’re spread out on opposite ends of the sofa.
He makes himself another decaf and hands me another chamomile tea. I’m not ready to go to bed yet, and I guess he isn’t either.
“Tell me about France. It must have been nice to travel.”
The tea is too hot, and I place it on the coffee table. “It was nice to see different places and the family was great…”
He raises his eyebrows at me. “But…?”
“But I missed the mountains.”
“You missed home.”
I shake my head, because that isn’t quite it. “I’m not sure where home is. My father is in the navy, and we traveled around a lot when I was young.”
He nods slowly, taking in what I’m saying.
“My mom…” I trail off, not wanting to speak ill of my mother. I don’t like to discuss her mental health problems, but Nate feels like someone I can open up to. “My mom found it hard to cope on her own.”
A frown crosses Nate’s face. “It’s hard, being a military wife.” There’s a bitterness to his tone that makes me glance up at him, but he’s staring straight ahead into the fire. “Not everyone is suited to it.”
I sit back on the cushions and run my finger over the edge of one, playing with the tassel. “Mom was put in a facility for a while. To recover, is what I’ve been told. I was sent to live with my Aunt Maxine.”
“Your aunt who lives in Hope?”
“Yeah. She’s great.” My mood lifts, thinking of Aunt Maxine. “I’ve got three cousins, all grown up now, and when you’ve been an only child, it’s great coming into that environment. I loved it. I didn’t understand at the time what was going on with Mom, and I was used to Dad not being around and moving about, so it just seemed like one more stop on the road.”
I pull at the cushion, remembering the two years spent at Maxine’s place in the town of Hope on the side of the mountain. The summers were spent swimming in the lakes, hiking the trails, playing hide and seek in the backyard, and other invented games with my cousins.
The way Aunt Maxine would dance around the living room with all of us trailing behind her. She taught me how to laugh in the face of whatever life threw at you, and I’ve been dancing ever since.
“It’s the only place that ever really felt like home.”
Nate nods thoughtfully and takes a sip of his drink. “So you’re going to stay here now? No going back to France?”
There’s an edge to his voice and I frown, wondering why he cares so much. His sister’s coming to take over the nanny position, so I won’t have a job in a few weeks.
