by Kat Bammer
“Hey, Kevin.” Mr. Brooks’ voice coming from the recliner, where he’d retreated to after dinner, made Kevin freeze. Somehow he’d completely forgotten that he was just a few feet away from them.
“Remember the weekend when Janet and I came to Hamilton to visit you guys?”
Kevin silently groaned and his forehead briefly touched Julie’s before he straightened again and released her neck.
“Yes, sir, we had a good time. Paul played like he was on fire that weekend.”
Kevin himself had marveled at how nice and down to earth Paul’s parents had been and how they instantly invited him into their weekend plans. They were nothing like his own parents, which made the experience much more pleasurable for him.
Kevin cleared the table and when he stacked the dishes by the dishwasher, he earned a thankful look from Mrs. Brooks.
“You got any plans for Christmas?”
Kevin shook his head. He hadn’t really celebrated Christmas since he was a child and even then it was a very formal thing with his parents. He always felt so constricted in their presence. Like he had to constrain himself to fit into the mold they had created for him.
“Good. Then you’ll celebrate with us. It will be a blast—you just wait and see.”
Julie took this moment to enter the kitchen. “What will be a blast?”
“Kevin agreed to celebrate Christmas with us.”
Julie’s eyes squinted and Kevin could see a twinkle of mischief in it. “Did you tell him Christmas with the Brooks is a three-day, all-immersive event starting tomorrow?”
Kevin rubbed the back of his neck. That didn’t sound good.
“Oh, come on”—Janet gave Julie a bump with her hip—“you love it and you know it. Don’t scare him away. It’s the best time of year.”
Julie grinned and nodded, before she kissed her mother on her cheek. “Can’t wait. Thanks for lunch, Mom. I need to get back to the studio though. I got some bookkeeping to do, before I can enjoy the vacation.”
Kevin said goodbye, as well, and together they made their way back.
“I’m sorry for how the parents grilled you about your life.”
Kevin chuckled. They really hadn’t held back. Especially Janet had asked him everything about his life, from the time he lost his diapers to his favorite food, women, health. They’d covered it all. Theo Brooks, Julie’s father had been more interested in his athletic career and had permanently drawn parallels between his career and Paul’s.
Janet was a little sad about Paul being unable to join them for Christmas this year. But their team had a game on the 26th, so the timing really wouldn’t work out. Kevin would’ve loved to have traded places. He really thought he would be playing by now. He’d been on his way back. Fitter and stronger than ever before. Until the re-tear happened. It had been a steep downhill slide from there. But he was getting a grip on things. Julie worked him hard. They’d accomplished a lot in the last few weeks, since he came here, even though he knew he still had a long way to go. But his range of motion was improving every day. The swelling wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been a month ago and his improved strength made him more comfortable every day.
“Don’t apologize for your parents. They’re great.”
“They told you about every embarrassing moment of me and Paul growing up. That’s not what great parents do.”
“That’s exactly what great parents do—they’re supposed to embarrass you in front of your friends. At the same time they love you so much. Everyone can see it.”
Julie’s face turned somber. “I’m sorry your parents weren’t like that. From the little you told me about them, they must’ve put you under a lot of pressure.”
Kevin shrugged. “I’m a big boy. I could handle it.”
They arrived back at the studio and Kevin opened the door for Julie, and when she moved past him, their arms touched. He hadn’t planned to come in, but her magnetic pull took him in.
After she shed her coat, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. When her front was pressed against his body, his hand moved to the side of her face.
“Thank you.”
Julie poked her tongue into her cheek before she opened her mouth. “What for?”
He swallowed. “For everything. For whipping me into shape again. For sharing your family with me. For…” He didn’t get any further, because Julie jumped him and when her lips met his, all thoughts drained from his mind.
He pulled her farther up and grabbed her behind, settling her against him so he could better access her delicious mouth.
She tasted like cinnamon and hot cocoa. Thanks to Mrs. Brooks’ delicious cookies.
Then, when she rubbed her breasts against his coat and her hand moved into his hair, that thought evaporated into thin air, too.
His jeans got tighter, and he settled more firmly against her—just a little more pressure and he would be in heaven.
There was a sound right behind him on the other side of the glass door, and Julie suddenly stiffened in his embrace and her gasp sounded loud in his ear. What the hell?
He turned his head toward the door and there stood a young man, his face a menacing frown and his eyes furious.
When their eyes met, Kevin got the feeling this guy would love to kill him, but he just scowled, then he turned on his heels and ran.
Julie struggled to escape his embrace and as soon as he set her down, she ran into the studio and dropped behind her desk. It was the same position he’d found her in just a week earlier, and that memory made everything click in his mind.
It was her stalker. The guy she told him about.
Kevin turned around, tore open the door, and ran after the guy. He could see him get into a car that was parked about fifty feet away. Kevin would never catch it in time so he memorized the license plate and pulled out his mobile phone from his jeans pocket.
“Hey, Peter, it’s Kevin.”
“Hey, Kev. What’s the matter? I’m on duty right now, so I don’t really have time to talk.”
“Okay, this’ll only take a sec. Remember what we talked about in the bar?”
Peter hummed in agreement. “The stalker?”
Kevin nodded. “Yeah, Julie’s stalker. I just caught him ogling her inside her studio. Her reaction was pretty intense. I got his license plate. Any chance you can check it?”
“Give it to me.”
Kevin rattled down the numbers.
“Got it. Go, check on Julie. See if she got a name on the bastard. Then call me back. Tell her I’ll come by as soon as I can, but I’ll get the official report going right now. Call me back as soon as you know the name.”
Kevin agreed and hung up the phone. Peter hadn’t been surprised. It seemed like he’d already known something was going on.
When he entered the studio again, he could hear Julie’s sobs. He could feel her distress like it was a physical pain inside her body. He shed his coat and crossed the studio. When he arrived at the desk, she was a picture of misery. Her usual sparkly-green eyes were dull and her skin was blotchy. Kevin got down on the floor next to her and lifted her into his lap. “It’s okay, babe. We got this. I called Peter, and he’s on his way. But you need to tell me his name.”
Julie shook her head and new tears formed in her eyes.
Kevin grabbed her jaw softly and stared into her eyes. “It will be okay, I promise, but you need to tell me his name. And you need to tell Peter everything that happened. You should’ve done this when it all started. But you will do this now. This is no way to live your life. You’re a strong woman. Now show this bastard just how strong you are.”
Julie nodded and when Kevin kissed her on the lips, he could taste the saltiness of her shed tears.
“His name’s Hank Dowley.” She sniveled. “He lives in Whitebrook.”
Kevin nodded and kissed her forehead. “Good girl. Now grab your laptop and whatever you need. You can either work from your parents’ place or from the cottage. But you don’t stay here alone
.” He lifted her off his lap and got up, before he helped her up as well. “Get your things. I’ll wait for you out front.”
Julie nodded and rummaged at her desk. Kevin marched to the door, put on his coat he had left on the floor, and pulled out his phone when he exited the studio.
“His name’s Hank Dowley and he lives in Whitebrook.”
“Okay, I’ll check this.”
Kevin heard Peter repeat the name to someone else.
“Kev, how’s she holding up?”
Kevin frowned. “She’s shaken up. But she’s strong—she’ll power through. I’ll take her to the cottage with me. So, when you arrive, you’ll find her there.”
“That’s probably a good decision. See you in a few.”
Kevin had no clue where exactly Peter was working and if he meant a few minutes or hours. He was pretty sure Moon Lake was too small a town to warrant a local police station, so he guessed it would take some time for Peter to arrive. But he could be wrong.
He would listen to what Peter had to say about what to do next, but the urge to take matters into his own hands was strong. He watched Julie cross the studio, her gait hesitant and slow. Completely unlike her usual bouncy movements.
He would do everything to protect this woman. Everything. And if it meant he had to pay this fucking asshole a visit, so be it.
10
Kevin stopped in his tracks and looked around. Not that there weren’t a lot of trees where he came from, but he’d never been to a Christmas-tree farm. Another childhood opportunity missed. “There’re a lot of trees.”
Julie looked at Kevin and playfully bumped into him. “Yeah, but then a tree is the whole reason we’re here.”
He pushed her cap down over her face. “Smartass.” Then he chuckled when she pushed the cap up again and stuck her tongue out at him. “So, how do we pick one? And how do we show it to your parents if they are on the other side of the compound?”
Julie waggled the red ribbons, her mother had given her before they entered the huge Christmas-tree farm, in front of his face. “We mark them. Silly. We tie the ribbons around the tree or trees we like. Then later we inspect the choices together to make a shortlist. After that we discuss it over a cup of hot punch and gingerbread cookies before we go back and cut the chosen one down.”
Seriously? Kevin shook his head. Julie had been right. Christmas in the Brooks’ family was a three-day full-immersion event.
Yesterday they decorated the house and the studio, baked Christmas cookies, and played Monopoly in the afternoon. Since Paul couldn’t make it home this year, Janet and Theo jokingly called him their surrogate son and made him do all the things that were usually Paul’s tasks.
Today was tree day. But they didn’t just buy any old tree. There was a ritual involved in finding the perfect tree and cutting it down themselves.
At times Kevin thought they were just messing with him. But this seemed to be the usual ritual. Kevin looked at Julie by his side. It had been hard for him to listen to everything she’d told Peter about the guy who stalked her. Especially since she gave herself a hard time for having crossed the professionalism line, and felt shame and self-deprecation for having brought this on by something she did.
But it wasn’t her fault and Peter hammered that home, as well. Nobody but that bastard was responsible for his actions.
Peter had taken Kevin aside and told him that there wasn’t much he could do professionally. But tonight the men would meet at the bar to discuss this issue further. For now he was just happy to have his happy fairy back.
“You didn’t think this would be as big of a deal, did you?”
Kevin hummed. No, he hadn’t but then again, Julie had told him so from the beginning.
“This will take the rest of the day, so I hope you have no other plans. Also, the rough terrain is good for your balancing. Just be careful where you’re going. There are roots under the snow.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. His knee was getting better every day, so what was the worst thing that could happen?
He hadn’t even ended the thought when he tripped over a tree stump hidden beneath the snow.
Julie unsuccessfully tried to break his fall but all it accomplished was that they both ended up in the snow.
“Did you hurt your knee?” Her distress was audible and after the first tense moment, when he checked for any pain in his knee, he chuckled.
Soon Julie joined him and they both laughed like teenagers.
“I told you to watch your step. Doofus. Now get off of me.” She grabbed a handful of snow and threatened to smear his face.
“Don’t you dare.” As soon as he said the words, the cold snow touched his face.
Julie grinned, but only for a second, until she got her own dose of snow pushed in her face. She squiggled beneath him and when her thigh came dangerously close to his family jewels, he froze.
“Easy, tiger.”
The air between them tightened, and the seconds stretched into minutes.
Kevin slowly lowered his face, not once leaving her glittering green eyes. When their lips touched, her eyes closed and Kevin savored her taste. He would forever associate Christmas with the taste of Julie on his lips and her bubbly laugh in his ears. He couldn’t even imagine going back to his solitary life and leaving Julie and the Brooks’ family behind.
“Huhuu… Julie, Kevin, where are you?”
Julie groaned and Kevin leaned his forehead against hers. “We better get up, before you get all wet.”
Julie giggled and wiggled her eyebrows. “Well, too late for that now. Shouldn’t have kissed me like that.”
Her sheepish smile made Kevin chuckle. His fairy had a naughty side.
Who would have thought? But Kevin loved it. He kissed her nose once and stood up.
He was brushing snow off of Julie’s backside, only slightly fondling her firm ass and enjoying it immensely.
“We’re here.” Julie and her mother shouted a few times until Janet and Theo joined them.
“Here you are. We found the perfect tree. What about you?”
“Haven’t found any yet.”
They hadn’t had eyes for anything but each other. But even though Theo eyed them both suspiciously, Julie’s mother was oblivious.
“Yeah, not a lot of good ones this year. Come on, we found one I want you two to take a look at.”
They marched to the other side of the compound, Janet and Theo leading the way and Julie… Julie hung back. Kevin was pretty sure she did it on purpose so they could sneak in kisses every time they were disguised by a row of trees between Julie’s parents and them.
They held hands when they picked up their pace again. But somehow they had lost Janet and Theo.
Julie stopped and took a one-eighty. “We lost them. I can’t believe it.”
Kevin grinned and stepped closer to her. “You should’ve paid more attention to where they were going instead of flirting with me.”
Julie shrugged one shoulder. “Obviously I should have. So, no flirting and absolutely no kissing from now on.”
Kevin stepped close enough so their bodies touched. “Maybe just one last kiss. You know, just for good measure.”
Their lips touched and everything else fell away. He didn’t think about where they were or how they would find Julie’s parents again. Her kiss, her taste on his lips was enough to keep him fully present in the moment.
“Here you are. Oh—”
Janet stood just five feet away from them, her eyes round like dinner plates. “I didn’t, I’m just…” Janet stumbled over her own words and Julie beside him was rigid.
This was going south real fast. Should he explain? Or maybe apologize for kissing her daughter?
Kevin rubbed his neck and looked at his snowcapped shoes.
Never before had he been in a situation like this.
“Okay, let’s go get that tree.” Julie slung her arm around her mother and softly pushed her in the direction she had come from.
&nb
sp; Janet threw him a quick look before she let Julie drag her along.
Kevin remembered Paul’s request to leave his sister alone. Julie’s mother would tell Paul and then Kevin would be in deep trouble.
The mood between them remained tense, despite Julie’s efforts to keep up a cheerful facade. When they finally picked a tree, Kevin was relieved.
Back at the entrance of the farm there was a big fire lit, and people with mugs of steaming punch stood around the fire and talked. Half of the people Kevin knew. There were Peter and Lisa, and Claire and Blake with their little girl Sunnie. The three girls Julie had met with at the bar were there, as well.
“Kevin, meet Dorothy and Holly.”
He’d met Holly, when Paul had shown him around town on his second evening. The curly beauty was the owner of the café. Paul had flirted with her profusely and she had shot him down immediately. It had been fun to watch this, when back home in Hamilton, the girls fell all over each other in an attempt to be recognized by Paul Brooks.
Dorothy was equally curly, but lighter and more sedate than Holly.
Kevin got the impression she was a little shy when he shook her hand. This became even more obvious when Peter and another man stepped forward and Dorothy stared at her shoes and hid in her coat.
“Kevin, you have a minute?”
Kevin nodded and followed the two men to the edges of the gravel lot. When Blake joined them, Kevin realized this had something to do with Julie.
“Kevin, this is my boss, Sheriff Travers.”
Kevin shook the sheriff’s hand.
“Just call me Richard.” Kevin nodded, and the sheriff went on. “So, we looked into your stalker case.”
He didn’t say his name which was probably a good decision. Kevin felt white-hot rage engulf his body just thinking about the asshole.
“He has got no prior offences, so we could talk to him, officially, or…”
Or? So there was something they could do unofficially? Kevin’s eyes darted to Peter and Blake whose grim faces probably matched his own. “So, you suggest, what?”