“I can’t, Phoenix. I just can’t,” I said, starting to get upset.
“Okay, okay,” he relented. “But I can’t let you stay in that house without power. It’s too cold, baby. Come spend the night in one of Gram’s guest rooms and we’ll figure something out tomorrow, okay?”
“Your grandparents won’t mind?” I asked.
“No, they won’t, as long as you stay in your room and I stay in mine.”
As much as I didn’t want to accept any handouts, the thought of a warm and cozy bed was too good to pass up. “Okay. Just for tonight.”
“Just for tonight,” he agreed and squeezed my hand.
The next morning, I nervously left the guest room and tiptoed down the stairs. I found Phoenix and his grandparents in the kitchen, seemingly waiting for me.
“Good morning,” I shakily said to the room.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Gram said. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you for letting me stay,” I said uncomfortably.
She smiled. “Have a seat, dear. We were just about to have breakfast.”
I took a seat while she brought everything to the table and began handing out food. Phoenix’s grandfather cleared his throat and placed his clasped hands on the table. “Annabelle, Phoenix told us a little about your situation at home. I admire you for trying to take on the responsibilities of your parents and I respect you for not wanting to accept handouts. Those are admirable qualities that are hard to find in most adults and rarely, if ever, found in teenagers. But, sweetheart, you do need some help, or at least a little luck. I grew up in Croftridge and with the exception of the time I was away at college, I’ve always lived here, in this very house. As a result, I’ve accumulated a large number of customer loyalty points with various service providers that I’ll never use. I made a few phone calls this morning and was able to use my loyalty points for the utilities at your address. Starting today, you’ll have power, water, and heat for the next year and it didn’t cost me or anyone else a penny.”
Completely flabbergasted, I stared at the man for a few long beats before I moved to hug him and simultaneously burst into tears. “Thank you, Mr. Black. Thank you so much.”
He returned my embrace and patted my back. “You’re very welcome, sweetheart. We were happy to help.”
When I returned home later that day, the power was on, the heat was working, and we had hot water. I was thrilled. My mother was too drunk to notice.
CHAPTER FOUR
Phoenix
The house smelled like cookies. It always did on Christmas Eve.
Gram was in the kitchen making her traditional Christmas treats with flour everywhere, even streaked across her smiling face.
Her smile fell when she saw me. “Honey, is something wrong?”
I shifted my weight from foot to foot. “No, Gram, nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to ask if I could invite Annabelle over for Christmas?”
“Of course you can. You didn’t even need to ask.”
“Gram, I’m asking if she can spend the night in one of the guest rooms. Her parents don’t celebrate the holidays and probably won’t even be home. I can’t stand the thought of her spending Christmas alone in that house.”
Gram crossed the kitchen and patted my cheek with her flour covered hand. “No one should ever be alone on Christmas. Go get our girl.”
There was no need to tell me twice. I was out the door and across town as fast as I could safely get there.
“Phoenix, what are you doing here?” Annabelle asked when she opened her flimsy front door.
“Go pack a bag, doll face. You’re spending Christmas with us.”
Her mouth opened and closed. “I can’t,” she stammered.
“Why not? Are your parents here?”
She shook her head. “No, they’re not, but I can’t impose on your family’s Christmas.”
“You’re not imposing. Gram told me to come get you. She’s always said no one should spend the holidays alone. Grab your stuff and let’s go. I’m sure she could use your help making cookies.”
I stumbled back a step when Annabelle unexpectedly launched herself into my arms. “Thank you,” she whispered against my neck.
I waited in the living room while she gathered her things, taking in the sparse surroundings. I hated that she was forced to live in such deplorable conditions, but there wasn’t much I could do about it at the time.
It only took her a few minutes to return with her backpack and a large shopping bag full of wrapped presents. I took the bags from her and asked, “Is that everything?”
She shuffled her feet and looked away from me as her cheeks flushed.
“What is it, doll face?”
She cleared her throat, but wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Can I bring my tree?”
Her voice was so quiet I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly, but it didn’t matter what she said, it wouldn’t change my answer. “You can bring whatever you want. Let me put your bags in the truck first and I’ll get it for you.”
When I returned, she led me to her bedroom. In the corner of her room, she had a small artificial Christmas tree with a few ornaments on it. It couldn't have been more than three feet tall and would easily fit in the back seat of my truck.
“I know it’s silly, but this is the only tree I’ve ever had and I don’t want to spend Christmas without it,” she explained, looking embarrassed.
“Baby, it’s not silly. Do you have a garbage bag we can slide over it so the ornaments won’t get broken if they come off while we’re moving it?”
Once the ornaments were secured, we loaded her tree and drove back to my house. Annabelle was unusually quiet during the ride, but she did hold my hand the entire way. I wasn’t sure if she was still feeling embarrassed about her tree or if it had something to do with her parents. Either way, I thought it was best to give her time to work through her feelings. I knew she would talk to me about it when she was ready.
When we pulled into the driveway, I told her, “Go on inside. Gram’s in the kitchen making goodies. I’ll take your things inside and put them in the room you stayed in last time.”
“Thanks, Phoenix,” she whispered and kissed my cheek before getting out and going inside.
As I carefully carried her tree up the stairs, I vowed then and there to do everything I could to make her Christmas special. I had a feeling it was something her parents had never bothered to do for her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Annabelle
I nervously entered the kitchen to find Phoenix’s grandmother flitting around from mixing bowl to mixing bowl. “Hi, Gram,” I said softly.
She whirled around with a bright smile on her face. “Annabelle, my dear, want to help me with the Christmas goodies?”
I returned her smile. “I’m not sure how much help I will be. I don’t have much experience with baking, but I’m willing to try.”
She waved her hand in the air dismissively. “There’s nothing to it. I’ll show you everything you need to know.”
And she did. I spent the next few hours in the kitchen making everything from basic sugar cookies to some fancy chocolate covered truffle I had never heard of.
“Are you planning on feeding an army with all of this?” I asked. There wasn’t an inch of counter space that didn’t have a container full of treats covering it by the time we were finished.
Gram laughed. “Sort of. Tomorrow, we’re driving up to Devil Springs to see Tommy’s brother and his family. He started a motorcycle club there years ago and I always make treats for the members. Some of them have their own family, but a lot of them don’t and I like to make sure they feel included in the festivities.”
I wasn’t sure what to say and Gram must have thought my silence was due to being scared of the motorcycle club. “Don’t you worry about a thing, dear. Those men may look rough and tough, but they’re all a bunch a big teddy bears. I hope you brought an extra change of clothes with you. We usually spend the nig
ht at the clubhouse and drive home the next day.”
“I did, but Phoenix only mentioned me spending the night tonight.”
Gram chuckled. “What exactly did he say?”
“That I was spending Christmas with you all.”
“Exactly. Christmas is a three day event in this family. Why don’t you see if you can round up Phoenix? I’ll have dinner ready in about 45 minutes.”
I found Phoenix in his bedroom. When I knocked on his open door, he yanked a blanket over something and quickly stood in front of it. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to wrap your present. Go away.”
I laughed. “If you were so worried about it, you should have closed the door.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, well, I thought you would still be in the kitchen with Gram. I didn’t know it would be this hard to wrap a present.”
“You’ve never wrapped a present before?”
He shook his head. “No, I haven’t. Gram wraps Pop’s for me and Pop wraps Gram’s. My mom and dad used to do the same before they died.”
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it. Gram said dinner would be ready in about 45 minutes. I’m going to wash this flour off and change clothes.”
After dinner, Gram ushered us into the living room to open presents. “When Phoenix was little, we used to open presents in the morning, but now that he’s older, we exchange our gifts on Christmas Eve so we can leave for Devil Springs right after breakfast,” she explained and headed for the tree.
Pop started a fire in the fireplace while Gram passed out presents. I was beyond amazed at the pile of gifts in front of me. It was too much. As if reading my mind, Gram said, “I know what you’re thinking, dear. Tommy and I have been blessed with more than enough to live out the rest of our days comfortably. It brings me great joy to share our good fortune with others. Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”
What could I say to that? Absolutely nothing. So, I smiled and opened the gifts in front of me while I tried not to cry. When I was finished, I had a pile of clothes, shoes, a new backpack, a new purse, some earrings, and a few gift cards.
I looked up when I heard a gasp. Gram was holding my gift to her in her hands. “Tommy, look at this,” she said and turned the frame to her husband.
“What is it?” Phoenix asked, climbing out from under his pile of presents to take a look.
“It’s the most beautiful picture of an elephant I’ve ever seen. Oh, Annabelle, where did you find this?” Gram asked.
Before I could answer, Phoenix did. “She didn’t find it, Gram. She drew it. See her signature right there in the corner.”
Gram turned her wide eyes to me. “You did this?” At my nod, she hugged the frame to her chest. “It’s exquisite. I will forever cherish it.”
I felt my eyes begin to tear up at her kind words. Thankfully, Pop broke the emotionally charged moment when he started eagerly digging through his pile of gifts. “Don’t just stand there, help me find mine, love!”
I giggled and reached over to pull my gift to him from the pile. He took it from my outstretched hand and ripped the paper open. Beaming from ear to ear, he turned the frame around and proudly showed everyone the pirate schooner I had drawn for him. “I love it,” he declared.
I smiled shyly. I didn’t have much money, but I wanted to give them something special for Christmas. I knew Gram loved elephants and Pop had an affinity for pirate ships, so I spent a few weeks working on the drawings for them. I was relieved by their reactions. I, personally, thought the drawings were some of my best work, but I had no idea what they would think.
Phoenix stood and crossed his arms. “And where is mine?”
I felt my cheeks heat. I had one for him as well, but I had planned on giving it to him without an audience. “It’s upstairs. I didn’t realize we were exchanging our gifts now,” I said quietly.
He stepped closer and cupped my cheek. “Relax, doll face. I was only kidding.”
“If you want to smack him, we’ll pretend like we didn’t see it,” Pop interjected causing us all to laugh.
By the time we finished opening gifts and cleaning up the mess of wrapping paper and ribbons, it was late and I was ready to go to sleep. After hugging Gram and Pop and saying good night, I turned to Phoenix to do the same. He pulled me against his chest and whispered in my ear, “Come to my room after they go to bed so we can exchange gifts.” Without giving me a chance to respond, he kissed my cheek and said loud enough for Gram and Pop to hear, “Good night, doll face. Merry Christmas!”
I waited in my room until I heard Gram and Pop come upstairs and close their bedroom door. Then, I waited another 15 minutes before I tiptoed down the hall and quietly knocked on Phoenix’s door.
He answered the door wearing nothing but a pair of flannel sleep pants that sat low on his hips. I had seen his body before, but never when we were alone with a door that locked and a bed. I briefly wondered if I was drooling before he placed his finger under my chin and tilted my head. “You gotta stop looking at me like that, baby. I’m trying to behave myself,” he said huskily.
“Then put a fucking shirt on,” I blurted.
He chuckled, but did as I said and pulled a t-shirt on over his head.
I took a seat on the edge of the bed and tried not to tear at the wrapping paper while I waited for him to get my gift. I don’t know why I was so nervous. I knew Phoenix wouldn’t care if I hadn’t gotten him anything and we had been alone together many times before, so there was no reason for me to feel the need to get to my feet and bolt from the room.
I felt the bed depress beside me followed by Phoenix’s warmth at my side. He placed his large palm on my bouncing thigh and asked, “You okay, doll face?”
“Yeah,” I croaked and cleared my throat. “Sorry. I’m nervous and I don’t know why.”
He cupped my cheek with his other hand and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “No reason for you to be nervous, baby.”
“I know,” I whispered against his lips.
He scooted back and grinned. “I’ll go first so you can actually enjoy opening your presents.” At my nod, he picked up the smaller of the two gifts I had for him. He made a great show of inspecting the gift and shaking it before he finally opened it.
His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath when he pulled the black leather chain wallet from the box. On the front, it had a phoenix etched into the leather. I wouldn’t have been able to get it for him, but Gram gave me an unexpected Christmas bonus at the beginning of the month.
Phoenix continued to stare at the wallet and I started to get worried. Finally, he met my eyes and smiled. “I love it.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I handed him the other gift, though I was sure he knew what it was.
He took it from me and didn’t delay in ripping the paper off. “Annabelle, this is by far your best one yet,” he said with a smile as he admired the framed drawing of a phoenix.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
He studied the picture for a few more moments before he put it down and handed me a fairly large box. I looked at the box and giggled. “I’m guessing you didn’t ask anyone to help you with the wrapping.”
“Shut it, doll face, and start opening.”
I did as I was told and made quick work of removing the paper and opening the box. Inside I found a plethora of art supplies. And not the kind of art supplies I was used to using. No, these were the top of the line, name brand, ones I’d only dreamed about having kind of art supplies.
With my hand covering my gaping mouth, I looked up to thank him, but he spoke before I was able to formulate words. “You have an amazing talent, doll face. You should have the tools you need to sharpen your skills.”
“Thank you,” I said softly as one tear slid down my face, which I quickly wiped away.
He handed me another gift in a much smaller box. I took it from him and carefully unwrapped it to find a black velvet box. I froze, unsure of what to do.
“It’s not what you think, sweethear
t. Open it,” Phoenix said softly.
I nodded and slowly opened the box. Beautifully displayed on the black fabric was a necklace with matching earrings, and they were a perfect replication of the tiny Phoenix I drew all over anything I could draw on.
Glancing between the box in my hand and Phoenix, I asked, “How did you do this?”
He shrugged. “Gram isn’t the only one with tricks in this town. Though, if you sue me for violating your copyrights, I may be forced to reveal my sources.”
I playfully slapped his chest. “You know I’m not going to do that.”
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me against his chest. “I know,” he said and fell to his back on the bed, taking me with him. Before I could protest, his hand curved around the back of my head and held me in place while he took my lips in a heated kiss.
“Phoenix, we can’t,” I weakly protested.
“We’re not,” he breathed. “Just let me love on you for a few minutes.”
It was hard to pull myself out of Phoenix’s arms and return to my room, but out of respect for Gram and Pop, we managed to separate ourselves.
As I slid into bed and pulled the covers over me, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. It had been the best Christmas ever, and it wasn’t even technically Christmas yet.
CHAPTER SIX
Annabelle
After breakfast, we drove to Devil Springs to spend the day with Phoenix’s extended family, at a motorcycle club compound. I didn’t know much about motorcycle clubs, but the things I had heard about motorcycle gangs made me incredibly nervous. The closer we got, the antsier I became.
“You okay, doll face?”
“Yeah,” I swallowed and nodded. “I’m just a little nervous about meeting the rest of your family.”
Phoenix snorted. “You’re going to lie to me on Christmas?”
“What?” I asked, trying to sound surprised.
“You’re lying to me. What is it? Are you worried about the bikers?”
Phoenix (Blackwings MC Book 3) Page 2