It’s covered in white lights which are turned on even though it’s the middle of the day. Giant blue and silver ornaments hang from almost every branch. I notice more lights glistening off to the side and see that the staircase banister is covered in lighted greenery.
“We have lights outside in the back, too,” Garret says. “They come on when it gets dark.”
“This tree is incredible.” I walk around it. Every ornament is placed perfectly, like someone measured the distance between each one.
“There’s more. And it’s even better. Let’s go to my side of the house.”
We go to the game room that we hung out in over Thanksgiving break. It, too, has a tree. It’s not as big as the other one, but it’s still huge. Garret turns the overhead lights off and flips a switch that turns the Christmas lights on. The tree is covered in multicolored lights and there are smaller trees in other sections of the room, also lit up.
“I told you I’m into Christmas,” Garret says.
“Who did all this?”
“We have a company that comes in and does it. We just tell them what we want. I always pick the stuff for this room. Katherine hates the multicolored lights. She doesn’t allow them in the main house, so I put them in here. What do you think?”
“I love it. It almost makes me feel better after this horrible day. And week. I guess the whole month has kind of sucked.”
Garret comes up behind me and kisses the top of my head. “It’ll get better, Jade. Now do you want to see more?”
I turn around to face him. “There’s more?”
“Every room is decorated, but most of them just have boring white lights. Let’s go upstairs.”
He takes me to the bedroom I’m staying in. It has its own tree with bright blue lights. “I called and had this done yesterday when I found out you’d be staying here. You can keep the lights on when you sleep just like at school.”
“This is so cool. I’ve never had a tree in my bedroom. Actually, I’ve never had a tree.”
“Not even at Frank’s house?”
“I was living with two guys. They didn’t care about putting up a Christmas tree.”
“I’m a guy and I’d put up a Christmas tree.”
“Yeah, well, I guess they’re not really into Christmas.”
We go to Lilly’s room next. It has a tiny white tree decorated in pink lights. It’s so Lilly. Delicate, small, and covered in pink.
“She’s not even here to enjoy it,” I say.
“It’s been up for weeks. She’s enjoyed it. Let’s go to my room.”
Garret’s bedroom has a small tree with blue lights, like the one in my room, but then he has more lights strung around the window frame. He turns them on and closes the drapes so I can see them better.
“What do you think?” I feel him behind me, his breath by my ear as he moves my hair aside. “You like the lights?”
“Garret. Stop it. Your dad’s home. And it’s the afternoon.”
“We’ve done it in the afternoon before. Right in this very room.” He leaves kisses down my neck, causing tiny bumps to rise up on my skin. “I think it was even your suggestion.”
“Yeah, but your dad wasn’t downstairs.” I feel myself sinking into him as my whole body relaxes.
“My dad doesn’t care.” He moves my shirt aside and skims his lips along my collarbone. I sink into him even more and his arm tightens around my waist.
“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s get out of here before we end up doing something.”
He laughs, knowing he’s getting to me. He turns me around, keeping me close. “I need a kiss first. I saved your life earlier and you didn’t even kiss me.”
“Garret, don’t joke about that. We could’ve died.”
“But we didn’t. And I think I deserve a kiss.”
As I replay what happened, I am really amazed at what he did. The way he figured out what to do with the out-of-control car was impressive. We didn’t even get hurt, not even a scratch. I guess I’ll have to add good driving skills to the growing list of compliments I’m saving up for him.
I give him a quick kiss.
“You have to do better than that,” he says. “I saved your life, remember?”
I kiss him again, parting my lips to let his tongue slip past and weakening my resolve to limit this to a simple kiss. The more I think about him saving us, the more turned on I get. Maybe that’s weird, but at this moment I’m finding it extremely sexy.
He moves us toward the bed as we kiss.
“Garret, are you in there?” His dad is knocking on the door.
We break apart and I punch Garret. “I told you it was a bad idea!” I whisper.
He just laughs, then flips on the overhead lights and answers the door. He probably wouldn’t have even cared if his dad had walked in on us doing it. Guys. I don’t understand them. They have no shame. I would die if Frank or Ryan ever caught Garret and me together. I’d never be able to look at them again.
“I’m going into the office for a few hours,” his dad says. “Go ahead and have dinner without me. Also, I had someone tow your car out of that field. We can’t salvage it, so I called the BMW dealer. They’ll have a new one out here in the morning.”
“Okay. Thanks for doing that.”
His dad looks at me. “If you need anything during your stay, Jade, just tell the housekeeper. Garret can introduce you to her.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I’m sure my face is bright red.
His dad leaves and Garret shuts the door.
“He totally knew what we were doing!” I whisper to Garret.
“He only knew because you gave it away, blushing and acting all nervous.” He kisses me. “You’re funny. You act like we’re 13 or something. My dad seriously doesn’t care.”
“Still. It’s embarrassing.”
“Relax.” He leads me back to the bed. “He’s gone now. We can continue where we left off.”
“I don’t know, Garret. After everything that’s happened, it doesn’t seem like the right time.” I say it, but I don’t even try to push him away. “I think we should wait.”
He slides his hand under my shirt and along my waist as he draws me closer. I don’t know how he does it, but just his touch on my bare skin makes my body ache for him.
“Is this one of those times when you’re acting like you don’t want something but you really do?”
“Yes,” I say, breathless.
He smiles.
I give in. I have no choice. I have to have him.
The sex is great as always, but the second it’s over I push Garret off me and quickly get up and start dressing, fearing someone else might come knocking on the door. Maybe the housekeeper. Or some other person who works there.
“What’s the rush?” Garret asks, even though he knows why.
“I’m not rushing. I’m just getting dressed.”
“The door is locked, Jade. Nobody’s coming in.”
Garret gets out of bed, completely naked and looking beyond perfect. I really don’t see him naked that much. I usually close my eyes during sex or look at his face. But I should look more often because, damn, he looks good. Tight ass, muscular shoulders, those freaking abs.
I glance away, trying not to gawk at his naked body.
“You can look, you know,” he says as he takes a clean t-shirt from his closet. “I’m yours. You can look all you want. And you can touch, too. An added bonus.”
“Yeah. I got it.” I feel my face heating up.
He kisses me on his way to get his jeans off the floor. “I love that it embarrasses you like that. It’s sweet. And innocent.”
“I’m neither one of those things.”
He smiles. “Of course you’re not.”
He gets dressed and we go down to the kitchen. My new friend, Charles, is there, cooking dinner. “Jade, I heard you were staying with us.”
“Just for a couple weeks.”
“So I guess I should get some donuts made for breakf
ast.”
“You don’t have to. I know it’s a lot of work.”
“Jade.” Garret gives me a look like I’m hurting Charles’ feelings.
“But if you don’t mind, I would love some.”
Charles smiles. “I made some Christmas cookies if you’re hungry.”
He brings out several large containers full of every kind of cookie imaginable. It’s like I’ve died and gone to cookie heaven. I sample three, then stop so I have room for dinner.
That night when we go to bed, Garret’s dad still isn’t home. But I sleep in my own room and Garret sleeps in his. I wake up at 2 a.m. when I hear Mr. Kensington go down the hall to his room and close the door.
Now I can’t sleep. It’s dark and quiet and my mind replays all the bad things that have happened already and all the bad things that could happen in the future.
I gaze at the blue lights on the Christmas tree, trying to make myself calm and sleepy, but it doesn’t work. All I can think about is the fact that my father may try to kill me. I get a chill and pull up the blanket, wishing I had a couple more.
I hear the door open. “Garret?”
“Hey. I thought you might need some company.” He slides in next to me, kissing my cheek. “Plus, I missed you.”
I scoot into his arms until my back is against his warm chest.
“I’m really scared.” I normally wouldn’t admit that to him, but for some reason I find it easier to say at night than during the day.
“I know. That’s why I came in here. I didn’t want you to be alone.”
“I don’t want him to hurt you. Or me. Or Frank or Ryan.”
“He won’t. My dad will take care of it.”
“But what if he can’t?”
“He will. Just give him time. Now try to get some sleep.”
I turn my head back to kiss him goodnight. “Garret, I just want to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I always thought I couldn’t count on people, but you’ve kind of proved me wrong on that.” It’s another thing I’d have a hard time saying during the day. “So thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I pull his arm closer around me. “I love you, Garret. I love you a lot.”
He kisses the back of my head and I feel his warm breath in my hair. “I love you, too.”
When we wake up later that morning, we find a note from Garret’s dad saying he went to work and will be back in the afternoon. I wonder if “work” is code word for doing whatever it is he’s doing to deal with Sinclair.
Garret and I eat breakfast, then go to the sunroom which is just a fancy name for a room with lots of windows. It hasn’t been sunny for most of December, but today it is and it feels good to just sit there surrounded by warmth. We snuggle on the sofa with a blanket.
“Do you want to go out and do something?” Garret asks.
“Are you bringing a gun?”
“Yes. You already know that.”
“Then let’s stay here. I don’t want you walking around with a gun. Why do you even need one? I’m sure that guy—my father—doesn’t even know I’m here.”
He threads his fingers with mine. “We have to be safe. The gun is just a precaution.”
“I still can’t believe that Royce Sinclair is my father. And that he drugged my mom like that for all those years. She would’ve been a different person if he’d just left her alone. I might’ve had a normal life. I wouldn’t have had her voice yelling in my head.”
“Are you still hearing her like you used to?”
“Not as much anymore.”
“Jade, you need to stop listening to those voices and whatever they’re telling you. That wasn’t your mom talking. It was the drugs. She didn’t know what she was saying.”
“I know. It’s just going to take a while for my mind to finally believe that.”
His thumb begins gently circling the palm of my hand, which is surprisingly soothing. “Things are going to get better now, Jade. The voices will go away and Frank will get out of the hospital and my dad will take care of Sinclair. Plus, Blake is gone. Decker sent me a text saying that Blake’s going to college in San Diego this spring. You won’t have to worry about him. And I won’t either.”
“When did you get the text?”
“Earlier this morning when you were in your room getting ready.”
“Well, at least one problem is gone.” I glance over at the Christmas tree in the corner. Even though it’s sunny, we turned on the twinkling white lights and they keep catching my eye.
“So what do you want for Christmas?” Garret asks.
I turn to face him. “Garret, don’t. Do not spend any more money on me. You’re not getting me anything.”
“Come on. Just one thing?” He cocks his head and smiles.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“But I love giving presents. And you’ve never had a real Christmas. You need at least a few presents.”
“I don’t need anything. You’ve already bought me enough. You gave me that dress, the shoes, and those diamond earrings. That’s enough to last for the next five years.”
“Those weren’t gifts. That was just stuff you needed for the party. Just tell me one thing that you want.”
“I don’t want anything other than for Frank to get better and this whole mess with Sinclair to go away.”
“There has to be something you want. Some new running shoes? A watch? Anything?”
“Nope. Besides, I don’t have any money to get you anything.”
He’s quiet and then says, “Well, I kind of already got you something.”
“Garret!”
“It’s not a big deal. It wasn’t expensive. It cost less than $2.”
“Oh. Then I guess that’s all right. But now I’ll have to find something for you.”
“Okay, but it has to be less than $2.”
“How is that possible? What did you get me? A pack of gum? A candy bar?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” He leans over and kisses me.
I kiss him back and soon we’re kissing and touching each other in a way that’s probably not appropriate in the sunroom.
“You want to go upstairs?” he asks. “Nobody’s around. My dad’s at work. Charles went to the store. And the maid is watching her soaps in the guest house.”
“Hmm.” I pretend to think hard about it. “I’ll race you!” I jump up from the sofa and run to the stairs with Garett close behind. We’re halfway up the stairs when the doorbell rings. We both stop.
“It’s probably the guy delivering my car. I’ll go check. You wait upstairs.”
“No, I want to see the car. Did your dad get the same one?”
“I hope he did. I liked that car.”
We go to answer the door. But it’s not the guy from the BMW dealership.
It’s Royce Sinclair.
28
Sinclair shoves his way through the door before Garret can shut it. My pulse skyrockets at the sight of him. He’s supposed to be in Des Moines! What the hell is he doing here?
“Mr. Sinclair, I’m sorry but my father’s not home right now.” Garret is playing it cool. Acting as if we know nothing. “I’ll tell him you stopped by.”
“I’m not here to see your father, Garret.” Sinclair smiles at me. “I’m here to see my daughter.”
My heart is now beating so hard I swear I can hear it, but I try to appear calm.
“Your daughter? I don’t know what you’re talking about. My father is dead.” The words come out of my mouth, but I’m not sure how. And I have no idea where the dead father lie came from.
Sinclair steps closer to me. “You know who I am, Jade. Don’t play games with me.”
Garret gets in his face. “You need to leave. Now.” Garret’s at least 5 inches taller than him and is way stronger, but Sinclair doesn’t seem to care. He stands there unnerved.
“I’m just trying to have a talk with my daughter.” He gets a smug look on his face. “I see you ha
ve a new car out front, Garret. Something happen to your old one?”
Garret grabs the collar of Sinclair’s long, gray coat and yanks him closer. “So you admit you fucked with my car? You almost killed us! Is that what you wanted? To kill your own daughter?”
“Take your hands off me,” Sinclair says calmly.
“Only if you get the fuck out of here.”
Sinclair reaches in the pocket of his coat and pulls out a gun, placing it against Garret’s chest. Garret immediately releases his hold on Sinclair and backs away.
I stare at the gun. I’ve never seen a gun in real life and now the first time I see one it’s pointed right at me. Ready to kill me. Ready to kill Garret.
“What are you doing, Royce?” Garret slowly moves in front of me, blocking me from Sinclair.
“I’m just taking care of some things that the people I hired couldn’t seem to handle.”
“So you’re going to kill us?” I go around Garret to face Sinclair.
Garret grabs my shirt, pulling me back. “Jade, stop it! Get behind me.”
I struggle with Garret, trying to remain in front of him. My fear fades for a moment as pure rage builds inside me as I look at Sinclair. I don’t even know him but I hate him. I hate that smug look on his face. I hate that he wants to hurt everyone I care about. I hate what he did to my mom.
“This is the way you deal with shit you can’t handle? DAD?” I say it forcefully with a touch of sarcasm. “I can’t deal with shit either. I guess I got that from you. But unlike you, I don’t kill people I can’t deal with.”
He gives me this weird, sadistic grin. “You’re just like your mother. You just can’t shut up and do as you’re told. She had that same independent, stubborn attitude. And that’s why we’re here today. She didn’t get rid of you like I told her to.”
Garret manages to get a firm grip on me and presses me tightly against him.
“Then why didn’t you just kill me yourself years ago?”
“Jade, I never wanted to have to do this. I’m a father. I have four other daughters. You and Sadie are nearly the same age. Once you were born, I had no desire to harm you. But then some very important people asked me to run for president. Do you understand what an honor that is? And the powers that come with that?”
Knowing You (The Jade Series #2) Page 24