Once we were back at the house, it didn’t take long to get the tree out of the back and into the house. We fought to get it upright in the tree stand in the corner of the room, while my mother directed us, telling us which way to scoot and turn the tree so that it was perfectly placed, just how she wanted it.
“Do we decorate it now?” Sadie asked with almost childlike excitement.
“Not yet. We have to let it dry out a little and then my dad will spray it with this fake snow stuff. Then my mom wraps the lights around it and then we get to decorate,” I explained our process.
All the baking and decorating was done for the day so my brother and his family said their goodbyes and went home to put up their own tree. Each of them hugged Sadie goodbye. Hannah especially had taken to her.
“Will you be here for Christmas?” she asked her.
“I, uh …” Sadie was caught off guard and unsure of how to answer my niece.
“I hope I can convince her to come back,” I answered instead.
Hannah’s face brightened. “You have to come back Sadie. Pleeeease,” she begged. I knew from experience how hard it was to say no to that face so I was confident that I would have Sadie back here for Christmas with my family.
“Umm, we’ll see, but I promise even if I don’t make it back here for Christmas, I’ll come see you again, and maybe you and your parents and your brothers can come see us in Boston when the weather is nice again. Then we can swim in the pool at Uncle Drew’s.”
“Oooh, Uncle Drew, can we? Can we?”
“Of course.” That seemed to appease her and my brother was able to get her out to the truck.
Somehow, during all the cookie baking, fudge making and house decorating, my mom had also managed to cook dinner, and while we waited for the tree to dry out some, we all sat down to eat. My sister chose to stay for dinner and help decorate the tree. She lived in an apartment by herself, not too far from my parents’, at least until she quit her current job and couldn’t pay rent anymore. Then she would move back home. That was the reason Bree’s room was the only one that hadn’t been converted into a guest room.
“Why didn’t Damien come home with you this time? Is he going to be here for Christmas since he wasn’t here for Thanksgiving?” Bree practically whined. I loved my sister, but she made no secret of her infatuation with him and it irritated the shit out of me, because there was no way in hell that was happening. Spade already knew the score and would never have touched her anyway. She’s my damn baby sister, but she didn’t seem to want to get that through her head. It was the reason I’d had to tell her she couldn’t move in with me eight months ago when she asked.
“I don’t know, but what’s it matter to you?” I gave her a pointed look.
“What, I’m not allowed to miss him? He’s like family.”
“I think we all know why you want him to visit,” Grandma commented.
“Really Bree, it’s time you got past this silly little crush,” Mom told her.
“Whatever, I don’t have a crush. I was just asking about him. It’s been forever since he visited,” Bree argued.
I rolled my eyes, but before I could say anything, Grandma beat me to it. “You probably scared him off by trying to throw your hoo-ha at him like a little hussy.” Sadie sputtered while the rest of us continued to eat. She was the only one not used to the shit that came out of Grandma Helen’s mouth. I hadn’t exaggerated that bit.
“Grandma!” Bree cried, trying to act all offended. My dad looked only slightly uncomfortable, but I doubted he was pleased with the conversation.
“Well if the hooker boots fit,” Grandma stated. “You gotta quit giving it away like free samples at Costco.”
“I don’t give it away for free!” My sister protested and Grandma just snorted.
“Enough! Really this isn’t appropriate talk for the dinner table, especially not when we have a guest,” my dad finally stepped in. Grandma acted chastised while Bree continued to frown. Sadie was trying to hide her face by staring down at her plate without meeting any of our eyes. I could tell she was incredibly uncomfortable. I squeezed her hand under the table and she finally turned her head toward me with a look that said “is this really happening?” I grimaced and then squeezed her hand again before releasing it so we could both go back to eating.
“Sadie would you like some eggnog?” My mother asked her. Mom was on her second glass of eggnog spiked with rum. I’d tasted it once and really it was more like rum spiked with eggnog the way my mom drank it.
“No, she wouldn’t,” I answered before Sadie could make the mistake of accepting a glass. “I don’t need her puking up eggnog tonight Mom. Sadie isn’t used to your eggnog.”
“I think maybe I need a glass,” she mumbled under her breath and I started to worry that my family was too much for her, but she gave me a reassuring smile that said she was only kidding, or at least mostly kidding.
My father steered the conversation in a different direction by asking my sister how her job and school were going. From the noticeably uninterested tone in her voice when she talked about work, I doubted it would be long before she quit out of boredom and moved on to something else. It wasn’t surprising, or anything new. I wondered how she ever got hired anywhere with her job history. What was surprising, was that it sounded like she was still taking her nursing classes seriously.
After dinner, Dad sprayed the tree and then helped Mom drape the strands of lights around it. The awkwardness from dinner had faded and everyone was in a good mood again. Sadie had changed into a cute pair of pajama bottoms with snowmen on them and was helping my sister unwrap ornaments. I went and threw on a pair of basketball shorts and a sweatshirt and then sat down on the couch flipping through the channels until I found a game on. After the lights were hung, my dad came over and took a seat next to me, letting the girls finish. I stayed out of their way, occasionally looking over to see the smile on Sadie’s face as she helped my mom and sister hang ornaments. She grinned like a little girl when my mom showed her how to toss tinsel on the tree after the last ornament was hung. The final piece was the angel that went on top. My mom pulled it out of the box and then held it out to me. I was the only one who could reach the top of the tree without having to stand on something.
I liked seeing the smile Sadie wore once my mom declared the tree perfect. I decided that when we got home I would go get the biggest tree I could find and go buy a bunch of ornaments and lights and whatever else Sadie wanted so that we could decorate a tree together. I wanted to see that smile on her face every day.
After our tree mess was cleaned up and the empty boxes put away, it was time for It’s a Wonderful Life, Mom’s favorite movie. I didn’t need to see the end of the game; it wasn’t even close, and I was all too happy to have Sadie curl up beside me on the couch. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and she snuggled into my side. That’s how she stayed throughout the whole movie, and toward the end she fell asleep against me. When it was over, my sister said goodnight and headed out. Dad woke Grandma and she went off to her room and my parents did the same. I gave Sadie a gentle nudge, but she didn’t wake. I scooped her up into my arms as I stood and she stirred awake long enough to look up at me with sleepy eyes and then wrap her arms around me and nestle her head in the crook of my neck.
I didn’t know if anything in my entire life had ever felt so good and I absolutely hated when I pushed my way into her room and had to let her go to lay her down on the bed. I tucked her in and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.
“Stay,” she mumbled so quietly that I wasn’t sure I had really heard her. I looked back and she was asleep again. I wanted more than anything to stay with her and hold her all night, but I walked away. I closed the door behind me and went to my own room, where I climbed into the large comfy bed and tried not to think about how much I wished Sadie was next to me.
Chapter 22
Sadie
I woke to a soft knock on the bedroom door. I sat up, not rememb
ering how I got from the couch to the bed last night. I had a faint memory of Ace tucking me in and kissing my forehead. I hoped it wasn’t just a dream.
“You awake in there?” His voice sounded quietly from the other side of the door.
“Yeah, you can come in,” I answered, my voice still a little groggy from sleep. He cracked the door and poked his head in. “What time is it?” I asked.
“After nine. I would have let you sleep longer, but Mom’s already got breakfast ready down stairs and I want to get going soon.”
“We’re going somewhere? He hadn’t mentioned it to me before.
“We got some fresh snowfall last night, we’re gonna go sledding.” He smiled brightly.
“That actually sounds like a lot of fun.” It was another thing I’d never tried. During the winter in Seattle, anytime enough snow fell, some of the streets on the hills would shut down and people would sled down them all day and night if they could get away with it. Mom never let me or my sisters go. She said sledding was for people who couldn’t afford to go to Aspen, or down to Jackson Hole on a whim for a weekend ski trip.
“Good. Dress warm and here’s an extra pair of snow pants that Bree left behind, and my mom had an extra pair of boots, size eight right?” I nodded and he set the bundle that he’d been holding down on the foot of the bed. “They should fit you, then come down for breakfast. Mom made cinnamon rolls.”
When I inhaled I could actually smell the cinnamon wafting upstairs from the kitchen. It smelled Heavenly. “Okay, I’ll be right down.”
He closed the door behind him and I dressed in a pair of thick leggings, with wool socks and a long sleeve thermal shirt. I threw a pair of sweats on over the top of the leggings and then pulled on a hooded sweatshirt. The snow pants fit over the sweats just fine, but I looked like a marshmallow. I walked down the hall to the bathroom to wash my face and brush out my hair before braiding it over my shoulder.
I went back to my room and grabbed my knitted beanie, a pair of gloves and the boots he’d left for me. I carried them downstairs with me and set them all by the front door before following the delicious smell of cinnamon goodness to the kitchen. Ace was already sitting at the table with his dad, and his mom was doing dishes at the sink. I’d figured out that Grandma Helen liked to sleep late. I was told it was because she stayed up late reading trashy novels. In some ways she reminded me a lot of Jax. I could totally see Grandma Helen rocking bright pink or purple hair. I took a seat in front of the empty plate set for me on the table.
“Good morning,” Mr. Reid said from behind the newspaper he was reading.
“Good morning.”
“Did you sleep well dear?” Denise asked.
“I did, thank you.”
“That’s good. Help yourself to a cinnamon roll or anything you want sweetheart and you can make Drew get you something to drink. There’s coffee, tea, cranberry juice and we still have some orange juice.”
“Okay, thank you.” I used my fork to lift one of the giant, gooey cinnamon rolls from the pan in the middle of the table, and then I spooned some mixed fruit onto my plate from the large bowl next to the pan of rolls.
Ace hopped up, “What do you want to drink?”
“Coffee would be great.” I was still a little tired and could use the pick me up to get going for the day. He poured me a cup and remembered to add plenty of cream and sugar, exactly the way I liked it. He set the cup down in front of me and then lowered himself back into his seat.
“Thanks.”
He smiled and went back to his half eaten cinnamon roll. I took the first bite of mine and wanted to groan in ecstasy. “These are so good,” I told his mom. “You have to teach me how to make these even though my waistline will hate you for it.”
She chuckled, “Of course dear. I’d be happy to show you how to make them when you come back. I wish you and Andrew could stay longer this time, but I really hope you’ll consider coming back with him and Marcus for Christmas. We really would love to have you here.”
I wasn’t ready to commit to coming back for Christmas. For one thing, I wasn’t actually sure if Ace wanted me to or if he was just going along with it because the rest of his family wanted me back. I’d talk to him about it seriously later. Secondly, I wanted to talk to Mia. I really wanted to see her again over her school break, but I wasn’t sure what my parents had planned for Christmas. Sometimes they flew down to California to visit my mother’s parent, and other times they took off for Switzerland, or Paris.
I told Denise that I would think about it, but that I wasn’t sure of my plans yet. She seemed satisfied that I would at least consider it. “When do you have to take off again Drew?” she asked her son.
“Well we have a couple of holiday shows this month, but they’re mostly in New York and Jersey, so no long trips until after the New Year. In January we have the People’s Choice Awards and then the Grammy’s I think. We don’t really hit the road again until spring time, but we have a few TV appearances and photo shoots to make before then. We’re going to be on Ellen next month, so maybe you’ll actually watch us perform.”
Both of his parents chuckled and I looked at him confused. “They’ve never seen you perform?”
“Nope. They came out to one show in Boston when we first got the group together and they left after the first song. If it isn’t country or old Jazz my parents won’t listen to it. Rude huh?”
His mother smacked him on the back of the head with a dish towel. “Knock it off Drew. You make us sound like terrible parents. You know we’re very proud of you, even if we don’t understand that convoluted noise you boys call music.”
“See, do you hear her? She called my music convoluted noise.”
“Just keeping you humble baby.” She patted his head and winked at me. I held my laughter in.
“You keep telling yourself that Mom, but when I end up on some reality show in rehab, I’m going to talk about how it was my unsupportive parents who just didn’t understand me, that drove me to my alcoholism and drug abuse.”
“If you start using drugs young man, I will tan your hide.” Grandma Helen appeared in the kitchen in her night robe with her hair up in curlers.
“I know Grandma, don’t worry I would never use drugs,” Ace assured her, “but if I do, it will be Mom and Dad’s fault.” He turned and looked at me, “Grandma Helen loves me. She listens to our music.”
“Yep,” she confirmed, “I just love that Kyden’s voice. I like to listen to it while I’m lying in bed, then I can imagine he’s whispering naughty things to me. You’re grandfather used to like to talk dirty in bed when he was still alive, bless his soul.”
I choked on my coffee. I was definitely going to have to share that with Jax.
“Mother,” Mr. Reid said with an exasperated sigh, not even setting the newspaper down.
Ace scrubbed the palm of his hands over his eyes. “Agh, now I have that image burned into my mind. I need to bleach out my brain Grandma. I don’t need to hear your fantasies about one of my best friends and I didn’t need to know that about Grandpa.” I had to try even harder not to laugh, but I failed. “Are you done yet?” He looked at me. “I need to get out of here before they scar me for life more than they already have.”
I took the last bit of my cinnamon roll and downed the remaining coffee from my cup. “I’m ready,” I told him, still unable to wipe the amused grin from my face.
“Good, let’s go.” He pulled me up and practically dragged me out of the kitchen, hollering a, “see you guys later,” to his parents and grandma.
“Have fun,” his mom hollered back.
I pulled on the boots she was loaning me and my hat and gloves. Ace slid his hands into his own gloves and pulled a hat down low on his head. He grabbed both of our coats from the closet and then wrapped a scarf around the bottom part of my face. I tugged it a little lower so that I could breathe easier.
I followed him outside to the garage where he grabbed a couple of large plastic sleds and
then tossed them in the back of his truck. “You’ve been sledding, right?” he asked. I shook my head. “Really? Well it’s a lot of fun. You’ll enjoy it, I promise.”
I did enjoy it. I enjoyed it a lot. He drove us to a nearby park that had a huge hill designated for sledding. We weren’t the only ones with the idea, and the white hill was already dotted with kids, teenagers and adults riding down on all manner of objects, from sleds to trash can lids and inner tubes. He carried both of our sleds to the top and then set them down in the snow. The hill was wide enough that most everyone had plenty of space and people took turns going down so that there would be no collisions.
“I’ll go first, but it’s really simple. You just hang on tight.”
I nodded and watched as he grabbed the sled by the handles and took a few steps back, before rushing forward and diving onto the slope. The sled hit the snow and smoothly sailed down the hill. When he stopped at the bottom, he stood and then waved me down.
I tried to do it exactly as I had seen him do. I didn’t hit the snow quite as gracefully as he had, but I still made it to the bottom, yelling and laughing the entire way. It was a rush. “I want to do it again,” I told him as soon as he stuck out his hand to help me up.
“Okay, let’s go.”
We both raced back to the top and this time we both went down together, side by side with about six feet between us until he pulled ahead and beat me to the bottom. We weren’t really racing, but I still made it a point to try and beat him down the next time. The key was getting a good start and hitting the snow smoothly. His weight helped propel him faster, but if I could get a better start and keep my body tucked in, I knew I would beat him. Eventually, on the fifth time down, I did beat him, by then he’d figured out what I was doing.
Chasing Ever After Page 21