Home for the Holidays Ch. 04

"Maybe if you didn't beat on his human, he'd like you better," Nick said.

"I'm her brother, I'm supposed to beat on her." He threw a handful of hay that I ducked and it hit dad in the back of the head. I laughed when dad turned around and fixed Shawn with a threatening eye.

"Don't make me come back there, boy-o. You're not too big to have your britches warmed."

"Yeah, Pops, I know."

Mara and Alex were last on the wagon. Mara couldn't keep her eyes off the older man, which just made me want him gone all the more. He kept staring at me, even as he kept up a conversation with my little sister. I heard Nick beside me, leaning down and petting Riley. "Go bite him, too," he said to my dog, pointing toward Alex. "Got me?" Riley leaned up and swiped his tongue across Nick's face.

"Good boy," he said, wiping the drool off with his sleeve.

"You kids all set?"

I heard Jenna tell Ian one last time to sit down or he was staying at the farm and then Dad flicked the whip over the back of the horses. Their bells jingled with a festive sound and we were heading down the trail that would take us through the woods, over the covered bridge and then up Pine's Pass to where we always got our tree. It would take about an hour to get there.

When we did, we'd stop and eat the treasure trove full of food Mom always packed and then the he-men would go out and point to trees until us women decided they'd found the right one.

They would take turns chopping it down, even letting Ian have a swing or two with the axe, and then truss it up and tie it to the sled dragging behind us. Then it was back the way we came, Dad singing Christmas carols and deliberately using the wrong words to make us laugh or groan.

Nick wrapped his arm around me, and we settled into the loose hay, sharing the blankets and taking advantage of the warmth. His presence made this whole thing all the more special. I remembered bringing Steven out here and how he'd whined about being cold the entire time.

I could hear them talking, but I wasn't sure what they were talking about. The warmth, combined with the lustiness of Nick's earlier lovemaking, had me nodding off. It wasn't too long before I was asleep, curled up next to Nicky.