12. Donny
12
Donny
After meeting Carmen’s family, I can feel the tension in my shoulders ease slightly. Carmen’s mother, Estelle, is eager to know me, her eyes sparkling with curiosity about my role in the band. Corbin, despite his initial reservations, seems to respect my position as the drummer, so that’s on the plus side.
It’s Walker, Carmen’s oldest brother, whose disapproval radiates off him in waves. His scowls as he helped us with our bags speak volumes. I met his gaze steadily each time, refusing to be cowed. Carmen might be his little sister, but she’s my woman now - even if it’s just pretend.
I thought for sure that everyone would be angry with me about how things have gone, but the only one I can see that has a problem with things is Walker.
When the sun is close to setting, Carmen finally rises from the couch and gives her parents a brief hug before making her way to the front door with me hot on her tail.
She turns, flashing her parents a heart-stopping smile. “I promised Walker I’d go over to have some hot chocolate with the kids. Just want to get there before they go to bed.”
Estelle chuckles. “We’ll have plenty of time to catch up. I should probably get in with Layla anyway to see how she's fairing on the road now that the snow is getting more dangerous.”
I don’t know Layla, but I’m worried about her being on the road in this downfall. I’m sure the conditions aren’t as terrible on the main roads as they are here. That doesn’t stop the worry from becoming present.
We say our goodbyes, then head down the driveway as carefully as possible toward Walker’s large cabin. It’s fitting that they would get the biggest one out of everyone here, considering their family size, but it still seems a little too big compared to the others.
Carmen scoffs next to me, noticing my attention on the large cabin, and shakes her head. I resist the urge to pull her closer, to shield her from whatever bad memories this place brings up. Instead, I place a hand on her lower back, a silent show of support.
“That’s Jessa for ya,” she mutters. “She can’t stand looking as though they aren’t loaded with money, always has to have the best of the best.”
I arch a brow. “I’m sensing bad blood here.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “If you had been paying attention to my rambling the other day, you’d know that we don’t always see eye to eye.”
I hum in response, then go quiet as we make our way up the front steps. Before Carmen can lift her hand to open the door, the woman in question opens the door with a smile that immediately drops at the sight of her sister-in-law.
“Carmen,” Jessa says in an overly sweet way as she glances at me with an arched brow. “Ah, is this the infamous fiancé I’ve heard Walker talking about all day?”
“Donny,” I say, though I don’t hold my hand out because something tells me she wouldn’t take it, anyway. “You must be Jessa?”
She trails her gaze over my frame, not bothering to hide the way she’s checking me out, and that only makes me dislike her more. What kind of wife looks at a guest like that when her husband is just in the other room?
I’m about to step between Carmen and Jessa, the tension palpable, when one of the kids rushes past the door and catches sight of us. eyes brightening at the guests, and that forces Jessa’s attention away from me.
For a moment she looks angry, like she’s going to reprimand Jaxson for interrupting the moment, but she masks the emotion as quickly as it comes.
I can understand why Carmen dislikes her now.
“Auntie Carmen, dad said you would be here. Are we having hot chocolate?”
Jessa’s flash with anger and she glares at Carmen. “Chocolate is fattening. What makes you think they’re allowed to have any?”
Carmen smiles at Jessa and tugs Jaxson to her side. “Walker said it would be fine.”
“Great,” Jessa mumbles, then struts away from us and into one of the larger rooms.
I smirk at Jaxson and lean down. “How about a Christmas movie while we drink it? You can never go wrong with Home Alone.”
Jaxson shrugs. “Sounds cool to me, but I’m sure Arabella and Sadie will be sad that we aren’t watching The Grinch.”
“They’ll live. We watch it every year,” Carmen says with a chuckle and Jaxson still glued to her side. “It’s about time to change things up.”
After we’ve kicked our shoes off and left them at the door, Carmen leads us into the kitchen where Walker is sitting on an island with a glass of whiskey sitting in front of him. Carmen eyes the glass curiously, then clears her throat.
“The party has arrived, big bro.”
Walker snaps his attention up to us, still giving me that disapproving frown, but I ignore it and follow Carmen’s movements throughout the kitchen. I look over my shoulder at him and arch a brow. “You drinking some hot cocoa?”
He shrugs. “Why not? Mind slipping something a little extra in mine. I’m going to need it.”
That seems to catch Carmen’s attention, but she only pauses for a brief moment before grabbing as many mugs as we’ll need for the group. Judging by Jessa’s comment, I’m going to assume that she won’t be joining in on the fun.
Her loss.
It takes about ten minutes for us to get all the hot chocolate made and onto a tray found in one of the cabinets, then we’re all heading into the living room where the rest of the group is located. Sadie and Arabella look up at me with bright smiles, then excitedly pat the empty spot between them. I glance at Carmen, who’s giggling with a hand over her mouth, then she waves a hand toward her nieces with a wink.
Watching her laugh with Sadie and Arabella, I realize there’s so much of her I still don’t know. I’ve only ever seen the manager—sharp, composed, and always ten steps ahead. But here, she’s softer. Unarmored. And damn if it doesn’t make me want to know her even more.
As soon as I take my seat between the girls, they eagerly move closer to me and nestle themselves against my sides. I glance down at them, a smile on my face, and lean back into the couch with a chuckle when they follow my every movement.
Carmen takes a seat at the end of the couch, far away from Jessa’s seething glare that instantly vanishes when Walker comes into view. She gives him the kind of smile a wife should, but there’s a hesitancy to it that makes me feel bad for Walker. He doesn’t seem to take notice and gently leans down to press his lips against hers, then lifts her up and places her on his lap.
Jaxson breaks the silence. “I can’t find Home Alone!”
Sadie and Arabella immediately lift up, narrowing their eyes at Jaxson. “The Grinch!”
Walker smirks while Jessa rolls her eyes.
“The Grinch is getting old,” Jaxson huffs out. “We’re watching Home Alone.”
“No!” they answer is unison.
“Daaad.” Jaxson crosses his arms in front of him and frowns. “Tell them we’re watching a different movie.”
“Girls,” Walker says gently. “Let your brother choose the movie tonight. We can watch The Grinch with Auntie Carmen before the trip is over.”
Sadie and Arabella look at each other, communicating silently, then they nod and flop back into my sides.
Carmen leans forward, her breath against my ear making my skin tingle in response, and says, “Don’t let their cuteness fool you, Drummer Boy. They’re vicious when they need to be. Especially when it comes to getting what they want.”
I scoff and glance over my shoulder, my mouth barely an inch from hers. For a second, my breath catches.
We’re supposed to be engaged. Would it be weird for me to plant one on her right now?
As if sensing my inner thoughts, Carmen smirks and leans forward the rest of the way to do what my body can’t seem to accomplish. It’s nothing like the kiss before, but leaves me feeling all warm inside, nonetheless.
I catch the softest flicker in her gaze, something unspoken but unmistakable. Every time she looks at me like that, it stirs a part of me I didn’t even know existed—like she’s not just next to me but already in my blood.
When we pull apart, I can feel eyes on us and I clear my throat before going back to focusing on the TV ahead of us.
Walker finally manages to get the remote from Jaxson and locates the movie, then presses play while lifting from his spot to cut the lights out. The girls each grab a blanket from the floor and wrap it around themselves, only reaching outside of it to take a sip of their hot chocolate.
A part of me could get used to this—being close like this, feeling her next to me—but I know it won’t be that easy. Convincing Carmen there’s something real here will take time, especially when I’m still sorting through it myself.
Either way, I’m not ready to let this go just yet.
***
When the movie ends and all the mugs have been cleared from the living room, most drained of their contents, I slowly ease from my place on the couch. Sadie and Arabella fell asleep within thirty minutes of the movie, their soft snores being overheard when the movie would go quiet, so I try my best to move without waking them.
Walker smiles at both of his daughter’s, then carefully leans down to grab Sadie and carry her up the winding staircase to one of the rooms upstairs. Jessa hasn’t so much as made a move to help, which tells me where her place is in parenting and it doesn’t surprise me one bit. When Walker gets back downstairs, his gaze flicks to Jessa briefly with a frown, but he shakes it away and grabs Arabella next.
Carmen rises from her place where Jaxson has fallen asleep, which was about fifteen minutes ago, and carefully grabs him with a grunt. I follow her movements, then hold my arms out. “Let me take him. It will be much easier for me to get up there with him and Walker can tell me where to go.”
She looks from me to Jaxson’s sleeping form, his mouth hanging open slightly, then she nods and hands him off to me. Walker is at the top of the stairs when I start climbing and silently lead me through the long hallway into a bare room. I gently place him onto the center of the bed, then cover him up with a blanket and move away while Walker tucks him in the rest of the way.
Jessa clears her throat from the doorway, barely glancing at her son’s sleeping form, and says, “I’m heading to bed. I’ll be waiting for you.”
The voice she uses makes me shiver uncomfortably, but the looks she’s giving makes me aware that she wanted me to hear it. What is wrong with this woman?
Walker nods at his wife before ushering me downstairs and toward the front door, where Carmen is already waiting for me. “Thanks for coming to spend time with them. I’m sure you guys are tired from the travel.”
Carmen shrugs. “I’ll never miss spending time with my favorite kiddos, you know that. We’ll be able to do plenty tomorrow.”
Once we’ve said our goodbyes and walk the few cabins down to our own, Carmen takes a deep breath and comes inside with me. She locates her bags, grabbing them from the floor and starting toward the door with them.
“What the hell are you doing?”
She glances at me and sighs heavily. “I booked the cabin next to this one, thought it would be best to sleep separately from one another.”
My chest aches at her words and I clear my throat. “At least let me make you something to eat. I haven’t seen you eat anything other than cookies the entire time we’ve been here.”
“Fine,” she grumbles, then drops her bags and points a finger at my chest. “That’s it, though.”
“You have my word, Sunshine.”
***
A few minutes later, I set a simple meal on the table—grilled cheese sandwiches and a pot of tomato soup. It’s nothing fancy, but the scent of buttered bread and warm tomatoes fills the cabin, giving it a cozy feel I didn’t realize we needed.
Carmen sits across from me, and for a moment, the tension between us seems to ease. We eat in comfortable silence, the occasional clink of spoons against bowls the only sound between us. There’s something satisfying about watching her relax, even if it’s just for a little while. She dips the edge of her sandwich into the soup, a small smile tugging at her lips despite herself.
“Okay,” she murmurs between bites, “I’ll admit this was a good idea.”
After dinner, Carmen tries to make her escape, but as she grabs her bags and reaches for the door, it doesn’t budge. I frown, walking over to try it myself. No luck. The knob turns easily, but the door won’t give.
“It’s not locked,” I mutter, jiggling it again. “It shouldn’t be stuck.”
A flicker of frustration crosses her face, and she steps beside me. She tries again but the door remains stubbornly shut.
I move to the window and pull back the curtain—and that’s when I see it. My heart stutters as I take in the wall of snow and ice piled high outside, trapping us inside the cabin.
“It seems as though we’re snowed in,” I say, keeping my voice steady despite the surge of adrenaline rushing through me.
Carmen’s eyes widen as she darts between me and the window, disbelief written all over her face.
“That’s not possible,” she mutters, brushing past me to see for herself.
But there’s no denying it now. The snow isn’t just blocking the door—it’s swallowing the entire cabin whole.
The storm we’d been warned about has trapped us here, together, in this small cabin. Carmen’s plan to keep her distance has just been shattered by Mother Nature herself.
“Looks like the snow storm should’ve been taken more seriously after all,” I say, unable to keep a hint of satisfaction from my voice. Carmen’s head snaps around, her eyes narrowing at my tone.
I meet her gaze head-on, a challenge in my eyes. “Well, Sunshine, it looks like we’re stuck with each other for the foreseeable future. Any ideas on how we should pass the time?”
I kiss at the very least to get me through the night. She's lucky I didn't kiss her by now. I wanted to.
The space between us feels thinner every second, and I wonder how much longer I can play it cool before I have to tell her.
Or worse—before she figures it out herself.