Chapter 8
“December!” my mom shouted from the kitchen before rushing down the hall to envelop me in her arms like I was a returning soldier she hadn’t seen in years and not literally just this morning. “I’m so glad you both are here. Come in, come in. Can I take your coats?”
This was…bizarre. I stepped back and gave my mom a wide-eyed look. Was she drunk? Her eyes were clear and bright. Shrugging, I took off my coat and threw it on the pile with the others next to the door. “That’s all right. We can just put ours with the others. Don’t forget to take your shoes off, Cole.”
“Oh, he doesn’t have to do that.” Mom tittered. “We’re not so fancy here. What can I get you to drink, Cole Jackson? I picked up some of that beer that was on your social media. Lazy Bones Lager?”
“You stalked his social media, Mom? Really?” I boggled. I never would’ve guessed she’d react like this. My mom was usually so calm and level-headed.
“What? It’s not like I followed him or liked his pictures or whatever.” Mom gave me an insulted glare. “I did the same thing back when you were dating Nathan Hunt in high school. I keep a watchful eye on all my kids, regardless of whether they’re dating a celebrity or Joe Schmo.”
I covered my face with my hands. “You cyberstalked Nathan too? Oh my god, this is mortifying.”
“I think it’s sweet.”
I peeked through my fingers in time to see Cole grin down at my mom.
“And I’ll take you up on that lager. It’s damn good beer.”
“Coming right up!” Mom tossed Cole a grin and all but bounced down the hall to the kitchen.
“Hey! What about me?” I shouted after her.
“Only people with manners get waited on,” Mom hollered back. “You can get your own drink!”
“Unbelievable.” I mock scowled at Cole. “You’ve been here all of a minute, and you’re already the favorite.”
“I know.” Cole grinned. “Isn’t it awesome?”
“Oh, it’s something all right,” I muttered to myself as I toed off my boots and followed Cole down the hall to the kitchen.
“Cole!” Olly shouted from his barstool next to the counter that was covered in cookies, frosting, and so many decoration options. Bright blue frosting was smeared across his lips and part of his cheek. “Wanna decorate a cookie with us?”
“Absolutely.” Cole crossed the kitchen to stand next to Olly’s barstool. He shoved his hands in his back pocket as he surveyed the options. “What do we have? Oh, a Santa. I wanna do the Santa.”
I stood there open-mouthed as Cole forgot all about me and was absorbed into my family like he’d always been a member.
Like I was the outsider.
Then I watched my mom hand him a beer, pat his back, and start decorating a cookie next to them without saying another word to me.
I was the outsider.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I walked over to the fridge, pulled out one of Cole’s special beers—right in front, no digging required—and looked around for the bottle opener.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Chrissy muttered as she sidled up to me. “Mom about took my head off when I tried to drink one a few minutes ago.”
I grabbed the bottle opener next to the fridge, popped the top, and took a long pull of Cole’s favorite drink. Apparently. I’d never seen him drink one in the time we’d been together.
“It’s your funeral,” Chrissy murmured as Mom sent me a death glare from the kitchen island.
I lifted my beer in a silent toast of thanks. But Mom just shook her head and bent down to hear whatever Hayden was trying to tell her. “How’s Matt handling losing his favorite son position?”
Chrissy snorted a laugh before a coughing fit almost took her to her knees.
I giggled. It was well established that Aspyn’s husband, Matt, was the favorite in our family. First married, first grandchild, easy going—he was awesome.
But not as awesome as Cole Jackson, apparently.
“You okay, honey?” Chrissy’s husband, Myles, shouted from across the room.
“I’m good,” she wheezed, waving a hand in front of her teary eyes.
But Myles still watched her. Only once she appeared to be breathing normally did he turn back to the game on the tv.
That whole interaction hit me viscerally. I’d never had that. None of the guys I’d dated would probably even blink at me if their favorite team was playing, and I was choking. Hell, one time I had a panic attack at the top of Coit Tower, and my boyfriend at the time didn’t even notice. He was too busy taking pictures and talking to some tourist from Brazil. In his defense, she was beautiful.
“So what’s the deal?” Chrissy asked with raised eyebrows now that she was breathing normally. “I’ve been dying to ask how the two of you met.”
I hitched a shoulder. “He might’ve found me doing snow angels in his driveway one afternoon.”
“December! Seriously? How? Why? ”
I laughed. “I was delivering groceries, and the bag ripped, and then I slipped on some oat milk if memory serves. I was already on my back in a bunch of new powder so I figured why not?”
“Oh my god. That’s amazing. Such a better meet-cute than mine with Myles. I mean, he literally picked me up in a bar.”
“Pretty sure it’s not literal when he hit on you in a bar.”
“No, I mean he literally picked me up. I stepped in front of him at a bar because it didn’t look like he was waiting to order; there was like five feet between him and the bar, and he wasn’t even trying to get the bartender’s attention. He tapped on my shoulder, but I ignored him because I didn’t know it was him—I thought it was a creeper. So he grabbed me around the waist, picked me up, and moved me over.”
“Myles did that? No way!” I looked over into the living room where M you need it to survive.”
“That doesn’t mean I want you to subsidize my art.”
“I never said I was offering that. But I can give you your first break, so why don’t you let me? What’s stopping you?”
“I-I-I haven’t drawn anything in forever. I’ve probably forgotten how.”
“Passion and talent like that doesn’t just disappear overnight.” He shook his head and crossed the room to press a soft kiss against my temple. “Just think about it, okay?”
After a long moment, I nodded.
“And maybe pack some pencils and sketch pads while you’re at it?”
I rolled my eyes. Clearly he knew me better than I thought. I wasn’t going to think about it.
But as his light laughter followed him down the hall and back toward my family, I found myself stashing a few pencils and sketch pads.
Charming bastard.
A few minutes later, I entered the living room with my duffle bag bouncing against my knees and found Cole addressing everyone.
“…seen the pictures and videos on social media and in the news. I don’t know how the next few days are going to go, so I’ve hired some security to help you all out over the next week or so. They’ll be on hand to stop people from harassing you, and keep you safe. I’m so sorry about all this.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” my dad protested.
Cole grimaced. “I think it’s better to be safe about it, especially since so many of the kids were in the videos. I can’t control what the media writes about me or any of you, but hopefully with security in place, we can stop anything crazy from happening.”
“What kind of crazy are you worried about?” Aspyn pursed her lips and sent me a glare as I joined Cole in the living room.
United front and all that.
Cole raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I truly believe there’s nothing to worry about. You know as much as I do. I’m just trying to be proactive here.”
“No, you’re worried about something.” Aspyn shook her head. “And I want to know what it is. What kind of crazy should we be worried about?”
Cole rubbed the back of his neck and sent me an imploring look, but I shrugged. I didn’t have any experience with this.
Finally he sighed. “I’ve had people—women mostly—try to break into my house. To show their, uh—” Cole sent a sidelong glance at the kids’ wide eyes. “Their love of my music. The ones I’m aware of have restraining orders, but at the end of the day that’s just a piece of paper. And who knows how many more are out there. So you’ll have security to keep you all safe. Again, I’m so sorry to bring this to your doorstep. Literally.”
“It’s fine, Cole Jackson.” Mom beamed. “We’re just so pleased you joined our Twelve Days of Christmas celebration. I know the kids have loved having you here.”
I rolled my eyes. I seriously needed to have a talk with her later. The full naming thing was weird.
“I’ve loved being here with you all.” Cole wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Especially this one here.”
I beamed up at him, but he was looking down at Olly who was clutching his other side. It was hard to be annoyed when they looked so cute.
“Oh. And this one too.” Cole laughed and pressed a kiss on the top of my head.
At least I knew he was addressing me this time.
I sighed. “Thanks for remembering who brought you here.”
His eyes burned with a different kind of promise, but all he said was, “You ready to roll?”
“Can I come?” Olly asked with a puppy dog stare.
“Oh, Oliver—” Aspyn began before Cole cut her off.
“How about I have you all over to my place this weekend? I have this huge hill on the backside of the property that would be perfect for sledding. Do you know anyone with some sleds we could use?”
“I do! I do!” all the kids shouted as they jumped up and down.
Cole grinned. “Sounds like a date. And I have a snowmobile we can get out of storage too. Go tear up the hills. If that’s okay with your parents, of course.”
Matt nodded his approval while Aspyn continued to sport her lemon eating negativity.
And I gotta admit…I loved every second of it.