Chapter 25
The First Day of Yule
The Solstice
When she woke, the bed was empty. A quick look out the window revealed that the blizzard was over, but when she tried to flip a switch, the room remained dark. As she passed by the front door, Stephan’s voice drifted through.
“I don’t know if we’ll make it back today.
Depends on the roads, the passes…Look, I don’t control the weather.
That’s more your deal…” And then his voice sharpened.
“Do not talk like that about her. I know what went down last year wasn’t great, but she’s not who you think she is…
Yeah, true, but she’s been through a lot. She’s trying to make things right…”
Of course. Just because Stephan had somehow forgiven her, that didn’t mean anyone else in his family had, or maybe ever could. She pushed her hair back from her face and wrapped her arms tightly around her chest as she veered toward the bathroom.
And let out a shriek.
There was a little humanlike creature seated on the counter next to the offering plate, happily munching away on the slice of sourdough. He wore a smart red cap, a tattered maroon shirt, and brown pants with a hole in the knee. His eyes widened when he noticed her looking at him—seeing him.
“Are you a domovoy?” she asked.
The little creature let out a noise of disgust at her apparent ignorance. “Brownie,” he said through a mouthful of bread.
She slid past his spot on the counter toward where she’d plugged her phone in the night before, careful to maintain the distance. “What are you doing here?”
He scowled. “I live here. Not like you.” Then he narrowed his eyes. “Your kind don’t normally see. Most don’t even know, but even those who know usually can’t see.”
“My…” She swallowed the word she was about to say. “My friend is one who knows but can’t see.”
The brownie furrowed his brow. “One who knows but can’t see, and one who sees but can’t know—how very human.”
She bristled. “I wouldn’t say I can’t know—I’m just new to all this.”
The little creature just chewed and stared. Not interested, it seemed, in revising his statement. “What do you want? Humans usually want something.” He wagged a tiny finger. “I don’t do nothing for free.”
“Just to know if I’m really seeing you.” The brownie gave a chuckle and then vanished, reappearing on her shoulder before reaching down and giving her a sharp pinch on the arm. “Ow!”
“Now you see and feel me.” He did a little spin on her shoulder and launched toward the wall. “Now you don’t!” He slipped into the wall as if into a body of water, disappearing from sight.
She blinked at the spot where he had vanished before finally moving on to check the flip phone.
The battery hadn’t run out yet, probably because there was little to do on it except make her twice-daily calls to the bank to check her balance. This morning, there were two unanswered text messages waiting for her—neither of which she particularly wanted to deal with.
MOM: Your location still isn’t working. Call me.
And then:
UNKNOWN: Looking forward to seeing u tomorrow, u better not ditch me
It only took a few moments to figure out who the second one was from, and when she did, she groaned.
Right. With everything that had happened, she had forgotten she was supposed to be picking Kelsey up from the airport tomorrow, to spare her sister from having to ride with either of their parents.
Hayleigh was still car-less, but her insurance would provide a vehicle once she was back in a town big enough to have a rental agency.
The reality of her timeline settled in—get back to Elk Ridge today, assuming the roads allowed, and then back to Bellevue to get Kelsey tomorrow, leaving two days until the Christmas gala. The next chapter of her holidays, which at one time had seemed so far away, now hurtled straight at her.
Forcing this chapter to an end and saying good-bye to Stephan. The way he talked last night—“we have time”—she’d let herself get swept up in it, but it wasn’t true. Her heart thundered in protest—Kelsey would understand if she didn’t come back until the day of the party. Support it, even.
But no. There would be no returning to Bellevue the same day as the gala and still satisfying her parents.
Her mother would demand salon visits and dress fittings.
With the theme being Noel at Versailles, no doubt her mother had been working on an elaborate period gown for her and would want to do final alterations.
And with the end of the month nearing, so did the possibility of automatic payments overdrafting her in a major way.
There was no getting out of going home tomorrow, and so there was no avoiding this phone call.
After two rings, Luda’s voice said, “There you are.”
“Morning, Mom.” She paused. “How’s Red?”
“The veterinarian confirmed what you found. They took a sample for biopsy, but we don’t have the results yet.”
“I see,” said Hayleigh, voice choking in her throat. “Sorry about the location thing. It doesn’t seem to work no matter what I try, and I can’t afford a trip to the Genius Bar. If I promise to bring over some things tomorrow, do you think you could get the transfer set?”
There was a quick inhale on the other end of the line. “About that—we’d like to see you fully moved home first. Then we’ll give you the money.”
What? More changes to the terms?
“But I need the money now. You said I had until the end of the month to move in, and I’ve got bills due before then. Christmas presents to buy still.”
“Your father is concerned that once you have the money, you won’t hold up your end of the deal.”
Hayleigh pushed her palm into the counter, curling her fingers in frustration. “I’m your daughter, not a rando you hired off Craigslist. Do you really think I would do that?”
“You’ll be home so much over the next week—it’s efficient to move in now. I understand it’s a short timeline, but I’ve already looked into movers. Found some available in the next few days.”
“I don’t want random guys going through my underwear drawer.
This isn’t reasonable, Mom, I…” Her breath caught in her throat.
“Please. I know this isn’t coming from you.
I already agreed to your terms. Dad’s changing them just because he can—to remind me that he’s in control.
But I need money. Anything would help. Please, Mama. ”
There was silence at the other end of the line.
Her mother’s breathing was long and drawn.
Hayleigh knew that buried somewhere within ghosts of bread lines and Russification was the woman who had found the strength to leave her husband when he had gone too far, however temporary it had turned out to be.
Unfortunately, the woman who had gone back, after remembering that she had nothing in her own name, was the one who finally spoke.
“It isn’t our place to question your father’s decisions. We can go shopping when you get here, and I’ll put it all on my credit card, but I can’t help you until you come home. Come home, Hayleigh.”
And then the call ended. She breathed in deeply once, twice, three times—then snatched her purse from where it sat on the counter nearby and put her favorite scent, an Egyptian musk oil, on her wrist, breathing it in.
But nothing could stop the relentless tremor in her hands, and she finally let out a long, guttural sob.
“Hayleigh.”
She found Stephan looking at her from the door. How long had he been listening? What had he heard? From his look of barely contained fury, she had to assume it had been a while.
She turned away, her entire body shaking as she tried to regain her composure. “How does it look out there?”
“If we can get to the road, we can get out of here today. But is that really what you want to talk about?”
“I need to get home—to Bellevue—by tomorrow. Is that going to happen?”
“I heard the plow earlier, so as long as we can get down the driveway, we’ll be on our way.” His voice was slow and calm in that maddening way. “But what about Goshen?”
“What about them? Did a solution happen to come to you in a dream last night?” He was quiet.
“I didn’t think so. So yes, that remains a problem, and probably always will.
Because I have no clue what Baba Yaga and her merry pack of meddlers expect me to do here.
Honestly? They probably don’t either. It’s like stories where they tell you to retrieve a ring from the bottom of the sea or build a palace overnight.
They’re asking the impossible—you’re meant to fail. ”
She darted across the room, gathering their things to stuff them back in Stephan’s duffel. “I appreciate all the help you’ve given me, I really do, but I have to go back as soon as possible. I don’t have a choice.”
And then he was beside her, folding his hands around hers, swallowing them. “Let me give you one.”
“What are you talking about?”
His eyes burned straight through the fog of her despair. “Stay with me until you’re back on your feet. I realize I don’t have the kind of money your parents or Grayson do. All I’ve got to offer is a shitty apartment and an even shittier truck, but it’s an option.”
Move in with him? In Elk Ridge? Even as a temporary arrangement, the offer was so far outside her comfort zone that she didn’t even know how to react.
She swallowed past a knot in her throat. “I seem to remember you claiming you didn’t make big decisions impulsively.”
“Yeah, I don’t.” A smile flashed over his face. “Which should tell you how serious this looks.” He brushed his knuckles down her arm. “Stay with me until you can find a new job. Don’t go crawling back to people who treat you that way. Whatever they’re offering, I promise it’s not worth it.”
He looped his fingers through hers, and after a moment of resistance, she gave in, letting him pull her close, and the feelings that had been threatening to split her into ten thousand pieces softened.