SABLE
"This has been a nice Christmas, but it's good to have you alone."
The sand crunched under our boots as Leif and I walked across the beach. In the distance, Christmas music played. Somebody laughed.
Aside from that, the only sounds were the waves lapping at the beach and our breathing as we walked.
"Was there some reason you wanted to get me alone?" I asked teasingly.
"Do I need one to be alone with my woman?" he asked. "There's a eleven billion reasons. I can tell you all of them if you want me to. First of all—"
He raised his hand to start counting them off, one at a time.
I laughed and grabbed his hand. "You don't need to do that."
"Thank fuck, because I have something for you, and I wanted to give it to you alone. It's something special. Also, eleven billion would take a while."
He led me across the grass to the back of the Forest's cottage. On the step lay a package. Square, wrapped in glittery, gold paper with a huge red ribbon tied at the top.
He leant over to scoop it up and hand it to me.
"Haven't you already given me enough Christmas presents?" I asked.
"First of all, there's no such thing as 'enough Christmas presents,'" he said. "Second of all, no. I would have given you twenty more things if they'd fit in the car."
I shook the box slightly. "I'm surprised you didn't bring a fleet of cars down here."
He snapped his fingers. "That's what I should have done. I'll do that next time. In the meantime, open your present."
I shook my head at him, slipped the ribbon off and handed it to him. Gently, I teased the tape with my fingernail to remove the paper, a little bit at a time.
Yes, I'm one of those people, I don't rip it off, I take it off carefully. Would you believe Woody is the ripping and scrunching kind? Leif and Forrest were both somewhere in between. They'd rip the tape, then fold the paper before throwing it in the recycling.
I carefully peeled back the lid of the box to expose a pair of black ballet flats.
"They're so pretty," I said, touching the leather lightly with the tip of my finger.
"I was hoping you'd like them." He smiled. "I had them made for you."
I caught something in his tone and glanced up at him. "You had them… Oh, do I want to know what, or rather who?" I winced a little.
"Do you need to know before you try them on?" Mischief glinted in his eyes that were illuminated by the light at the back of the house.
"I probably should," I said after a moment of thought. "If I'm going to put someone on my feet, I should know who."
I had a few ideas, but I knew better than to jump to conclusions when it came to Leif.
He reached in to pick one up and placed it on his palm, like I was Cinderella and he was the handsome prince.
"You could call these daddy skin shoes," he said grandly.
My mouth dropped open. I stared at the shoes. These shoes were made from my… I was speechless.
Leif's smile faded. "You don't have to wear them if you don't want to. I know it's a little confronting, the idea of wearing a family member, even one who was an asshole to you."
"It's a little strange," I conceded, "but they feel so soft." I suspected I might be surrendering to the last piece of me that wasn't unhinged, right here on the doorstep outside Forrest's cottage in Saltgrave.
Merry Christmas and welcome to crazy town.
"Sit down," he pointed to the step. When I was seated, he slipped off my boots and pressed one of the shoes onto my foot over my stockings.
"Perfect fit. You must be my one true love," he said with a smile.
"You must be one of my three." I matched his smile.
He put the other shoe on my foot and pulled me to stand. "They look perfect on you. How do they feel?"
"They feel like… They have regrets," I said. "They did some really horrible things, but now they're ready to make up for it."
"That's exactly what I was going for," he said with a nod, "Style with a hint of regret."
"I don't recommend that as a business name," I said with a small laugh. "Too many people will ask questions."
He chuckled. "That's true, but you have to admit it's more subtle than 'wear your enemies on your feet.'"
I snorted a laugh. "Just a little bit." I took a couple of steps, testing out the shoes.
"I don't think I've ever had a pair of shoes that were so comfortable."
I didn't know how I felt about that. Yes, they were perfect, but considering what they were made of, did I dare to wear them?
That begged another question.
"What did you do with the rest of them? That Aaron guy, Gregor Quinn, Silas, and Conrad? The celebrant."
"Robert the Celebrant turned out to be on at Quinn's payroll," Leif said.
I nodded, I already knew that, but the question still stood.
"Some of it I'm saving for other things," he said. "Your shoes will wear out eventually. You'll need replacements. I intend to start with anyone who tried to fuck with you."
I placed a hand on his stubbled cheek, cool and red from the cold. "You're so thoughtful."
He leaned into my touch. "You're so beautiful. Should we go back inside? I have a feeling Woody is going to drink all the eggnog if we let him."
He'd been on edge since they found his sister. That was understandable, but we'd get through it like we always did. The four of us, together.
"We can't let him drink all the eggnog," I said, "If he drinks any more of it, he's going to start to look like an egg."
Leif chuckled, took my hand, and we stepped back inside where it was warm.
Thank you for reading!