Chapter 2
Two
Gage
I was headed to the garage to look for a tool when a dark figure showing through the frosted window of the front door startled me.
I stopped and furrowed my brow as I watched the doorknob rattle as if someone were picking the lock.
It was a brave thing to do, especially since we were in the middle of the woods and I didn’t welcome visitors.
I flung the door open, ready to dismiss whoever was on the other side, but stopped when dark green eyes stared at me.
They widened in disbelief as a reddish color tinted the cheeks that were pale from the frigid cold.
A gust of wind pushed past us, sending an icy chill down my spine but I was frozen in place as I stared at her.
“Julie?” I asked, my voice sounding gruff and unwelcoming. “What are you doing here?”
“I... Um...” She pressed her lips together and then blew out a heavy breath as she stared back at me.
“Mommy, can we go inside already? My toes hurt,” a little voice said, immediately pulling my attention to the small child.
My heart leapt in my chest as I saw the little girl, her features almost identical to her mother, who still stood there, staring at me.
“Come inside,” I said, ignoring every question that was racing through my mind.
The little girl smiled at me and bounced inside as if she had been there a thousand times.
“Can I watch TV?” she asked, completely oblivious to her mother.
“Sure,” I replied cautiously. I had no idea whether Julie wanted her to watch TV or not.
But that was because I had no idea what was going on.
All that I knew for sure was that my former best friend’s little sister was standing in front of me with a bruise on her cheek that made my blood boil. “Get your ass inside the house, Julie.”
Suddenly, it was as if something snapped her out of her thoughts as she grabbed the suitcase beside her and came inside.
I closed the door and locked it, an uneasy feeling sitting in the pit of my stomach.
“Is it okay if I put something on the TV for her?” I asked, wanting to make sure the little girl was taken care of as she curled up on my couch and petted my dog.
“You don’t have to do that,” she rushed out quickly, her eyes scanning the room until they settled on her daughter. “Daisy, we aren’t staying so don’t get too comfortable.”
“But, Mom, there’s a doggie,” Daisy whined. “He likes me. Why aren’t we staying? You said this was where we were going to spend Christmas because it was magical when you were a chi—”
“Daisy—” Julie opened her mouth to say more, but I shook my head and folded my arms over my chest as she stalled.
“Fine. She can watch TV.” Her shoulders slumped in defeat.
I nodded and walked into the living room, hoping there was something kid-friendly to watch. My grandmother had a collection of DVDs that I had recently put into a donation pile, so I grabbed the box and dug through it until I found a few that seemed safe.
“The Little Mermaid or Cinderella?” I asked, holding both of them up so she could see the covers.
“The Little Mermaid!” she squealed, grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch and getting settled. “Do you have any popcorn?”
“Daisy!” Julie hissed, now standing behind her. “This isn’t our house. We can’t just ask for things and make ourselves at home. Besides, you haven’t even had breakfast yet.”
“But you said that we were going to li—” Daisy started before Julie stopped her.
“Yes. Plans have changed since then,” Julie said firmly. “We will talk about it later. In private.”
I watched them for a few minutes, not loving what I was hearing. Something was wrong, and I needed to know what it was.
“Do you like extra butter?” I asked Daisy, earning a hard glare from Julie as she tilted her head to the side and placed her hands firmly on her hips. At this point, it seemed irrelevant whether the child had eaten breakfast yet or not. She wanted popcorn, so she was going to get popcorn.
“Yes! Please!”
“You got it. I’ll start the movie now and then bring you some popcorn in a few minutes,” I said, smiling down at the adorable little girl.
I could feel the intensity of Julie’s stare as she followed me into the kitchen and waited until there was enough space between us and her daughter before she began speaking.
“What the hell was that?” she demanded, pinning me with a look as she pointed at Daisy.
“The kid asked for popcorn, so I’m making some,” I replied as I opened a bag and popped it in the microwave.
“You have no right to just—”
“I have no right? Are you kidding me? You showed up at my house and tried to break in.”
She pressed her lips together as she shook her head.
“It’s not your house,” she countered.
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure the trust paperwork shows that I am the sole owner of the place now that my grandmother is dead.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that anyone would be here. I figured since she was gone...”
“You would break in and be a modern-day Goldilocks?” I arched an eyebrow and waited for her response as the popcorn popped.
“It wasn’t like that,” she said with a heavy sigh as she pulled a chair out from the dining table and sat down. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
“I’m going to take snacks to that adorable little girl while she watches a movie, and when I come back, you and I have a lot of talking to do.”
She nodded and lowered her head, watching as I took the popcorn out of the microwave and poured it into a giant bowl.
“She can’t have that entire bowl,” she objected, looking horrified when I grabbed a handful of individually wrapped snacks from the counter and winked at her. There was nothing I loved more than getting under her skin and had been doing it since the day I met her twenty years ago.