Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
Nash
It hadn’t snowed too hard overnight, so the driveway was still mostly clear.
I noticed the snow shovel on the porch and made quick work of clearing the thin layer just in case it froze or rained and turned to slush.
I didn’t know what Liz’s plans were for the holidays, but shoveling was the last thing she needed to worry about.
I’d just finished the driveway and was starting on the porch stairs when the front door flew open, revealing a very casual Stephanie.
I usually only saw her in business or church attire.
Jeans occasionally when we hung out together with friends.
But now she was in maroon joggers and a black oversized hoodie with the Marine logo on it.
Huh… That’s right, her oldest brother was a Marine, currently stationed in San Diego.
He and Stephanie were close, I knew that.
The only sibling she was close to. And I was positive the hoodie looked way better on her than it ever had on him.
Move on, Nash, it’s a hoodie. Her tousled black curls looked like she’d just popped out of bed—and it was adorable.
I could definitely get used to seeing her like this every morning, if she’d let me.
“What are you doing?” Stephanie hissed, flicking on the porch light and nearly blinding me.
I grinned brightly. “Good morning to you, too.”
She grunted and crossed her arms, clearly trying to look fierce, but she had more resemblance to a puffed-up kitten than a menacing porcupine with her puffy eyes still half shut.
I chuckled to myself at the mental image. “Just making sure Liz didn’t have to worry about ice or slush,” I said simply. “Where’s your luggage? I’ll load up.”
“I can get it,” she offered, relaxing her stance. “And thanks for doing the driveway. It’s one less thing for Ben to insist on taking care of.”
“Not a problem. Is this it?” I asked, stepping into her entryway and draping a garment bag over my arm before I hefted up the two medium-sized matching navy suitcases.
“Is it too much?” she called after me.
I laughed. “You worry too much. Two suitcases is nothing. Got anything else?”
“Just my purse and the cookie tins.”
“Bring your purse, and I’ll grab the cookies.
” I popped the trunk of my Wrangler and Tetris-ed the luggage inside between my case and the garment bag holding my suit.
When I got back to the door, Stephanie already had her boots on and her purse slung over her shoulder.
“This it?” I asked, motioning to the two large clear plastic containers filled to the brim with assorted cookies.
“Yeah. I think.” She blew out a breath. “Sorry if—”
“Ah, ah,” I cut in. “No more apologies, okay?” I softened my tone. “For this to work, you need to be comfortable around me. You’re a strong and competent woman, Steph. Just breathe. You’re all good.”
Her deep exhale tugged at a protective feeling in my chest. Yeah, I couldn’t have been too far off about the anxiety.
I wasn’t used to seeing the unsure side of Stephanie Addams. At work, she was always so organized and in control.
But as I took in her leisure wear, sleepy expression, and the dark circles under her eyes in a noticeable absence of her usual makeup, she looked…
softer and more vulnerable than I’d ever seen her.
There was never a doubt in my mind about Stephanie’s strength—but I could get used to seeing her like this, even if she needed to apologize every few minutes.
Lord, help me to help her feel comfortable in her own skin.
Even if this thing between us doesn’t work…
help her find her bravery so she doesn’t feel the need to be so small.
A yawning Liz materialized in the foyer, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, her hair in a messy topknot.
After waving to me, she hugged Stephanie long and hard before handing over a small white envelope.
“For Christmas morning.” She yawned again.
“I forgot to sneak it in the suitcase with the other gifts.”
Stephanie laughed. “You’re the best. Thank you. Yours are under the tree.”
“Thanks. You have everything?” Liz asked, readjusting the blanket around her shoulders. “You got the food? Your dress? The gifts?”
“Yes. Yes.” Then Stephanie jolted. “Wait, I forgot—” What she forgot was lost as she shuffled down the hall, disappearing into a room on the right side.
“Step in,” Liz invited. “No sense heating the outside.”
I chuckled and kicked the snow off my shoes before stepping into the entryway and shutting the door. “My grandmother used to say that.”
“Used to?”
“She passed when I was in college.” I stiffened slightly, surprised that information had just dropped out of me so willingly.
Especially because Liz and I weren’t exactly close.
Friends, sure. But… she had that effect on people, I guess.
As a teacher to young impressionable minds, I was sure she was a master of ferreting out information. Probably good at keeping it, too.
Liz’s face pinched with sympathy, but before she could say anything, a landscape photograph in a distressed wood frame caught my eye on the entryway wall.
“Wow,” I breathed, leaning in to examine it. “Where is this?”
Liz paused beside me. “Glacier National. Steph has a good eye. It was the last trip us girls took all together right before Juliet and Myles’s wedding a bit over a year ago.”
“Steph’s a photographer?”
Liz nodded. “A good one, too. But she rarely does it anymore. Just the occasional shoot, like she did for Ben and me for our engagement.”
I’d seen a few of those photos online, and they were magical. Airy and light with a storybook-magic haze to them. Almost like ‘90s nostalgia. Stephanie had all this talent, and she’d studied business? “Why—?” but I was cut off by Stephanie’s reappearance.
If she caught me studying the photo, she didn’t comment on it. Just smiled tiredly and jiggled a pill bottle. “Ready.”
And then something crystallized in my mind. I knew exactly what I wanted to give Stephanie for Christmas. I would need Liz’s help, but that would have to wait till we were on the road.
“May the odds be in your favour, Nash.” Liz saluted me with a Hunger Games salute before smothering Stephanie in another hug. “The Addams are something else. Keep our girl safe.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Resting my hand on Stephanie’s lower back, I guided her down the cleared driveway. It was a simple gesture that felt natural.
Once we were in the car, I held out a coffee thermos from the cup holder. “Peppermint mocha, m’lady.”
“You got me a coffee?”
Technically I’d made her the coffee at home, but she didn’t need to know that. “What sort of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t bring you a coffee at the ungodly hour of 6:30 in the morning?”
Stephanie laughed and snatched the thermos from me, sighing contentedly after the first sip. “You’re too perfect,” she whispered, and I wasn’t sure if it was about me or the coffee.
I discreetly pulled out my phone as I keyed the ignition and shot Ryan a quick text.
ME
Need a favour. Can you get me Liz Kelso’s number from Kelsi? I’ll babysit one night if you do.
Babysitting bribery was Ryan’s love language, and if I was going to pull off Stephanie's Christmas gift, I needed some help.
The quiet neighborhood fell behind us. “You got a road trip playlist, or did you want to jump headfirst into the twenty questions? Or catch a few more winks?”
Stephanie snorted. “I’m not much of a morning person. I feel you should know that.”
I stole a glance at her. “I got that impression. That’s fine, though. Plug your phone in and crank up the music or sleep if you need to. We’ve got a long drive.”
She hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want to pick the music? What if you don’t like my taste?”
“Won’t know until I at least hear it,” I countered.
“Besides, I’m sure your taste is just fine.
” And when Elvis Presley crooning “Blue Christmas” filled the car a minute later, I started to sing along in a thoroughly bad pitch, which made her laugh as she snuggled deeper into her seat, still cradling her coffee thermos like a dragon hoarding gold.
Against the backdrop of Elvis, Sinatra, and Crosby, short sentences slowly ebbed into full conversations by the time we were halfway through the Idaho panhandle.
The sun peered over the mountains on the horizon, reluctant to show its face.
Snow dusted the evergreens and the dead grassy fields we passed, and the morning light shimmered on the lake, edging along the side of I-90.
A lone moose, tall and majestic against the patches of snow, watched as I merged into the left lane, adjusting my visor to counteract the glint off the road trying to blind me. “Nothing like winter sunshine.”
“Mm-hmm.” Stephanie groaned a little as she stretched and readjusted in her seat.
She dug around in her bag and pulled out a wad of needles and yarn.
It was a nice navy colour, though I was lost as to what it was supposed to be.
Was that an arm hole? “I feel like I should know if you’re one of those crazy people who loves winter or sees it as a necessary evil before we get back to spring and summer? ”
I tapped the wheel lightly in thought. “I never minded winters growing up. Texas was mild compared to Washington. So was Southern California. But I do prefer the warmer months.”
“Same. The only mild winter I experienced was when I visited Gabe in Hawaii one year. Growing up in Denver wasn’t exactly a mild winter experience.”
I snorted. “Definitely not. Now, Gabe. He’s the Marine. Married to Ivy with… four kids, right?”
Her face softened. “You remember all that?”
I shoulder-checked before changing lanes. “Of course. You talk about them often. And Nana and Hailey. They’re important to you.” I gestured to her hoodie. “Besides, you don’t seem like the boot camp type.”