Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
“Hey, that line of cars out there’s a trip. The house looks great,” Dev said, not reading the room. Alec got to his feet and smiled, dusting off his hands while heading for the couple.
“Welcome,” Alec said. “I put an ad in the local magazine about the decorations and added a hot chocolate machine. One of our teenage neighbors agreed to pour the cocoa for me tonight. I’ve been manning the station myself the last few nights,” Alec said, happy and proud. “We’ve had quite a crowd. It’s been a lot of fun.”
“People are pulling off the road to take pictures,” Cash said with three bags gripped in his hands, he stopped off at the tree and set two gifts underneath. “I sent pictures of the house to my parents. They send their resounding approval.”
“You want me to get that fire started for you?” Dev asked. Without waiting for an answer, he dropped to a knee by the fireplace and got to work.
“I was just getting it started,” Alec said.
“Leave the fire startin’ to the professional,” Dev quipped and took over where Keyes had left off, igniting the small patch of kindling he collected.
“I brought a Bordeaux blush,” Cash said, lifting the third bag still in his hand. “Thank you for having us. Otherwise, we’d be in a hotel tonight.”
“Ah, a Bordeaux. Perfect. Thank you,” Alec said and went to Cash to take the gift. Another knock sounded at the back door, and Keyes went in that direction. Shanna, Dev’s sister was there, grinning and waving through the glass.
He took a deep breath and let it go slowly. The night was underway now. He wasn’t going to let this animosity go on, but now he’d have to play it by ear and hope for the best.
Chapter Eight
Alec
Hours into the party, Alec stood on the periphery with one hand in the pocket of his slacks, the other holding a cocktail glass that had seen better times. The ice had melted long ago. The watered-down cocktail held no interest. Honestly, neither did the party.
This was unlike him. Why did he feel disconnected?
Shame replaced all other emotions. Why was he wallowing in self-pity as the picture of a life he’d always wanted played out before him? For months, he’d worked hard to make this a joyous evening. To give his adopted family all the love, peace, and joy of the season. Based on the laughter and conversation, he’d achieved his goals. So why were his thoughts spiraling lower and lower?
He glanced directly at Keyes, the only other person in the room to be faking a good time. The worry lines around his eyes and the corners of his lips grew more pronounced with each passing hour. Alec had given him those wrinkles. It wasn’t fair. Keyes showed Alec love daily, at least as much as Keyes had learned to share. Alec had taken on a partner who had been badly abused by the world. Keyes’s mental health was a shaky, turbulent battle every day.
Alec noticed Arik, his employer, scan the room as if searching for something. Then their gazes locked. He lifted the watery drink in a toasting gesture before taking the tiniest sip. He fought to keep his face neutral at the awful taste. He seriously needed to rethink his drinking choices.
Arik went to where Keyes sat and bent to whisper in his ear. They both glanced at Alec. Keyes’s shielded expression made his thoughts unreadable. That bothered Alec too. Why was Keyes hiding? Arik left Keyes to take determined steps toward Alec. Whatever pushed Arik was sure to be annoying.
Luckily, the front doorbell rang. Never had “saved by the bell” been a truer statement. Since Alec was the closest, he swiveled around, looking above the door at the large wall clock. Ten thirty. Quitting time for the teen working the cocoa machine for holiday revelers, offering the perfect diversion to get out of Arik’s path.
Alec discarded the glass on a nearby table and reached inside his pocket for cash. He opened the door to see the young man, surprised to see him holding the heavy drink machine. Keyes had carried the heavy piece of equipment in and out for the last few nights. The money he’d doled out from his clip was forgotten. There was no way Alec could reasonably hold the machine.
“Why don’t you guide him to the garage?” Arik suggested as he snagged the money from Alec’s hand and tucked it in the young man’s pocket. Arik clamped a hand on Alec’s shoulder as if it were perfectly natural for him to give directions, even outside the workplace and not in his own house.
Alec glanced back at Arik to say that very thing when he noticed all eyes from the living room were on him. Hmm. Maybe his adopted family needed to be unadopted for sticking their noses in a place they shouldn’t. Alec mashed his lips together, holding the thought inside, and looked at the neighbor.