by Annie Rains
“So,” someone said on the other side of the table, addressing Troy.
He looked up from his plate.
“What do you do for a living?” the man asked.
Troy thought he remembered being introduced to the guy as Allison’s uncle Matt. “I’m a military K-9 officer,” he said, as a surge of pride moved through him.
“Wow, that sounds like an interesting job,” Uncle Matt said.
“Most days,” he agreed. “Then there are the days where nothing happens. Which is a good thing, I guess. If nothing is happening on my end, it means all is well on Camp Leon.”
“You must like danger,” someone else said.
Troy shrugged a shoulder as he cut the ham on his plate. “I love a good adrenaline rush. Always have.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Allison shifting, her body movement growing rigid.
“I used to like rock climbing,” Uncle Matt said. “Nothing cured me faster than a broken ankle the first time I fell off a mountain.”
Troy laughed along with him and the rest of the people at the table. He didn’t know what Allison was so worried about. Her family was wonderful. They were the perfect picture of hospitality.
“That’s why this job fits me so well. Every day is different. Can’t get bored when there’s a constant adrenaline rush right around the corner.”
Allison stiffened even more. She mumbled something from the corner of her mouth and shoved an elbow into his ribs.
He looked at her, but then Uncle Matt started talking to him again.
“How did you and Allison meet?” he asked.
Everyone else at the table nodded their heads, wanting to know the happy couple’s story.
Troy turned to Allison, whose mouth was open. Her eyes were wide. They’d gone over all of the details of each other’s lives, but they hadn’t gone over this one. How had they met? He couldn’t tell the family that she’d purchased him at an auction. That all of this had started as a pretend relationship to fool her family into believing she was happily in a relationship. Which was now pretty much the truth.
“W-Well,” he stuttered.
“Mistletoe!” Allison shouted out.
Troy stopped talking at the uttering of their code word.
“We met under the mistletoe,” she explained, moving a hand on his thigh under the table. “Funny story, really.”
“Well, tell us,” Allison’s aunt said, leaning forward. “I just love romantic stories.”
Troy felt a little sorry for Allison. She looked like she might fall to pieces, and he guessed she wasn’t practiced in coming up with a believable lie. It’d taken two weeks to prepare her to pull off this one.
He reached into her pocket under the table and pulled out the piece of mistletoe he’d handed her in the truck. “You see, I was carrying this around with me, hoping I might find a pretty girl to make my day,” he said. “Then I saw Allison and knew I had to meet her. So I held this over her head and prayed she wouldn’t slap me,” he said, looking around the table.
“Did she?” Allison’s cousin asked.
“She thought about it,” he said. “I could see that in her beautiful green eyes. And I would’ve deserved it, too. But something changed her mind.”
“And she kissed you?” Allison’s aunt asked.
Troy looked at Allison. “She saw something in me, I guess. I might never know what.”
A smile lifted on Allison’s mouth.
“That’s a great story,” someone said. Troy had lost track of who was talking now, since he was looking and thinking only of the redhead next to him. She’d stolen his attention and was quickly stealing away his heart, too.
“And then he installed an alarm system in your home,” Allison’s mother interjected.
Troy turned to his host. “There was a burglar in the neighborhood.”
“Was?” Allison’s stepfather asked.
“Troy caught him in the act,” Allison told them. And if Troy wasn’t mistaken, there was a little pride in her voice.
“You don’t work in Seaside, though,” Dr. Pierce said.
“No. It was kind of a citizen’s arrest.”
“You really are quite the adrenaline seeker,” Dr. Pierce said, one eyebrow arched. “Good for you. Thank you for keeping my daughter safe.”
He nodded. “My pleasure.”
After dinner, there were presents and carols sung around the home’s piano.
“Allison, come sing for us the way you used to,” Aunt Darla piped up, swaying on her feet from too much eggnog.
Allison shook her head. “No, I don’t do that anymore.”
“Oh, phooey. Please. I love to hear your voice.” Aunt Darla leaned into Allison and stumbled against her.
Troy reflexively caught her and helped her stand upright again.
“Maybe it’s time you get home,” he said. “Did you drive here?”
“Of course I did,” Aunt Darla said.
“Well, how about I take you home then, ma’am?” He looked at Allison, then flinched as auntie dearest swatted him. “Mistletoe won’t work on me, honey.”
“Work on you?” His face twisted as he realized what she was implying. “No, I just want to make sure you get home safely.”
Allison jolted as she contained her laughter. “I can go with you,” she managed when she’d collected her composure.
“Great,” Troy said. “We’ll take you home together,” he told Darla. “Then Allison and I will return here and help with the party clean up.”
Allison nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
Aunt Darla guffawed. “Fine,” she slurred. “I am getting rather tired, I guess. But if I pass out, you keep your mitts to yourself.” She pointed a finger at Troy. “And you keep him in line,” she told Allison.
Allison pressed her lips together and slid her gaze to Troy’s. “I’ll do my best.”
Chapter 15
Aunt Darla was snoring in the back cab of Troy’s truck ten minutes later. Allison glanced over and felt the weight of the world lift off her shoulders in tiny, little buoyant bubbles that floated high into the air.
“Tonight wasn’t so bad, was it?” Troy asked.
Allison sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest. “Not bad at all,” she agreed. She was afraid to say that it had gone off without a hitch, but that was the way she felt. “You got along wonderfully with my stepdad,” she said.
“He’s a really awesome guy.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, looking out the passenger window. “I really never even thought of him as anything other than my father. He’s more than just a stepdad and always has been. My real father sends cards on my birthday and on the holidays, but he was never one to take me to a princess movie that he had no interest in. Jerry would go so far as to watch a movie with me two weekends in a row if I wanted, and then reenact all the scenes with my Barbie collection.” She laughed. “I really can’t complain about my childhood. It was idyllic, in a way.”
“Every child deserves memories like that.”
Allison thought of the kids they’d seen earlier at Mercy’s Place and her heart ached. “You’re right.”
“I don’t want to jinx it,” Troy said then, “but I think your mom kind of likes me, too.”
Aunt Darla snored louder in the backseat, grabbing their attention.
Allison covered a laugh.
“Has your aunt always drunk too much on the holidays?” he asked.
“Oh, this isn’t just a holiday thing,” she told him. “Aunt Darla is usually toasted for family get-togethers. Or even if you were to randomly drop by her house, there’s a good chance she’ll be a little bit tipsy. She’s my mother’s sister, so you’re earning points by taking Aunt Darla home tonight.”
Troy shot a fist into the air. “Score!” he said, making Alison laugh harder. “In all honesty though, I only care about scoring points with you.”
The skin along her chest heated. “You’re scoring all kinds of points with me,
Sergeant Matthews.”
Allison pointed to a side road. “Turn there,” she said.
Troy turned down the dimly lit road and followed it all the way to the cul-de-sac where Allison’s aunt lived alone. “I guess she’s probably lonely out here all by herself.”
Allison nodded. “I should visit Aunt Darla more.”
“It’s not always all on you, Allison,” he said, parking.
Darla snored behind them.
“What do you mean?”
“You seem to be always trying to make sure everyone around you is okay. And making sure that everyone thinks you’re okay, too.”
She swallowed.
“The only reason you wanted someone to bring home for Christmas is so that your parents wouldn’t worry about you. It wasn’t for you at all. I wonder, when was the last time you did something that was purely selfish? Just for you?”
Her mouth opened to speak. She closed it as she thought about her answer. She opened it again, closed it again. She couldn’t answer that question.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “It’s like when you’re in an airplane during an emergency situation. The airline stewardess tells you to take the oxygen mask and give yourself air first. Then help your neighbor. But you’re doing things the opposite way. You’re helping everyone around you first and forgetting to take a breath and think about yourself.”
“Not entirely true. I’ve been selfish when I’ve been with you lately,” she told him.
He shook his head. “I seem to remember you being very giving.”
Allison cast a glance back at her aunt, who snorted in her sleep. “Shh. You never know if she’s hearing you.”
“See. Always thinking of someone else.” He laughed as she punched his shoulder. “This is why you need someone to concern themselves with your needs.”
“Oh, yeah?”
He nodded, leaning closer to her. “Yeah. And I’m just the guy for the job. I am very concerned with your needs.” He leaned closer still, and she held her breath. Kissing him would never grow old. He lightly touched her chin and led her mouth to his in a kiss that threatened to steam up all the windows of his truck.
Darla snorted again. “I said hands off,” she slurred loudly. “That includes my niece.”
Allison giggled to herself and pulled the door handle to get out. “Let me help you inside, Aunt Darla.” The quicker she got Darla inside and in her own bed, the quicker she could return to kissing Troy.
A few hours later, after another magical kiss and returning to her parents’ home for cleanup, Allison stepped into her mother’s kitchen carrying a final load of dirty dishes.
“Thanks for helping,” her mother said, glancing over her shoulder.
“Of course, Mom. Tonight went well, don’t you think?”
Her mother nodded, drying her hands on a dishcloth at the sink. “You really seem to like this guy of yours,” she said.
A little niggle of anxiety tightened Allison’s chest. There was nothing her mother could say about Troy that would change the way she looked at him, she promised herself. He hadn’t said or done anything tonight to give her mother pause about him. “I do like him, Mom,” Allison said, as a smile pulled the corners of her mouth up reflexively. She liked Troy a lot, more and more with every second she spent with him. Even though her aunt had been downright rude, he’d treated her like he would anyone else. He’d been a perfect gentleman.
Wanting desperately to change the subject before her mother had a chance to comment, Allison brought up Henry. “The Seaside burglar is somebody I know,” she said.
Her mother leaned against the kitchen counter and folded her arms in front of her. “Really?”
Allison nodded. “He goes to the Veterans’ Center sometimes. He’s such a nice man. I had lunch with him the other day and there was something about him that worried me. He looked sad and maybe even a little lost. I know he doesn’t have any family around and I don’t think he socializes enough to have friends.”
“But you’re his friend?” her mother asked.
“I am,” Allison said. “And I don’t know what to do. He’s in the Seaside jail, and rightfully so. He broke into a lot of people’s houses. He tried to break into mine. I wanted to ask you what I should do.”
Her mother lifted a brow. “I thought you were done taking my advice.”
Allison tilted her head. “You give the best advice of anybody I know.”
“Well”—her mother looked off beyond Allison, seeming to retreat into her vast area of expertise—“he’s probably depressed. Sometimes people do things that are out of character when their mental health is poor. What was his reason for stealing people’s Christmas presents?”
Allison frowned. “I wish I knew. I was thinking I’d go see him next week and find out.”
Her mother smiled. “You always were one to take care of people in need.”
“That’s my fatal flaw, right, Mom?” Allison asked.
“No, I wouldn’t say flaw. I’d say that’s one of your strengths. You care for people. It is the reason you always find yourself in company with the wrong man.”
Uh-oh. Allison’s gut did a flip-flop. Here it came. Her mother was about to demolish Troy in her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re always trying to help people. You think that you can save them from themselves.”
Troy didn’t need saving, though, so her mother couldn’t possibly be talking about him.
“Your new friend,” her mother said, sucking in a breath, “he’s very exciting.”
Not a bad thing in Allison’s opinion. She nodded. “Yes.”
“He likes adventure. He likes to have fun.”
Still not a bad thing. Allison nodded again. “Yes.”
“Those things are usually coupled with restlessness,” her mother said. “He’s always searching for something new and exciting and fun.”
Allison stilled as her mother continued to talk.
“There’s something about that type of man that makes a woman want to tame him. Sometimes women feel like that restlessness and untamed spirit is a bad thing. Not consciously, of course. Those qualities are the very thing that attracts us to men like that. But there’s some part of us that thinks a man will be happier if you snuff out that restlessness. A man like Troy sometimes makes a woman want to change him. To make him settle down. But I assure you, after years and years of talking to women who have fallen for that kind of man, it never happens. A man like Troy likes to have fun. Not a bad thing unless you’re the woman who’s falling in love with him.” Her mother lifted a brow even as her eyes softened. She held up her hands. “I know you don’t want my advice anymore. But I’m your mother. I can’t help myself.”
Allison stared at her, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of her. “You’re always right. You were right about all the others. But this time you’re wrong, Mom. Troy isn’t like that.”
“And you always say that,” her mother chuckled softly.
Allison steeled her emotions; they were all coming at once. “If I’m going to start dating again, which is what you say you want, then I need to be able to trust myself to choose a man who is good for me. A man who makes me laugh, who makes me feel like there’s no one else in the world he’d rather be with.”
A man like Troy.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt, and I can tell that you’re already developing deep feelings for this guy. I want you to go into this relationship with your eyes open.”
Allison took a shuddery breath. “I am. And I know it’s only because you love me, but you can stop worrying. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
Her mother stepped toward her and braced her hands on Allison’s shoulders, prompting her to look into her eyes. “Someday you’re going to find a man who will love you the way you need to be loved.”
Interpretation: Troy was not that man.
Well, as much as Allison valued her mother’s opinion and trusted her insti
ncts, Allison was going to trust her own instincts this time, even though they’d led her the wrong way many times before. She was different now. She’d learned from all those times she’d followed her heart down a dead-end road.
She sucked in a calming breath, then turned as the door to the kitchen opened.
Troy smiled at her and her heart lifted.
“We finished cleaning up the living room and the dining room,” he said, smiling brightly. She knew exactly who this man was, even though they’d just met two weeks ago. When she looked into his eyes, she knew him. He would never hurt her.
Allison looked back at her mom. “I think we’re finished here, too.”
“Yes,” her mother responded, forcing a smile. “Go home and rest. Tomorrow’s Christmas.”
Allison grabbed her cardigan from the back of a chair and walked through the house to get her coat. She and Troy then slipped out into the night, back to his truck to drive home.
Troy carried the conversation as they drove. When he finally stopped talking, silence filled the truck.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “You’re being awfully quiet all of a sudden.”
She glanced over in the dark truck. “Just tired, I guess.”
“What were you and your mother talking about while I hung out with your stepdad?”
She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “I asked her what to do about Henry,” she said honestly. “I’ve decided I’m going to go visit him after Christmas. He’s a good guy who just lost his way. I want to help him find it again.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
Allison had to laugh. “You’re the one who put Henry in jail. Remember? I don’t think he’d be too happy to see you.”
