by Alexa Land
I returned to the living room and took off my shoes and sweater, while Duke plated the dinner and put a ceramic bowl over it to keep it warm. As I hiked up the hem of my T-shirt and checked my new tattoo, the water shut off upstairs. After a minute, the floor creaked as Aiden headed for the closet. I wondered what he’d make of my offbeat wardrobe.
A moment later, there was a thud in the kitchen, followed by a yelp. It took only a moment for the overpowering odor of skunk to reach me. I pinched my nose shut, ran into the kitchen, and yelled, “What happened?”
“The skunk’s fully loaded, that’s what happened!” Duke had taken a direct hit of skunk spray, and his hands where clamped over his nose and mouth. “I tripped over the water bowl, and I guess I startled her. This is the worst smell ever!”
My eyes were burning. I ran to the back door and opened it, and Mrs. Nesbitt cheerfully padded out into the backyard. How could anything smell that bad? I flipped on the kitchen fan and grabbed a big garbage bag as I yelled, “Strip off everything including your shoes, and put it in here! I’ll take it out to the trash. Then you need to head straight for the shower!” I didn’t know why I was yelling.
Duke emptied his pockets as fast as he could and stripped down to just his briefs. He kept trying to hold his breath, but that only lasted so long. The stench was overpowering, and so strong I could taste it.
Aiden appeared in the kitchen doorway a moment later. He was pinching his nose with one hand and fanning the air with the other. His shaggy hair was wet, and he was dressed in one of my rompers, the one printed to look like the universe, with a cat surfing on a burrito. It reached mid-calf on him.
He exclaimed, “Where’s Mrs. Nesbitt? Is she alright?”
“She’s fine,” I told him. “She went into the backyard, and it’s fully fenced. Duke tripped over her water bowl and startled her, so she let it rip.”
“I’m sorry I lied about her being de-scented,” he said as he hung his head. “She hadn’t sprayed before, not once in the two years I’ve had her, so I thought you’d never find out. I’ll go change back into my clothes, and we’ll get out of here.”
He turned to leave, but Duke said, “Nobody’s going anywhere. See if you can figure out what to do to get rid of this horrible smell while I take the world’s longest shower. And just so you know, we’re getting her de-scented as soon as we find that illegal, underground vet I mentioned earlier. That’s not open for discussion.”
Aiden’s eyes went wide. “You mean you’re letting us stay, even after that?”
“Of course you can stay. It was an accident,” Duke said. “I’ll be back after I get cleaned up. Don’t feel bad about this, Aiden. The smell is punishment enough.” He hurried to the bathroom while I tied off the bag with his sprayed clothes, triple-bagged it, and carried it outside, where the skunk was happily patrolling the yard.
As I crammed the bag into the trash can, Xavier called from the other side of the fence, “I may not have seen anything earlier, but I’m definitely smelling something now. Tell me this isn’t going to be a regular occurrence.”
“Nope. One-time thing. Maybe go inside and shut your door, and keep reminding yourself this too shall pass.”
“Very Zen of you,” Xavier called before the patio door clicked shut behind him.
I went back into the kitchen and saw that Aiden had found a pair of swim goggles in a drawer, which I’d stashed there for slicing onions. He’d also tied a dish towel around his mouth and nose like a bandit. It was exactly what I’d planned to do, and I murmured, “It’s like looking in the mirror.”
The smell was much less intense now that the drenched clothes were out, and the fan was helping too, but it was probably going to be a long time before it was completely gone. Aiden looked up at me and asked, “Did Duke mean it? Are you really letting me and Mrs. Nesbitt stay, even after she sprayed him?”
I crouched down to his height and said, “Here’s the thing about Duke. He’s the kindest, gentlest man you’ll ever meet, and he’s also the most honest and sincere. If he says you both can stay, you can absolutely believe it.”
Aiden smiled at me and threw his arms around my shoulders. Then he stepped back embarrassedly and said, “I’ll get the kitchen cleaned up. Don’t worry. It’ll all be good as new.”
“Let me worry about that. Go get Mrs. Nesbitt, and let’s find you someplace not so stinky to eat. I know you’re hungry.”
After I got him and the skunk set up in my old room with his dinner and dessert, I started to leave, but Aiden called, “Hey Quinn?” When I turned to look at him, he said, “Thanks for bringing me home with you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He was wearing the dish towel around his neck, and he pushed the swim goggles up to his forehead and ran a fingertip along the edge of the desk. After a pause, he said, “It’s weird. My real family doesn’t want me, but right after you met me, you called me a Christmas miracle and talked about adopting me. Maybe…I dunno. Maybe I was supposed to find you and Duke or something. What do you think?” As he was talking, the skunk waddled over and flopped down right on Aiden’s bare feet.
“I think you really were.”
He was quiet for another moment as he bent down and petted his skunk. Then he said softly, “This is the first time since I got kicked out that I haven’t been scared.” My heart shattered when I heard that. I’d already known I’d do anything in my power to help that kid, but hearing those words made me feel fiercely protective of him.
“I promise everything’s going to be alright now, and just like Duke, I always keep my promises.” He took a bite of a rainbow cookie, and I said, “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be right downstairs.”
I closed the door behind me and went to find Duke. He was still in the shower, so I tossed my phone and wallet on the vanity and climbed in there with him. My husband smiled at me as the water soaked into my T-shirt and jeans and asked, “What are you doing?”
I threw my arms around him and said, “I couldn’t wait another minute to tell you I adore you. The way you handled that situation in the kitchen was amazing. Anyone else would have screamed and yelled and been furious, but not you.”
He hugged me and brushed his cheek against my hair. “He shouldn’t have lied, but Aiden needs us, and it’s scary for little kids when adults yell at them. I know that from experience. Maybe that’s the only good thing about the way I grew up: it taught me exactly what not to do as a parent.”
“God, I hope this works out with Aiden,” I said, “not only because he’s an amazing kid and he really does need us, but because you’re going to be a sensational dad.”
“So are you.”
I glanced up at him and asked, “You really think so?”
“I know that for a fact.”
“I feel like my life just came full-circle,” I said, “from a scared little kid who needed a home, to an adult who can provide one.”
“Exactly.”
“This is the best holiday ever, except for that horrible smell. Do you think you’ll ever be able to get out of this shower?”
“Nope.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so either.” I held him tight and rested my head on my husband’s chest. “Merry Skunksmas, Duke.”
He kissed my forehead and said, “Merry Skunksmas, Quinn.”
The End
Duke’s famous sugar cookie recipe follows.
The Firsts and Forever Series will continue with Mike and Yoshi’s story.
For more by Alexa Land, please visit her Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Alexa-Land/e/B00AR2EJ76
Find Alexa on Facebook, or on Twitter @AlexaLandWrites
And on her blog:
http://alexalandwrites.blogspot.com/
Bonus Recipe
Duke’s Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
1 large egg
3 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
<
br /> ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed for two minutes, or until creamy. Gradually add sugar; beat well. Add egg and beat until combined. Combine flour and next three ingredients. Add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla.
Roll dough to a quarter-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into awesome shapes with cookie cutters. To help them hold their shape, refrigerate the cut-out cookies for at least an hour before baking (optional).
Place cookies one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes, just until the cookies begin to turn golden around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating as desired. Quinn recommends using lots of icing in bright colors, and of course edible glitter.
