Holidays Are Hell

by Kim Harrison

  Nick started the engine and then pulled out of the parking spot, but Jill wasn’t paying attention. Her gaze had dropped to the dress she wore and she was examining it with surprise. It was a simple black cocktail dress. Simple, classic, stylish, and tasteful.

  “This is nice,” she said with surprise.

  Nick grinned. “Don’t sound so surprised. I happen to have good taste.”

  “Sorry,” Jill laughed, then added uncertainly, “but isn’t it a bit dressy for a casual afternoon party?”

  Nick shook his head. “The first part of the party is casual, but then most people will leave and at about eight p.m. my sister is having a dinner party.”

  “Oh.” Jill managed a smile. “Then it’s perfect. You have good taste.”

  His eyes caught on her lips briefly, and then he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the front as they pulled out of the parking garage.

  Jill found her eyes slipping over his mouth and hands, recalling their moments of passion and decided to distract herself. She said, “It was nice of your sister to hold a party for the parade people.”

  “There was nothing nice about it,” he said with a wry smile. “Sue started out having the party for the people she and her husband work with at the psychiatric hospital. But when she found out about you, she told me to invite you along. I pointed out that it might be uncomfortable for you to have our first date be a party with my family, so she opened it up to everyone in the parade too.” He shook his head, then went on, “The afternoon is an open party with drinks and snacks for employees of the hospital and parade members, and then at eight it’s a proper sit-down dinner with her, her husband, my brother and his wife, and us.” He cast her an apologetic glance. “Sorry about that.”

  Jill merely shrugged. She already knew from their talks that his sister and her husband were both psychiatrists and that his brother was a policeman with a baker for a wife. In fact, she knew a good deal about his whole family and even many of his friends. They’d talked a great deal these last six months. The sister arranging things to meet her didn’t surprise her so much as the fact that the woman knew about her. Nick had been talking about her to his family.

  “What did you say that made her want to meet me?” she asked curiously.

  Nick was silent so long she didn’t think he would answer, but then he admitted, “That I was pretty sure you were the one.”

  Jill blinked. “The one?” she echoed faintly.

  Nick didn’t respond until they reached the first set of lights. Braking then, he met her glance and said quietly, “We’ve been friends for six months, Jill. I know everything about you. The only thing I didn’t know was whether we’d be sexually compatible…” He glanced to the light and back, and then added, “Of course, it’s pretty obvious now that won’t be an issue.”

  Jill flushed, but merely smiled and reached over to squeeze his leg. This day was turning out to be more than she’d ever expected. All she’d hoped for was being asked out on a date and possibly a first kiss. She was getting much more than that. It was as if the last six months of their lunches and platonic friendship had been dating without it actually being called that, and without kissing or anything else. Now they were moving ahead at an amazing rate. From friends, to almost lovers and being “the one.”

  She shook her head with amazement. If it weren’t for John Heathcliffe’s antics this would be the most perfect day she could imagine.

  “Here we are,” Nick announced and then blew out a whistle. “It looks like we’re the last to arrive. We’ll be lucky to find parking anywhere nearby.”

  Jill didn’t comment, but was just recalling that she was barefoot when Nick said, “By the way, there are shoes in the bag too.”

  She glanced at him with surprise and then caught up the bag from where it lay discarded on the floor and retrieved a pair of dressy black shoes. Her eyes widened with surprise as she noted the size.

  Nick grinned. “I own a shoe store, love. I can guess a shoe size at a glance and am usually right.”

  She smiled at the claim and slid on the shoes as he parked, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

  “Thank you,” she whispered and meant it. He was very thoughtful. Others might not have thought of stopping to get her clothes, let alone shoes. But he had. His consideration was one of the things she liked about him, but there was so much more too.

  Nick smiled and reached out to squeeze her hand affectionately, then opened his car door. “Let’s go. Time to face the lions.”

  Chapter 5

  “Good Lord! The two of you must be freezing! Come in!”

  Jill smiled at Nick’s sister as she opened the door to them, but then her eyes ran curiously over the large entry, taking in the gleaming hardwood floors and cream walls. The room was beautiful and made more so by the tasteful Christmas decorations.

  “Where are your coats?” Maggie asked as she closed the door behind them.

  “We lost them at the parade,” Nick murmured.

  “Oh. People nowadays,” Maggie tutted with a scowl. “You can’t leave anything alone for a minute anymore.” She shook her head. “Well, never mind. I’ll loan you both coats before you go.”

  “Thanks, Mags,” Nick said, giving her a hug. “You’re a sweetie.”

  “Yes, I am, and don’t you forget it,” Maggie said laughingly as he released her. She then turned to beam at Jill. “Hi, I’m Maggie, Nick’s sister, and you must be Jill, the smart, funny, lovely lady who owns the clothing store next door to Nick.”

  Jill flushed with embarrassment, her lips tipping wryly as she said, “I take it Nick has mentioned me then?”

  “Mentioned you?” Maggie laughed. “It’s been Jill this and Jill that for six months. I was beginning to think the divorce would never be over so we could meet you.”

  “You know,” Nick said, scowling at his sister. “If I hadn’t already told Jill what I thought of her, I’d be really embarrassed right now.”

  “I knew you’d tell her before you got here. You’ve been chomping at the bit for the last couple months. I’m surprised you managed to wait until the divorce was signed,” Maggie said with an unrepentant grin and then added, “I plan to help the two of you along by telling Jill all sorts of things today.”

  Nick rolled his eyes, apparently not surprised at the threat. “Oh, well, if you’re just going to embarrass me, I think I’ll go find Jill and me a drink. Will you be all right for a minute?” he asked, running a hand down her arm.

  She nodded and he pressed a kiss to her cheek, whispering, “She means well.”

  Jill smiled at the claim as he turned away.

  “Don’t hurry back,” Maggie called after him and then turned to Jill with a wide smile. “Nicky’s told me so much about you, I feel I know you already. Of course, that’s how I knew he was serious about you.”

  “It is?” Jill asked, eyes wide. Nick had said as much earlier, but it was still startling to hear it from his sister. As Jay had said, it seemed everyone had known he liked her…except for her.

  Maggie considered her expression solemnly, then murmured, “It must have driven you wild these last six months, eating lunch together every day, his seeming to like you but never making a move.” She grimaced. “I know it would have driven me mad.”

  When Jill merely smiled crookedly, Maggie said, “I’m afraid he had to. If Michelle—his ex-wife—had caught wind that he was seriously interested in someone, she’d have dragged her feet on the divorce to get more money just to make him miserable.”

  “Ah.” Jill felt her shoulders relax. While she’d believed what Nick had said, she’d wondered why, once he’d decided she was the one, he’d still held to his determination not to reveal his feelings until the year was up. Now she understood.

  “She is a horrible woman, grasping, greedy, and spiteful.” She shuddered and added, “Nicky would never tell you that, but I’m not as nice. She was horrid.”

  “She must have had some redeeming fe
atures,” Jill murmured, though she was actually pleased to hear this poor opinion of the first wife. “Nick doesn’t seem the sort to marry someone like that.”

  “He was younger and she was a model, always flying off to some shoot or other.” She grimaced. “With her around so little, we were all fooled. Once they were married, though, she dropped out of modeling, was around, and couldn’t uphold the image of the sweetheart for long.”

  “Still out here?” Nick asked as he approached up the hall. Pausing at Jill’s side, he handed her a glass of eggnog and then glanced from one to the other. “So, has my sister scared you off yet?”

  Jill smiled faintly and shook her head. “Afraid not. I guess you’re stuck with me.”

  “Lucky me,” he murmured, slipping an arm around her as he sipped his own drink.

  “You make such a cute couple,” Maggie commented with a pleased little sigh.

  “Maggie, love?”

  All three of them glanced up the hall as a man poked his head around the door, a small frown on his face.

  “Do we have any more club soda? I can’t—”

  “I’ll find it,” Maggie called out, interrupting him and then said, “Lou, this is Nick’s friend, Jill. Jill, my husband Lou.”

  “Hello,” Jill greeted him with a smile.

  “Hi, Jill,” Lou grinned, then gave Nick a thumbs-up. “Nice one.”

  Maggie shook her head as he disappeared back into the room, then smiled at Nick and Jill. “You two should join the party. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” Nick teased.

  “Ha ha,” Maggie muttered as she walked away and then paused and turned back to say, “Oh, I almost forgot, some of the parade people beat you here. Most are in the back room, though there was one fellow hanging out in the front room watching for you.”

  Nick frowned at this news. “Watching for me?”

  “No. It was Jill he asked about.”

  Jill was aware of Nick stiffening next to her even as ice slid down her back.

  “What did he look like?” Nick asked, dread in his voice.

  “About your height and build, dark hair. Intense eyes and a bit cold,” Maggie answered, frowning now as well. “He followed a group of parade people in. I thought he was with them, but they’re all hanging around together and he’s sticking to himself…Is there a problem?”

  Nick’s gaze locked with Jill’s but he shook his head. “No, I’m sure it’s fine.”

  “Maggie? Lou sent me to ask if you have any ginger ale.”

  All three of them glanced up the hall to see another male peering around the door frame. He looked like an older version of Nick and Jill knew at once that this must be his brother, Mac, the police officer. The way his gaze was moving over her rather than focusing on Maggie made her suspect Lou had mentioned her presence and he’d come for a look-see at “Nick’s friend.”

  “Mac, Jill. Jill, our brother Mac,” Maggie announced, telling her she’d been right. She then continued up the hall saying, “I’ll find the ginger ale and club soda.” At the door she paused and glanced back to add, “I’ll catch up to you two later.”

  Jill waited until the pair was out of sight before turning anxiously to Nick. “You don’t think the guest waiting for me is John Heathcliffe, do you?”

  “I don’t know,” Nick said with a frown. “I suppose he could have overheard the others talking about the party while he was in the parking lot, and then followed a group of them here and entered on their heels.”

  Jill bit her lip at the prospect. She’d just begun to feel safe again.

  “Look,” Nick said suddenly. “I think you should wait in the library while I walk through the house and check out the guests. If he’s here, we’ll leave before he knows you’ve arrived. If not, we can relax and enjoy the party. Okay?”

  When Jill nodded, he urged her to a pair of double doors and ushered her inside.

  “You can use the phone to try to call your brother while I’m gone. I’ll be quick,” he assured her as he pulled the door closed.

  Turning away, Jill moved to the telephone on the desk and quickly punched in her brother’s number. She wasn’t surprised when the answering machine picked up again, and almost hung up, but then changed her mind and said, “Kyle, where are you? I need to talk to you. It’s really important. I’ll call again.”

  She hung up, shoulders sagging and head dropping unhappily to her chest. This was the best and worst day of her life. As much good was happening as bad, but all together it was exhausting and beginning to wear on her.

  The sound of the door opening made her straighten abruptly. Jill didn’t want Nick seeing her looking as defeated as she felt. Taking a breath, she forced a smile and turned, only to freeze when she saw John Heathcliffe moving quickly toward her.

  Eyes widening, Jill swiftly shifted around the desk, placing it between them. “Leave me alone. I’m not going with you.”

  “Of course you are.” John started around the desk toward her.

  “No, she’s not,” Nick countered from the doorway. His mouth tightened at John’s surprised expression and he said, “I saw you slipping in here. What happened? You saw us arrive and what?…Hid in the coat closet to wait until Jill was on her own?”

  Ignoring the question, John continued around the desk. “Don’t interfere. I’m taking her with me.”

  “The hell you are!” Nick rushed forward, catching John’s wrist before he could touch Jill. He then swung at him with his other hand balled into a fist, but the scientist grabbed his wrist before he could land the blow and the two men began to struggle. They were about the same size, and apparently equal in strength because at first they simply crashed first one way, then the other, neither of them able to pull free or land a blow, but then John suddenly released the hold he had on Nick’s wrist and reached into his pocket.

  All the breath seemed to leave Jill’s lungs when she saw the gun he pulled out. The paperweight she’d picked up from the desk a second before suddenly seemed as effective as a toy and Jill glanced around wildly for something else…anything else. Even as she peered around, though, she was wishing she was still the reindeer. She’d gore the man but good were she still the reindeer with those long, deadly antlers.

  In the next moment she was. Jill hadn’t closed her eyes, and hadn’t spent several moments concentrating as she’d thought she had to, she’d just wanted it and suddenly the paperweight was slipping from her mutating fingers and she was dropping to the floor as her body shifted to reindeer form. The sound of tearing cloth accompanied it and Jill grimaced, knowing her lovely dress was being ruined by the new shape. Unable to do anything about that, she glanced to the two men again, relieved to see that rather than shoot Nick, John was swinging the gun at his head. She immediately launched herself forward, a frustrated growl slipping from her lips as Nick fell under the blow before she reached his attacker.

  John cried out in surprise when she rammed her antlers into his backside. He crashed to the floor, the gun slipping from his hands and skittering across the hardwood to come to rest under the desk. He didn’t go after it, but instead scrabbled across the hardwood himself, trying to get away from Jill and her antlers.

  Jill let him go and peered at Nick, relieved when he stirred and moaned. John could have killed him with that blow. That thought brought her anger roaring back and she lifted her head to glower at John. Despite the fact that she was Rudolph in a torn dress, John whimpered and pulled himself into a ball. Before she could go after him the door to the library crashed open and instinct made her drop to her belly on the floor to hide behind the couch.

  “Who the hell are you?” Lou’s voice was sharp and demanding.

  “Where are Jill and Nick?” Mac added, the question assuring Jill that neither she nor Nick were visible from the door. They would be, though, if the men moved farther into the room, she realized and closed her eyes, concentrating on being herself.

  Nick’s hand on her arm drew her
eyes open a moment later to see that he was awake and she was herself once more. Smiling at him worriedly, she helped him to his feet, then grimaced when she glanced down to see the state of her dress. This shape-shifting was obviously going to be hell on her wardrobe.

  “What on earth is going on here?” Maggie pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered in the door and hurried around the couch to join them, her worried eyes sliding from Nick to Jill and back as if unsure who was in the worse state. “Nick, you’re bleeding, and Jill…” Her voice trailed off helplessly as she took in her torn dress. “Are you all right?”

  When Jill nodded, Maggie turned her attention back to Nick to fuss over his head wound. Nick suffered it until Mac shifted impatiently by the door and demanded, “What the hell is going on, Nick? How did you get hurt? And why is Jill all beat up? And who the hell is this guy?” he added, gesturing to where John was just getting back to his feet.

  Jill lifted her head slightly. She wasn’t really beat up. Her dress was a mess and her hair was probably a bit tangled, but other than that she was fine.

  Nick slipped an arm around her waist, drawing her to his side as he said, “This guy is John Heathcliffe. He attacked Jill and was trying to force her to go with him. He hit me over the head with his gun when I tried to stop him.”

  The word “gun” was like an alarm bell. Mac stiffened, his eyes narrowing on John, no doubt searching for the weapon in question.

  “He dropped the gun. I think it slid under the desk,” Jill said helpfully.

  “Take a look and see if it’s there, Lou, but don’t touch it if it is,” Mac said, positioning himself in front of the door in case John had any hopes of leaving that way.

  Lou moved to the desk and dropped to one knee to peer under it. He straightened a moment later and nodded solemnly, indicating there was indeed a gun there.

  “The man’s a nut,” Nick said at once. “He thinks Jill is a witch or something.”

  When Jill glanced at him with confusion, Nick squeezed her hand reassuringly.