A Perfect Holiday

by Riley Murphy

  “Will do.” Riker wanted to let the irony comment go. He really did, but he couldn’t. “Hey.” His brother looked down. “What note of irony?”

  The fucking guy grinned. “You sure you want to know?”

  Riker sat forward and cradled his drink. He knew he was going to regret this, but he nodded anyways. “Positive.”

  “She’s not the only one hiding from life. You are too.”

  He slammed his glass down and sat back. “Not another Brianna and Tom lecture. I knew I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “But seeing as how you did, I’m going to answer you. It’s the chip on your shoulder. That’s what you’re hiding behind. Maybe while you’re in Denver hiding from this woman you can finally deal with Brianna and all that shit. It might give you some insight into why you keep getting fucked over by the opposite sex.”

  “Screw that. Bree is not even going to know I’m there.”

  Caleb made a face and started backing away from the table. “I, ah, think it’s too late for that.”

  “What?” Riker stood at the same time that Caleb spun around and began walking off at a good clip. His eyes narrowed. “Does Brianna know I’m going to the cabin?”

  Caleb didn’t break stride, he just called over his shoulder. “Where do you think I got the number for that new cleaning service?”

  Riker blinked and when a woman with a toddler walked by, he silently swore because he couldn’t even swear out loud. Fuck.

  Chapter Twelve

  The last two days had been the worst of Sidney’s life. She hadn’t been able to eat, she could barely sleep and once she got over her anger at Riker for being so brutally honest, she’d done something she hadn’t done in nearly a decade. She wrote in a journal. It was all very maudlin. Disjointed thoughts of highly dramatic scenarios. Most of which ended where she’d never see him again and remain single for the rest of her life, lamenting over what could have been.

  But then the anger resurfaced and she took on an attitude. Yes, she’d treated Riker badly. She’d been disrespectful by trying to pass him off as the maintenance guy, but she’d said she was sorry and what had he done? He’d been insulting. Mind you, it was the truth, but it was one of those personal insults that shouldn’t have been thrown out like an accusation.

  Right?

  “Right.”

  That new found justification lasted half a day and she was back to being sad again. For the last hour she’d been having her own pity party, trying to decide what she’d say to him when he returned. Surely he’d be back to his condo for Christmas Eve. That was tomorrow night and she’d already dealt with her parents. Well, mostly her dad, when she told them about Riker and how she intended to spend time with him over the holidays if he they made up. She’d run through a thousand things to say to him. Ways to explain and just when she was running through a thousand and one, she heard a guy shout. It sounded like…

  “Riker?” She nearly tripped getting to the door. Swinging it open, she saw him heading up the stairs. “Riker.”

  When he stopped and turned, she scowled at him. “You’re not Riker, but you could be his twin.”

  The guy flashed a very familiar smile and said, “It’s a good thing I am his twin then.” He stepped down off the stair and extended his hand. “Caleb Mitchell.”

  Absently she shook it, even as she rudely came up on tiptoe and craned her neck to see around him. “Is Riker here?”

  “No.”

  She landed flat on her feet and let go of him, trying not to grumble. “He isn’t?”

  “I came to pick up some hardware,” was all he said.

  “Is he still at the house? Is he going to be back here for Christmas Eve?”

  “Why don’t you call him and ask him yourself?” Oh, he was Riker’s brother all right. Her eyes narrowed as she searched his face, making note of his slight grin. He looked so much like Riker and yet so different it was unnerving. With a deep breath she mentally pulled up her big-girl panties and decided to take a bite out of the shit sandwich instead of beating around the proverbial bush for the next ten minutes until she finally had to chew. Better to get it over with in one quick swallow.

  “I can’t do that as your brother has blocked my calls.”

  “I see.”

  “Well, I’m glad you do because I don’t get it. Sure we had a little bit of a situation thingy but it wasn’t so bad that he should cut me out of his life like this. It’s like he abandoned me with no way to reach him.”

  “Yeah, he’s good at that.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He studied her for a second as if he were sizing her up. Then he asked, “You wouldn’t happen to be Sidney Capp, would you?”

  Her heart raced. “Yes. Did he tell you about me?”

  “No. Yeah. But…”

  He seemed to be debating. She’d kill to know the topic. “Yes?”

  “He wanted me to give the landlord a box meant for you. So to my way of thinking, it’s okay if I give it directly to you instead.”

  “A box? Where is it?”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Five minutes later Sidney’s hands shook as she told him to come in and took the package from him. Her shoulders slumped when she saw there was no note. “There was nothing else with this? No envelope?”

  “No. Great tree, by the way. Short and fat must be the in style these days.”

  “Thanks.” She used her thumbnail to break the tape that secured the lid.

  “Hey, do you want me to fix that strand so it doesn’t blink anymore?”

  “No thanks.” She opened the box and pulled at the tissue.

  “Is that orange and cinnamon I smell?”

  “Yeah.” She parted the last wisp of paper and swallowed when she saw it. Her angel. The missing sister she hadn’t been able to win on eBay. She wasn’t going to cry. She wouldn’t, but then she saw a scrap of paper underneath, with writing on it and she knew what this was. It was Riker’s way of saying goodbye, she was sure of it.

  “Is that Riker’s t-shirt over that pillow?”

  At this point she didn’t care if Caleb knew how pathetic she was. All she concentrated on was putting down the box and getting to that note. “Yes. I’ve been sleeping with it. I miss him less when I…”

  A quirky angel for a quirky angel. Merry Christmas, darlin’.

  Her nose burned and her throat ached as she held back the tears that threatened. She wasn’t going to cry in front his brother. No way. So when a lone drop escaped out of the corner of her eye and skidded down her cheek, she brushed it away with the back of her hand and took a fortifying breath.

  “I suppose I should give it back.”

  “Why? What did he give you?”

  “I—oh, not the present. He gave me the missing angel to my collection. I meant the t-shirt.” She walked around the counter and plucked up her pillow. Giving it a shake until the tee slid off and then she begrudgingly offered it to him.

  “Yeah, you should give it back. That’s one of his favorites.” He didn’t take it though. Instead he picked up her pen from the coffee table and asked, “You have a piece of paper?”

  “Sure. Don’t you want the shirt?”

  “No, you can give it back to him yourself if you’re up for an adventure.”

  Adrenaline coursed through at the thought of seeing Riker. At the idea of having one last chance to make things right, but... “Adventure?” She rushed to the counter and tore a piece of paper out of her journal.

  Caleb accepted the slip and asked as he started to write, “How do you like flying?”

  Air travel scared the crap out of her. “Love to.”

  “Snow?”

  She’d never seen any. “I adore the white stuff.”

  “Frigid temperatures?”

  She was a native Floridian, so she had very little idea. “Perfect for me.”

  “Great.” He handed her the paper and winked. “You’re going to Denver, but don’t tell him I sent you.”

&n
bsp; The elation that was brimming to life within her dimmed slightly. “He doesn’t want me there, does he?”

  “My guess right now? It will take a miracle for him to let you through the door.”

  Sidney’s heart sank. “So why are you giving me this?” She held up the address with detailed directions and waved it.

  “At first I wasn’t going to…”

  She tilted her head. “So what made you change your mind?”

  “No offense, but you could have been a psycho or something. It wasn’t until I saw your tree, smelled the cinnamon and well, I’d mention the t-shirt, but without the tree and the smelly plug-ins, I would have been placing bets you were a psycho for sure after I saw that. Do chicks really do that kind of thing with a guy’s shit?” He pointed to the tee and then pillow.

  “Oh yeah. Smelly?” She frowned and sniffed. Her place didn’t stink. Then she remembered. “And what’s wrong with my tree?”

  He shrugged. “It’s short and fat.”

  “So?”

  “It was the missing piece to the puzzle.”

  She had absolutely no idea what Caleb was talking about. Shaking her head, she let him know it.

  “Look.” He sighed. “I leave my brother here for a weekend of R&R and when I get him back he’s an asshole. He’s snapping at the guys, dragging me through one tree place after another—did I mention it was eighty degrees at the time?— looking for the perfect one.” He hiked a thumb toward hers and said, “Which, according to him, happens to be short and fat like yours. Bad enough, because in the house we just built him it looks like it ought to be a table decoration, but worse than that are the decorations themselves. He only had six of them on there. No lights. Not one. Just six metal things hanging on as many branches. It was fucking stupid looking, and when I bought some green and red balls and tried to add them, he about took my head off.”

  Sidney tried not to smile, but she couldn’t hold it back. It was hard to keep the sun down when it was rising from within.

  “And that smell. He had those goddamn plug-ins in every room. Every room. I was getting a perpetual headache breathing in that shit. That’s why I talked him into going to the cabin. He’s a bear and belongs in the woods. So yeah, be my guest and head there. Hopefully you’ll be able to straighten the hair he’s got up his ass about you. The sooner the better.”

  Aww, he might have been scowling but underneath all his bluster she knew Caleb was a softy. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Just fix him so he’s not growling. That’s my job and lately he’s been showing me up in front of the guys.”

  Sidney nodded as she walked him to the door. So many things running through her head. Buying a plane ticket, packing. Getting a rental car. She’d never been anywhere all on her own, but she wasn’t nervous about it. Well, maybe about the flight, but getting through that meant she’d get to see Riker, so she’d deal.

  “I really appreciate you telling me all this.” She meant about the tree and the plug-ins, as it gave her the first ray of hope that they could patch things up.

  “I haven’t said much of anything, but I probably should.” He leaned back against the door frame and eyed her. “I’m not sure what happened between you guys and maybe this doesn’t have anything to do with it, but Riker had his heart broken once.”

  “I know. He told me.”

  “Did he tell you that Brianna left him for a suit? You don’t happen to have one of those waiting in the wings for you, do you? It would explain a lot.”

  Once again Sidney was at a loss. “What kind of suit? A lawsuit, you mean?”

  “No. Usually a tailored Armani and comes with a guy in it. A high-level executive who pushes papers around a desk to be more exact. That would be the only kind of competition my brother would be gun-shy over.”

  “He told me she left him because he couldn’t afford the things she wanted out of life.”

  “That’s only half the truth, as Riker would have taken good care of her. What he couldn’t give her were clean hands. She wanted a guy who didn’t sweat, swear or hammer a nail. A suit. In the end, she kept my brother around just until she found the man of her dreams. That suit just happened to be one of Riker’s most influential clients.”

  All kinds of things came to her then. Their conversation in the pool when she’d told him about her parents. What she’d said about Ken. How she’d passed Riker off as the maintenance guy to her mom…

  “You okay?”

  “Yes.” She blinked and gave him a half smile. “I appreciate you letting me know about this.”

  He turned to leave and then swung back around. “Look, I wasn’t going to say anything, but now that I’ve met you and I see…well, I saw all the indicators that Riker’s got a thing for you so I better let you know.”

  Sidney practically beamed. She was positive there was nothing he could say that would dampen her happiness at the moment.

  “Riker’s ex knows he’s going to the cabin, and after listening to her bitch about her suit-wearing husband, I got the feeling she was going to be paying my brother a visit to get some dirty hands on her. Brianna can be very persuasive and with a guy on the rebound, well…”

  Sidney got the message loud and clear.

  After Caleb left she didn’t waste any time. She bought her ticket which wound up draining her bank account, organized a rental car—thank God for credit cards— got her stuff together and then called her parents. After a very uncomfortable conversation with her dad, who’d been on the verge of actually trying to ground her before her mother came to the rescue, she only had one thing left to do. Stop at Martha’s before heading to the airport. She’d already decided to mull over what Caleb had told her during the three hour flight. Either then or during the two hour drive Mapquest indicated she’d have, once she touched down in Colorado.

  “Watcha need, doll? Where are you going?” Martha asked when she spied Sidney’s suitcase. “I thought you were home for the holiday.”

  “I’m going to Denver.” Sid gave her a hug and added, “I didn’t want you to worry when you didn’t see me around.”

  “Going after the boy?”

  There was no shame in admitting, “Yes.”

  “Well then, come in. You gonna need…”

  By the time Sid got in car her carry-on looked like it was going to deliver healthy twins. Martha insisted she bring her ‘prized’ winter coat. It was white faux fur and reminded Sidney of the abominable snowman in Rudolf The Red Nose Reindeer—she’d just watched that classic last night— and a pair of boots that matched the coat. Only the fur around the heels and toe was all matted, causing the foot part of the boot to mimic jester’s shoes. She was going to leave the items in her car when she got to the airport. She fully intended to until Martha made her promise to take some photos. As she’d put it, her winter ensemble was, “Pretty snazzy” when she’d bought them and as to that, Sidney guessed it was probably sometime during Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

  You’re committed to wearing them now.

  Gah, she couldn’t seem to catch a break. Gripping the steering wheel tighter, she muttered, “The flight better be smooth, the ride to the cabin better be uneventful and that ex better keep her paws off of my guy.”

  What if Riker was ‘persuaded’?

  She hated to think about that eventuality because then she’d have to accept he was never her guy to begin with.

  *****

  Riker braced himself before he entered the cabin. He knew Brianna was inside. Even though she’d upgraded her car to a Beamer, she still had the same license plate. GQ-GRL.

  “Riker, you made it. I was worried. When I left the house they were predicting a storm.”

  He threw down his duffle bag and shrugged out of his coat, deciding that Brianna hadn’t changed much. Still elegant and beautiful. Tall and thin, although her hair was different now. It was cut with the back shorter than the front. The sides framed her face in twin waves, making her eyes look bigger.

  Sidn
ey didn’t need a fancy haircut to accomplish that.

  No thinking about her, remember? “What are you doing here, Bree?”

  “No hello? No hi, how are you? Long time—”

  He tossed his coat on the hand-carved wooden bench and sighed. “I’d prefer to skip the small talk. Tell me why you’re here.”

  When she gave him one of her patented sexy pouts, he shook his head, kicked off his shoes and walked around her to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he prayed there was alcohol in it. Right now he needed a drink. He scanned the chilling items and smiled. Wine. The new service earned the extra hundred just for that alone.

  “I came to make you dinner and yes, I’d love a glass.”

  He didn’t turn around, but he did pause in the action of uncorking the bottle. “Since when do you drink?”

  “I do a lot of things now that I never did before.”

  Riker poured the pinot even as he bit his tongue. His first thought was to ask her if she was now a faithful woman, as she hadn’t been before. But then, her being here, dressed as she was and pulling out all her feminine stops with that pout, gave him his answer. So, yeah some things remained the same. And even though it bothered him that she was here, nothing would be gained by arguing with her. Brianna was great at debating. She was calm and cool. No cold. Not warm like Sidney who—fuck. Maybe it was good Brianna was here, after all. Dealing with her would be a welcome distraction from all the others he’d created by the sheer fact that he missed a warm and quirky angel who didn’t want him.

  Brianna wants you.

  “Sounds interesting.” He turned, not at all surprised to find her standing right behind him. Handing her a glass he added, “Why don’t you tell me about it.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sidney hated making this call. After gaining all her hard won independence the past few days, here she was phoning home.

  “Hi, sweetie. I’m so glad you finally called. I know I promised I wasn’t going to be checking up on you, but it’s been over a day, and it’s Christmas Eve day, besides, so if you hadn’t called I was going to call you at noon your time.”