CHAPTER SIX
THE PAST
Danny, age twenty-four
December, age fifteen
It’s my birthday. December fourth. Today I’m fifteen, which makes me one year older. It’s one year closer to eighteen. One year closer to being with Danny. Danny has made a real effort to be present in my life. He picks me up every day from school, and he’s there for all of my tennis matches. He even helps me with my homework.
And that is what we’re doing now.
Homework.
We’re in my dining room, seated at the table with sheets of college-ruled notebook paper spread out in front of me and my school textbooks stacked at my side. My mom is over at Papa Pete’s. He’s teaching her how to cook chili. My sisters are out doing who-knows-what with who-knows-who. Danny and I have the house to ourselves. I’ve grown close to him since September, like really close. Though he’s older, ten years older, I feel at ease with him and comfortable enough not to censor myself.
Everything has improved since he arrived. My grades are better, and I don’t feel so alone anymore. Danny has become my anchor. Without him, I was adrift in very deep waters.
“Rewrite that sentence,” he orders, erasing over half my essay.
“Why are you erasing so much of it?”
“Because your handwriting is messy,” he says in an obvious tone. “Write neat and orderly the first time around, or else you’re going to have to rewrite everything.”
“Oh my God.” I groan out in frustration. “It’s my birthday, for fuck’s sake. I want to do something other than my English homework.”
His rich mocha-colored eyes flash in a warning, but then he grins. That grin brightens his entire face. Strange warmth flutters low in my belly, and my heart picks up speed. “Watch your mouth, December,” he chides firmly. “It may be your birthday, but it’s also a Thursday and a school night.”
“Aw, come on. I know you’re into the whole age play thing . . . but ease up, Daddy. Can I at least take a break from the grueling homework?”
“Jesus,” he mutters, lifting his eyes toward the ceiling briefly.
I stand abruptly and slam my hands down on the table in too much excitement as a thought comes to me. “Can we ride the horses?”
“It’s snowing.”
“Pretty please.” I pout, batting my lashes and making the best puppy face in the history of puppy faces.
He stares at me for a moment, as if he can see my excitement shining through my irises.
My eyes lower, a hot flush creeping up my cheeks. I suddenly feel translucent and shy. Disappointment settles over me, bursting the bubble of hope in my chest when he says nothing.
I sit back down in my chair, picking up my pencil to finish writing the sentence as neatly as I can. My bottom lip quivers slightly, and I have to bite it hard to stop it. I hate being vulnerable to anyone, especially Danny.
Why do I want to cry?
“We can go, December,” he says after a brief eternity.
“You’re such a jerk,” I say between a relieved laugh and desperate cry, wiping at my eyes.
“Let’s go. Put your coat and gloves on.”
I shrug on my coat, then I push my hands into my black gloves. “Did I mention that I hate you today?”
“No,” he replies, zipping up his wool jacket. “You told me yesterday, though.”
“Well, I hate you. Very much.”
“I’m honored.” His tone is dry, but his eyes shimmer with amusement.
I take one of his hands as we walk to his truck. He usually shakes his hand free from mine. Danny has to remind me that holding hands isn’t a great look for us. He says people in this town will assume we’re sleeping together, and I hate that because Danny is too honorable. He asks my mother’s permission when it involves me. He asks her permission for every little act. Danny doesn’t even hug me more than two seconds before he gently pushes me away. He would never have sex with me, even if I begged.
But he doesn’t shake his hand free today.
He can’t.
It’s my birthday.
“You know, you didn’t even give me a present,” I mumble, staring down at our entwined hands. I don’t ever remember feeling this happy. How is it possible for one person to make your world spin?
He shakes his head and frowns down at me. “You have no faith in me at all, December. Open the door.”
He releases my hand, and I run to the passenger-side door. I’m filled with too much giddiness and adrenaline that I forget to breath.
I fling the door open. My pent-up breath instantly leaves me. In the seat rests a huge lavender-colored gift box topped with a big white silk bow.
“Open it,” Danny urges, playfully nudging my shoulder with his.
Breathing ruggedly, I lift the lid of the box and sift through the light purple wrapping paper. Inside are black leather boots, leather boots that I told Danny I wanted because he wore them. He told me he had his leather boots specially made for him and they cost a small fortune. I figured I would never actually get them.
I run my fingers over my inscribed name on the sides. My eyes water, and the next thing I know, my arms are wrapped around Danny’s waist and my face is buried in his chest. I release a silent sob that shakes my entire body.
“You’re welcome, little lady,” he says quietly, hugging me as if he never wants to let go.
The only response I have is to embrace him tighter, squeezing him until my arms hurt.
A few months ago, I would never be caught crying. I am a very prideful soul, and I hate feeling weak. Danny’s changing me. He’s cracking my hard shell. But I can’t afford to slip much further. I need my shell. It keeps me safe when people don’t.
Something as sure as destiny tells me that Danny isn’t going to stop chipping at my shell until he cracks it wide open.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE PRESENT
It’s the middle of the day, and I’m in the middle of my shift. I’m feeding our four chimpanzees when my cell vibrates in my pocket.
“I’ll be back to check on you guys.” Hank, Peggy, and Boomhauer (I had a thing for King of the Hill) are too busy munching on their sliced apples and bananas to notice me, but Bobby, the youngest chimp, signs I love you and waves good-bye. I’ve been teaching them sign language, and they’ve been catching on very quickly, especially Bobby.
Smiling, I sign I love you back, wave, and then exit the enclosure.
I open the door to my tiny office that was originally a storage room and sit at my desk. Frowning at Josh’s number, I answer my phone.
“Hey.”
“Hey, stranger. I’ve been calling you for days. Why have you been ignoring me?”
“It’s been weird since I kissed you.”
“No, you’ve been weird since you kissed me. December, I’m not going to give you a hard time about the kiss. We were drunk and things got heated, but I get it. Danny’s back now and you don’t want to be distracted . . . but I thought we could still be friends.”
“That hurts. It’s not even like that, Josh.”
“Really? Because it sure seems like it. As soon as he’s back, you ditch me. Can you honestly tell me that these past four years have meant nothing to you?” I can just picture his baby blue eyes turning into the color of hard sea glass.
“It meant everything to me, Josh. You know this. And I’m not ditching you because Danny’s back. I just didn’t know how to clean up this mess I made. It’s not fair to me that you discount my feelings by telling me how I feel. You do mean something to me.”
“Well, it’s not fair to me that you don’t know how to handle responsibility and you avoid confrontation, so you hide while my mind automatically goes off the deep end with thinking negative things about our relationship. We are friends, so let’s be friends.”
Flinching from his hostile tone, I lightly bang my head on my desk. “Okay,” I whisper into the phone. “You’re coming on very aggressively, Josh. I get it. I fucked up, and I
’m really sorry.”
He exhales and takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry, December. I needed to get through to you, and I figured me being a hardass was the way to go. Our friendship means so much to me. I’m not willing to let it go so easily. I will fight for it.”
“There’s no need. You have me.”
“Not yet,” he says quietly. “Can we have dinner tonight? I need to see you.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Okay. I’ll call you. Hope the rest of your day goes well.”
“Yeah. You, too.”
“See you tonight, December. Later.”
“Later.”
Disconnecting, I go over my schedule for today, which includes ordering more feed for all the animals, cleaning out pens and cages, exercising the sea lions, and helping the Wilsons with Sunflower, our pregnant Siberian tiger. Being a zookeeper is challenging, but I love my job. I love these animals.
After ordering the feed, I naturally go to the coolest thing I get to do. I knock on Mr. and Mrs. Wilson’s joined office. They own the Lazy Ville Sanctuary, and they are the primary vets and trainers here. They’re also the most awesome, most down-to-earth bosses ever. “Come on in.”
“It’s me,” I say, pushing through the door.
They both have their heads in stacks of folders. “Ah, my beautiful December,” Mrs. Wilson greets, smiling warmly.
“Sweet December,” Mr. Wilson says, glancing up from a folder. “You must be ready to see Sunflower.”
“You all know me so well,” I tease.
“Yes, we do.”
They’ve known me since I was a child. I’ve been coming to this zoo since I was six, and I told them that I would grow up to work here one day. Here I am sixteen years later. Dreams do come true.
We exchange small talk as we make our way to Sunflower’s enclosure. I’m excited while Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are calm and I bounce between them like a kid high off candy.
Sunflower is lounging in her manmade wooden hut when we arrive. She gets up and yawns, stretching from her front paws to the tip of her tail like a big kitty and then she prances down the planks to greet us all with ardent head rubs up against our legs. We’ve had her since she was a cub, but I’m still awestruck at how beautifully powerful Sunflower is. She’s solid muscle underneath a silky coat. I can never forget that Sunflower isn’t a household cat. She’s a wild huntress with eyes as old as the universe.
Mrs. Wilson gives Sunflower a command to lie down. Mr. Wilson pulls out his stethoscope from his lab coat and begins to check her vitals. I kneel next to him and talk their heads off. They both listen good-naturedly to my insanity. I tell them Danny is back and how peeved Josh is at me while Mr. Wilson tells me how to touch and what to touch on Sunflower. Mrs. Wilson rubs Sunflower’s shiny fur and tells me not to settle for anything. Mr. Wilson makes a gruff comment on how he’d hate to bring his black belt out from retirement and put it to use on both Danny and Josh. I would hate that as well, but only for Danny and Josh’s sakes. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the fittest sixty-year-olds I’ve ever known. They both have abs of steel and various degrees in kick ass.
I smile at my bosses who treat me like their daughter instead of an employee. They don’t have children, and I’ve become like their adopted daughter.
My day is getting better.
***
“What the hell happened on the fourth?”
Gray’s bright golden eyes lift to mine, and he stares at me, his expression confused. “Your birthday?”
“Yeah,” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes “But I’m referring to that night, genius. What happened?”
He takes a bite of his stuffed burrito and laughs, fried beans and rice falling out of his packed mouth. I can honestly say I wouldn’t mind leaping over the table to choke him in front of every Taco Bell customer and employee. “If you can’t remember what you did, then it’s time to put the bottle down. I don’t get why you drink so much when we go out, anyway. It’s not like you drink when you’re home.”
I shrug. “I’m a social drinker.”
He takes another big bite of his burrito and snorts. “I’ve noticed.”
“Gray.” I sigh, exasperated. “Tell me. I need you to fill in the blanks.”
“Uh-huh,” he says, his eyes following a busty brunette with Dolly Parton-sized tits up to the front counter. She glances over her shoulder and blows him a kiss from her frosted pink lips. He reaches out and catches it in his palm with forced effort and then rubs it over his heart, winking at her. Shaking my head, I pop the plastic lid off my cup and pick up an ice cube to throw at his face. The ice hits him right in the nose.
His annoyed honey-colored gaze flickers to mine. “What the hell, December. Stop cock-blocking.”
“You need to cool down, Gray,” I say through my laughter.
He runs a hand through his short, messy dark hair. All of the Oliver brothers have the same color hair. It’s a shade lighter than black and a shade darker than brown. They also have the same striking golden color in their rich eyes. It has to be from their mother because their father is a hundred percent Cherokee. From what I understand, she was a Switzerland beauty queen who ran out on them when they were just kids. They don’t ever talk about her. Like ever.
I don’t even know her name.
They won’t tell me.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll tell you what happened. We were having fun, goofing around until your sixth shot of tequila. You know how emotional you get when you’re drunk. You started to become Debbie Downer, and this tatted up sexy Latina chick with ruby-red hair and that juicy J-Lo/Beyoncé booty was giving me The Eye all night. My dick was hard, and I called Dan to come and get you. That’s all you wanted, anyway. He picked you up, and I didn’t have to babysit you. Instead, I had the best club sex with Tina. It was amazing.”
I chuck another ice cube at his face. He dodges the direct hit but manages to catch it in his mouth. “What the fuck, Gray? You’re such a jerk.”
“I’m not,” he replies earnestly, cracking the ice between his teeth. “Tell me you woke up and regretted seeing Dan next to you?”
Pouting, I fork over my Mexican pizza. “I don’t regret anything.”
“Right,” he says knowingly. “I’m sure we’re all going to be watching you walk down the aisle soon to Danny, dressed in your virginal white, as you have the right to do. If anyone has the right to wear white when they get married, it’s you, December. Then you’ll have his babies to fill his empty house. I mean, you both already have the dog. You’re getting good practice. May and Miles already have us all beat with the whole marriage and kid thing, but it’s clear you and Danny are next. It’s hard out here for a handsome bachelor—cold nights of sweaty orgasms and faceless admirations of how good I am in the sack. I’m trying to get like you guys.”
Yeah.
Except his perfect woman and only love, my oldest sister January, keeps running from him.
I don’t know why.
Sure, Gray needs work, but he’s a great catch.
He has the biggest heart, and those pure, luminous, golden eyes are breathtaking. I swear those irises have the power to read the soul when you want to put your defenses up and hide.
Gray is incredible, and he’s a million times better than Luke, her abusive on-and-off-again boyfriend.
Gray snaps his fingers in front of my face, and I jump. “Where’d you go, December?”
“I was thinking how good of a catch you are and how pretty your butterscotch-colored eyes are.”
He smiles slowly, flirtatiously batting his thick lashes. “You think my eyes are pretty?”
I feel the blush creeping up my cheeks. Damn him. Gray has always had the power to make me blush. He’s always had the power to make me uncomfortable with little to no effort. It’s because everyone in town already thinks we’re sleeping together. “I’m going out with Josh tonight,” I say, wanting to shut him up.
Gray’s brows furrow. “Is that a smart thing to do?”
“I don’t see why not. We’re friends, Gray.”
“But clearly you know where Josh stands.”
“And he knows where I stand,” I argue.
“Okay,” he says in surrender. “As long as you know what you’re doing. Hey, can you order me another burrito? I also need some gas.” He grins like a Cheshire cat. “You can fill up my tank, right?”
“You’re such a moocher.” I groan, already reaching for my debit card in my wallet of my coat pocket. “You work, so where the heck does all your money go?”
“To the Getting Laid Fund.” He sighs disappointedly, leaning back in his chair. “Women are expensive creatures.”
“Gray.” I tsk, shaking my head. “Must I teach you everything? Leave the wining and dining to the professionals. You, my stupid friend, have a face and a body that allows you to take a woman to McDonald’s. You can order her a happy meal and she’ll still be just as eager to sleep with you.”
He dumbfounded, his mouth hanging wide open. “Are you serious? You need to write a play-for-play book for guys like me, December.”
“Yeah,” I agree, nodding slightly. “I have the perfect title—Slumming it for Dummies. Now go warm up the car while I order your food.” I’m thinking maybe I should have called someone else to pick me up from work, or maybe I should have told Danny to drop me off at home first so I could drive myself to work.
It seems like I’m always stuck with an Oliver for better or worse.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE PRESENT
“Damn you,” I mutter to myself as I kick one of the front chained tires of my matte black Chevy Camaro. Danny chained Thunderbird. She’s my baby, and he’s chained her. I guess I should be thankful because we do have a lot of snow and he’s only thinking about my safety, but he could have at least asked me. Not every woman needs a man coming to her rescue. I can handle myself just fine.
December (The Oliver Brothers Book 1) Page 6
