“You weren’t exactly quiet about it,” I muttered.
“Don’t even tell me,” Jessica said, giving him a dirty look. “You seriously had sex in the hospital? That’s why you were late?”
“Sorry. It took longer than I thought,” he replied with a sheepish grin. “And it wasn’t planned.”
I had a few things to say about that when my phone began to ring. I checked and saw that it was Tank.
“Hey, what’s up?” I said into the phone.
“There’s been a change in plans,” he said, sounding annoyed. “With the weather conditions getting worse, a Snow Emergency has been issued for the entire damn city. So, we’re going to have to cancel our ‘Meet Santa’ fundraiser, dammit.”
“Shit. That’s too bad.”
“Yeah. Since you’re already dressed up and have nothing else planned, I’m wondering if you’d be up for something else.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“They’re having a holiday sleepover party at the Church of St. Mathew for their students. Raina was telling me about it. Anyway, they were supposed to have Santa Claus show up, but theirs’ is stuck in Minnesota and can’t make it now. You up for it?”
“That’s the church by Eagle Lake, right?” It was about forty-five miles north of where we were.
“Yeah.”
“Sure. Why not,” I replied. “They were expecting Santa and shouldn’t be disappointed.”
“Man, I’m really fucking proud of you, Dodger,” he said, smiling into the phone. “You know that?”
“Thanks, brother,” I said, smiling. Hearing him say that felt really good.
“By the way, how did it go at the hospital?”
I told him about it, leaving out the part about Cleaner having sex with Chloe. I knew.
“Sad, huh?”
“Very. I have a new respect for Jessica.”
“And Chloe. They both work in that unit.”
My respect for Chloe wasn’t the same anymore, but knowing what she dealt with on a daily basis was probably enough to make anyone make bad decisions. “Yeah.”
“Why don’t you see if Cleaner wants to go out there with you?”
I glanced over at him. He was laughing and joking around with Chloe and Jessica.
“Actually, I think I’d prefer to go alone.” The last thing I’d need was to hear him gloat about fucking Chloe. He’d probably tell me every dirty, sordid detail and by the time we made it to the church, I’d be the one who needed to be cleansed. For killing him.
“Why?”
I made something up. “If the roads are bad, the fewer people driving on them, the better.” It was a lame excuse, but it’s all I had.
“I suppose. Did he ever pick up Chloe?”
“Yeah. By the way, Brock and the others never showed up.”
“Oh, shit. I forgot to tell you they’ve been helping people get their cars out of ditches all day. Sorry, I should have called.”
“It’s no problem. When am I supposed to be at the church?”
“Any time after six. Try to be there before eight-thirty, if you can. Some of the kids will be sleeping by nine, I’m sure.”
That meant I had time to grab a bite to eat beforehand.
“Sounds good.”
“Thanks, Brother,” Tank said. “Call me later and tell me how it goes.”
“Do I need to bring anything?”
“Yeah, actually, pick up some more candy or something. I’ll pay you back later. Santa should probably not show up empty-handed.”
“Will do.”
“By the way, obviously, the party I wanted to throw for you guys is cancelled too.”
“It’s no problem.”
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to. Really.”
“You know that’s not how I roll. I’m going to show my appreciation.”
“Whatever you want. I’m not going to demand anything though. That’s not how I roll.”
He laughed. “I know. I gotta go. Drive safely.”
“Will do.”
I put my phone away and told them about the fundraiser being cancelled.
“That’s too bad,” Jessica said, frowning. “I know how important it was to Tank. Hopefully, they can figure out another way to raise money. They invested so much in this already, though.”
“I know,” I replied.
“It might be shitty outside but it’s Friday night. Anyone else want to join me now?”
“I’m working and obviously, I wouldn’t anyway,” Jessica said, smirking.
He cringed. “Ouch. Dodger?”
I told him about going to the church.
Cleaner chuckled. “Sucks to be you, Santa. It’s going to take you hours to get out there if the weather is as bad as they say. Chloe?”
She shook her head. “No. I should get home and finish unpacking.”
“Screw you all,” he joked. “Party poopers.”
Jessica looked at her watch. “I gotta get back to work. Thanks again, you guys. Be careful driving.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Say ‘Hi’ to Jordan for me.”
“You’re still coming over for Christmas, right?” Jessica asked.
“Yeah. Definitely,” I replied. “You want me to wear the Santa suit?”
“No, the kids will definitely recognize you, Uncle Graham,” she replied with a wink. “They adore you, by the way.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I replied with a smile.
“Now we just need to find you a good woman,” Jessica said. “So we can expand the family even more.”
“You’d have better luck finding two identical snowflakes in the blizzard outside,” I said, walking way.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I need coffee,” I said, looking over my shoulder. Glancing at Chloe, I noticed that she didn’t look happy. Why? I had no idea. She sounded pretty fucking thrilled a couple of hours ago in the supply room.
Chapter 32
Chloe
AFTER GRABBING MY purse, and the elf costume from my locker, Graham, Anthony, and I rode the elevator down together. Nobody said anything. Anthony typed on his phone, texting everyone he knew about getting together. Graham just stood there, sulking for whatever reason.
Anthony groaned. “Oh, shit,” he said reading one of his texts. “My sister’s in a fucking ditch and needs my help.”
“Oh, no,” I said, feeling bad for her the both of them. “The roads must really be getting bad out there.”
“Yeah.” He looked at Graham. “I hate to ask, but can you bring Chloe home? I’d do it but obviously, I’m going to be busy for the next hour or so. She has my nephew in the car, so I can’t wait.”
Graham nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about it.
“Thanks, brother,” Anthony said as the elevator doors opened. “I owe you.”
“Yep,” Graham replied.
“See you, Chloe.” Anthony gave me a quick hug. “Good luck with him,” he whispered into my ear.
I snorted. I’d need more than that.
Anthony took off, leaving Graham and I alone together. I decided to try and make polite conversation, so it wouldn’t be so awkward.
“So, where did you say you were going? A church?”
“Yeah.”
“Which one?” I asked as we headed toward the doorway leading out to the parking lot.
“Church Of St. Mathew.”
“Oh. Where is that?”
He told me.
“Wow. That is a long drive.”
“Yep.”
“You know, I could come with you and help out. I have my elf costume,” I said, raising the plastic bag.
“I don’t need any help.”
“Obviously,” I replied dryly and then sighed. “I just think it would be more fun for the kids if there’s both an elf and Santa Claus.”
He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Fine. If you really want to come, you can. But, I’m warning
you now, it’s going to be a long drive and I don’t know when I’m going to be able to get you back home,” he said in a brisk tone.
“That’s okay. I still have tomorrow off,” I answered, wondering why I was willing to subject myself to such a crab ass.
For the kids, I thought. And Christmas.
And, as ornery as he was, I hoped that he might come around. Obviously, something was bothering him and not knowing what it was, was also bothering me.
“Should we grab a bite to eat first?”
“I was already planning on it,” he said.
“Oh, good. I’m hungry, too. Where should we eat? I’ll buy.”
“You don’t have to buy,” he muttered..
“I want, too. Where should we eat? A steak joint? Pasta place? Hell, I’d even go for pizza,” I said, my stomach growling at the thought.
He gave me a strange look.
“What?”
“Built up an appetite, did you?”
“Hell, yeah. I haven’t eaten since this morning.”
He didn’t reply.
When we got to the big glass doors, Graham whistled. “Wow, it really is coming down, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I replied staring outside. It looked like we’d gotten a foot of snow already and it was still coming down strong.
“I think we should just grab something quickly. I have a feeling it’s going to be a longer drive than we think,” he said, pulling his keys out of his pocket.
“Sounds good. Panera?” Hot soup sure sounded good at the moment.
“Sure.”
I followed him out into the blustery snow, keeping my head down as we walked through the parking lot. When we finally made it to his SUV, which was completely covered in white, he told me to get in and then proceeded to try and brush off as much snow as he could. Unfortunately, it was coming down so much that by the time he jumped back inside, the windows were covered again.
“Burr.” He took off the cap, hair, and beard, and tossed the items into the back seat. The he began unbuttoning the Santa jacket. “This thing is wet,” he said, pulling it off, along with the pillow he had strapped to his waist. “Good thing I put a T-shirt on underneath.”
I stared at his biceps for a few seconds, remembering how he’d held me in his arms. Those, sexy, muscular arms.
Damn him for being such a gloomy son-of-a-bitch.
He turned and caught me staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said, looking away.
“You sure you don’t want to go home?”
“No. I’m good.”
He let out a weary sigh. “Okay. Just remember… I warned you.”
Chapter 33
Graham
I TURNED ON the radio, wishing I’d stuck to my guns and said ‘no’ about her going to the church with me. But, she was persistent and for whatever reason, really wanted to go. It surprised me considering I’d been so short with her.
Maybe she wanted to have a go with me, now?
I hoped not. I was the last person who’d want sloppy seconds. As attracted as I’d been to her- hell, I still was - just the thought of Cleaner putting his dick in her made me ill.
“What do you want from Panera?” I asked when we finally pulled up to the drive-through. What should have taken us five minutes, took almost twenty because of the snow and stupid drivers.
Chloe told me which soup she wanted and also asked for a warm cup of cappuccino. I ordered the same thing, along with a sandwich. After we received our food, I parked in the lot and we ate in silence. Fortunately, she must have gotten the hint that I wasn’t in the mood for conversation.
When we were finished, I ran the empty containers up to the trash bin and then we were on our way.
“So, how did the nursing home thing go last night?” she asked when we finally made it to the freeway.
“Good.”
“Did Tank mention if he was going to try and reschedule the ‘Meet Santa’ benefit?”
“I doubt there’s time for that.”
“We could make more fliers and maybe set it up outside somewhere? In the park, where we were yesterday even.”
“It wouldn’t work,” I said flatly.
“It could,” she argued. “If your club really wanted it to.”
“Talk to Tank about it. See what he says.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine.”
I turned up the radio and we drove in silence for quite some time, going about twenty miles an hour. Traffic was jammed up and there were a lot of vehicles in ditches. Soon, we were barely going five miles an hour and it frustrated me so much, that I decided to get off on the next exit and try a different way.
“Why are we getting off here?” she asked, confused. “I thought it was much farther north.”
“It is. I’m going to try and take the frontage roads.”
“Won’t that be even more slippery and dangerous?”
“Don’t worry. My tires are new and have great traction. We’ll be fine,” I said, just as we hit an icy patch of snow and we began to slide.
Chloe gasped and held onto the seat as if for dear life.
“Relax.” I pressed the gas pedal and regained control of the vehicle. “See, you just got to know what you’re doing. Unlike a lot of other dumb asses,” I said, watching another vehicle behind me spin out. Fortunately, they stayed on the road and didn’t hit anyone.
“I still think this is a mistake,” she mumbled as we turned onto the frontage road.
“You didn’t have to come. In fact, I told you not to in the very beginning,” I said tightly.
“Why are you always so angry?” Chloe asked, glaring at me.
“I’m not always angry. Some people just bring it out in me.”
“Who? Me? What in the hell did I ever do to you?”
Look at me with those big, beautiful fucking eyes, I wanted to say. Too bad they were the same ones that had seen Cleaner’s junk a few hours ago.
“Nothing,” I muttered.
I was tired of arguing and deep down, knew I was over-reacting. So, she fucked another guy? We barely knew each other. Still, I’d wanted her to be different.
“Really? Because you’re not acting like it. Or maybe you’re just rude to everyone and I haven’t been around you enough to notice.”
“I’m not rude to everyone.”
“Then why me?”
I clenched my teeth together, not wanting to admit to her that I was jealous. It was hard enough to admit to myself.
“You’re a real peach,” she muttered, looking out her side window. “And you’re right. I shouldn’t have taken this trip with you. I just thought… I don’t know what I thought, actually.”
Instead of replying, I changed the radio station and turned up a song that I liked. We continued on the frontage road and then got onto another. As we drove, I glanced over and noticed that Chloe had drifted off.
Thank God.
After a few more miles, the frontage road ended and I was faced with going west or east.
“Where are we?” she asked drowsily, opening her eyes and sitting up.
“Almost there,” I said, taking a right, hoping that we were heading back toward the highway. I didn’t recognize the name of the street we were currently on, but I didn’t get out that way very often. Hell, I’d only been to the church once.
Her eyebrows knitted together. “Almost? As in a couple more miles?”
“Not sure,” I admitted.
“Maybe you should check Google Maps,” she suggested.
Sighing, I took out my cell and was about to do just that when Chloe yelled at me about driving while using my phone.
“Relax. I do it all the time.”
“I’m sure, but the roads are slipperier than hell,” Chloe snapped. “I’d like to live to see Christmas.”
“Fine. You check it for me,” I said, typing in my passcode before handing my phone to her.
“I don’t know if you noticed, but you’re phone i
s almost dead,” she said, swiping the screen to find the internet browser.
“Then hurry up.”
She gave an exasperated sigh. “Oh, crap. There it goes. It’s totally dead now. Do you have a charger in here?”
“I should. Check the glove compartment.”
She opened it up and began digging around. “I don’t see one.”
Remembering that I’d taken it out, I groaned and told her.
She closed the glove box. “Now what?”
“Where’s your phone?” I asked.
“I forgot it at home.”
I sighed. “Great.”
“Why don’t we stop at the next gas station and ask for directions?”
“I guess we’ll have to.”
Chapter 34
Chloe
IT WAS ANOTHER twenty minutes before were able to get to a gas station. Thankfully, we learned from one of the attendants that we weren’t too far from the church.
“And you doubted me,” Graham said, as we started driving again.
“I never doubted your ability to find the church. I just doubted your driving skills,” I admitted.
“Ha. Funny,” he said dryly.
I looked at him. “Do you see me laughing?”
WHEN WE FINALLY reached the church, it was almost seven o’clock. Most of the lights were off and there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot, and they were almost buried in snow.
“This doesn’t look good,” Graham said, frowning. “Wait here. I’m going to see what’s going on.” He reached into the back, grabbing the Santa jacket, hat, and hair pieces again. “I’d better put on everything, in case one of the kids see me.”
“Good idea.”
He quickly got dressed and then left me in the truck. A few minutes later, he returned, looking even more aggravated.
“What’s wrong now?”
“They canceled the over-night,” he grumbled, slamming the door shut. “We wasted a trip out here.”
“Damn. I wonder if Tank tried calling you?”
“I have no idea, obviously. My phone is dead.” Graham ripped off the hat and hair pieces. “I seriously need a fucking drink after all of this.”
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