Kaden shrugged. Clearly, her attitude hadn’t bothered him.
Uncle Chuck reached over and patted Kaden on the shoulder. “I went to school with a kid who could control water. It was cool. Actually, he used to create an above-ground pool when we were kids. You could swim into the side of it and back out. I wonder what happened to him?”
Mom and Aunt Teresa came back, and from how flushed Teresa was, I assumed Mom had laid down the law. I almost laughed since I’d been on the receiving end of that tongue-lashing many times, and I knew how it stung. I almost felt sorry for Aunt Teresa.
All talk of powers ceased, and we were back to just enjoying one another. Uncle Chuck talked about their new summer property in the mountains near Granby.
“They have the most beautiful lake up there. It’s just so scenic,” Aunt Teresa interrupted Uncle Chuck.
“Maybe we can come visit,” Mom said, and her sister nodded. It would’ve been fun to give Aunt Teresa a heart attack and suggest maybe Kyle, Kaylee, Kaden, and I could visit too, but I knew better than to put fuel on a fire Mom had barely put out.
Luckily, Aunt Teresa and Uncle Chuck left earlier than usual. That meant it was just Mom, Pete, Kaden, and me.
We gathered around the coffee table in the living room, Kaden and me on the floor and Mom and Pete on the couch. We played cards like we always did on the holidays.
Kaden didn’t know how to play, so we taught himSkip-BoandUNO, which were both easy to learn. He ended up cleaning up onSkip-Bo.
“You’re a freaking card shark,” Pete said after Kaden won the third game.
“Beginner’s luck,” I said, and Kaden smiled. He’d been really quiet all day. I figured he must be overwhelmed by my insane family, Aunt Teresa being an ass, and Uncle Chuck clueless. But just like earlier in the kitchen, when Mom was teaching him how to cook, he seemed happy. That was all I could wish for.
I looked forward to cuddling later when I could get the full story from him. He was always quiet and reserved, but usually when we were alone, if I prodded him a little, he’d share what was on his mind.
I loved that about us, like we had something special together. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I liked being Kaden’s confidant. Of course, I also enjoyed being his best friend and lover.
Chapter twenty-six
Kaden
ChristmaswithLysander’sfamilywas like you’d see on television. Even the snarky aunt seemed to be playing some sort of role. Mostly I watched as the family interacted. It was so utterly foreign to me that it was hard to imagine it was real.
I kept waiting for some director in the background to yell cut. When Lysander’s Aunt Teresa asked me what kind of magic I did, I almost spat out the water I’d just taken a sip of. She meant it to be a slur. Of course, it didn’t bother me in the least. Why would it? She was angry because someone had something she didn’t. Jealousy was an emotion I understood incredibly well.
I spent most of my childhood jealous of other people. Jealous of the kids in school, when I finally got to school, for having families to go home to. Jealous of people on television who seemed to have something I never did. Jealous of kids my age that hadn’t been used for sex.
Maybe I knew Aunt Teresa better than she knew herself. It was only when she was able to boast about something she had that her sister didn’t that she was happy—the lake house in the mountains. I wondered if she even liked it, or whether it was just something she had that she could brag about.
“You want some more hot cocoa?” Lysander asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“No, I’m so full. I don’t know if I’ve ever been this full before.”
Lysander chuckled. “Wait till next year when you come for Thanksgiving. That whole holiday is about stuffing yourself, then stuffing yourself again.”
“What did we do tonight?” I asked, ignoring the obvious allusion to there being a next year for us.
“Tonight was about opening presents. Did you really like yours?” he asked me for the third time.
I reached over, kissed him, and showed him the pendant I was wearing. There were four stones representing the four elements. I could tell he’d spent a lot of time looking for it. I hadn’t owned jewelry before, but the moment I put it on, I knew I’d never take it off.
“It’s amazing, Lysander. I’m sorry I didn’t get you something better.”
“Shut up, seriously?” he fussed at me again.
I’d found a vein of silver running through quartz while practicing with the Earth Elementals. I didn’t dare use my powers to shape it, but I asked Dennis, the de facto head of the Earth Elementals to do it for me. He was able to make a replica of Lysander’s head, and the silver vein looked as if it was a crown.
It was probably hokey, but when I’d seen the rock, I’d thought of him. So, it seemed appropriate that I use that as his gift.
“I’m King Lysander!” he’d said when he opened the present.
