Logan took out his phone and sent a quick text. “He says he went out for a stroll and he’ll be back in a minute.”
Sunny looked at her watch. “Should we wait?”
“Where are Kane and Caroline?” I asked. “Aren’t they coming?”
Sunny wiped the corners of her mouth after biting into a biscuit. “They’re snowbound. Lucky for us, Novis hired someone to plow a trail all the way here. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I saw the news this morning. Kane doesn’t want to risk it since they have so many overpasses on the way here. He tried to get the car out of the garage, but the city hasn’t sent anyone out to their side of town, so it looks like a winter wonderland.”
“We’ll do an Internet chat later,” I suggested. “Logan’s laptop has a nice built-in video camera. It’ll be like they’re here.”
“That would be great! I invited them over for New Year’s, so they’re going to stay with us for a few days.”
“Ho, ho, ho,” Simon boomed.
Everyone turned their heads. Simon strutted in, his leathers wet, his cheeks and hands bright red, his hair damp, and a pair of pink-and-black-striped socks on his feet. He tossed his boots aside and crossed the room to join us.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
Page shot out of her seat when she caught sight of Ella. “Are you all right?”
Ella’s pale face was mottled with red marks on her cheeks, and her leggings looked wet. Tangled pieces of red hair hung askew, and her black eyeliner had smudged.
“Ella decided to join the party,” Simon announced. “We ran into a little snag.” When he squatted near Levi and unzipped his coat, something jumped out.
“A puppy!” the children squealed in unison. Three excited children crawled toward him, their giggles confusing the puppy, which began barking and turning in circles.
Simon rolled onto his back and collapsed, his arms and legs spread wide. “If anyone is in the spirit of giving, feel free to get naked and smother me with your body.”
Levi chuckled and stood up. “I’ll go make you two a cup of coffee with a little Irish cream.”
Ella sat by the fire, her knees drawn up and arms wrapped around them.
Justus watched her shivering and shared a private look with Page, who nodded and stepped back. Justus then sat beside Ella and put his arm around her. She recoiled at first, warily looking up at Page.
But I knew better.
Justus wasn’t hitting on Ella or giving her a friendly hug; he was turning on his internal thermostat and cranking it on high heat. Sitting near Justus was like snuggling up with a hot blanket that just came out of the dryer.
Ella leaned into him and withered like a flower in the hot sun.
“I’m next,” Simon murmured.
“You can freeze,” Justus retorted. “What were you thinking?”
Ella leaned away and looked up at Justus. She must have felt his chest vibrating and wanted to know what he was saying.
Simon rolled on his left side and propped himself up on his elbow. “Would you rather I left her to freeze in the back of a taxi cab?”
“Where was the driver?”
“He took off,” Ella said, following their conversation. “He called someone and then told me he’d be back.”
Justus clenched his jaw. “I bet that pathetic little worm lived nearby and went home. What was the cab number?”
“Justus,” Page said, her tone a warning. “Let’s open presents before we organize a manhunt.”
Chapter 12
Justus
