I handed him one of his gifts and he handed me one of mine. We argued about who went first and then we ripped into them at the same time. I pulled out a dress shirt like the one he destroyed the day of Georgia’s funeral. He opened a box set of theLethal Weaponmovies he adored. Next I opened a purple hippopotamus because I loved to sing that song as loud as I could just to irritate him.
“There,” he said triumphantly, “you received a hippo for Christmas so you can stop singing about it.” That didn’t stop me from humming the melody of the song for a few seconds.
Gabe’s funny gift from me was a coffee cup with a giant rooster on it that said:I got a big cock!I thought it went well with his collection and his laughter told me he agreed. “I’m going to use this one at work,” he proclaimed, causing me to groan.
Gabe looked nervous when he handed me my final gift, which made me feel a little better because I felt the same about the one last gift he had yet to unwrap. “I hope you like it,” he said.
“I’m sure I will.” I unwrapped the gift and sat staring at it for a second. He gave me the movieMeet the Parents.It wasn’t wrapped in cellophane so it had been previously opened. It was a great movie, but I didn’t understand why he was nervous. Unless… I looked up at him and found him grinning at me.
“Open it.”
I inhaled sharply when I saw that two airline tickets to Miami were inside. “Chaz has always wanted to go to Miami,” I said, using humor to cover the overwhelming joy I felt in my heart. As if I’d use the extra ticket for Chaz. Gabe was taking me home to meet his parents, and by doing so, he showed me how much I meant to him.
“Ha ha,” Gabe replied. “I figured February would be enough notice to plan time away.”
“It’s the most perfect gift.” Then I thanked him with a kiss. “I’m worried my gift is a letdown after yours.”
“Not a chance.” Gabe ripped the paper off excitedly before opening the small box. He slipped his hand beneath the medallion hanging from a leather cord so that it sat in his palm. “Saint Michael, the patron saint of police officers.” He looked up and his eyes were soft with affection when they locked on mine.
“For the next time you piss off a seventy-year-old woman.” Again with the humor.
“I love this, Josh.” He accepted my smartass remarks for what they were and moved on. “It’s beautiful and I’ll wear it every day.” He gave me a crooked grin. “I never know when those seventy-year-old women will strike.” It was his turn to show me with lips and tongue how much he liked my gift.
Our presents were soon forgotten, just as I knew they would be, and our clothes went flying. I had never once in my life thought about making love next to a Christmas tree, but it was beyond romantic. So much so, that I didn’t realize I had thought about our sexy time as making love until I was lying beside him as he slept in my bed. I started to panic at first, but then I pushed it aside. The guys who had hurt me in the past and made me feel unworthy of love were not Gabe. How we met no longer mattered to me, only our future did.
I wanted to think that our future, like the Christmas season, looked merry and bright.
One month later…
MY PHONE RINGING BROUGHTme out of a deep sleep. I had to untangle myself from Josh in order to roll over and pick it up from the night table. I squinted sleepily at the display, which said it was an unknown caller.
“Detective Wyatt,” I said into the phone.
“Sorry to wake you, Detective,” said a voice I vaguely recognized. “This is Sheriff Arless Tucker with the Carter County police department.”
I sat up straight, going on high alert. I knew that the sheriff of our county wasn’t calling me in the middle of the night for good reasons. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?”
“I’m at the scene of what appears to be a murder on highway 22 and I was hoping to get your assistance,” Sheriff Tucker said.
I was confused about why he’d be calling me because our jurisdiction didn’t extend out to the county highways. “Sure, Sheriff Tucker, but can I ask why you’re calling me?”
“The victim has been run off the road and then shot in the head.” Again, I wasn’t sure where I came into play in any of it. “There was no ID on the victim, but we did find your business card in his wallet. Can you come down and ID the body?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” A sick feeling came over me as I realized who the victim most likely was.
To be continued…
