Ryder
The highway stretches empty ahead, nothing but pine trees and early snow. My left shoulder aches with every small adjustment to the wheel. My phone glows on the passenger seat—eight missed calls, twelve texts. All asking the same question I can't answer.
But the shoulder isn't what's killing me.
Sienna's latest post has half a million likes by now. Perfect villain material. Nobody asks if any of it's true.
The town limits sign for Pine Hollow appears through the snow. Population 3,847. Three years since Martha's funeral. The worstChristmas of my life, watching Connor and Lucy shatter while their mom was lowered into frozen ground.
Three weeks in Vermont to heal and stay out of trouble. Yeah. That'll go well.
Pine Hollow is aggressively cheerful. Christmas lights strung between buildings. Fake snow on windows. Inflatable Santa on the diner. Martha would've loved it.
The thought makes my chest ache worse than my shoulder.
I turn onto Maple Street. The Wright house sits at the end---two-story colonial, black shutters, wraparound porch. Connor's truck in the driveway. The whole family here for the holidays.
I kill the engine and sit in the sudden quiet. My phone lights up again. I flip it face down.
Get through the holidays. Heal. Get back to Boston. Don't let anyone close.
The cold hits when I step out. Vermont winter, nothing like Boston. Sharper. Cleaner. Gets in your lungs and stays there. Someone's shoveled the walk. The porch steps are lined with luminarias, and the front door has a wreath the size of a truck tire.
I reach for the doorbell when I hear it. Music blasting from inside. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and someone singing along, off-key but enthusiastic.
I try the door. Unlocked. Small towns.
Warmth hits me first, then the smell. Pine and cinnamon and something baking. The entryway opens into a large living room.
That's where I see her.
Lucy Wright stands on a ladder in front of the biggest Christmas tree I've ever seen, wearing a red sweater with actual blinking lights. She's stretched up on her toes, trying to hang an ornament on the top branch. Honey-blonde hair falls in waves down her back. I can see the curve of her waist where the sweater rides up. A sliver of pale skin above her jeans.
I drop my bag. She turns at the sound. Those hazel eyes go wide. Her mouth forms a perfect O.
Then she's falling.
I move. Drop the bag, cross the room, catch her before she hits the ground. The ladder clatters sideways. She lands against my chest and knocks the air out of both of us.
Neither of us moves.
She's warm and soft in my arms. Vanilla and something so sweet it makes my teeth ache. My hands span her waist---I can feel her ribs, the racing of her heart through her sweater. Her hands grip my shoulders. Her face is inches from mine. Those hazel eyes, more green than brown in the Christmas lights, stare up at me. I can see freckles across her nose and cheeks. See her lips parted like she forgot how to breathe.
Heat floods through me, unwelcome and sharp.
This is Lucy. Connor's little sister. The kid who used to follow us around begging to play street hockey. The girl who baked me cookies when my mom died.
Except she's not a kid. She's all curves and soft skin and a mouth that makes me forget why this is a bad idea.
"Hi, Lucy," I say. My voice comes out rough.
Pink floods her cheeks. "Oh my god. Ryder. Hi. I'm so sorry. I didn't hear you come in. The music was too loud, and I was trying to get the angel on the top but she's being stubborn, and I thought I could reach if I stretched a little more but that was a terrible idea and thank you for catching me because that would've been a bad fall and---"
She's babbling. It's adorable. I set her on her feet and step back like she burned me.
"You okay?"
"Yes. Fine. Great. You're here!" She smooths down her sweater, and the lights blink at me. "Connor said you were coming today, but I didn't know what time and Emma took Maisie to the store and Connor's in his office on a call and I was trying to get the tree finished because it's December tenth and the tree should be done by now but we've all been so busy with the house renovation and---"
