“He did.”
“Where is the big guy?” My Uncle asks, pouring a generous amount of eggnog-flavored creamer into his coffee mug.
“Chopping wood,” I say. My Aunt wanders in, looking ragged.
“Where at? I want to watch.”
“Don’t say that in front of Uncle Dan,” I chastise.
“No, I want to watch too,” he mumbles. He takes a big drink of coffee while my Aunt walks over and rubs his back. “That’s a fine-looking man.” Well, learn something new about family every holiday, don’t you?
Unfortunately, they couldn’t watch him chop wood since wood was a euphemism for a human body.
“It’s his alone time.”
“Are you pregnant?” my mom asks as she comes into the kitchen. Despite being last here, she was clearly the first awake because she's all showered, make-uped, and ready to go.
Half the coffee in my mouth ends up spewing over the floor. My Aunt and Uncle leap backward, avoiding it.
“No!”
“More like not yet. Be lucky you aren’t in the room above theirs,” my Aunt says. I run to the paper towels and then get on the floor, mopping up the mess. At least it means I don’t have to look at anyone.
“How long is he chopping for? The tubing lanes open in an hour. He said it’s best to get there early.” I sigh and look at the microwave clock. I’m disappointed that I know how long it takes him to chop a body.
“Any minute now, depending.”
“Depending on what?”
How long it takes him to wrap all the body parts.I shrug at my dad. My brother tries to open the freezer, and I lunge at the fridge.
“Don’t!”
“Woah. What’s the deal? I just want ice.”
“Get it from the dispenser.” Everyone’s looking at me weirdly.
Soren pokes his head in the kitchen. I lean over and take a look at the rest of him. My eyes bug when I see he’s covered in blood.
“Honey!” I wheeze, pushing him from the kitchen. “You’re dirty; don’t get near the food,” I growl out, dragging him to the bedroom. The door closes, and I drop him.
“Soren,” I sigh.
“This is what was missing last night,” he says, looking at me with a broad smile. “I’ve come to enjoy your exasperation whilekilling.” I frown at him and then realize he’s got a black eye that’s rapidly getting darker. My eyes bug.
“Did he hurt you?” I ask. He looks taken aback by the question.
“It was a pretty hands-on fight.” He lifts his shirt to reveal perfectly sculpted abs decorated with bruises. “Want to kiss it better?”
“Fuck you,” I mumble, turning away. He drops his shirt and chuckles.
“I’ll be out soon. We’ll tell them I went in on call last night and got the shiner on the mountain.”
“Fine,” I sigh. He leans forward and presses a kiss to my nose. I jerk back in shock. “Let me shower so I can get out there and convince everyone how much I love you.” I’m looking at him with bugging eyes.
“You need to work on your reaction,” he says
“Yeah, I guess so,” I say, still a little shell-shocked by the casual affection. He steps closer and dips his mouth to my ear. I feel the brush of his fingers move up my neck.
