A little Christmas tree emoji popped up under the last message as Jake finished reading, and he grinned and tapped on the screen to add Rye to his contacts and send a reply.
“Oooh, who texted you? I saw that look!” Krista’s voice was playful, but Jake looked up at her and rolled his eyes.
“I don’t have a look,” he retorted. “But if you reallyneedto know—”
“I do!”
Jake groaned and shook his head. “You’re so nosy, sis.”
“Just because I love you, little brother. Really, who is it?”
Jake huffed a laugh but then answered Krista as he started typing Rye a response. “It’s Rye. He got a cell phone for Christmas, and he texted me to give me his number. That’s all.”
“Mm-hmm. That’s all. Yep.”
He sighed inwardly but ignored her teasing and the little uptick of his heart rate as he swiped his finger across the screen.
Jake (9:07 a.m.):Ah, that’s great! I’ve got your number now :)
Jake (9:07 a.m.):Merry Christmas! Are you having a good morning so far?
He knew he should stuff his phone back in his pocket and see if his sister needed help with whatever she was cooking. That would be the prudent thing to do. But instead, he found himself staring at the phone, eagerly waiting for Rye’s response. It didn’t take long, another short message popping up on his screen not more than a moment later.
And Jake could feel his sister’s “I told you so” brewing as his grin widened. But he ignored her again.
Rye (9:08 a.m.):Yes! I cooked Mom breakfast and we’re going to Uncle Jon’s this afternoon
Jake (9:09 a.m.):Perfect :) It’s been a good morning here too. Kris is cooking, and Phil is reading a book. I’m being a bit lazy and not doing much ;)
He didn’t get an immediate response, and he could still feel his sister staring at him. When he chanced a look up, her eyes were sparkling with amusement.
“Leave it, Kris.”
“I said nothing.”
“You didn’t have to.”
She lifted both hands as though to surrender and then lowered them again and grinned. “Mind helping me chop veggies for the soup, since you’re definitely not too distracted by texting your friend or anything?”
With a dramatic sigh, Jake nodded. He slipped his phone back into his pocket, moved to the sink to wash his hands, and then joined his sister at the counter and began chopping. Onions, garlic, red and green peppers, and celery. And as he chopped and minced, she added the veggies and some spices to a large pot sitting on the stove while she chatted away, talking mostly about work things.
Jake half listened, too aware of the silence of his phone in his pocket. Finally, just as he’d finished chopping the last of the veggies Krista had given him, the phone buzzed again. Just once.
Quickly, he washed his hands and then pulled his phone out.
Rye (9:20 a.m.):I have a gift for you
His breath caught in his throat, and he wasn’t even going to think about what his heart was doing. Stupid heart.
“God, Jake, you’re totally blushing.”
“I am not. Stop making things up.”
The words came out automatically, even though he knew they weren’t true. He could definitely feel the heat spreading across his cheeks and climbing up the back of his neck. But he wasn’t going to tell her that.
“What did he say?”
He wanted to shoot back “How do you even know it’s Rye?,” but that seemed like the wrong thing to say, becauseof courseshe knew. So he just shook his head and typed another message back.
