Page 18 of Mistletoe Mischief

“This isn’t even a quarter of what I needed,” Alia grunted, lifting the second suitcase out and setting it on the ground with a clack. “That’s coming from Amazon tomorrow.”

“Oh lord,” Ryler laughed, stopping at the top of the stairs with her two bags and looking down on her cousin. “You’re about to lose a bag.”

Alia squealed as she chased after her smallest rolling suitcase with the wobbling gait of a woman in stiletto boots. The blush-pink hard-sided case had started to take off down the driveway and she managed to catch it when it hit a rock and toppled onto its side, the sound of plastic scraping across the asphalt.

“Oh no!” Alia lifted the case, running her hands over it like an injured child. “She’s all scratched up.”

Ryler rolled her eyes and continued to climb the stairs, ignoring her cousin’s vocal exertion behind her for as long as possible before she stopped to check on her.

Alia’s face was ruddy, and her forehead and nose glistened with the sweat of exertion. Suddenly, she stopped halfway up the stairs and bent over the largest bag as she glared up at Ryler, her arm gripping the handle of the second bag behind her. Her third, injured suitcase had been abandoned at the bottom of the stairs.

“You could”—Alia wheezed, her words high and tight between gulps of air—“help, you know.”

“Oh, absolutely not. This is your burden, as I told you multiple pea coats were ineffective and absurd.”

Alia launched the suitcase behind her onto the step next to her, panting. “You’ll be singing a different tune when they pop in the dreary, snowy pics Kit is going to take!”

Ryler rolled her eyes. “You would have been better off with one puffer jacket.”

“I’m not looking like a fluffy marshmallow!”

“Narcissist!” Ryler teased.

“I just care about my image, which is also your image!”

“Please, you’d look beautiful wearing a dress of dead fish.”

“Ew, why would you even use that example?”

Ryler shrugged. “I could have said ‘wearing a boa constrictor.’”

Alia shivered. “I’ll take the fish.”

Her cousin hefted her bags and grunted the rest of the way up the stairs, making Ryler giggle. Although the clothes changed, packing a suitcase was almost muscle memory for her. Seven pairs of underwear and socks. Several bras and a set of workout clothes. Jeans and tees, a few hoodies, and sweaters. A simple black dress, just in case.

Ryler smiled, remembering her mother dressing for date nights with her dad. She’d never worn jeans, always donning a dress and heels. Ryler would stand behind her, watching her put on her makeup in the vanity mirror. Once, she smiled and said that dressing up made her feel special, which added to the magic of being with her husband.

If Ryler’s aunt hadn’t gotten her into therapy right away or if Alia hadn’t been waiting for her, needing her, maybe her parents’ death would have affected her differently. Although she’d been devastated and missed them every day, she’d been lucky to have had them and equally blessed to have ended up somewhere safe when they were gone.

They hauled their bags up through the front door, and Ryler put in the code, popping open the lockbox to retrieve the two keys inside. Once she unlocked the door and pushed it open, Ryler released a happy sigh as she took in the wooden beams and high ceilings.

“It’s perfect.”

“Great, can I get by you?” Alia slid her bag into the house with a deep breath, and Ryler stepped aside so she could bring the other over the threshold.

“You good?” Ryler smirked. “You’re breathing kind of hard.”

“I’m fine,” Alia wheezed, straightening up. “Want to help me carry my other two bags up the stairs?”

“Um, no.”

“That’s rude,” Alia muttered.

Ryler threw her arm around her cousin and gave her a smacking kiss on her cheek. “But I will ’cause I love you.”

They finished bringing in the luggage and located their rooms on the second floor. Ryler had been about to place an online grocery order, but it wouldn’t be there until Saturday, so she’d scrapped it with the plan of doing her grocery shopping in person.

“I’m going to head to the store and grab a few things,” Ryler said.