“No. No, no. This is nuts. We can’t pretend nothing’s going on. I mean, I can’t. Clearly I don’t have that same skill you’ve got.” You can’t mistake the animosity in my voice.
There’s a beat of silence.
“I don’t want you fretting about this,” he says firmly. “I’ll figure it out. I’m about to call a specialized cleaning crew to come make sure there’s no trace of anything downstairs. Nothing I can do for the next couple hours, so I’m comin’ home while that’s bein’ done. Let’s do our tree today like we planned, and we’ll tackle the shit with Iadanza from there.”
“But Killian… what if he says something and they come and arrest you right in front of my family?”
“Then I’ll know at least that you’ve got your folks there. That you won’t be by yourself if that happens.”
There’s a lump lodged in the center of my throat. I hold onto my phone, closing my eyes.
“This is my fault,” he says, voice low. “And I’m gonna fix it. I’ve already got a plan in motion so please believe that. Stress is not good for you or the baby. Let me worry about this. You just worry about staying calm and growing our child.”
“A plan? What plan?”
“What did I just say?” he asks.
I growl. “If you think you can sweep stuff under the rug and I’ll just wave my arms and say, whatever, you don’t know me at all, Killian Coulter.”
“Listen to me, Violet Coulter,” he says, and it sounds like there’s humor in his voice. “I’ve always got a contingency plan ready to go. It’s how my brain works. Let me wrap up here and I’ll be home soon. Order food. Thai? Chinese? Whatever. And stop worrying.”
“I don’t think this is your best idea.”
“I’ve had a few less than stellar ideas lately. I know this. But the distraction will be good and we need to get that tree decorated, right? Tell ‘em about the baby. Make it a happy day and get your mind off the shit. Plus then they’ll leave early knowing you’re pregnant and need your rest.”
“I mean…”
“Because I’m gonna be home soon but I haven’t slept so I’ll probably fade soon after I get home. Okay? C’mon.”
“Okay,” I sigh. “But I can’t help but freak out.”
“Try to trust me. I know it’s hard. But can you try?”
“Ugh.”
“Good girl. See you soon. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” I whisper.
My hands shake as I hang up.
A minute later, there’s a knock on my bedroom door.
Will is there when I open it.
“Oh hey. Sorry to desert you out there,” I say. “Killian is on his way.”
“Not a problem,” he smiles wide. “And yeah, I’m headin’ out. Kill just messaged and told me it’s cool to leave, so, I’m gonna hit the gym.”
“Do you want to come back after your workout? We’re gonna order food in and decorate the tree. Things are kooky with this thing Killian has going on, so I could use some extra distractions, too.” My family will interrogate me less if there’s someone here they don’t know.
“Yeah. Sure.” He smiles big.
“Great. Come back whenever.”
“I’ll skip my workout. Stay here and help you with your folks.”
I breathe out relief. “Thank you, but you can work out downstairs if you need. Then you still get your workout in, and we’ll have dinner when you get back. I’ll get you the key if you want?’
“Works for me.”
“Thanks again for hanging out with me.”
“Not a problem; that’s what family is for.” He gives me a quick hug.
After I see him to the door, I see my family are all out on the balcony, checking out the view.
Having everyone over feels like a bad idea. A really bad idea. But the alternative, being stuck in my head for the next hour or two until Killian gets here? Probably even worse.
Twenty minutes later, I’ve given the tour of the apartment and we’re having coffee (They are. I’m drinking water) and the baked gingerbread cookies are disappearing fast, which has me thinking I need to bake some more.
My grandfather opens the first box marked Christmas to show me some decorations that have been in our family all my life.
“Your grandmother would’ve wanted you to have these.”
Her ceramic light-up Christmas tree that was always on the mantle, the quilted tree skirt she always had under her tree wrapped around it. The second box has the three pretty snow globes that I always got excited about as a little girl.
“This box even smells like her Nivea cream.” I burst into tears after leaning in to take a whiff of the tissue paper the first snow globe is wrapped in.
“Aw, shit. I didn’t bring this stuff to get you bawlin’,” Grampa teases.
Me crying makes my mom cry. This makes Cody make a joke (but his eyes are a little bright too), and though Dad rolls his eyes at us, he’s got a big smile on his face.