Rebel Without A Claus

In the cold, dark snow.

Poor thing.

Not.

I stomped through the snow, retrieved the boxes with Erin’s finest in, and took them inside. It was a billion degrees warmer in the house, but that didn’t stop me shivering when I entered.

Good God, it was freezing out there.

Nicholas was still in the living room, but he was now sitting on the sofa, staring at his phone. The fridge door opened and closed, so I carried the cakes into the kitchen where Mom was slicing a pie in a foil tray.

“Mom? Do you have a second?”

“Hm? Oh, Quinn. What is it?” She put down the knife and looked at me. Her gaze dropped to the boxes in my hand. “That was a quick trip.”

“No, I got them yesterday, but I got in late so forgot about them.” I put them down and peeked into the top one. It was Dad’s cake, so I set that down on the counter and handed her the other box. “Here.”

Her brows drew together, but she took it from me and opened the top. “Butterscotch cheesecake?”

“It was all Erin had left. I saved it from her kitchen,” I said, giving her a small smile. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For being a brat.”

“Well, you have been that.”

“I know. So, I’m sorry.” I motioned to the box. “You’re dealing with a lot right now, and no matter how annoyed I am, it’s not right for me to take it out on you.”

“Oh, honey.” She put the box down and wrapped me in a huge hug, and I relaxed into it. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Mom’s hugs were the best.

“I suppose we’re all a little short-tempered right about now. We’re down two troops, after all.” She stepped back and held my arms, looking me in the eye. “I know you’re not a fan of Christmas and all this hullabaloo, and I’m very grateful for how you’re stepping up to help us.”

I slowly let out a breath. “It’s a lot of fuss for one day, that’s all. And if you need one day to show the people around you how much you care, you’re not a very good person. But I’ll survive.”

She kissed my cheek. “Thank you for the cheesecake. And thank you for finding Nicholas, and for letting him be Santa, despite what happened between the two of you.”

Um.

Sorry, what?

“What happened between us?” I broke eye contact. “What do you mean?”

“Graduation night.” She winked.

My cheeks flamed. “How do you know?”

She leaned in, smiling. “Because I know everything, darling.”

That thing I said about not getting embarrassed easily?

Yeah.

Apparently, that didn’t apply to my mom telling me she knew when I’d lost my virginity… and that I’d been dumped right after.

Yep. This day was going to need my grandfather’s special eggnog.

CHAPTER SIX

“Did I hear your mom right earlier?” Nicholas asked, untangling a ball of lights. “She knows about graduation night?”

“Mmm.” I folded the sticky-uppy branch on top of the Christmas tree in half so the star would sit on there properly. “I don’t know how. Verity swore she didn’t tell her, but then again, Snow Cove isn’t exactly known for its secret-keeping.”

“How did you manage this?” he muttered, tugging at a knotted bit.

“Oh, I think those are the ones you had to rescue me from. I might have gotten angry with them once you left and shoved them up in a tantrum.”

“Of course.” His lips twitched. “I’m sorry that me being here is making things tough for you.”

I sighed and straightened the tree branch. “It’s… It’s not. Not really. Actually, you being here is saving my ass big time, but I suppose it’s a bit awkward.”

“All right, sit down.”

“What?”

“Let’s clear the air.”

I turned and met his eyes. “There’s nothing to clear. You’re right. It happened almost a decade ago, and I’m fine. I was just a bit shocked to see you, that was all.”

“No, stop. Sit down. We should have done this yesterday.”

“Nicholas, we don’t have time. There’s a bunch of stuff still to do before we open at six and—”

He grabbed hold of me, took the star from my hands, and steered me toward the Santa chair. He pushed me down to sit and straightened up, backing off a step or two. “My mom texted me in the middle of the night and asked where I was because she knew I wasn’t at Clint’s house. I had to bail to get home, and she was pissed because she’d planned to surprise me with a vacation. By the time I got home from that, we had to travel for my cousin’s wedding, then there was an anniversary party for my grandparents on my dad’s side. Then I was back for ten minutes before I had to leave for college.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at me with a shrug. “I know that sounds like a bunch of bullshit, but it’s true. I didn’t want to bail on you.”