Sin City Baby

The grin that crossed his face was one that would forever be etched into my memory banks.

“The best,” he said.

“I think it’s probably time to head home, then,” I said.

I could see the hesitation on Kyra’s face but, for the first time since her father had been in the hospital, she didn’t fight against the suggestion. I watched her walk over to her father and sit on the side of his bed. She bent down to kiss his forehead just as his eyes closed and I knew he was finally allowing himself to sleep. We stayed until his breathing evened out while Kyra held his hand tightly. Then we took our cue from her when she stood to her feet.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” I asked.

“For whatever you guys did to make Christmas special for him. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen his eyes sparkle like that.”

I looked up at all my brothers and saw the giddy grins on all their faces.

“Well, Christmas isn’t quite over yet,” I said. “Why don’t we all take a trip?”

We escorted Kyra out to our cars and she hopped into my truck. The rest of my brothers followed us in two separate cars as we wound through our small town. I took Kyra’s hand in mine.

“I’ve never had a better Christmas than this one right here,” I said.

“Whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It couldn’t have been that great.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because we spent it in a hospital room.”

“Well, I got to spend it with you and that’s what counts,” I said. “It’s the only Christmas present I’ve ever really wanted.”

I saw a smile spread across Kyra’s cheeks before they heated to that beautiful color. The red that caressed her skin whenever she was aroused or embarrassed was my favorite shade of her. It danced along her skin, melting into her features while that small giggle fell from her lips and, had I not been driving, I would’ve pulled her into my lap and sucked on that beautiful bottom lip of hers.

But then, she finally noticed.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Home,” I said simply.

“But our mountain’s back that way,” she said.

“We have a surprise for you,” I said.

“You said we were going home, Chance. Where are we headed?”

“Do you trust me?” I asked.

I looked over at her as we came to a stop at the light and her eyes sparkled with confusion before she nodded her head.

“Then trust me when I tell you that ‘home’ is where we are going,” I said.

I brought her hand to my lips to kiss and, finally, she settled back into her seat. We wound through town and up a mountain that was foreign to all of us and I kept watch in my rearview mirror to make sure my brothers could make it up the mountain. If Kyra said “yes,” we’d have to do a little work on this road coming up to the house. It was pretty bumpy and would be very hard to navigate with lots of snow on it, but it was something the city would easily fix if we fronted the cost of it.

And I could easily front the cost of something like that.

After a twenty-minute drive winding our way up the mountain, we finally pulled up in front of the house. I watched Kyra’s eyes dance over the massive home, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening at the sight. The house had three stories to it, with two double-car garages jutting off the sides of the house. It was nestled into a beautiful crook in the mountain, with plenty of room to roam and run before you ever hit the side of it. There was green space for days, so much so that you questioned whether or not you had actually just wound up a mountain in the first place.

But the snow that blanketed the entire place made it feel like a winter wonderland.

The house itself had a pale, yellow exterior with dark red shutters. There was a wrap-around porch on both the main floor and the second floor, but the top floor boasted two private balconies. One for each room that rested at the very top. Kyra slowly opened the door of my truck and slid out, her feet planting into the snow with a crunch. The mere fact that she couldn’t take her eyes off it was a good sign and, by the time she finally spoke, we were all gathered up behind her.