The Rock Star's Christmas Reunion: contemporary holiday romance (A Charisma series novel, The Connollys Book 1) (22 page)

As he pushed the covers back, he whistled a jaunty version of “Up on the Housetop.” When he glanced at the Brad Paisley calendar Will Dealy had pinned up in his bathroom as a gag when he’d visited, he saw that it was the twenty-first. He couldn’t screw up things with Yakima in only four days. Better think of something good to give her for Christmas.

A few minutes later, he came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. He heard noise downstairs, like the front door opening and shutting, but when he went to the window at the top of the staircase, he didn’t see anything. Yakima’s sedan was still in the drive.

The noise came again. The back door? The garage door? His thoughts went to the robberies. Blue wasn’t barking, but he might still be shut up in the dining room. He’d gone down once after Yakima had fallen asleep to direct Blue into the backyard, not sure how often he needed to be taken out.

Another noise. This time something like a rustle against a window. He went back to his bedroom and pulled out the baseball bat that he kept under the bed.

When he went back to the steps he called, “Yakima?” No response. He went down fast. Could he hear into the kitchen from the stairs? He didn’t know. Remy had been his only sober houseguest so far and he wouldn’t find her in the kitchen. He reached for his cell phone and realized he had no idea where it was. The wages of a hot date; nothing was where it was supposed to be, not even his clothes.

He clutched his bat in one hand and his towel in the other, senses on high alert. Opening the dining room first, he looked for Blue. The dog wasn’t there. He darted through the room, which already smelled of dog food, and into the kitchen. Empty.

He opened the garage door. “Yakima?” Nothing.

Next, he tried the laundry room. She wasn’t there, and the door into the backyard was closed, but the screen door swung open. His heart rate dropped slightly. Yakima must have taken Blue out.

But why had he heard noise at the front and back of the house, and at the windows? With a sense of leaving his castle unprotected, he stepped down the wood step into the yard.

Blue came out of nowhere, barking. Bax’s body convulsed in a shiver. He swore. Coming outside in December with wet hair and a wet towel was nuts.

The dog reached the end of his leash and reared back. Yakima ran forward. “Everything okay? I heard you swear.”

Blue swiveled around as Yakima reached him. He nipped at her leg and she dropped the leash like she’d been shot. She stumbled back and tripped over something in the frosty grass.

“Yakima!” Bax dropped the bat and darted toward her. His towel fluttered to the hard, sharp grass. Reaching to her, she pulled away. “What happened?”

“He bit me,” she shrieked, loud enough to wake the neighbors.

“No, he nipped. It’s a characteristic of his breed.”

“Bax!” She wrapped her arms around her leg, shaking.

“I thought Tony said he was well-trained but I guess not.” He reached down a hand, aware that his legs were trembling with cold. A barefoot, bare ass idiot, that was him.

Instead of taking his hand, she scrambled back. “You aren’t going to keep him, are you?”

“Of course. I’ll hire a trainer.” He lifted his hands. “Come on.”

“He just nipped me.” She repeated, then folded her legs and stood without touching the grass with her hands.

Ballet training, he suspected. “Nipped. You aren’t hurt, right?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Why are you glaring at me? You brought me the dog.”

“Merry Christmas, Bax Connolly.” Her scathing glance at his privates had him wanting to lower his hands from his chest.

“They don’t look their best when they’re freezing off!” He yelled at her departing back. “All this over a little nip from a new dog?”

Grabbing for Blue’s leash as he muttered angrily to himself, he bent down and picked up his bat, hoping no one was peering over his hedges and fence, and dragged both his irritated dog and his naked self back into the house.

This time, when he heard the front door slam, he knew exactly what was going on. His lover of one night was leaving him. What was it with her and dogs? He remembered the alarm and went to check it. Why hadn’t it gone off with all these doors opening and closing?

The alarm was off. Of course. More date night idiocy. He needed to get into a routine no matter what the circumstances.

After he took Blue back into the dining room, he refilled the dog’s water bowl, shivering, then went back upstairs, only half feeling his feet after their adventure on the grass. When he reached the top step, he realized he’d left his towel outside and the alarm off.

He swore a blue streak the entire time it took him to grab his robe and a pair of socks, then went downstairs to set the alarm. The last thing he needed was a home break in. And he liked his new, fluffy towels.

~

Bax had started texting Haldana as soon as he calmed down. She and Yakima were working hard because they’d been asked to cater a last-minute dinner for eight that night, but when Yakima had to send Haldana to Costco to pick up wine and meat for the job, she called him and said he could meet her there.

Yakima hadn’t been inclined to respond to his texts at all. So, at noon, he met Haldana next to the long double row of shopping carts just outside the warehouse. Haldana had her hair tucked under a knitted pink hat and her cheeks and nose were red with cold. He felt a surge of affection for the one relative who had accepted him whole-heartedly.

After he gave her a hug, she pulled back. “What’s going on with you? You aren’t usually Mr. Affection.”

“Maybe that’s part of my problem. I’ve learned to be too standoffish over the last dozen years.”

“Is it causing trouble?”

“I didn’t know how to comfort Yakima this morning. She took off in a huff.”

Haldana’s face sharpened into a knowing expression. “So she spent the night, huh. First time?”

“How old are you?” he asked as she pulled her Costco card out of her wallet.

“Twenty-one.”

“I’m not sure you’re old enough for this conversation.”

“Grab a cart, Ancient One, and follow me,” she shot over her shoulder.

He wrestled a cart away from its twin and rolled it behind her. She flashed her card and they were in. The warehouse wasn’t too overcrowded with people, despite how close it was to Christmas, but the lines were long. They’d have plenty of time to talk.

“Couldn’t Yakima have sent you to one of the stores in Battlefield?”

“Yes, and I think she would have, except I have to pick up party favors for the guests. I’m hoping they have gift sets here for the right price.” Haldana surveyed the store. “Let’s go straight back to the wines and meats. I think gift stuff would be on the other side.”

“Okay. Can I talk about my problems now?”

“Of course.” She let go of the far end of the cart and waited for him to catch up with her.

They passed the Optical department, which was almost empty and headed into office supplies and kitchen wares. People were stacked three deep around the food storage container options. “So, yeah, she spent the night. She also brought me a dog.”

Haldana did a double take. “She did what?”

“Yeah. A nice big Australian Cattle dog. Blue seems great, but she took him into the yard this morning and he nipped her.”

“Uh oh.” Haldana winced. “That could not have happened to a more vulnerable person.”

“Yeah.” Bax nodded. “Total freak out and she took off. She seemed mad at me, wanted me to return him. But I can’t.”

“She has a history.” Haldana’s tone was full of Important Things.

“Well, she brought me a nipping dog,” he snapped. “If she’d researched the breed she’d have known about that issue.”

“See, you’re behaving like a Connolly about this, and it’s not okay.” They reached the wine section and Haldana lifted the first bottle she saw, set it down, and went to the next one.

“What do you mean?”

“She was bit by our dog, well, Aunt Tricia’s dog. Bad enough to need stitches, and I guess no sympathy was to be had from her or Uncle Harry. Her parents got into it with yours.”

He put his hand to his forehead. “When was this?”

Haldana shrugged. “When she was a teenager. I actually remember the dog. Nasty little thing.”

“She was only nice to Mom,” Bax agreed. “I remember. Not the bite, though.”

“I remember you just hanging out in the laundry room with your guitar all the time, totally checked out of the real world.”

“Great acoustics in there.”

“Yeah, I know. But I think the standoffishness started long before you moved away. I don’t even blame you. Your mom was all over the place, right? Your dad could barely cope with seven kids and a sick wife. We’re all still dealing with what happened in our own ways.”

Tell me about it
. “What do I do about Yakima in the here and now?”

“She slept with you, right?”

He nodded. “Can we get out of the wine section? It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Yep.” She quickly set a two dozen boxed bottles into the cart.

“That’s a lot for eight people.”

She consulted her list. “Just following orders.”

He followed her into the meat section.

“So, answer my question?”

“Yes, the answer is yes.” The pressure in his chest lessened. Stress still made him want to reach for alcohol and it was best to avoid it.

“Okay. She has a temper, just like the rest of her family, but it blows over quickly. My best suggestion is to just move forward as if it didn’t happen. She doesn’t hold onto stuff like we Connollys do.”

“What about the dog?”

“I think the dog needs to go,” Haldana said. “You need to focus on her.”

“If it’s serious.”

“I thought it was. Yakima doesn’t sleep around, and your deal with her took weeks to get this far. Don’t you love her?”

“That’s a funny question to ask.”

“No it isn’t. You’ve sort of known her your entire life. If you were lukewarm about her you never should have gotten this involved. You aren’t stupid, Bax. If you just wanted to get laid you had Remy Rose handy.” She picked up one huge plastic-wrapped package of New York steak and weighed it in her hands.

“Red meat?” he asked, avoiding her question.

“I know, but it was a rush thing. Yakima decided she’d do it if she used separate everything.” She snapped her fingers. “I need to get a set of cutting boards.”

“We probably passed them already.”

She set the meat back down in the case. “I’ll run and get them. You stay here and think about your feelings for Yakima.”

What he thought about, though, while he idly browsed through the pie section, was Blue. Blue the dog, who would be his shadow and best friend if they just had time to bond. But he had Yakima. He should be focusing on bonding with her. However, he couldn’t return the dog to Tony, who had surely picked up the Husky last night. Then he remembered his family, all their issues. He knew someone who needed a new best friend far more than he did.

With that handled in his mind, he moved on to the cookie section and thought about Yakima. How nothing about her bugged him. Her presence soothed. He felt proud to be in public with her. She entranced him with her cooking, work ethic, and ability to care for so many people around town. Her family dynamic was imperfect, but like him, she dealt with a complicated situation, with a brother and mother who could be hard to take. He knew that scenario. Really, he knew her inside and out. They’d lived next door to each other for five years.

They’d weathered her teenage drama dustup, and Remy Rose’s appearance. Now they had to get past the dog nip.

Haldana returned and set a wrapped package of cutting boards on the bottom of the cart. “So?”

“She’s special,” Bax said, staring at an apple pie with a fancy crumb topping. “I want that pie.”

She shrugged. “So get the pie. You can stand to gain some weight.”

He checked the label. “No lard in the pastry. See, I’m learning.”

“But what about butter?” Haldana leaned over his arm to read the label.

“Oh, forgot that.”

“You going vegan?”

“I’ll have to,” he said. “If I ask Yakima to move in.”

Haldana clapped her hands. “You do love her!”

He nodded, feeling the grin stretch his lower face. “Yes. I can’t think of one thing I don’t love about her. Funny, right?”

“No, she’s my best friend.” Haldana squeezed his arm. “Maybe she’ll rent her house to me, huh? Put in a good word?”

“She might not agree to move in.”

“Oh, please, she’s only crushed on you for fifteen years. You’re good. Now that you’ve got the grownup relationship going. What are you going to do with the dog?”

“I’m going to try to give him to Dare. Yakima and I can maybe get a much smaller, non-nipping dog in a few months, after we’re used to each other more.”

“She’s expecting a big slowdown in work after the first of the year. That’s normal in catering.”