Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Sam charged over to the base of the ladder and yanked Kola off of it when he was close to the ground, hugged him so tight I heard Kola’s meep of sound that meant all his air was gone, and then let him go fast before grabbing me by the parka and tugging me into his arms. Face buried in the side of my neck, I realized that his skin was cold, the stubble coarse, and his lips on my ear were featherlight and oh so soft as he threatened my life.
“You are banned forever from the roof.”
“Yeah, but––”
“No,” he growled at me, and the way he was clutching me and trembling gave away the fact that I had scared him just a bit.
“Ohmygod!” Hannah wailed as she exploded out of the house and rushed over to us, flinging her arms around my back. “Are you okay? I heard you fall!”
“I didn’t fall,” I said as Sam let me go, gesturing at Rudolph. “He fell.”
We all looked at Rudolph.
“Is it just me, or does he look kind of possessed?” Hannah asked her father as an SUV and another truck with an attached trailer pulled up in front of the house. Delano Landscaping, it said on the side, and the four men who tumbled out had to all be in their mid-twenties.
“What’s going on?” I asked Sam.
The one clearly in charge seemed familiar, and then when he smiled, and the dimples popped and he flashed rows of perfect white even teeth as he moved forward to offer Sam his hand, I remembered the guy who had put up the Santa and the reindeer and all the lights the previous year.
“I tried to get in touch with you, but I couldn’t remember the name of your company,” I told the younger man, Ray Delano, as he finished shaking Sam’s hand and then turned to me. “What are you doing here?”
He squinted as we shook. “Mr. Kage booked us two weeks ago and said we had to be here to put up the reindeer and everything before the light tour thingy or somethin’ because…you…oh—is Rudolph not goin’ on the roof with the rest of ’em?”
“No, they’re all going up there,” I sighed, glancing at my husband, who was scowling at me and shaking his head. “I just—dropped it.”
“From the roof?”
Christ. “Yeah. From the roof.”
“Huh.”
Exactly what I needed, one more smartass in my life. “I didn’t mean to.”
“Yeah, no, I got that from the word drop.”
Jesus.
“It looks sorta planted right there, don’t it?”
I exhaled sharply, praying for patience.
“Just so yanno for next time, we’ll do all that, Mr. Harcourt. You can leave whatever lights, Santa, the reindeer, some guy trying to date your daughter—anything, and if you just put it out on the porch, we’ll get it.”
“Okay.”
“I ain’t trying to lecture you or nothin’.”
I heard Sam snicker.
“I mean, we got pulleys and stuff for this, and we know what we’re doing. Ya gotta be careful, yeah?”
Yes, we did. We all had to be as careful as the Chief Deputy was with his family. I gave him my winningest smile, and he patted my shoulder like I was five. One of his guys moved our ladder quickly, taking it down so fast, not at all the half hour ordeal that I’d gone through getting the extension ladder to actually extend. The other guys moved fast, building scaffolding like in the movies where they sped up the film. I threw up my hands and went inside, cold, cranky, tired, and ready to eat somebody’s face off.
“Did you ask me to take care of it?” Sam questioned me as I moved to stand in front of the fireplace trying to warm up.
“Yes,” I muttered, not turning to look at him.
He moved around in front of me, put his hand under my chin, brushed his thumb across my lips, and then tipped my head up so I had no choice but to meet his gorgeous slate-colored eyes. Always, they warmed as they took me in.
“Trust that if I’ve told you I got it, that I actually do, all right?”
“I just—you tell me you’ll do something but––”
“You have your own timeline, I know.”
I lifted, and he bent and kissed me, softly, gently, before resting his forehead against mine. “I’ll be more patient.”
“No you won’t.”
I leaned back, and his grin, curling his lips, made me smile.
“Just—don’t go up on the roof, all right? Just the visual nearly killed me.”
“It’s Christmas, Sam. What would it be without a little bit of danger?”
“Oh God.”
“I don’t want you to ever get bored.”
“No, baby, that could never happen.”
Happy holidays, everyone! No matter how you celebrate, have a good one.
JANUARY 2018
Hello, everyone, Jory Harcourt here, hope you all had super holidays. I’m back with my column answering questions and hoping to help.
DEAR JORY:
My kids are getting to an age when they are suddenly aware of their father and I locking the door to have sex, so as a result, we haven’t been having much lately and are contemplating a hotel room. Any advice?