Hold It Close (MacAteer Brothers #3) - ML Nystrom Page 0,1

was enough of the white stuff on the ground.

Then it hit me. Snow!

I forgot about the cold and rushed to stand on my small covered front porch. Flurries? Really?

Large fluffy flakes drifted down, thick and steady. This was way more than flurries. Already, a white blanket covered the ground and glowed with the orange and gold breaking sunrise. The tall pine trees of the surrounding forest sported tips of white, and I could see a few growing icicles hanging from the roof overhang. I made a mental note to take some pics to upload on the website later.

I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. A year ago, I was in an unfulfilling job. A year ago, I was in an empty marriage. A year ago, I was a shell of a person, existing but not living and on the verge of spiraling into depression.

How different to now be marveling at Mother Nature’s holiday decorations and making my dream happen.

I took a deep breath of the crisp air. It burned painfully in my lungs before I let it out in a long cloud of white steam. I put up a couple of strings of lights on the porch and a few decorations on the fireplace mantle, but I didn’t have a Christmas tree. Next year I’d have one and I’d fold a bunch of paper origami ornaments to put on it. Today, I had presents for the kids and a place to go. All in all, it was a good day and a better life.

I was happy.

Garrett woke up when the bed jolted from the weight that flopped down next to him. Even in his groggy state, he recognized Joy had finally come home. He picked up his phone and glanced at the time. 6:00 a.m. She’d been out all night. Again.

“Shuddup and leave me alone. Don’ say nuttin’ to me.” Her muffled words indicated she spent the night somewhere getting drunk. Again.

Garrett clicked on the light and looked at his fiancée. She had managed to strip off her clothes before landing on the bed. The stained tank top she wore did nothing to hide the love bites on her neck and breasts. Her dark hair sat on the pillow in a tangled mess and the remnants of her makeup was smeared across her face. She winced and rolled over, giving him a view of the bumps on her spine. She’d been with another man. Again.

“Turn tha’ fuckin’ lamp off.”

“Where’ve you been?”

“None of yer bizzness. Ah need to crash.”

“Joy, we’re supposed to be at my uncle’s place at ten.”

“Ah ain’ goin’ nowhere. Shud the fuck up.”

“It’s Christmas morning.”

He was met with rattling snores.

This hour of the morning was usual for him to be up and ready to start a workday; however, the previous night, he’d spent wondering and worrying about Joy’s whereabouts. Yesterday, on Christmas Eve, he ended up working a plumbing job across town. Joy got pissed he was leaving her for a few hours. He could have refused the job, but they needed the money too badly, and he could charge extra for both emergency and holiday pay. He got back to their house well before dinnertime and found it empty. Again.

Garrett sighed and got out of the bed. Joy had set the heat at a toasty eighty-five degrees, and he turned it back down to seventy, risking her wrath later that day. She liked the house to be hot so she could walk around in her underwear and not be cold. He didn’t have a problem with her exhibitionism. The issue was the sky-high electric bill it took to keep the house at her favorite temperature. They’d argued more than once about it. He’d asked her to put on a sweatshirt and pants instead of jacking up the thermostat. She ignored him and did what she wanted.

He walked into the kitchen, his phone still in his hand, and flipped on the coffee maker. Joy had bought top-of-the-line everything for their kitchen. He admitted he liked having the nice items, but he’d rather have them used than hanging around and taking up space. A layer of dust sat on a full set of Calphalon pots and pans that hung from the iron rack above the island. A Cuisinart stand mixer and rotisserie oven sat atop the polished granite counter. Garrett had never seen either get turned on. Other kitchen gadgets sat around the large cooking area that seldom saw any action. Joy used them as decoration, whereas