AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Four
Josephine
“Wake up, my beautiful Pixie.”
With a groan, I bury my face in my pillow, my legs tucked under me, and my butt in the air. There’s no way in hell it’s five in the morning already.
Maceo rubs my rump to get me moving. “Come on, baby. We need to get outside.”
Frowning, I roll over and pry my eyelids apart.
What in God’s name?I swear Paul Bunyan is standing over our bed smiling at me.
I rub the sleep away from my eyes and look again. Yep, that’s one colossal lumberjack standing in our room.
Maceo is dressed in a red and black buffalo plaid wool jacket and double Mackinaw wool hat. His month-long black beard makes him look like the fictional giant.
“When the hell did you buy Filson Outerwear?” I definitely would have remembered putting that stuff away.
“Belated birthday and early Christmas gift from your parents and Simone. They got you the same.” Maceo beams like the sun as he holds up a matching set in my size.
Cute!Rejuvenated by the couples matching winter wear, I peel back the covers and spring from the bed. Maceo laughs as I jump with excitement. “You’re going to want to put on long underwear for what I’ve got planned.
Hmm. What is my man up to?“Aren’t we going for our morning run first?”
“No running today. We’re going to getplentyof exercise. Hurry and get dressed in warm layers.”
I hurry off to the bathroom to pee and get ready. When I’m fully dressed, I recall I need to take my fasting blood sugar. I prick my finger and run my blood strip through the glucose meter—eighty-nine—not bad. I record the numbers quickly in the log.
Maceo stands by, watching the entire process with a furrowed brow. “I hate that you have to go through this. It’s my fault.”
“It’s not your fault or mine. It just is,” I say as he helps me in my new coat. “Show me this surprise of yours.”
* * *
Maceo helps me strap into the snowshoes to start our adventure—the first of many Tabares Christmas traditions.
Hades and Runt are dressed in matching buffalo plaid doggy coats. They run around us, frolicking in the snow.
Gauge groans next to us—he isn’t a morning person. Can’t say I blame him since it’s not even five in the morning. Opal stands beside him with a bright smile. It’s nice to see her old bubbly self coming back.
Ready, Maceo picks up a giant ax, complementing his Paul Bunyan appearance. “Tally-hoooo!” He marches off across our hundred acres to the pine trees in the distance.
Opal claps her hands excitedly, practically running to keep up with Maceo’s long strides. Her enthusiasm is contagious, making Gauge and I laugh.
As thrilled as I am to pick out a Christmas tree, I’m finding walking in my snowshoes difficult while pregnant. Gauge stays close to my side, probably because he’s still trying to wake up, but I’m grateful not to be left in the dust.
“I don’t know what you did or said to turn him around, but I appreciate it, Jo. You’re a wizard.”
My eyes rise to see my husband plowing his way through the snow. He’s far enough out of earshot not to overhear us discussing him. Maceo would be ashamed if he knew we were talking about his emotional state. However, Gauge is another support system for him. There is power in numbers. If Gauge and I are on the same page, we can help Maceo through this as a team.
I shrug my shoulders. “All I said was that I accept him no matter what.”
“Good. We all do. I’m glad you weren’t there to see him when he found out—we’ve been through some shit together, but that was the second-worst I’ve ever seen him.”
I frown, not understanding how this wasn’t the worst. “What was the first?”
Gauge grins and winks at me. “When he thought he blew his shot with you.”
