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Ky snapped his fingers and pointed his index finger at her. “See?” he exclaimed, his normally cheerful face earnest. “This is why. The fact that you’re talking about ‘time off’ like it’s an alien premise, and the shock on your face, right this minute, that we’ve suggested it, is totally the reason.”
“The reason?” she repeated again, feeling like an idiot, but unable to collect her thoughts together quickly enough to come up with anything more coherent.
” Yes, the reason we’re giving you ten days off over Christmas and the New Year,” Xander declared, finishing off the sentence for his friend.
“What!?” Emalee shrieked, her mouth hanging open.
“Ah, now that’s more like it,” Ky grinned. “That’s the look of surprise we wanted to see.”
It wasn't a surprise, it was sheer freaking horror.
“I - I...” Em was lost for words.
“No need to thank us, lassie,” Coll said. His smile might have been small, but it reached all the way to his sparkling eyes.
“I - It’s Christmas. I can’t...” She tried again, but this time it was Xander who cut her short.
“Nonsense, there’s no ‘can’t’ about it,” he said decisively. “You’ve worked Christmas and New Year for as long as you’ve worked for us.”
Of course she had. What else was she supposed to do?
“But...”
“No buts. Ten days starting on the twenty-second of December, through to January second.” Ky was emphatic, and he was usually the easiest going. If Kyros was sticking to his guns, then Emalee had no chance of swaying any of them.
She had to try though.
Her eyes were glassy, and she had to force the words around the lump in her throat that threatened to choke her. “You don’t want me here?” she asked in a small voice, feeling like she was dying inside.
“Jeez,” Ky exclaimed, dragging his hands through his shoulder length hair. “The fact that you’re so overwhelmed we’ve brought you to tears just by offering you a break this Christmas says it all!”
He stood and swung away; muttering things Em couldn’t hear under his breath.
“Nay, lass. We want you to go off and have fun somewhere with your family and friends instead of us monopolizing all of your time.”
“I - I don’t know what to say!” she sputtered. Because what the hell was she supposed to say? That she hated the idea? That it was her worst nightmare?
That being with these three men and their children at Christmas was the best part of the year because the reality was that she lived a sad and lonely life outside of this household?
Xander patted her on the shoulder, a pleased smile on his face, and Em just about died inside that he believed he was doing her such a huge favor.
“No need to say anything at all, Emalee. You just go off and enjoy yourself. Call it our Christmas gift to you.”
Em gave a sniffle as she tried to hold back her sobs, and one of them passed her a tissue.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice weak and teary, because there was no way to disabuse them of the notion now that they were so pleased with themselves.
“Excellent!” Xander replied, rubbing his hands together. “Now you run along and make any arrangements you need to make, and don’t give us another thought.”
Like that was ever going to happen.
But Emalee just nodded and rushed out of Xander’s office as quickly as she could, knowing damn well that was another thing they’d interpret as excitement. But really, she just needed to get out of there before the real waterworks began.
Em sought out the sanctuary of a room that had never been a sanctuary in the past because she’d never wanted to be anything but a part of this odd, unconventional family. But as she flung herself on the bed, she couldn’t stop the heaving, heartbroken sobs from escaping any longer. So she just pulled a pillow over her head to muffle the noise and let it all out.
Because what the hell would she even do with ‘time off’, anyway?
Chapter Three
