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“Gabe.”
Excitement ran through me. I’d not heard from my brother since he left. “Gabe!” I screamed in excitement. “Is it really you?” The connection was so bad that I could barely hear him.
“Yeah, Cadence, what are you doing over at Connor’s?”
“Making dinner,” I replied, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. It was to me anyway. I didn’t give him a chance to ask any more questions. “Now tell me, how the hell are you?” I cried, so very excited to hear from my brother.
“I’m good. I wanted to let you know the good news. I’m coming home for Christmas. I tried to call you, but you weren’t home.” He chuckled. “I didn’t expect to find you shacking up with Connor.”
He said that to get to me. Instead, I ignored his words and turned the volume back up on the radio. “Gabe, that is great! I’m very excited to see you.”
“Me too, sis, me too. Now, how’s everything going?” he questioned. “Do I still have a dairy farm to return home to?”
“Everything is going well. All is good. The house and farm are still standing.”
“And Connor?”
I giggled, knowing he’d probably been dying to ask me about that. “Is he’s still standing as well? Yes, the last time I checked; he was. He is out in the barn as we speak.”
“Okay, listen, pick me up on the 24th at…” Suddenly, the line went dead.
“Gabe? Gabe???” I yelled. Finally, a dial tone beeped in my ear, but Gabe was gone. “Well, shit,” I muttered as I hung up the phone.
I walked back over to the counter and continued with the roast just as Connor stepped through the back door. He slipped his feet out of his boots, something he rarely did even at my place when he’d come in for a quick minute and climbed the three steps up the kitchen. Walking over, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck.
“Who were you talking to?” he questioned.
“That was Gabe. He’s coming home for Christmas. We got disconnected, so I do not know where to pick him up. All I know is that on the 24th I’m to be somewhere.”
“We’ll find out. No worries,” he said, kissing the column of my neck again.
“That feels so good,” I whispered, then picked up one of the spice jars and struggled to open it as he continued kissing me softly.
Since the night we’d decorated the tree, things had gotten a little more physical between us. Our movie nights had turned into make-out sessions, like they would have if we’d been in high school. His hands slid around my waist and rested on the flat of my stomach as his lips moved down to my shoulder.
“Connor.” I laughed, still struggling. “I can’t open this jar with you…doing this…” I said breathlessly.
“Problem solved,” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear as he took the jar from me and placed it down on the counter. Then he pulled me away from there, his hands roaming my body as he continued kissing me.
“Connor, dinner won’t get ready if this keeps going,” I said, breathless, as he spun me around in his arms and met my lips.
He chuckled then let me go, walked over to the jar and opened it without even a hint of a struggle. “Thank you,” I said, taking the jar from his hand and sprinkling the spices on the meat. Once I’d finished and had set the jar back down, Connor went right back to kissing me.
“You almost finished?” he questioned, his hand drifting under my shirt until his thumb was running over my covered nipple.
I closed my eyes as his touch sent a shiver through me. “Maybe,” I said, a little short of breath as his fingers continued dancing over my breast.
“CONNOR….CONNOR…” We heard Joe call.
“Dammit,” Connor muttered against my neck, as he quickly adjusted himself. “Keep that thought, would you?” he said, squeezing my side and grinning at me as he shoved his feet back into his boots and grabbed his jacket and hat from the hook on the wall.
“Perhaps I should tell you that.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t forget.” He winked, slamming the door shut behind him.
* * *
Connor and I sat in his living room, the only light coming from the tree we’d decorated. Soft music played on the radio. I sat on Connor’s lap, wineglass in hand, as I told him again about the call I’d received from my brother.
