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Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that I’d do just about anything to be with him. Long distance included.
37
BRODY
“There they are!”Grandma cheers, clapping when Anna and I enter the kitchen.
I keep Anna close to me, unable to let her go for any amount of time. It took several minutes to will my erection away after nearly taking her in the shed, and I’m still not fully recovered. I feel hot and frazzled. The mess of hair on my head is a perfect example of just how out of my mind I am. I ran my fingers through it too much on the way back.
“It smells amazing in here, Eliza,” she says, grinning so damn brightly. “Need any help?”
Grandma returns her smile. “I’d love some. Brody and his grandfather could eat me out of house and home on a regular day, let alone Christmas dinner.”
Anna moves to step out from beneath my arm, but I scowl, barely reining in a grunt of denial. My grandmother goes from smiling to glaring at me in a heartbeat. Reluctantly, I drop my arm, and Anna stares up at me with wicked amusement before rushing to my grandmother’s side.
Traitor.
Soon, she’ll be all mine, I remind myself. And once I have her alone, I won’t be letting her out of my sight so easily.
“Don’t be so grumpy, Brody. Go keep yourself busy and set the table for me, please,” Grandma says, but she’s already steering Anna to the sink, instructing her on the easiest and most efficient way to peel a potato.
I linger in the doorway, watching the two women interact, so bubbly and bright. They get along so easily, like old friends. That knowledge does something to me. Twists me up inside in a way that I know comes from a place of love. Because that’s what it is. Love.
I love Anna. Deeply and all consumingly. In a way that should terrify me but doesn’t. It settles me. Completes me.
I’m whole around her, my missing pieces clicking back in place.
I accept those feelings with open arms, completely unafraid of them. Carrying that completeness with me, I stroll out of the kitchen and grab the good china from the cabinet in the dining room before beginning to set the table.
Laughter and hushed conversation keep me company as I finish my task. Even the stomp of heavy footsteps coming in from the back door doesn’t interrupt the two women.
Grandpa’s low, deep rumble of a voice cuts in, interrupting them. “Hell of a storm comin’ in. They’re callin’ out for a whiteout on the radio.”
“It’ll be a true white Christmas, then,” Grandma replies, unbothered.
Anna doesn’t seem to share the same sentiment if the nerves in her voice are anything to judge. “Will it be bad?”
I step into the kitchen before anyone can answer her. Her eyes find me instantly. They’re drawn to me the same way mine are her. I arch a brow at my grandfather when I notice his obvious curiosity as he takes us in.
I’m not sure why he’s so surprised at my protectiveness, considering I learned this particular trait from him.
“It’ll be fine. We might lose power for a bit, but we have generators galore here,” I tell Anna, hoping to comfort her.
She worries her lip. “What about Banana?”
“She’ll be fine. There’s a shed out there for her if it gets too much, but she can come inside with us if you want, my love,” Grandma offers her.
Grandpa’s scoff is harsh before he stilts his reaction, coughing to cover it up. “There’s no place for a cow in the house on Christmas, Eliza.”
“Is that so?” his wife asks, nice and slow.
“Yes. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the hoof marks on the floors this past week either. I’ve kept my mouth shut about that, but not this. Not today.”
“That’s okay! I’m sure she’ll be okay. Obviously, I don’t know anything about animals, but—” Anna begins, eyes wide and nervous like a deer in headlights.
I settle at her side and set my arm over her shoulders, tucking her into my body, where she belongs. “She’ll be good, I promise. We can check on her again before it gets too rough out there, make sure she’s settled.”
She tries to play it off, but I feel the tension leave her body at my promise. Pride swells in my chest. I want to settle her like this often. A million more times.
