The 'Burg: Hold On Part 98

She stared into his eyes. "What house?"

"Lake house," he told her. "I close on this place in three weeks. Get that money, use some of it to do some updates. But I'm gonna have to live there while they get done."

"You're closing on the lake house."

"Yeah."

"That house you showed me on your laptop?"

"Yeah."

"You're closing on that."

He grinned again. "Yeah."

"You're gonna live there?"

His grin got bigger. "That's what I said."

"Ethan and me get sleepovers?"

They'd start with that.

They'd end with him having a lake house that looked like Jim Morrison bought the place, not Garrett.

He rolled her and answered, "Oh yeah."

She was now on the bottom, staring up at him.

She did this awhile without speaking.

Then she declared, "For a housewarming, I get to buy you a kicka.s.s grill."

He'd let her do that.

"You're on."

"And twenty tiki torches."

Garrett burst out laughing.

When he was done, he saw she was smiling.

His brown-eyed girl...happy.

He knew a way to make her happier.

And he was on top.

So he dipped down and set about doing that.

In the end, he succeeded.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

No Room for Tears Cher Thursday Morning, Mid-December "We should do Christmas here," Ethan said to Merry and me while sitting at the breakfast bar in Merry's awesome new house, shoveling in some of Merry's pancakes. "We can open presents, then go out and ice skate on the lake or something."

"Kid, it hasn't even snowed," I reminded him. "There's about a half a centimeter rim of ice that runs the edge of the lake and that's it."

He shrugged. "Maybe we'll get a deep freeze between now and then."

"We don't have ice skates," I went on.

"That would be why we'd go out after we open presents. And just sayin', ice skates are a big fat no. Hockey skates, though..." He let that hang.

And there it was. Shared with all the finesse of a hammer.

My kid wanted hockey skates for Christmas.

This did not fill me with joy. Hockey skates might lead to hockey lessons and hockey probably cost a mint. I didn't have a mint nor would I ever.

But if my kid wanted hockey skates then hockey lessons, I'd find a way.

I just wished he'd turn his attention to Frisbee. A Frisbee champion needed functioning limbs and a plastic disc. Ethan luckily already had functioning limbs and I figured even the most expensive Frisbee you could get cost less than hockey skates.

On this thought, Merry spoke.

"Bud, don't have any decorations and your place is already all set up, seein' as we spent twelve hours straight decorating it a week ago and now it looks like Santa vomited all over the joint."

Ethan busted out laughing.

I turned and glared at Merry.

Merry, not sitting but bent over his plate at the bar opposite Ethan, turned his attention from his plate of pancakes to me.

"What?" he asked, one side of his lips tipped up.

"I like Christmas," I snapped.

"I can tell," he replied.

Ethan kept laughing.

"I got a kid," I stated. "You decorate for Christmas when you have a kid."

"Mom, I quit believing in Santa Claus when I was six," Ethan reminded me of the dire day he imparted that information on me, information he'd learned from some snot at school who had an older brother and sister, both of whom had big mouths as did Ethan's snot friend. "Now I'm nearly twelve. I'm totally over the over-the-top Christmas stuff."

"Yes, you did stop believing in Santa when you were six," I confirmed. "You also quit getting presents from him when you quit believing in him. Think about that for a second, smart guy."

The look on Ethan's face told me he was thinking about it and I'd made my point.

I didn't rub it in.

But I did keep at him.

"And you're not nearly twelve. You're eleven and two months. That isn't even close to nearly twelve."

I was right, of course. It wasn't.

But it was more that I couldn't think of my kid as "nearly twelve." This meant, after that, he'd be nearly thirteen and then nearly fourteen and then nearly out of the house, off to college, then getting married to some b.i.t.c.h who better treat him right or I'd cut her.

So no.

I couldn't think of Ethan being nearly twelve until he actually was nearly twelve.

"Just sayin', babe," Merry started, and I looked down at him. "Dudes and chicks are different. Women spend most of their lives denying their age. Men spend theirs living for retirement."

This was true.

And it sucked.

"That's because chicks stop bein' hot at around thirty-five and men can be hot for, like, ever," Ethan declared, and I turned my now-far-more-intensified glare to him.

He was impervious and I knew this when he kept talking.

"I mean, look at Colt. He's, like, borderline old guy, and he still totally has it."

"And Feb doesn't?" I asked.

My kid looked to me. "She's an exception."

"You do know I turn thirty-five in two months," I reminded him.

He grinned at me. "You're an exception too."

"You totally are," Merry muttered.

My head whipped Merry's way. "You could help here, you know."

Merry looked to my son and said as if by rote, "Ethan, women are attractive at any age."

Ethan grinned at my man and replied, "Right."

I decided Merry would get another b.l.o.w.j.o.b around the time Ethan turned twelve.

But I had a lesson to teach, so I'd deal with that later.

"So, prior to your twelfth birthday, I'll tell Feb, Rocky, Dusty, Frankie, and Vi you think they're all past it," I declared. "And before your gramma goes out for the big stuff for you for Christmas, I'll tell her you think she's totally past it."

"They're all exceptions too. Even Gram. I wouldn't know, obviously, but Teddy's grandpa said she's a looker," Ethan returned.

"So who isn't an exception?" I asked.

Ethan looked like he was thinking about it.

Then he broke into a big grin and stated, "Maybe I spoke all hasty."

"See, baby, you got a smart kid. You give him time, he'll get to it," Merry said.

"You both are annoying me," I announced, though this was really a lie. I thought they were pretty hilarious. Annoyingly hilarious but still hilarious. I reached out to grab Ethan's empty plate. "And it's time for work and school, so you can quit annoying me by gettin' on the road."

I grabbed my own plate too, turning toward the sink, hearing Merry talking. "Your mom's right, buddy. Let's. .h.i.t it. Teeth. Backpack. Coat. And grab a scarf and gloves. It's cold out there. Yeah?"

"'Kay, Merry."

I turned on the tap to run water over b.u.t.ter and maple syrup residue, completely unable to continue even pretending to be annoyed after hearing Merry tell my boy to grab a scarf and gloves.

I watched Merry's hand put his plate on top of the other ones in the sink as I felt his other hand light on my hip.

"Easy to get a tree, grab some cheap ornaments, and put it up. I'll even get one of those big blow-up snowmen for the front yard, you and Ethan wanna do Christmas here," he said in my ear.

"I can't do Christmas unless Santa has anointed my house with Christmas vomit," I told the sink. "You up for that?"

I heard his chuckle and felt the heat of him come closer as his hand slid from my hip to my belly.

"We'll get an air mattress. Ethan can sleep on that in one of the extra rooms. Grace can sleep in Ethan's room. Everyone comfortable. Do presents here, breakfast, then later, go to Rocky and Tanner's. Dad'll be there. Vera and Devin too. Jasper and Tripp as well, Keira attached at Jasper's hip, like usual. Big family thing when we do Christmas dinner."

Big family thing.

A big family thing that Merry wanted.

But he wanted that family thing to start here, in his house, with what we were building.

I closed my eyes.

Ethan had a room at Merry's and it was definitely his room. Not a junk room. Nothing was in the closet but some of my kid's clothes. Shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush in the c.r.a.ppy bathroom Ethan used that Merry was going to gut after Christmas and redo.

The roof, furnace, AC, and windows had been first, obviously, and Merry hadn't f.u.c.ked around with those. He had us there and he had that frequently, he'd told me, so he took care of that right away. Right away, as in, he had work scheduled to start practically the day after he moved in.

I had clothes in Merry's closet and doubles of all my stuff (except makeup-that required an investment, but I had bits and bobs, so I was getting there) in his c.r.a.ppy master bath.