The 'Burg: Hold On Part 99

We were all but moved in.

And now-Merry's house being so big, the great room a place where we could all be together, Ethan liking showing off its awesomeness to his buds so sleepovers continued to be frequent (they just happened at Merry's), and Merry pretty much taking over the care of my kid when I was at work nights or evenings-we were mostly here.

We might sleep at my place once or twice a week.

But Merry's place was becoming home.

This was intentional. He gave both of us sets of keys the day he'd closed on the house. The first night we stayed over, which was the first night he was in the house since we'd helped him move, we found he'd bought an Xbox so Ethan would have all he needed to feel at home. And he told me to pack us both and make it so we weren't lugging bags back and forth all the time.

"Settle in, baby. You and Ethan," he'd whispered to me in the dark that first night in his house. "I think we're all past the idea of sleepovers."

I was. Definitely.

My kid would go to the ends of the earth for Merry, so I figured he was too.

I just didn't know Merry was at that place.

But I was glad to know.

And the next day, I settled us in.

Right then, however, I knew just what place Merry actually was in.

And it was even better.

I turned in his arm at the sink, looking up at him.

"You want Christmas," I whispered my guess.

"Yeah," he replied. "Didn't wanna say anything, but since Ethan mentioned it and seems he's good with it, there it is."

"Then we'll have Christmas here. I'll talk to Mom."

He smiled down at me and I saw excitement in his face that made my bada.s.s Merry into my bada.s.s Merry who could be cute.

"Thanks, baby," he murmured, bent in and touched his mouth to mine. When he lifted up, he said, "Since you're off today, I'll go get a tree and we'll decorate it tonight. You got time to go out and get some ornaments? Lights? Whatever else we need?"

Did I have time for Christmas decoration shopping during Christmas shopping season, when the population at large should be at its best but was undoubtedly at its worst, doing this for a tree for Garrett Merrick's awesome new lake house?

I totally had time.

"I have time," I confirmed.

He looked like he was fighting laughter, which was telling me I wasn't hiding my enthusiasm for that day's ch.o.r.es, when he said, "Cheap s.h.i.+t, babe. Just to get us by. I have a feeling next year I'm gonna have more Christmas c.r.a.p than anyone needs by a long shot."

My exciting new plans for the day flew straight from my head.

"What?" I asked.

Merry didn't repeat his feelings about what would happen in the next year, which, my guess, included Ethan's and my Christmas stuff being at his awesome new lake house.

Instead, he got bossy.

"Go to Bobbie's. Ask Vi if you can use her discount. Get those plastic tubes of ornaments, the ones that are twelve for a buck. Get a couple. And some lights. But don't mess around with the lights, babe. You should always invest in good lights. Next year, we'll find a way to use the extras."

I blinked, what Merry said earlier going straight from my head.

"Twelve-for-a-buck ornaments? Only a couple tubes?" I asked.

"How many you need?" he asked back.

"I don't know. Are you buying a proper Christmas tree or a Charlie Brown Christmas tree?"

His head jerked back like that question was an affront.

"First Christmas here with you, Ethan, and Grace, I'm not gonna get a s.h.i.+t-a.s.s tree."

That was nice.

However...

"So what you're saying is, the good part, the part I like, you want twelve-for-a-buck ornaments, two tubes of them, but you're gonna get a nice tree and you want me to go whole hog on the lights because you have a d.i.c.k and lights have a plug and that's the way of the world."

Merry was no longer affronted.

His lips were twitching.

"You want three tubes of ornaments? Knock yourself out."

Thirty-six ornaments on a full Christmas tree.

Not gonna happen.

"I'll get what I get," I declared.

Merry's face again lost its humor. "Serious, Cher, we'll have your s.h.i.+t here next year and we don't need decorations for two trees."

I was back to thinking about Merry's plans for the upcoming year.

"We'll have my s.h.i.+t here next year?"

"Yeah."

I waited for him to say more.

He didn't say more.

"Did I miss the invitation to move in with you?" I asked.

His humor yet again returned. "No."

I waited for him to say more.

Again, he didn't.

"Are you gonna steal my decorations so you have them next year?" I asked.

His amused face got close.

"No, baby. I'm gonna put in two decent bathrooms. Then I'm gonna buy better furniture because my s.h.i.+t sucks. After that, after we're all good and used to each other and I got a nice home to offer my woman and her boy, a real home, a comfortable home, I'm gonna invite them to move in with me. When they accept, I'm gonna have to accept all her s.h.i.+t. There's a lot of it and it includes fifteen boxes of Christmas c.r.a.p. And don't deny you got fifteen boxes, sweetheart, because Ethan and I lugged every one of those f.u.c.kers out of your garage, and when we did, we counted them."

He said the last quickly because I'd opened my mouth.

He also didn't stop talking.

"So, to end, we'll have your s.h.i.+t here next year, so we don't need expensive stuff for the tree we have this year."

"The master is pretty big, gorgeous," I said quietly. "We could put a tree in there next year with our new decorations."

His expression got more amused. "Jesus, Cherie, no one needs a tree in their bedroom."

"But I want one."

"Then get what you want to decorate this year, and next year, we'll put a tree in our bedroom."

I stared into his eyes.

That came right out. No hesitation, it came right out. Right out of Garrett Merrick's mouth.

I told him I wanted a tree in the bedroom; he told me to get what I want.

A girl who didn't dream sure as h.e.l.l was smart enough never to want. She took what she could get and that was that.

And just like that, no hesitation, I wanted something silly.

And Merry gave me what I wanted.

"You want us to move in with you."

My voice was funny-quiet, husky.

His voice was not quiet or husky. It was deep and kind of incredulous, like he couldn't believe I hadn't figured it out yet.

"Of course I do, brown eyes. I bought this house for you."

My throat suddenly felt tight.

He...

What?

I kept staring as I forced out, "What?"

"More house than I needed at a price higher than I wanted. But you liked it. You like water. Ethan's got his s.p.a.ce. We got ours. We got together s.p.a.ce. We got expansion s.p.a.ce. So I bought it."

I kept staring at him, but something happened while I did.

He watched me a beat, saw that something happen, and said, "f.u.c.k, you're gonna cry again, aren't you?"

I slapped his shoulder and snapped, "I've cried once with you, Merry. Once."

"Well, this time I don't have time to get you through it. I gotta get Ethan to school."

I gotta get Ethan to school.

He took my kid to school every day. Every day. Unless he was out on an early morning case, which was rare, it was no fail.

Every day.

Mornings were now our thing, the three of us, but the school run was Merry and Ethan's thing.

I felt wet hit my cheek.

"s.h.i.+t," he muttered, watching the tear fall.

"Stop making me happy," I whispered.

His eyes came back to mine and his were dancing.

But when he replied, he was whispering too.

"Not gonna happen."

"You need to be annoying on a more regular basis," I demanded softly.

His body started shaking and his voice was doing it as well when he stated, "That's not gonna happen either."

"Okay, then you need to go because I have a lake house Christmas theme to plan and execute and that's not gonna happen when you're standing here being awesome."

He audibly started laughing, and in the middle of it, he kissed me.

His laughter tasted great on my tongue.

The best.

"Okay, guys," Ethan shouted. "Are you done with the gooey? 'Cause I been waitin' in the hall, like, forever. I might not wanna get to school, but I'm cruisin' toward perfect attendance third year running, which includes not being tardy, and, you take much longer, you're messin' with that mojo."

Merry broke the kiss, and when he did, my tears had subsided.