Blue Christmas (The Moody Blue Trilogy | Book One) (9 page)

She struggled out of his grasp, fumbling with her keys, anxious to avoid
another attack. Too late. She fell through the opening door, pushing him away
at arm’s length.

“STOP IT! I hate to be tickled! I mean it! Do NOT tickle me anymore!”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay—I get the message.” He
looked around her apartment. “This is really nice, Hannah. Feels really—”

“Cozy? I know it’s kinda small. But I’m not here that much. It’s really
all I need right now.”

“No, it’s nice. We’ve all built these absurd houses and we’re never home
either. A house is a house.” He gave himself a tour as Hannah snatched up stray
socks and blue jeans.

“Sorry for the mess, but I wasn’t expecting company, for the record.”

He balked with a snort. “Tell me you’re not apologizing to
me.
I’m
a pig. You should see my hotel rooms on tour. If we didn’t have a stylist, I’d
never get dressed on time. Kinda sad to be twenty-seven years old and still need
someone to dress you.”

“Somehow I doubt she minds.”

“Actually she does. She gets tired of how childish we act most of the
time. But hey, she gets paid a truckload for putting up with us. So what time
do you want me to come back and pick you up?”

Hannah stopped, then slowly put the pile of clothes in an easy chair.
“Look, Jason—”

“Don’t even think about it. You’re coming and that’s settled. Mom would
have a fit if you didn’t.”

“But it’s your family. They’re all coming over to see
you
. I’ll
just be in the way. I’d love to see you again, but maybe today’s not the best
time.”

“Nope. I’m not
leaving you alone on Christmas so forget it. You’ll love my family. And they’ll
love you too. Besides,” he added, turning back toward the door, “I won you for
a week, and don’t you forget it.” He opened the door, tossing an arrogant
glance over his shoulder.

“I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”

“Gevin’s coming over, y’know,” he taunted her. “And I think JT might drop
by. His mom is on a shoot over in Australia, so he said he might bring Tracey
over. If you won’t come for me, surely you’ll come to meet the guys? Hmmm?” His
eyebrows danced again.

She shook her head, her smile weary. “You never give up, do you?”

He tiptoed back to her, furiously mussed her hair, then headed back toward
the open door. “Nope, I don’t. How about I pick you up around 5:00? And don’t make me wait. I’d hate to have to take back your gift.”

“My gift?”

“Gotcha. Now I know you’ll come. See you at 5:00. And get some sleep. I
don’t mean to be rude, but girl, you look beat.” His face morphed into an
I’m-in-trouble-now
sneer. He narrowly escaped the pillow she threw at him as he slipped out
the door.

Hannah fell onto her sofa. She grabbed another throw pillow, pounding her
head into it over and over. “Have I lost my mind?!”

Hannah climbed into a purple pullover sweater as her cell chirped. She
looked at the clock. Four fifty-five. Not good timing for a phone call. She
wanted to be totally ready when Jason came. She plopped on the edge or her bed
and picked up her cell. Her boss’s name appeared on the screen. “Hi Jim. I
didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.” She grabbed her black trouser socks
then leaned over to pull one on.

“Hi Hannah, how are you?”

She grimaced, wishing she didn’t have to be reminded of her long work
week ahead. “I’m fine. How did the funeral go?” Another grimace. “Oh, I’m sorry.
That’s a stupid question—”

“Hey, it’s okay. I know what you meant to say. The funeral went about
like you’d expect. Sandy is still pretty upset, but that’s normal under the circumstances,
I guess. But I wanted to let you know I’m back.”

“What?” She stopped tugging up the other sock.

“I decided she needed more time with her immediate family, and I wouldn’t
really be missed. And you know me—I get kind of twitchy being away from the
store too long. Anyway, just wanted to let you know you can take the rest of
the week off if you want. I really appreciate you stepping in to help out like
you did. In fact, you’ll find a nice little bonus in your next paycheck. I’m really
grateful.”

She jumped up and danced a silent victory jig, pounding her fists in the
air. She paused to steady her voice. “Oh, well, that’s—I mean, I’m sorry you
felt you had to come back so soon. But are you sure you don’t need me?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Take some time off. Enjoy your break. I’ll give you a
call in a few days. And thanks again, Hannah. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Jim. Bye.” She threw the phone on the bed and jumped in
the air. “Yessssssss! Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!”

Her cell phone rang again.

The doorbell rang.

Kylie’s name flashed on her cell. Kylie! She hadn’t talked to her since
all this began! She had so much to tell her!

The doorbell rang. Again. And again and again.

“Yikes! Just a minute, Jason!”

She tossed the phone back on the bed, unanswered.
I’m sorry Kylie,
I’ll call you later, can’t talk now, you’ll understand when you hear what’s
been going on!
She hoped somehow her mental message would get to Kylie.
Yeah
right.

Hannah flew around her room, grabbing the rest of her outfit. She hopped
on one foot then the other as she pulled on her black slacks then ran a brush
through her clean hair. She brushed her teeth in record time then hurried to
the door. She stopped, took a deep breath.

Be calm. Look relaxed.
She opened the door.

“Why didn’t you tell me there was a blizzard out here, girl? I coulda
killed myself coming over here!” Jason stomped his shoes on the welcome mat
before stepping into the apartment.

“I didn’t know.” She peeked out then shoved the door shut against the
frigid air. “I slept all afternoon. Is it that bad out there?” When she turned
around, he was there.
Right
there.

“Whoa—Hannah. You look amazing,” he said, folding his arms across his
chest as if studying her. “I mean
really
amazing. You clean up good.”

Her face warmed under the scrutiny of his attention. “Well that’s good to
know. I guess?” Seeing such affection in those warm green eyes reduced her
knees to linguine. “Um, so you think it’s too dangerous to drive?”

“It’s looking
pretty bad. The roads aren’t impossible but don’t plan on coming home tonight.
You’ll be snowed in for sure.” He took both her hands in his. “Which, of
course, would be
such
a shame now, wouldn’t it?”

The butterflies flitted through her stomach.
She plastered a
nervous smile on her face. “Give me just a second, will you?”

Hannah hurried to her bathroom, grabbed her small makeup bag and tossed
it in her purse.
With these people, you never know when you’ll be home
again.
The thought scattered the butterflies on another round. Still, she
couldn’t help feeling excited.

Twenty minutes later they walked hand in hand to the back entrance of the
McKenzie’s estate. Hannah slowed her steps, her hand tugging Jason back.

He turned. “You okay?”

“I’m really nervous, Jason. All these people . . . I don’t
think I can do this.”

He cupped her face in his gloved hands. “Look. You liked Mom and Dad,
right?”

“Of course I did.”

“So see? We’re all related. We’re just a normal family, Hannah. You’ll do
great. And I promise not to leave you stuck with any of them. Deal?”

She sighed, only slightly reassured by his promise. “Deal.”

The evening was one of the sweetest Christmas memories Hannah ever
experienced. Just as Jason promised, his family turned out to be a
conglomeration of McKenzie warmth and kindness. They made sure to include her
in their conversations, asking questions about her studies, her interests, her
family, her plans. Jason kept his promise, staying close to her side, sitting
on the arm of her chair or sprawled on the floor in front of her, leaning back
against her legs.

After their traditional Christmas dinner of turkey and all the trimmings,
the family relaxed around the spacious home. They talked, they watched
football—just like any other family. Jason was right. They were just ordinary
people like everyone else.

Well,
almost.

“Hey, whassup! Anybody home?”

Hannah knew the voice immediately. In mere seconds she would meet another
member of
Blue.
Gevin Michaels. She noticed her hands trembling so she
intertwined her fingers, hoping to still them.

She watched across the room as a whole new flock of cousins and nieces
and nephews and aunts and uncles spilled into the family room. Jason jumped up
to greet them all, hugging kids and kissing aunts and uncles on the cheek. She
spotted Gevin, a head taller than the rest of his family.

“Don’t even
think
about it!” Gevin warned as Jason pretended he
was going to kiss his famous cousin. Gevin faked a punch to Jason’s stomach.
“It’s bad enough I have to work with you day in and day out. You’d think I
could have a little space on Christmas.”

“How’s it goin’, Cuz?” The teasing aside, they shared a hug. Jason cocked
his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. “And what’s with the silly grin?”

Hannah watched Gevin’s face beam. Everyone called him the serious member
of the band, but you’d never know it today. “What’re you talking about? What
grin?”

Jason twisted his head the other direction, curiosity still etched on his
face.

“There’s someone here I think you know,” Gevin said. He reached back
through the pack of people behind him, grabbing a hand the color of coffee with
cream. Suddenly, a striking African-American woman squeezed through the crowd.

“Marissa!” Jason pounced on her, scooping her up in his arms. “What are
you doing here? This is great!” As he hugged her, the slender beauty’s wild
curls danced all over his face. “What a nice surprise!”

“Sheesh, McKenzie, you guys sure have a lot of family,” she laughed, looking
over the crowd. “Who
are
all these people?”

She stepped back beside Gevin, his arm wrapping around her slender waist.
“I talked Rissa into spending Christmas with me, family obligations and all, so
here we are.”

Hannah watched Marissa Shaw snuggle into the comfort of Gevin’s arm. Back
in her groupie days, she’d read about the talented tour manager for the band
.
She was known for her no-nonsense approach to management, keeping the
entire production team in line and on schedule. Her peers maintained a healthy
respect for her, recognizing her immense talent and vision overseeing one of
the hottest groups in the industry. Quite a remarkable feat for a woman so
young. But Marissa was also known to adore her “boys.” With them from the start,
she was part of their huge success story. But Hannah had never known how
beautiful she was—tall and graceful with arresting caramel eyes, flawless skin,
and a captivating smile with perfect white teeth.

Hannah turned to notice the strange look on Jason’s face. Then, as if snapping
out of a fog, he suddenly faced her with blinking eyes. “I’m so sorry! Hey, Gevin—Rissa.
I’ve got someone you need to meet.” He grabbed Hannah’s hand, pulling her into
the circle. “This is Hannah. Mom picked her up at the grocery store yesterday
and well, we can’t seem to get rid of her.”

“Jason!” Hannah laughed
out loud, elbowing him in the ribs.

He put his arm
over her shoulder. “I’m teasing. Well, sort o
f.
Anyway, Hannah this is Gevin, but you probably already knew that.”

Gevin’s smile broadened as his eyes grew wide. “Nice to meet you,
Hannah.” He embraced her in a hug and pretended to whisper in her ear. “But I
probably need to talk to you later about your taste in men.” His thick eyebrows
raised to acknowledge some inside wisdom. “We’ll talk,” he whispered loudly.

She laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Gevin. But I’d be a little
skeptical of advice from a family member. Gene pool and all that.”

He threw his head back laughing. “Point well taken!” He turned to Jason.
“Sharp girl. Though what she’s doing with you baffles me.”

Marissa reached out her hand toward Hannah. “Nice to meet you, Hannah.
Looks like you and I are the only sane people in the crowd. I’m glad you’re
here. I was afraid I’d be suffocated by The Family.” Gevin hummed the theme
from
The Godfather
as Marissa crossed her eyes. “See what I’m talkin’ ’bout,
girl?”

Gevin grabbed her hand. “If you’ll excuse us for a moment, we need to say
hi to Aunt Laura and Uncle Frank. We’ll be back in a minute.”

Hannah sat back
down. Jason slowly lowered himself on the armrest again, his arm landing across
the back of her chair. He leaned over, whispering in her ear. “Something’s up.”

“What do you mean?” She felt his face against her hair, actually heard
him inhaling the scent of it. An unexpected shiver trickled down her back.