Winter Wonderland (17 page)

Charity didn’t smile. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, and then she too glanced at the kitchen. When she spoke next, it was in a quiet voice.

“Sometimes…sometimes I think I don’t like boys. At all. Not even to have a baby.”

Paul didn’t look away from Charity, trying to appear as natural as possible, not freaked out over the gravity of their conversation. “You’re only eleven, so it might be too early to know if you like boys or not for sure. But if you do decide you only like girls, or girls as well as boys, you can come to me, if you need to talk to somebody about it. Or Corrina Anderson. She’d be good too.”

Charity grimaced. “She’s bossy.”

“Yeah.” Paul grinned. “She can be.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry much about it right now, okay? And don’t listen when your Mom says bad stuff about gay people. She doesn’t know everything.”

Charity didn’t say anything, but she did nod and look a little teary. She briefly threw her arms around Paul’s neck in an awkward hug, and then she hurried out of the room.

Paul watched her go, thinking of Kyle and wishing he’d been present to hear the exchange.

Chapter Fourteen

T
he hours until the end of a shift had never crawled by at a more glacial pace as they did for Kyle Thanksgiving Day.

There was plenty of work to do—a holiday was the same as any other day in a care center, as far as residents’ needs went. The census was down slightly, with some people out with family for lunch or dinner, though not many were able-bodied enough for such an adventure.

Edna Michealson was one of that number, unfortunately. She’d made a great deal of improvement and was off her oxygen treatment, but she exhausted far too easily to brave a journey to her son’s house, especially in the cold. Her son had been by on the weekend, but he didn’t stay long in deference to her need to continue resting. This meant on the holiday Edna was in a particularly foul mood, fighting with the aides and other residents. Kyle was the only one she would tolerate, and even him not very well.

“Might as well roll me out to the parking lot and let me die.” She waved a weathered hand at Kyle, a weak attempt to shoo him away. “Go take care of someone else. I’m not in the mood for your cheerfulness.”

Kyle didn’t budge, holding up the blood pressure cuff. “I can’t leave until I take your vitals, I’m afraid. And I was told you didn’t take your medicine, which means that’s my job too.”

“I don’t
want
my vitals taken, and I’m done with that medicine. It hurts my stomach.”

“Oh? I’ll say something to the doctor, see if he can make a change. In the meantime, I’ll make a note you’re to be given as much vanilla ice cream as you like before your medicine is administered.”

He didn’t let himself smile at the way this made her pause, unwilling to snipe at the offer of her favorite treat. But he did think,
Gotcha
.

She sighed in a tight huff and held out her arm. “Very well. You win. Not like it matters. I’m going to die here. I’d rather it be sooner than later.”

“If you’ve decided you’re staying permanently, we should see about bringing more things over from your house. I’d be more than happy to help you make your room more comfortable.” He sat beside her on the bed and wrapped the nylon cuff around her arm.

She watched him. “You’re the only one who puts up with my foul mood. And you’re the only one who’s gentle when they put that thing on.”

He glanced at her. “I’ll speak to the staff. About the cuff.” He winked. “You’ll have to work on your foul mood yourself, I’m afraid.”

She
humphed
at that but kept quiet as he put his stethoscope in his ears and took her blood pressure and pulse. Once he swiped her forehead with his thermometer, however, she spoke again. “You shouldn’t be here, fussing with me. You should be home with your family.”

“No, I should be here, taking care of you. I’ll be with my family later tonight.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Paul’s coming with me.”

That
made her smile. “Progressed far enough to have him at a holiday meal? Goodness, you’re fast.”

“Yes, well—it might be a bit quick, I’ll admit. But his family is horrid. I wanted him to have a decent holiday, at least in part.” He couldn’t stop a besotted sigh. “I really like him, Edna.”

“You certainly brighten when you speak of him. Which is saying something, as you’re usually bright as it—”

She broke into a fit of coughing, having exerted herself too much, and Kyle took her hand, putting his other palm on her back, patting gently. “All right, young lady. You’ve had enough excitement for a bit, I think.” He passed her the plastic mug of water from her bedside, nudging the straw to her mouth and urging her to sip. “Rest up, and I’ll be back at noon with your holiday meal. If you want, I’ll take my lunch break then too, and we can have our turkey together.”

Releasing the straw from trembling lips, she fell back into her pillow, eyes closed with exhaustion. After a few breaths, she opened her eyes just enough to peer at him. “You…are so good…to us.” She drew a few more breaths. “Why?”

There were a lot of answers to give, but she didn’t want to hear this was his job or that he genuinely cared for her as a person. She wanted to know why a cheerful young man worked horrible shifts at a small-town care center.

So he told her.

“When Mormor and Morfar got too ill to live at home, even with us next door, they came here. It was the first time they were apart from one another since they were children. I watched the nurses rush about, seeing them only as patients, not people. Or at least, not Mormor and Morfar. I came by after school every day to see them, cajoling nurses to get them out of their rooms to be together in the lounge. I noticed how much better they both were when I came, how much brighter they were. When they finally passed away, within days of each other, I kept coming because I’d made friends with the other residents. I came by so much the head nurse guided me through the steps I’d need to become a CNA, then helped me apply to school.” He smoothed her hair away from her face. “I like taking care of other people’s grandparents. That’s why.”

She caught his hand weakly and drew it to her lips to kiss it. “You’re a treasure.”

Kyle kissed her cheek, squeezed her hand and let it go as he stood. “I’ll be by at noon. You get some sleep.”

He did go by at noon, and they enjoyed a lovely meal. The food wasn’t as grand as Kyle would have that evening, but it was good enough, and the company was wonderful. He stopped by her room again before the end of his shift, getting her to smile, letting her know he’d had the doctor change her medicine and made sure she’d get ice cream whenever she wanted it.

Eventually he was in his car, heading for Paul’s house. They’d texted throughout the day, and he knew Paul hadn’t had a terrible time, but not a wonderful one either. He also knew, after a series of increasingly flirtatious texts, the first thing they were doing when he walked in the door was fucking.

On the way to the door, though, he stopped to make a quick sculpture. Not his best, not by half, but the hastily assembled mini-snow penis still did the job, making Paul laugh and kiss him hard on the mouth when Kyle appeared on his doorstep with the snow cock perched in the palm of his mitten.

“Nice,” Paul said, setting it off to the side where it wouldn’t get knocked over by the door.

“Don’t worry.” Kyle nipped at Paul’s chin. “I’ll fuck you with something a lot warmer.”

They went inside the house, kissing and grasping at each other until Kyle ended up on his knees, taking Paul in deep. Paul didn’t last long. All too soon he gripped Kyle’s hair, his hips thrusting until his body seized and he came down Kyle’s throat. He shuddered a moment after, his fingers relaxing against Kyle’s head. He nudged Kyle to his feet and kissed him long and languid.

Then he pulled Kyle’s shirt off, pushed his scrubs and underwear to his feet, and led him to the bedroom.

He made love to Kyle’s whole body, nipping at his shoulder, teasing and sucking at his nipples until they were tight buttons. He licked Kyle’s abdomen, his thighs, his taint. He took Kyle’s cock into his mouth. Kyle swam in the sensation. He shut his eyes too, until the bed shifted with new weight. Paul kneed his way up Kyle’s body, slicking him with lube and quickly working on a condom. Kyle watched Paul reach behind himself and work lube into his hole. Then Paul positioned himself over Kyle’s cock and slowly sat down.

Kyle rode the blissful waves of tight heat as he pushed into Paul’s ass. He tried to open his eyes to watch, because it was a glorious sight, Paul working himself over Kyle’s body, but it was too overwhelming. All too soon he screwed his eyes shut tight, body heaving as he rode out his orgasm.

Paul collapsed on the bed beside him, lying face-down in deference to his sore backside. Kyle kissed him languidly. “Doesn’t that make you sore, being fucked after coming?”

Paul shrugged. “It’s a little intense, yeah. But sometimes I kind of like it.” He kissed Kyle again, but quicker this time. “When are we due at your place? Because it’s after four.”

“Shit. We better get going. They’ll start as soon as we get there, as some of my family needs to travel to get home.”

They hurried to get their clothes back on, though they stopped to kiss and giggle a lot. Kyle convinced Paul to not only ride with him but bring a change of clothes and his toothbrush. “I’ll take you in if you have to go to work, but I’d love it if you could stay all day. I have it off, and we’re putting up our tree.”

Paul rubbed his chin. “I’d have to ask Arthur if he minds covering. I might have to be on call if he gets a big job. But I’ve covered for him before. A lot, actually. He owes me. Yeah, I can stay.”

Kyle smiled. “Perfect.”

The house was full to bursting as they arrived, and it smelled like heaven. His siblings and their spouses were all there, and a handful of aunts and uncles and cousins from both sides. The whole counter overflowed with food, and the buffet in the hall groaned with pie. The dining room table had every leaf inserted, and card tables dotted every room on the first floor. Even with all that seating, though, Kyle knew some people would end up sitting on the couch and eating off their laps.

Kyle introduced Paul as much as he could, but once Linda Kay jumped them, he spent most of his time trying to keep her leveled out. She loved family gatherings, but she got a little too excited and tended to get herself in trouble. He worried Paul would feel slighted, but if anything, Paul seemed happy to join in corralling Kyle’s twin.

“Thanks,” he said once Jane had taken Linda Kay to get her plate while Kyle and Paul stayed back to save the three of them seats at the big table. He waved at her and smiled, but once she was out of sight, he let his shoulders sag. “She can be…intense.”

“She’s okay.” Paul caught Kyle’s fingers briefly, looking at him in concern. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Exhausted.” Kyle ran a hand through his hair before leaning on Paul’s shoulder while he watched his family file by. “But I love Thanksgiving. I love the noise and the chaos and the too much family.” His belly rumbled. “And the food.”

Soon it was their turn to fill their plates. He led Paul to the end of the line, and he told him about Edna as they wove their way through the living room and down the hall to the kitchen. “She’s doing okay, health-wise, but it’s bothering her a lot to be in the care center.”

“Will she be able to go home once she’s better?”

“Yes, but I don’t think either her doctor or her family wants her to. I wish she’d get connected with the care center community. Is it an ideal place to live? No. But residents who find a way to make it a home get the best of both worlds. Friends and care.”

They reached the food and heaped their paper plates high with mashed potatoes, stuffing, Jell-O salad, turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, creamed corn and steaming-hot rolls. Paul volunteered to carry both their plates so Kyle could get them silverware and drinks—coffee for Paul and fruit punch for Kyle. When they returned to the dining room, it overflowed with people and noise, but Linda Kay stood, waving her stubby arms frantically at them.

“I saved your seats.” She bounced on her heels as they put down their food and drinks, and Kyle had barely cleared Paul’s coffee cup before Linda Kay clamped him into a bear hug with a squeal. “I love Thanksgiving!”

Kyle hugged her back, then extricated himself and urged her into her seat. “Come on, squirrel, let me eat before my food gets cold.”

He joined his aunt in badgering Linda Kay to eat too so
she
could finally get a few bites in, and then they worked out a natural rhythm. Of course, Linda Kay wanted to ask Paul a thousand questions, so he ended up part of the gentle redirection as well.

“A lot of people,” Paul observed, once Linda Kay had settled into her food for a bit. “Is it always like this?”

“This is an unusually big crowd, but it’s often intense, yeah. We’re kind of a central location for the family, and we have the biggest house.” Kyle took a bite of sweet potatoes and closed his eyes on a groan of pleasure. “Mmm. These are my Aunt Fiona’s. Nobody does them like her. I was afraid they’d all be gone by the time we got through the line. A little bit of heaven every November.”

Paul forked another bite of stuffing. “This is my favorite, I think. Who made this?”

Kyle beamed. “Me, yesterday. Mom cooked it for me, but I put it together.”

Soon enough they finished their meal, and after a few minutes to let things settle, they went back for pie. Paul got apple and a scoop of ice cream, Kyle pumpkin with whipped cream, but they swapped bites back and forth so that by the time they finished they’d each eaten half of the other’s.

“Look at you two lovebirds.” Linda Kay leaned over the remains of her brownie and blinked coquettishly at Paul. “So. Are you staying overnight, sexy pants?”

Paul laughed. “Yeah, I’d planned on it. That okay?”

Linda Kay snickered and waggled her eyebrows at Kyle, who gave her a warning glare, but she only laughed darkly and got up to beg their mother for a second brownie.

Kyle’s relatives began to drift out one family at a time, hugging Kyle and shaking Paul’s hand, telling him with a smile it was nice to meet him. Once most had left, Kyle and Paul worked together to help tear down tables, pile tablecloths by the washing machine, put food away and do the dishes. By nine thirty, the two of them cuddled in the living room. Linda Kay was in bed, and Kyle’s parents talked quietly in the kitchen as they finished the last of the tidying up.

Paul teased Kyle’s hair idly where it rested on his thigh. “You seem tired.”

Kyle was exhausted. But he caught Paul’s hand, drawing it to his mouth to kiss. “I like being with you. I don’t want to go to bed yet.”

Paul paused. “Am I sleeping somewhere
other
than your bed?”

“No, but once I hit the pillow, I’m passing out.” He wrapped Paul’s arm around his side, snuggling into Paul’s leg. “I love this. Sitting with you after a big family gathering. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Hope we weren’t too overwhelming.”

“Not at all.” Paul stroked Kyle through his shirt. “It was a perfect tonic to an otherwise disappointing holiday.”

The words buoyed Kyle, making him turn onto his back so he could gaze up at his boyfriend. “I like being with you, Paul Jansen.”