Page 33 of My Boyfriend Marks Trees
Hard to even imagine Ares would do such a thing, judging by his giddy excitement as he chose pink wrapping paperwith unicorns being ridden by Santa, or when he held up an ornament in the shape of a crown with the name Greta etched on it.
“You’re insane,” she said, shaking her head as they checked out.
“Yup. And I’m okay with it.” He reached out to grab her hand. “We are going to make sure princess has the best Christmas ever.”
With shopping done, they drove back to Arnprior. She noticed him staring at every car they passed and how he kept checking his rearview mirror.
“What’s wrong?” she asked because this wasn’t the laidback Ares she’d come to know.
“Nothing.”
“Ares…” She used her mom tone.
He broke immediately. “There was a rental parked in front of your place, and it followed us a few blocks before I lost it.”
“What?” The blood in her veins froze.
“It might have just been a coincidence. Arnprior isn’t a big place, so we might have been going in the same direction.”
Her fingers clenched into fists. “What if it was…” She couldn’t say her ex’s name because, like a horror movie, it might just conjure him.
“Even if it was, you don’t have to worry. You’re safe with me. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Greta.”
She wanted to believe him, but Ares didn’t know what Barry was capable of. She herself hadn’t realized the dark side to him until he’d come around demanding she and Greta move in with him. The fact he’d suddenly decided to acknowledge her as his daughter had not been the joyful moment she’d hoped for; more like a nightmare.
Her silence led to him adding, “Seriously, Charly, I don’t want you stressing about it.”
“You’re telling a mom whose kid might be in danger to not stress?” she exclaimed.
“Okay, you stress. I’ll keep us safe.” He pulled into the fire station and glanced at her. “I know this sounds dickish, but you might want to try and smile if you don’t want Greta to sense you’re worried.”
She gave him a feral grin. “How’s this?”
“Terrifying.” He laughed.
She sighed. “Thanks for being honest.”
“I debated not saying anything, but you need to know so you can be cautious. Not that we’ll be leaving the farm for a few days. Weather forecast shows a big storm rolling in tonight, and it’s supposed to linger until Boxing Day. Everything’s gonna be closed since the roads will be a mess and no one will be able to get anywhere.”
“Will we be okay? Do we need to stock up on anything?”
“We’ll be fine. If the power goes out, then we’ve got the fireplace to keep us warm and plenty of candles. I’m a master at roasting wieners on an open flame.”
“I know a better place to roast it.” The words slipped out, and he laughed.
“My naughty Charly.”
My?She liked the way he spoke possessively. “And you really don’t mind us staying with you?”
“Nope. Guess you’re stuck with me.”
“Such a chore...” She uttered a dramatic sigh.
“Ouch.”
Her turn to laugh. “Okay, so maybe it won’t be complete torture.”
“Killing me here.”