Page 34 of My Boyfriend Marks Trees
She put her hand on his thigh for a squeeze. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for me and Greta.”
“And I appreciate the fact you’ve allowed me into your life. I’m really glad we met, Charly.”
“So am I.” She truly was.
“Shall we go fetch the princess and take her home?”
Home. It had a nice ring to it.
They entered the firehall to blasting Christmas music and found Greta getting ready to descend the pole. Despite the tumbling mats all around, Athena stood positioned at the bottom, ready to catch Greta if she slipped.
Charlotte did her best to not gasp and freak. The last thing she wanted was to curb her daughter’s fearless spirit, but her stomach did tighten when Greta slid down squealing.
Greta landed on her feet and immediately spotted her. “Mama!” she cried, racing for her.
“Hey, munchkin. Are you having fun?”
A rapid head bob and a toothy grin followed by a gush of words. “So much fun! We had pizza and purple juice and chips. Santa came, too!”
Charlotte approached Athena with Ares by her side. “Hi, thanks again for giving us a hand with Greta.”
“My pleasure. She’s an absolute treasure.” Athena then murmured, “And don’t you worry about a thing. Ares is good at keeping those he cares about safe.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened.
Ares cleared his throat. “I told Athena about our possible situation.”
“Just so you know, we didn’t have any strangers pop by during the party. We kept an eye open.”
“Thanks.”
“You heading back to the farm?” Athena asked.
“Yeah, going to hunker down before the storm hits.”
“You know, if you need a more secure place to stay, there’s tons of room at the Kennedys’. Grams and Gramps have gotcameras all over, and if the power goes out, they’ve got a generator to keep things running.”
“Which is a hint we should get one at the house. I know.” Ares grimaced. “Damned things are pricey.” He glanced at Charlotte. “We have two small ones, but they’re hooked to the barn and chicken coop to make sure the animals don’t freeze during a power failure.”
“Does it happen often?”
“We’re in the country, so more often than we’d like, but we usually manage just fine. But given all that’s going on, it might not be a bad idea to head to Grams and Gramps’.”
“I couldn’t impose,” Charlotte murmured.
Athena snorted. “Oh, don’t worry. If you’re not welcome, they’ll come right out and say it. But I guarantee they won’t kick you out. For one, they like Ares, for two, despite their ornery act, they’re actually very giving and caring people.”
“They are,” Ares stated. “I’ll never forget how they helped my family out when we had our own situation.”
“What happened?” Charlotte asked.
“Some unsavory folks had their sights on my sisters. Grams, Gramps, and their grandson, Derek, helped us to convince them to bother someone else.”
Charlotte got the impression he glossed over the details. She doubted, though, that people harassing his sisters compared to a violent ex who’d kill her if she didn’t give him what he wanted. “I wouldn’t want to bring trouble to their doorstep.”
For some reason, Athena laughed. “That would actually be the best present you could give them. Grams and Gramps thrive on drama and are the kind of folks ready for the apocalypse. They have a bomb shelter stocked to the rafters just in case.”
“Their place really is more secure than the farm,” Ares added.