Regan was really nice, talky and chatty in a motherly way that was a little bit weird (okay, it was a lot weird) considering she looked like their sister.
Still, she took great pains letting Sonia know she was welcoming her into the bosom of her brood with open arms.
As they made huge, fluffy pancakes for the men, she told Sonia stories about her Momma and Papa which was the only nice thing that had happened in this mess, Regan knowing and having stories about Sonia’s parents. It was something Sonia hadn’t had for years and she appreciated greatly. Although Gregor was supposed to be their very best friend, he disliked talking about them and, eventually, Sonia stopped bringing them up.
When Sonia told Regan this, Regan’s mouth got tight in a way that made Sonia curious.
“What?” she asked Callum’s mother.
Regan slid the bacon around in the skillet with a fork and muttered, “It’s just…” She looked at Sonia with a carefully closed face and finished, “I’ve known Gregor too, for a long time. He didn’t get along with my husband.”
“Oh,” was all Sonia said because it was obvious Regan didn’t want to talk about it. As she wouldn’t, considering Gregor didn’t get along with her dead husband.
This was also not a surprise. Gregor didn’t get along with hardly anybody.
Callum, Ryon and Calder came back and Sonia heard it before Regan did.
She also heard who she would later know was Calder mutter before they walked into the house, “This is brilliant. Fuck her tonight, you can bring her down the mountain and we can stop dicking around with this shit.”
Sonia’s heart twisted.
There you go. More proof she was just a kingly duty for Callum.
“Jesus, Calder,” Ryon (she would recognize later) muttered back, his voice sounding annoyed.
She didn’t let on she heard but strangely Regan gave Calder a look when he sauntered in with the pack. A severe motherly look that made Calder ask, “What?”
To which Regan answered, “You know what.”
When Callum entered, he came directly to Sonia and curled an arm around her, bringing her body front-to-front with his.
“How you doing, honey?” he asked the top of her hair.
“Okay,” she lied to his chest and hoped it sounded like the truth.
It obviously didn’t because he pulled back and looked at her with searching eyes.
She didn’t know what to do to hide her thoughts from those intelligent eyes so she used the only escape route available to her as she couldn’t run to a car and drive to the ends of the earth. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in massive chest.
This was the right thing to do. His body relaxed but his arms tightened around her and he gave her a squeeze.
She found out during breakfast that Callum and his father before him had been protecting her since her parents died. Ryon was what they called “the lead” of Sonia’s “detail”.
This meant they knew practically everything about her (except her injection). They knew about Gregor, Yuri, her schooling, her friends (such as they were), her shop, her house, everything.
This explained those benign presences Sonia felt since her parents died and she felt a strange sense of relief that she finally knew what they were. However, she told herself she didn’t feel a not-so-strange sense of warmth that Callum and his father had taken great pains to protect her since her parents died (but she did feel it).
Therefore, after breakfast, Ryon walked up to where Sonia was standing at the counter, scooting her pancake remains around on her plate. There were a lot of them, Regan made delicious pancakes but Sonia wasn’t hungry.
He slid an arm around her shoulders, tucked her into his side and teased, “As an apology for stalking you for thirty years, I told Regan you clearly had a thing for Christmas.” She looked up at him and he grinned down at her at which time she noticed he was nearly as good-looking as Callum. “Regan likes to shop, as those clothes you’re wearing lay testament to.” Sonia glanced at Regan in surprise and gratitude at learning Regan had supplied her wardrobe. She looked back to Ryon when he finished, “She ran out and got some decorations so you could have little bit of Christmas while you’re stuck up here. They’re out in the car.”
This was such a nice thing to do, Sonia’s mood lifted instantly and she had no idea just how much her expression brightened.
She also had no idea how much it transformed her “seriously pretty” face.
She further had no idea that Callum could see her plainly from where he was leaning at the end of the counter.
And no idea the intensity of the response Callum felt at seeing her expression.