Tic-Tac-Mistletoe - N.R. Walker Page 0,17
ever seen.
“Oh, morning,” I said brightly. “Hope I didn’t wake you.” Which was a bald-face lie but he didn’t know that.
He squinted one eye shut. “Smells good.”
“Take a seat, I’ll serve it up.”
“Gimme one sec, please,” he mumbled, then disappeared into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came out a little more awake. He’d clearly splashed water on his face and tried to do something with his hair. “Sorry. Not really a morning person.”
“Do you drink coffee?” I asked.
He nodded. “Inhale it, bathe in it, drink it.”
I chuckled and handed him a cup. “Sleep okay?”
He sipped his coffee and nodded. “Like the dead.” He took another sip. “This is great, thank you.” Then he held up his phone and the note. “Still no phone service, but I got the note. Thank you. I really appreciate you doing that for me.”
“I thought you’d want to know as soon as you woke up. I was going to wake you last night but you were so tired.”
He smiled. “I woke up around half three. I checked the time and found the note then. I forgot where I was, so at first I thought it was some kind of kidnapping note or a ransom thing, but then I remembered.”
I laughed and gestured to the table. “You hungry? I wasn’t sure when you’d wake up, but I made enough for two.”
“I am, though I don’t know how. All you’ve done is feed me.”
I pulled his chair out and he ducked his head and smiled as he sat. “So, you said you woke up at half three. Is that a code or a euphemism for something?”
He put his coffee down as he laughed. “Ah no, sorry. Half three is three thirty. I don’t really know what’s Australian or not so I don’t know what not to say.”
“Don’t change anything,” I said, sitting opposite him. “I like it.”
His cheeks tinted pink and he chewed on his bottom lip, focusing instead on the food on the table. “This looks great.”
“Help yourself to whatever you want.” I dished myself up some eggs and bacon and bit into a slice of toast. “I don’t normally cook breakfast. Except for holidays and maybe a long weekend.”
Hamish plated up some bacon and eggs. “How many days will you have off over Christmas?”
“Just three. Well, kinda four if you include the half-day yesterday. I’ll go back the day after Christmas.”
“The store must keep you busy?”
“Yep, but that’s a good thing. Means business is good, right?”
“Yeah, of course. Is it just you that works there?”
“Mrs Barton does my accounts, just a few hours three days a week, and helps out in the store sometimes. She’s worked there since I can remember.” I ate some eggs and swallowed. “She’s always been a bit of a mother figure to me, and she was a godsend when my dad died. Sweet as candy, she is.”
“Nice,” he replied, sipping his coffee with a smile. “I have two weeks off, then it’s back to work for me. My company is almost all online now, so I can work from anywhere. We have underwriters and whatnot based here in the States, so when I spoke to my boss about leaving, she gave me the option of transferring out. It was a no brainer, really.”
“That worked out really well.”
“Yeah, and I figured if I got here and found something better, I’d just quit. But I’ll need something till I get on my feet, ya know?”
I nodded. “Definitely. I can’t imagine just packing up and moving to a different country. On the other side of the planet.”
He grinned. “I wasn’t sure I could do it. Almost didn’t survive day one, so I probably shouldn’t jinx myself.”
I chuckled. “Well, let’s hope day two is a better one. Though the sun’s out so I’m thinking that’s a start. Phone lines should be up soon too, I’d guess. They’re never usually down for this long.”
He turned to look out the window, like he’d forgotten all about the snow outside. His eyes went wide and his whole face lit up. He stood and went for a closer look, like . . . well, like he’d never seen anything like it. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he whispered.
I chuckled and joined him by the window. Outside was a few feet of white, powdery snow. The trees were frosted with it. The early morning sunshine glowed like a dream. “Wanna go out in it?”
He shot me a look. “Can I?”
I laughed. “Of course you can.”
“Oh, I’m