Tic-Tac-Mistletoe - N.R. Walker Page 0,22
at my feet. “I can get changed.”
He put his hand up and the corner of his mouth lifted. “You can keep them. And the boots. You’re gonna need them, most likely. Until you can get your own.”
“Right,” I mumbled, feeling a bit foolish. “When Liv said it was cold and I should pack accordingly, I grossly underestimated her definition of cold.”
That earned me a smile. He stepped into the room and took the biggest suitcase.
“That’s the one with the broken wheel,” I said.
“I could probably fix it,” he offered. “It’s just a caster wheel. We have them at the store.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. As soon as I find a place of my own, I won’t be needing it anymore.” I stood there, unsure of what to say or do. I wanted to go see my sister, I really did. But I wasn’t too keen on saying goodbye to Ren just yet. And from the way he just stood there too, maybe he didn’t want me to go just yet either?
I cleared my throat. “So, I . . .”
“Yes,” he said, lifting the bag. “We should leave.”
He was gone before I could say anything, because leaving was not what I was going to suggest . . . but instead, I followed him out without a word.
He grabbed his keys and wallet, did something to the fire to keep it going, then locked the door behind us. Chutney was excited because she obviously liked going on adventures, and I managed walking to the garage without dying. I did slip and slide a little but the boots Ren gave me were a lifesaver.
“You okay?” he asked, lifting my bags into the back of his ute. Sorry, truck. Ugh.
“Yeah, definitely. Was just thinking of upgrading my gay status from queen to butch with these boots. They’re great.”
Ren barked out a laugh. “Gay status is a thing? I must have missed the memo.” He picked Chutney up and opened the passenger door, placing her inside.
“Oh, the gay memo. Yeah, it’s like the letter from Hogwarts. And Hagrid appears and says ‘yer a gay now, Harry.’”
He laughed again. “He must have got lost.”
“Maybe he was an Aussie Hagrid who couldn’t drive in the snow.”
He chuckled. “Maybe.” Then he made a thoughtful face. “What status would I have got? I’m not exactly queen-ish or butch, I don’t think.”
“You’re the perfect status. Not many can claim that. It’s like the Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor, but for gays.”
That made him laugh. “Perfect?”
“Yep. And the Sorting Hat is never wrong.”
He was still holding the door open and I realised, a little belatedly, that he was holding it for me. “See? Perfect,” I said as I climbed in.
He closed the door and smiled as he walked around the front of the truck. When he got in, Chutney was on my lap, doing her little happy dance. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, laughing as he started his truck. “She likes you.”
“I’m a likeable guy.”
The truck chugged out of the garage and Ren shot me a quick look. “You are, Hamish. I’m sorry you got stuck and missed out on seeing your sister yesterday. But I’m glad I met you.” He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. “I don’t get to talk to . . . to other guys very often. It’s been . . . nice.”
“It has been nice,” I agreed. “Getting rescued by a guy who was not a grizzly bear or a serial killer. Who fed me, organised to get my car towed and for the cops to let my sister know I wasn’t dead.” I gave Chutney a pat. “But seriously, it was better than nice. It was lovely. I had a lovely time, thank you.”
He turned the truck out of his drive and onto the road. Everything was white, though the road had been plowed at some point. The sides of the road were banks of snow, and I’d never seen anything like it.
“See there,” he said, pointing to the side of the road. “That’s where I found you.”
It was a lot of snow. Though I could see now if the snow hadn’t stopped me, the trees sure would have. It looked a lot scarier now I could actually see it. “Oh, wow.”
Chutney was still on my lap and we looked out the window at the passing scenery. It was mostly just snow and trees. A few driveways, but the road was winding and I must have been crazy to think I could