he showed the inscription to Emilia.
“It
was a tradition in our house to write what we wanted on the baubles. Mum and
Dad got four new ones every year, and we would scribble on them whatever it was
we wanted most that year. I remember doing this. I was seven. Fiona at school,
who I loved with all the passion a seven year old is capable of, had roller
skates and she promised to teach me how to use them, if I got some of my own.
Naturally, that meant roller skates were the must have present that year.”
He
glanced up to see Emilia smiling at him.
“Naturally,”
she said. “Did you get them?”
Hunter,
too, grinned in remembrance.
“Oh,
yes I did. As did every boy in our class. I’m afraid
Fiona was rather a tease.”
Emilia
giggled, and Hunter relaxed further into telling his tale.
“Of
course that meant the competition was on. I had to become the best damn roller
skater in the school. One has to impress the ladies, you know.” He reached up
to put the bauble on the tree, and picked up another one.
“This
one—”
“Hang
on,” Emilia interrupted him. “What happened with Fiona? Did you get your girl?”
Hunter
hung his head and stuck his bottom lip out, which made Emilia giggle. Hunter
breathed a sigh of relief. He so loved that giggle.
“Sadly no. After all that
effort she chose Lawrence. Who didn’t know how to roller skate, was short and
fat, but a genius, and did her homework for her.”
Emilia
tried to stop laughing, but failed miserably, and Hunter winked at her.
“Brain
over brawn, was it?”
“Oh,
I had the brains, but I wasn’t gullible enough to help her cheat, and I’m no
one’s doormat.”
Emilia
sobered and nodded.
“No,
I bet, even back then you were rather the take-charge type, huh?”
Hunter
shrugged and bared his teeth at her in a goofy smile.
“I
shall neither confirm nor deny that, for fear it might be used against me at a
later time.” He kissed her on the nose. “Now, like I was saying, this one, I
got my dad to write, because I didn’t know how. I was three, and I wanted a
train set.”
Time
flew by as Hunter told the stories associated with each bauble, and his heart felt
lighter with every little thing he shared. Emilia chipped in with anecdotes
from her own childhood, and by the time he lifted her up on his shoulder so she
could put the star at the top of the tree, it was late, and Emilia yawned.
In
truth, Hunter, too, felt exhausted. All this purging one’s demons wore a man
out.
He
threw another log on the dying fire and pulled Emilia into his side, as they
lay on the soft rug, looking up at the tree.
She
propped herself up on one elbow better to see him, and his throat went dry at
the wealth of emotion he saw in her gaze.
“Thank
you for sharing that with me, Sir. It can’t have been easy.”
Hunter
nodded and pulled her back down until her head rested on his chest, and his
bear grunted his approval at having her this close to
him.
“It
wasn’t, but telling you has made me realize that there are plenty of things in
my past worth remembering. I had forgotten I even had that box. I found it in Mum
and Dad’s house after they’d passed on, and I couldn’t bring myself to chuck it
out, so I brought it up here and shoved it into the spare room.”
Emilia
snuggled in closer and kissed his chin.
“Did
they not celebrate Christmas either after… ”
Hunter
sighed and shook his head.
“No,
none of us did. Or if they did, I wasn’t part of it. To be honest I spend most
of the Christmases that followed too drunk to even remember them. It seemed
easier that way. Once they passed away within hours of each other, I just
pretended Christmas didn’t exist.”
Emilia
sat up, and he, too, followed, not ready to lose contact with her.
“Within
hours of each other?” she asked. “Is that another shifter thing?”
“Yes,
kitten. They were a mated couple. It syncs their life spans. Typically one
doesn’t survive long without the other. It’s what
“It
was a tradition in our house to write what we wanted on the baubles. Mum and
Dad got four new ones every year, and we would scribble on them whatever it was
we wanted most that year. I remember doing this. I was seven. Fiona at school,
who I loved with all the passion a seven year old is capable of, had roller
skates and she promised to teach me how to use them, if I got some of my own.
Naturally, that meant roller skates were the must have present that year.”
He
glanced up to see Emilia smiling at him.
“Naturally,”
she said. “Did you get them?”
Hunter,
too, grinned in remembrance.
“Oh,
yes I did. As did every boy in our class. I’m afraid
Fiona was rather a tease.”
Emilia
giggled, and Hunter relaxed further into telling his tale.
“Of
course that meant the competition was on. I had to become the best damn roller
skater in the school. One has to impress the ladies, you know.” He reached up
to put the bauble on the tree, and picked up another one.
“This
one—”
“Hang
on,” Emilia interrupted him. “What happened with Fiona? Did you get your girl?”
Hunter
hung his head and stuck his bottom lip out, which made Emilia giggle. Hunter
breathed a sigh of relief. He so loved that giggle.
“Sadly no. After all that
effort she chose Lawrence. Who didn’t know how to roller skate, was short and
fat, but a genius, and did her homework for her.”
Emilia
tried to stop laughing, but failed miserably, and Hunter winked at her.
“Brain
over brawn, was it?”
“Oh,
I had the brains, but I wasn’t gullible enough to help her cheat, and I’m no
one’s doormat.”
Emilia
sobered and nodded.
“No,
I bet, even back then you were rather the take-charge type, huh?”
Hunter
shrugged and bared his teeth at her in a goofy smile.
“I
shall neither confirm nor deny that, for fear it might be used against me at a
later time.” He kissed her on the nose. “Now, like I was saying, this one, I
got my dad to write, because I didn’t know how. I was three, and I wanted a
train set.”
Time
flew by as Hunter told the stories associated with each bauble, and his heart felt
lighter with every little thing he shared. Emilia chipped in with anecdotes
from her own childhood, and by the time he lifted her up on his shoulder so she
could put the star at the top of the tree, it was late, and Emilia yawned.
In
truth, Hunter, too, felt exhausted. All this purging one’s demons wore a man
out.
He
threw another log on the dying fire and pulled Emilia into his side, as they
lay on the soft rug, looking up at the tree.
She
propped herself up on one elbow better to see him, and his throat went dry at
the wealth of emotion he saw in her gaze.
“Thank
you for sharing that with me, Sir. It can’t have been easy.”
Hunter
nodded and pulled her back down until her head rested on his chest, and his
bear grunted his approval at having her this close to
him.
“It
wasn’t, but telling you has made me realize that there are plenty of things in
my past worth remembering. I had forgotten I even had that box. I found it in Mum
and Dad’s house after they’d passed on, and I couldn’t bring myself to chuck it
out, so I brought it up here and shoved it into the spare room.”
Emilia
snuggled in closer and kissed his chin.
“Did
they not celebrate Christmas either after… ”
Hunter
sighed and shook his head.
“No,
none of us did. Or if they did, I wasn’t part of it. To be honest I spend most
of the Christmases that followed too drunk to even remember them. It seemed
easier that way. Once they passed away within hours of each other, I just
pretended Christmas didn’t exist.”
Emilia
sat up, and he, too, followed, not ready to lose contact with her.
“Within
hours of each other?” she asked. “Is that another shifter thing?”
“Yes,
kitten. They were a mated couple. It syncs their life spans. Typically one
doesn’t survive long without the other. It’s what
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