“Excuse me?” Kandi started coughing as she choked in disbelief at my statement as we departed my private plane and walked toward the waiting limo.
Rather than fly back to Cherokee Springs, I decided to fly into Mistletoe Falls first. I wanted to surprise my aunt and uncle and thank them for their hospitality.
“I’m just saying. Holiday pussy has got to be the best. Women are happy, anticipating gifts, and full of the spirit and joy of the season. Y’all will give it to a man in any position at any time and as much as he wants, especially when your eggnog is spiked and you’re feeling good.”
“Emmanuel Kayn.” She chuckled.
“You know I’m telling the truth. Girl, the way you backed that ass up in the shower this morning, and then how you rolled it in the back of the limo in New York on the way to the airport, and then let’s not talk about last night in bed the way you rode this dick. Your ass showed me all the appreciation. Got me over here wondering what I need to gift you next.”
Kandi giggled her ass off. I knew what I said wasn’t that funny, so it only told me that I’d hit the nail on the head. She was ready to work it out in bed for another present.
I took her hand and helped her into the waiting car. The ride to my aunt and uncle’s place only took twenty minutes. I knew that my cousins would all be there, too, celebrating the holidays. I hadn’t told anyone that I was coming, so it would be a surprise. But they deserved to see me in a good space since they had as much to do with Kandi and me coming together as our lie did.
When we arrived, the house was lit up, and I could hear the music coming from within. I knew that my aunt had opened the windows as she usually did when she was cooking for a lot of people. I could smell the delicious aroma of the food from the sidewalk, and my stomach growled.
“Watch your step,” I warned Kandi as we made our way up the freshly shoveled steps. Most of the snow had been cleared away from the main paths, but you had to watch out for that ice that inevitably popped up and made surfaces more dangerous than the snow.
When we got to the top of the steps, I knocked twice and then pushed the door open. No one ever locked their doors in Mistletoe Falls. Camden was the first to spot us as we walked through the door. He smiled and shouted, “Uncle E’s back!”
Though technically I was their big cousin, his parents had told them to call us aunt and uncle since we were their elders. Byron and Libby said it was much more respectful.
Cayden came running from the kitchen with a large smile on his face. “Hey, Uncle E.”
“Hey, buddy.”
I rubbed both the twins’ heads, and they ducked from underneath my touch. I chuckled.
“Thought you were in New York,” Camden stated.
“We were. We’re on our way home and thought we’d drop in to wish everyone a Merry Christmas,” I explained.
“You got more gifts?” Cayden asked.
We had all exchanged gifts prior to Kandi and me leaving town.
“Stop being rude, boy,” Byron stated, walking into the room. He appeared to be upset and about to say something, but Myra ran into the room with a loud greeting.
“Hey,” Myra greeted, running into the living room and hugging Kandi and me.
Olivia and then Chauncey arrived next, and I noticed an odd look on Chauncey’s face. Aunt Frances and Uncle JR came next.
“What are you doing here?” My uncle’s tone was far different than it had been when I left. If anything, it sounded like it had the day that I left eighteen years ago and vowed never to return. I knew from a phone call that I made that my mother was still alive, so it couldn’t be that.
“Uhm, . . . I dropped by to wish y’all a Merry Christmas again before we headed home. I finished everything in New York, and it went well.”
My uncle was still scowling at me.
“Is everything okay?” I asked when he remained silent.
“No, it’s not. I welcomed you into our home, glad to see you after all these years, and you stood in my face for a week and lied to me.”
“Uncle JR, what are you talking about?”
“Don’t you dare play stupid with me!” His words and tone hurt and made me feel the rejection of my childhood all over again.
“Honey, calm down,” Aunt Frances warned.
“Twins, go to the theater room,” Olivia stated.
