“I’m definitely winning this game,” I say.
“Nope,” Levi says. “You just lost.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Brodie says.
***
“I’m sorry to do this to you,” Brodie says to Josephine. “But they’re both high on my grandmother-in-law’s pot brownies. Can you make sure they don’t go wandering around the woods in the middle of the night?”
“I’m fine,” I say from my spot on the couch. My head slid off the edge of the cushion when I lay down, so I’m staring at everyone upside down. “Brodie, your face looks kinder from this angle.”
He rolls his eyes.
“It’s fine,” Josephine says with a laugh. “I’ll just set the alarm. If they leave, it’ll go off and I’ll come running.” She frowns. “What about the children? Will they be returning soon?”
“It’s better if they stay with my sister-in-law and her kids tonight,” Brodie says. “These two are likely to take them to the roof to see if they can fly.”
“I would never,” Levi says. “I already tried that when I was eight, and it didn’t work.”
I blink, but when I open my eyes, everyone has left. “Wow. They’re fast.”
“You should probably sit up,” Levi says. “All your blood is going to drown your brain.”
“I’m a nurse, and that’s not a thing.” But I sit up anyway. The room spins and sways. I feel like maybe I am drowning. “I want to go see the reindeers.”
“No.” Levi shudders. He’s sitting in the armchair, watching me like I’m fascinating. “Reindeer are evil.”
I laugh. “They aren’t evil. They help Santa deliver the presents.”
“They can fly and that’s all they do?” He sounds outraged. “Think of all the good they could do the other three hundred and sixty-four days of the year. They canfly. They could deliver aid to struggling regions or fight crime or something.”
“Wait.” I narrow my eyes and concentrate on him until I can see him clearly. “You know reindeer can’t really fly, right?”
He snorts. “Of course I know that. You’re the one trying to say they aren’t evil by talking about them delivering presents.”
He’s too far away, and I miss him.
I cross the room and climb into his lap. He doesn’t complain. He just wraps his arms around me and pulls me against his chest.
“So why do you really think reindeers are evil?” I ask. “Is it reindeer or reindeers when there’s a lot of them?”
“Reindeer.” He presses a soft kiss to the top of my head. “And they’re not actually evil. They’re just animals doing what animals are supposed to do, but they have sharp antlers and sharper hooves and they’re way stronger than the average human. I’m just doing what a smart human does and choosing to keep my distance.”
“But these reindeer are safe because Josephine loves them and feeds them, and they never have to worry about money or what their teenage sisters are going to do next to make them go prematurely gray.”
“You know they’re just being teenagers, right? They aren’t trying todoanything to you.”
“The reindeer?”
“Your sisters. They love you, and they look up to you. They don’t want you to know it, but it’s obvious to everyone who sees you three together.”
I snort. “You must be higher than I am.” Though I feel more sleepy than high right now.
“I like you in my arms,” he says. “You fit here.”
“I like you, Levi. And I really don’t want to like you.”
“Why not?”
