Aunt Zoe and my dad were already in the kitchen when I arrived, whispering heatedly by the sink. My father’s crossed arms and set jaw left little doubt about the topic of their discussion.
“You two better be nice to Reid when he gets here,” I said, grabbing two mugs from the cupboard. “He saved my bacon last night.”
“That’s not what we’re arguing about,” Aunt Zoe said with a sniff. “At least not in the way you think.”
“What’s going on, then?”
“Blake wants to go with Reid to the store in my place and I don’t believe it’s a good idea.”
I set the mugs on the counter in front of the coffee pot that was in the midst of brewing. The scent of fresh coffee woke up my inner smartass. I grinned at her. “You think Dad will ditch the body in a snow bank on the way back?”
Dad shot me a conspiratorial wink. “Who says I’ll let him live long enough to even make it to the store?”
“Blake,” Aunt Zoe said. “I know you’re being a protective big brother right now, and I really appreciate it, but you need to let this go. I have Reid under control.”
“Really?” Dad said, grabbing his sister’s hand and holding out her arm. “Then explain this.”
I joined them, taking a closer look at the charm bracelet wrapped around her wrist. The bracelet was made of woven silver heart links. I whistled in appreciation at the charms decorating the heart bracelet, each adorned with different-colored jewels.
“Did Reid give you this?” I asked. Was it the “special something” he’d mentioned last night?
“Yes. He had me open it on the porch before we came inside.”
It was breathtaking. No wonder he’d wanted to give it to her in person.
“What do these represent?” I asked, pointing at the unique charms.
“Each symbolizes different strong women in mythology or history.” She pointed at a skull charm with a tiny ruby in its mouth. “This gold one is Itzpapalotl, the Aztec skeletal warrior goddess. And this one with the shield and amethyst center represents Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war.”
“I love it.” Reid knew my aunt well. “What about the rest?”
She turned her wrist so I could see each one. “Joan of Arc with a piece of aragonite at the base of her sword. Freyja, a goddess from Norse mythology who’s associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, war, and death is here with a sapphire. Here is Bellona, the Roman goddess of war with a ruby in her shield. This one with the jade piece represents the Maya moon goddess. And this last one with the jasper stands for one of my favorite women from history. It’s Khutulun, the thirteenth-century Mongol princess. Marco Polo wrote about her in his chronicles. She was a skilled warrior who vowed to marry only the man who could defeat her in wrestling.”
“Did any guy ever beat her?”
“No, but she’s said to have won thousands of horses from would-be suitors. She did eventually marry a warrior. Some have said that true love was her downfall, while others claimed she was forced into a liaison for strategic reasons.”
I stepped back, impressed as hell. “Reid handpicked these charms for you?”
She scowled, nodding. “He said he had it custom made for me.”
“Damn,” I said, chuckling. “That man is smooth.”
“Yeah,” Dad said with a huff. “Slick as they come. He always has been when it comes to schmoozing your aunt.”
Aunt Zoe wrinkled her nose at my dad.
Mom breezed into the kitchen, her purse in hand. “Reid is here. He’s game to drive me to the store. Are you ready?” she asked Aunt Zoe.
“Zoe isn’t going,” Dad said. “I am.”
“Oh, dear,” my mom replied, her forehead lining.
When Aunt Zoe started to object, Dad held up his hand. “I promise to be on my best behavior.”
“Blake, I don’t want—”
“It’s high time Reid and I talked this out and got a few things straight, man to man.”
“I still don’t think—”
“Don’t worry. We’ll take Violet with us.”
I did a double take. “We will?”
My father nodded. “You can make sure I keep my hands to myself and not throttle the bastard for breaking my sister’s heart.”
“I will?” I repeated, not sure this was such a good idea. I hadn’t even had a cup of coffee yet. Taking me out in public was a potential life-threatening hazard. Rabid dogs were nicer to strangers than me sans caffeine.
Mom looked at me and then down at my sweater and yoga pants before focusing on my hair. “Well, hurry up, Violet. I want to make a couple of quiches for breakfast and I need more eggs.”
I smirked. Her lack of eggs must have haunted her in her sleep. “I really think Aunt Zoe should go in my place.”
“Nope,” Dad said. He turned me around by the shoulders and nudged me toward the living room. “Get cracking. The bus leaves in five minutes.”
“It’s a snowcat,” I corrected.
“Go!”
I did as told, changing in lightning speed. I was sitting on the bed pulling on my snow boots when Doc came into the bedroom.
“I hear you’ve been recruited to play referee this morning.”
I blew out a breath. “Gah! Like I want to be in the middle of my dad and Reid having it out about Aunt Zoe.”
“Before you go, I have something for you.”
“Is it a portable shark cage? I could use a good-sized tranquilizer gun.” I stood as Doc pulled a mid-sized box wrapped in silver paper with a red bow from under the bed.
“How many presents do you have stashed under there?”
He handed me the gift. “Merry Christmas.”
It felt weighty. I
