Drake Sisters 02 - The Twilight Before Christmas

the bridge of his nose. “I do a mean barbecue.”
    “I’l just bet you do. Are you ready?”
    Matt took her hand and drew her close to him as they went out into the morning air. She fit with him, belonged with him. She didn’t believe it. He could see the reservations in her eyes, but he was determined to change her mind.

    Al the regulars considered the grocery store the center of town. Inez Nelson had a way with people. She didn’t know the meaning of the word stranger and nearly everyone shopped at the local market, more to catch up on al the news and see Inez than for any other reason. She had known every one of the Drake sisters since their births and considered them akin to family.
    Matt parked his car in front of the town square just to the left of Inez’s store. “The Christmas pageant is growing, so many people want to participate that I think we’re going to have to get a larger town square. The actors can barely get through the crowd as they walk up the street to the manger.”
    “I love the fact that everyone participates. It’s so fun for the children afterward, when Santa shows up with his reindeer and gives out candy canes.”
    Kate took the hand Matt held out to her. They stood together looking at the nativity scene in the town square, astonished that the statues, minus the wise men, had already been cleaned and the scene put back together. It would be reenacted with humans Christmas Eve, but a local sculptor had created the beautiful statues and several artists had done woodwork for the manger and life-size stable, and others had painted the entire backdrop. This year, Inez had managed to find a powdery substance that looked exactly like snow and had sprinkled it on the roof of the stable and on the surrounding ground, to the townspeople’s delight and amusement. Snow was rarely seen in their coastal town.
    “How many kids do you think have snuck into the square for a snowbal fight?” Matt lowered his voice and looked around, half-expecting Inez to hear him even though she was a safe distance away inside the store.
    Kate turned her laughing gaze on him. “You would have, wouldn’t you?”
    Fast-moving shadows slid across the ground, blocking out the sun’s rays. “Damn right. Jonas and I would have made a snow fort and pelted everyone within throwing distance.” His smile faded even as he finished his sentence. His hand gripped her arm to draw her attention. He nodded toward the sky. Seagul s fil ed the air overhead, winging their way fast inland. The birds were eerily silent, their great wings flapping as they hurried away from the ocean.
    Kate shook her head and looked out toward the sea. The gray fog was rol ing in fast. It roiled and churned, a turbulent mass, displaying raw energy. Lightning arced, chains of red-orange flashing within the center of the gray mist.
    Matt swore and tugged her toward the store. “Let’s get inside.”
    “It’s growing stronger,” Kate said.
    Matt could feel her trembling against him. He pul ed her closer to him. “We knew he would get stronger, Kate. You’d think the damned thing would take a vacation and give us a break. We’l figure this out.”
    “I know.” She walked with him to the store. The entity was growing stronger and she felt stretched and tired and breakable. She couldn’t very wel tel Matt. He was already worried about her. She could read it in his eyes. How had she never managed to see the stark loneliness in him before? The aching desire? It was deep and intense and swamped her sometimes when he looked at her. Yet stil , as he walked beside her, a tal , formidable man with wide shoulders and a thick chest and eyes that were never stil , she could barely take in that he loved her.
    Matt slid his arm around Kate’s shoulders as they entered the building. As always, the smal store had more than its share of customers. Inez greeted them loudly, gazing at them speculatively with bright eyes and a cheerful smile. “Kate, how lovely to see you, dear. And with Matt. I swear you grow tal er every day, Matt.”
    Her comments effectively turned him into a boy again. Only Inez could manage to do that. “I feel a little tal er today, Inez.” He winked at Kate.
    “Are you two coming to the pageant practice?” Inez asked. “I organized another one after the big fiasco the other night. No one blames Abbey, Kate. It certainly wasn’t her fault that rat Bruce Harper is having an affair with little miss hot pants Sylvia