Christmas Kiss

Chapter Twenty

I tried so quietly to sneak in, but as usual I'm not as stealthy as I think I am. "Where have you been?" Steve asked from the family room. He was still standing by the window.

"I was out at the old fort of ours" I said as I quickly went into the bedroom. I hoped he didn't see me, but knowing him, he probably did and just won't say anything.

I walked into the kitchen to rinse out my thermos and there he was, waiting for me. I took a deep breath and went to the sink. I looked up and saw him staring at me.

"You okay?" I asked as I started to wash out the thermos. "I'm better now, all your note said was you were going for a walk and be back soon, it has been three hours" he said with a bit of a stern tone to his voice.

Oh shit, I didn't like his tone, I knew what that meant. "I'm sorry Steve I lost track of time, I didn't mean to be so late or have you worried' I told him as I put the thermos into the dish strainer to dry.

He looked at me for a moment, something crossed over his face and was gone, only a second. I didn't recognize that look at all on him. Steve just turned and walked to the front door.

Putting on his coat, "I'll be back" is all he said and with that he left and shut the door. I slumped against the kitchen sink. "Well, that sucks, I upset him and I was just trying to practice for tonight" I mumbled to myself.

There was no way I could tell him what I was doing, it was going to be a surprise and I wasn't about to ruin it. I finally could do something for him and wanted him to be surprised and happy.

With him gone though, I went into the garage and grabbed the Christmas wrapping paper, tape and scissors. I hurried into my bedroom and shut the door just in case he came back.

I wrapped the picture of us and I also found an old box I could use for one of his presents. I unpacked a blanket that I have kept with me for a long time. I bought it one day when I was out shopping and saw a store that I never been in before.

Once in there I was walking through it checking out all the stuff they had, until I went to this one rack that had soft blankets on it. As I was going through it, I saw the perfect one.

I opened it and knew right away I didn't care what it cost, I had to have it. I wasn't sure if I would ever see Steve or not, but I kept it just in case I did. It reminded me of him.

I pulled it out of my suitcase and smiled when I looked at it, "I hope he likes this" I said as I put it in the box and wrapped it. I put the two presents under the tree, and grabbed the kettle.

Instead of coffee, I made hot chocolate. Cut up some cheese and crackers, put them on the plate and set it on the coffee table, with the kettle warming up hanging above the fire.

I didn't want to throw more wood on it until after the hot chocolate was ready. The cabin was warm enough at the moment, so a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.

I grabbed two mugs and some marshmallows. I couldn't remember if he liked them or not, so I just brought the bag just in case.

I sat there waiting for him. I knew he was upset so I hoped my little peace offering would help. I nibbled on some cheese, and had a cup of hot coco, getting up and looking out the window.

I saw his tracks leading out to the road, not to the woods. I wonder where he was going, he lived about four miles away and I knew he couldn't walk that, could he?

I hope he comes back, its Christmas eve and I never heard him call out for me, so it wasn't like he was out searching for me earlier. I know I messed up a little but he has to come back.

Okay if he's doing this as pay back then I get it, it sucks not knowing anything but damn. I looked at my watch, it was going on three in the afternoon. Steve has been gone for about three hours now.

I stood up and paced the family room, I added more wood to the fireplace and brought more in from the garage.

I looked at the stack and pretty soon if I can't get the generator working then I was going to have to go to the shed and start hauling more in here.

I cleaned up the place, made sure everything was wiped down, made fresh hot coco just in case he came home. I stopped in my tracks, "he came home" I said out loud.

Why did I just think this was his home already, I had to face it, this wasn't his home as much as I had been thinking it was. We were dating now, but he had his own place.

As much as I wanted him to live with me, and we share a place, would he? Or does he prefer to live on his own after all this time?

So many questions that I couldn't answer, not yet anyway. I was trying hard to keep that nagging voice away for as long as I could.

I had to figure out what to fix for dinner since I didn't have an oven to cook a turkey or a ham. I gave up on trying to figure that out since I sucked at cooking anything on the open fire.

That was Steve's specialty, that man could cook anything on an open fire. I put the cheese and the crackers in a bag and set them in the garage, hoping no mice got into them.

I placed the hot kettle on the stove so I could add more wood to the fire, keep it burning nice and hot. I checked my watch again. It was now five thirty. Five in a half hours, he's been gone.

I put on my jacket and boots, pulled my hat down and gloves were on, flashlight in my pocket, the sun was almost gone but a shred of light was still out there. I was going to go find Steve. Praying he wasn't hurt.