Page 6 of The Night
“But,” Joe ventured gamely. “But you wanna support your community, right? Peace on earth, good will toward men?”
I stared at him for a long moment, letting him fidget, then I leaned in close like I was imparting a secret. “I think if a man truly wanted a peaceful planet, he’d leave the trees in the forest, and if he wasreallyabout goodwill, he’d let his neighbor get some coffee.”
Joe frowned down at his papers again like they’d betrayed him somehow.
I clapped his shoulder once. “Alrighty, then. You have a nice day!” I didn’t wait for his response before moving on down the street.
A pariah?Yeah, not so much.
Less than twenty feet later, another voice called out.
“Hey, yo, Gideon!”
Why was the world hell-bent on keeping me from coffee?
But though I didn’t stop or turn around—and I would never admit it even under torture—thisvoice made me slow down just slightly. Just enough for Parker Hoffstraeder to catch up to me.
I couldn’t say why I had a soft spot for Parker in particular, of all the folks in O’Leary. Maybe because he persevered even when life dealt him a shitty hand, or maybe because he was snarky and funny, or maybe because he had these big, perpetually excited green eyes that reminded me of…
Nope. I smothered that thought like a hot spot.Parker reminded me of no one.
And shit, I mustreallybe tired if I was having to force myself not to think about the person Parker definitely didn’t remind me of.
Parker came up alongside me, and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. Sweet Jesus.Hewas in Santa gear too, though at least he’d limited himself to just the hat and the giant black sack he carried over his shoulder. Still, this level of Christmas fervor was insane, even for O’Leary.
“Howdy, Parker. Quite a fashion-forward look you’re sporting.”
“What’d you do to Joe Cross?” he demanded, falling into step with me as we strode up Weaver. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Man looks like his dog died! I thought something had happened to Tom Brady.”
I snorted. Joe was possibly the biggest Patriots fan in the world—certainly in the greater O’Leary area. It was probably a good thing I hadn’t remembered that while talking to him.
“I didn’t do anything to him.”
“Uh huh.”
“I didn’t!” I made a crossing motion over my heart.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you’re a really suspicious soul, and you should probably work on that?”
Parker side-eyed me and I felt my lips twitch. He was adorable, really, and if we’d met a few years ago—and he hadn’t been disgustingly in love with Jamie Burke even then—there might have been a spark of something there, but as it was, my feelings toward him weren’t remotely sexual. Which was handy, really, since Jamie was built as solidly as I was, and happened to be possessive as hell.
“I might possibly have implied that Joe was selfishly destroying the planet by handing out flyers in his quest for holiday ho-ho-hos,” I admitted. “But it’s no less than the truth.”
“Jesus.”Parker threw his head back and looked to the sky for divine intervention.“Congratulations. You are officially the grumpiest, Scroogiest, Grinchiest person in town.”
I rolled my eyes. I so wasnot.
Parker sighed and shifted the sack off his back so he was holding it on his hip like a baby. He wasn’t a particularly big guy, and the thing looked heavy, and though I knew before I even opened my mouth that I was gonna regret asking, I couldn’t help it. “You need a hand?”
“Nah. It’s awkward, not heavy. It’s a bunch of Santa costumes. I’m handing them out to everyone who signed up for the contest because we’re all gonna start wearing them next week.” He grinned. “I have a couple extras. Want one?”
“Christ, no. You know, the Grinch gets a bad rap, but when you think about it, the dude just wanted to be left alone. You know what’sreallyawful? A red-suited, beady-eyed creeper who spies on people all the damn time. He sees me when I’m sleeping? He knows when I’m awake? Like, what thefuckis that evenabout, Parker?”
He sighed gustily but didn’t look surprised. “It’s like you’re allergic to fun, Gideon.”
“Or like I’m baffled by people’s misplaced sentimentality for a random, overly commercial holiday, but sure. Let’s go with your version.”