Chapter Two

 

Ash bit back the burning tears that threatened to paint her cheeks with weakness. She yanked off her fanciest boot, the right one, the one without scuffs all over the toe from where she’d fallen on the curb at her last interview for Barney’s Furniture Mart. The nicest boot she owned. She ripped that little knee-high smexy shoe right off her foot. Or she tried to, but the dang zipper was still done up on the inside of her calf, securing her in an ankle-cage like it had been Super-Glued to her leg. With a little high-pitched screech, she unzipped it—twice on account of the zipper getting stuck on her skinny jeans—and then she finally, finally, anti-climactically, yanked it off. Now she super wanted to cry.

After setting the pair of “interview boots,” as she called them, to the side in a pile of freezing snow, she pulled on her fur-lined snow boots one by one. She wouldn’t slip on ice in these. They had tread as thick as tires.

Gah, that was the worst interview she’d ever been on. Embarrassment heated her cheeks, and she shrugged into her jacket to ward off the frigid breeze. She needed some magic, so she reached into her pocket and pulled out a half piece of gum, a tuft of lint, and a penny she’d found heads-up on the snow as she’d walked into the library for this interview. The fountain where she sat on the edge was turned off for the winter, but that didn’t stop her from tossing the penny over her shoulder and making a wish as the dang copper coin bounced off the frozen water behind her.

I wish I could get a job before Christmas.

It wouldn’t be as potent as a 10:10 wish, but it was 11:13 a.m. right now, a loooong day ahead of her to make that wish tonight.

She wasn’t going to be able to get her mate, Grim, what she really wanted to buy him for Christmas. Sure, she had a credit card, but she didn’t feel comfortable charging to it when she had no way to make the payments at the end of the month.

Ash huffed a frozen breath and frowned at the bustling street in front of the library. Everyone was in town doing their last-minute Christmas shopping. Usually, she liked people-watching, making up nice stories about the passersby, but today, she just wanted to climb in the passenger’s seat of Juno’s car and wallow in her disappointment.

Gads, it was colder than a beer on ice out here. Her nipples were like little marbles. Grim would approve.

Ash’s lip pouted out, and she didn’t even try to tuck it back in. She’d done everything right. She’d made sure she was qualified to work in the library, she’d sent in her resume, got two references, dressed nice, and had even dyed her blue hair red to coordinate with Christmas. Yeah, it was still not as subtle as her natural black hair, but it was quieter than bright blue.

Where in hades was Juno?

Blowing out a toot noise with her lips, she pulled her phone out and typed, Interview is done, can you pick… But before she finished the text, an engine revved down the street, and here came one of her besties, blaring a hip-hop version of “Jingle Bells” out the open windows of her car.

Ash watched with her eyes so wide, the cold air threatened to freeze them open. Juno slammed on the brakes and drifted to a stop in front of the library. What the hell had gotten into her?

“Ash!” Juno said, hanging out the driver-side window. “Ash!”

Ash looked around. “Why are you yelling? You can see I’m looking right at you, right?”

“We got mail!” Juno crowed, holding up a fistful of envelopes. “Lots and lots of mail!”

Maybe her friend had been drinking. Ash should probably drive.

Ash stood while gathering up her purse and fancy but pointless interview boots and shuffled across the icy sidewalk to Juno’s car. But when she tried to dump her curvy butt unceremoniously into the passenger’s seat, she couldn’t because it was already taken up with about fifty colorful envelopes that were dripping off the seat and onto the floorboard.

“What is this?” she asked, picking one up to study the address.

Rogue Pride Crew

1010 Wayward Way, Tillamook, Oregon

The return address simply said Almost Alpha, Gray Backs, Damon’s Mountains

When she looked back at Juno, who was sitting on the open windowsill and hanging onto the roof of her car, she was grinning at Ash like her face was frozen.

“Is your mouth okay?” Ash asked, concerned.

“It’s Christmas cards from the Crews.”

Ash gasped and ripped one open.

Have an ornamental holiday season.

From Willa. And Matt. But mostly Willa because Matt didn’t want to take this picture but I made him so technically it’s from both of us. Drink lots of eggnog.

Willamena Barns

The picture was of Willa and Matt hanging upside down from a tree by ropes at their ankles. They were dressed in festive, sparkly-silver onesies. Like living ornaments. Willa was grinning from ear to ear but Matt, who was beside her, had his arms crossed and a grumpy look on his face. His branch bent so far down his head almost touched the ground.

Ash cracked up and handed it to Juno.

“Oh, my gosh, Juno! We’re in the Christmas card loop now!” Ash said on a breath.

“Yeah,” Juno whispered. “We finally have a Crew to join in. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Safety, eating together, and trying to get along—”

“No, no, no, not what a Crew means. I mean, now we have to join in on the fun, right? We have to come up with the best Christmas card picture to send to the Crews of Damon’s Mountains!”

“Oh. Yes, that seems important.” More important than getting along, she supposed. Which was good because Grim and Rhett and Kamp fought all the time.

“Get in. We have Christmas shit to buy.”

“W-what kind of Christmas…stuff?”

Juno was busy shoving the piles of holiday cards onto her floorboard to clear off the passenger’s seat. “We need three giant candy canes, six twelve packs of Pen15 Juice Beer, sixteen strands of holiday lights, and a baby miniature donkey. I’ve already called Remi. She’s going to figure out the timer on the new camera so we can all be in the picture.

Ash tried not to scrunch up her face as she sat into the seat, but she had concerns. “Umm, Juno?” she asked over the blaring hip-hop version of “Silent Night.” “I don’t think Grim will take a picture like that. He hates Christmas.”

“I’ve already got a plan for that part.”

“You do?”

“Yes. A coupon book of future blow jobs from you.”

“What?”

“Bribery, Ash. Take six to twelve for the team so we can get this picture.”

“Okay.” She still had concerns. “But I do that all the time anyways. It’s not really taking one for the team if I like it.”

Juno hit the gas and skidded on the ice for a second before the tires caught traction and catapulted them forward. She was wearing the biggest smile Ash had ever witnessed.

“Are you okay?” she asked her friend.

“I just love Christmas now! Everything is so different. Before, I was always rushing in to try and see you and Remi and my family in Damon’s mountains for a few days in December and then rushing right back out again. Not anymore! Now we have a real-life Crew, Ash! A real one that won’t disappear, and we get to build up holiday traditions like I used to do in the Ashe Crew, how you used to do in the Boarlanders, and Remi used to do in the Gray Backs. This is our holiday moment!”

Now Ash couldn’t help but get a little bit excited about the picture. Anything that would distract her from how bad she’d done in that interview. So okay…candy canes and beer and baby donkeys. She was on board.

No matter if she got a job right away or not, she was with the man she loved and she lived in the same trailer park in the same Crew as her best friends.

This was going to be the best Christmas ever.