Before Sunrise Page 24

  Liam surveyed the place he’d turn into a home for his sweet Kay and little girl. The small living room space with chipping eggshell-white walls and hardwood floors faced the door. There was only one new addition to his home: a nine foot tall Fraser-fir Christmas tree he’d bought at first sunlight. He called a cab to take him to where he left the rental car at the bar, and then set out on a mission. The Christmas tree filled the corner, with branches that extended at least four feet. It had been a bitch to drag inside with his bum leg. The cold weather made the pain stretch like a heated rod from his knee to his hipbone. Still, he filled with pride when he looked at it.

  Kennedy loved Christmas. They had a Christmas baby. This plan would work.

  Halfway through the nursery in search of the perfect tree, he spotted Phil Freeman, without the aid of a cane, making a similar purchase. Liam stepped behind a cluster of Douglas firs and watched men tie down an average size tree to the roof Phil’s car. He could hear Phil’s voice carry through the lot as he joked about his little girl loving to decorate. Liam kept his cool. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for Mackenzie to have two Christmases, he reasoned. He’d just make sure that the one with him was the most memorable. So he bought the fattest, tallest tree the man had.

  In the past, Kennedy had always done the tree trimming and decorating while he complained over putting up the outside lights. He missed that. He missed a lot of things. Liam smiled. This Christmas would be different for them all.

  ***

  Kennedy didn’t really know what to say. Her daughter danced around the Christmas tree. She clapped and sang happy birthday to me. It was a big shift in her behavior after the tears and hollering over her kidnapped goldfish. With all the drama, Kennedy not only forgot the traditions with Mackenzie since she’d been a baby, but she forgot how much Mac loved the holiday.

  “See mommy! See my birthday tree?”

  Phil came off the last step. She could sense him drawing close behind her. “Surprise. I thought we could do some tree-trimming today. I know how much you love the holiday. It’s just around the corner.”

  “Look at it, Grandma. It’s my birthday tree!” Mackenzie grabbed Sally’s hand and pulled her over to the tree. “We will decorate it, and you can put all the presents you buy me under it. See?”

  Kennedy wondered how Liam spent the past five years on Christmas morning, while she and Mac celebrated without him.

  “Mac, come darling. You need to get dressed.” Kennedy wanted to escape the damn tree.

  “Mama? I wanna decorate it.”

  “Let her stay,” Phil said. “He can see her tomorrow. We should decorate and make things a little normal for her today.”

  “She’s going with Liam. You wanted to talk to me so we’ll talk.” Kennedy took her daughter by the hand and dragged a complaining Mackenzie back up the stairs. She ignored the stares of Sally and Phil.

  “Mama?”

  “What, Mac?” she answered in a brisk tone.

  “Did you ever have Christmas with daddy from heaven? Have your own tree?”

  Kennedy stopped in the hall. She looked down at her daughter. She saw Liam’s smile beaming up at her and couldn’t speak. There, shining deep in her daughter’s eyes, was a flash of a memory of her very first Christmas with Liam. The very first, before her mother and father caught them in the boathouse and their world fell apart. Before he enlisted in the military and they had to celebrate Christmas over the phone. Before a war came between them.

  “Huh, mommy? Did you?”

  She saw that special time again when they stole away for two days and talked about their future, where she wished for a little girl she would name Mackenzie and a life as a wife in the ’burbs, driving a mini-van. “Yes, baby, we had a Christmas tree, and we both couldn’t wait until we got to decorate one with you.”

  “Really?”

  “Maybe this Christmas we’ll get another chance.”

  “I can’t wait!” Mackenzie announced. Kennedy softened.

  “Me either,” she said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  December 1994

  “Liam? What’s taking so long?” Kennedy shivered under the pale blue light of a full moon. The night had a creepy feel to it. She glanced to the left at the whispered rustle of tree branches. She let her gaze sweep their isolation, while hearing the hollow sound of the nearby ocean waves break over the shore. Normally she’d wait inside, but curiosity got the best of her. So she hugged herself tight to trap the sheepskin warmth of her brown suede Christmas coat around her shivering body and braved the night winds for him. Sure, they were in Montauk, where it all began, alone and completely isolated. Most of the vacation homes were locked tight during the winter months. Isolation had been the beauty of her plan—hers and Sierra’s. The Schoenstein place was exclusively located in the bottom cove in a secluded community at the west end of the beach. You had to travel a mile through dense foliage on a single-lane road to drive in. They made it just at sunset.

  Kennedy stood at the door. She stared down the long wooden steps that led out to the cobblestone driveway. Liam shared the light of the same moon but from the back of his car. She caught glimpses of his baseball cap as he struggled to lift something from the trunk. Liam slammed the gate down and stepped away. The driveway security light blinked on. Kennedy strained to make out the purpose of the four foot long rectangular box.

  “What’s that?” She pointed.

  “Go back inside, Kay. It’s cold out.”

  Ugh! She hated when he ordered her around. Kennedy crossed her arms in a huff, holding the door open with her backside. Liam carried the box in one hand and two large Target shopping bags in the other. Now she was tickled with curiosity. She loved surprises. Earlier, when he picked her up from Sierra’s parents’ Manhattan penthouse, he had her gift in his hand. He had been so cute, too, nervously peeking in as if her parents were going to jump out and grab him. The present was wrapped in white satin gift paper with the sweetest blue bow. Department store wrapping, probably. Liam wasn’t that kind of creative.

  This would be their first Christmas.

  December 25th had come and gone with her stealing away to call him every chance she got. She hated that he spent the holiday alone with his dweeb cousin. Kennedy had a great time with her family. She and her mama baked pies, dressed and cooked Gail’s famous pomegranate-glazed turkey, while singing Kennedy’s favorite Christmas songs. Andrew Washington had gotten out his video camera and filmed several of Harper’s tantrums through the day. Her sister was so impatient over the holiday she’d taken to stomping through the house. Kennedy turned the camera on her parents kissing in the kitchen by the stove when they didn’t know she was there. Her parents’ love always made her want a soulmate of her own. Later, after dinner, they all piled on the sofa and watched A Christmas Carol while her dad snored through the ending. She loved her family. And she loved the holiday. The only person missing was Liam.

  That’s why this had to happen. Using Sierra’s place was easy. The Schoensteins rarely visited it. Convincing her parents to let her spend the rest of holiday break before the New Year with Sierra had been much harder. But Kennedy could always get her daddy to make her mama come around. He trusted her.

  “What’s this?” She held the door open for him.

  “Christmas.”

  “Christmas in a box?”

  “Christmas in a box.” He gave her a pop kiss, then went through the house.

  Kennedy closed and locked the doors, then hurried after him. To the back was an enclosed terrace, the best room in the house, in her opinion. The windows wrapped around the terrace, so when you entered you faced the sea at every turn. To the center was a chocolate leather sectional sofa in the shape of an L. It let out to a bed—it would be their bed.

  A stone gray fireplace had been stuffed with logs and lit by Liam when they arrived; already warmth enveloped the back of the beach house. It slowly spread through the lower level. She loved this room, the ambiance, the cozy view of
the sea and mostly because it was adjacent to the kitchen and the bathroom. She had already decided that their two days would be spent in bed, naked, and cuddling. Even better, her period had come early so she didn’t have to worry about it making an appearance and ruining everything.

  Turning on the lamps in every corner, she watched with keen interest as he pulled out the three sections of bound artificial tree. “You got us a tree? Liam! That’s so sweet.”

  “I told you, Kay, we’d have our own Christmas. It’s what you wanted. Come here. You’re my girl. Doesn’t your man make all your dreams come true?”

  She wrapped herself around him, swaying before an open cardboard box, bubble wrap, and artificial branches. “I like it when you call me your girl, ’cause it’s true. I’m your girl, and you’re my guy. When I’m eighteen we won’t have to sneak around. My parents will love you. My mom will come around. She can be a trip, but my daddy is so cool. Oh Liam, you will like him. I promise you. I can’t wait for you two to meet. And we’ll have Christmas at my house next year—”

  Liam kissed her. Tongue, lips, his warm, sweet breath was such a head rush, her lashes fluttered and her eyes closed. Heat slid through her body as his tongue slowly rolled over hers and she savored the spearmint taste of him. She clung to the collar of his leather jacket once the kiss demanded more of her. The familiar desire she had for him became a flash-fire through her veins, tightening the muscles in her belly. Sex with Liam was so different now. It hurt at first, when she lost her virginity, but not now. He taught her things and showed her pleasure that had her tossing many nights in her sleep.

  The kiss ended naturally but she felt as if her heart spun in circles in her chest, it beat so rapidly. The room had become a furnace and they were both still wearing their coats.

  “Mmm, you tempt me Kay. I should start dinner here.”

  He palmed her between her legs at the front of her jeans. Kennedy shivered. Their eyes locked and his lips curled into a smile. Liam was better at this than her, seduction, and controlling passion, but Kennedy had been a fast learner. She knew what buttons of his to push as well.

  “Let me fix dinner…then I’ll start desert here.”

  Her lids drifted closed at the promise in his husky voice. Still it wasn’t nearly enough to hold her. She hadn’t seen him in eight long days. And she had that warm wet heat in her core now. It made her ache for him. She tried once more to reach his lips for another kiss.

  Liam effectively dodged her lips to sink his teeth into her cheek. Kennedy cried out. She hit his arm playfully. He spoke against her ear. His breath was warm and his voice a low whisper.

  “Be a good girlfriend, and I won’t be a bad boyfriend and rip those jeans off you and fuck you on the floor before we have our Christmas dinner. Now, I’m going to fix you some spaghetti. Do you think you can manage setting up our Christmas tree without tempting me?”

  Dazed, and a little giddy from the way he spoke his demands, she eased her hands inside his jacket, over his sides to his back. “Aww, Liam, a little kissing never hurt anyone—”

  “Kissing you is how I lost control in the first place. You know it’ll make me want more.”

  He let his hold loosen on her so she could steal another kiss, a quick lick and suck of his lips. “Mmm, you’re right, I guess.”

  “Good girl.”

  Liam let her go. He unwrapped his scarf from his neck and shed his leather jacket. Kennedy shook off her coat, watching him. He was so damn sexy in his gray jersey and faded blue Levi’s pulled down over his Timberland boots. He cast her one look back over his shoulder. It clearly said: keep teasing me and I’ll blow your back out. Kennedy blew him a kiss and he smiled before slipping into the kitchen.

  She turned and surveyed all he’d bought. This would be the best two days of her life.

  “I can’t believe we pulled this off.” She called out to him as she started to slot the triangular green plastic pieces for the base of the tree. “I wanted you for Christmas, and I got my wish.”

  “You wanted me?” he asked from the kitchen.

  Kennedy turned around in search of the perfect corner. She decided on the one to the left, near the bookshelf and the wall of windows. “I sure did, and in case you haven’t noticed I always get what I set my mind to. I got you, didn’t I?”

  “You have a point. Oh, Kay, I think you should check in with your folks. Just to be on the safe side.”

  “Are you kidding, Liam? I spoke to mama this morning. She thinks Mrs. Schoenstein is taking Sierra and me into the city for dinner tonight. I’ll call her in the morning. You just worry about dinner. And don’t come out until I say. I should have the tree up soon.”

  Liam wasn’t a sentimental guy. In fact he and Sally only celebrated Christmas so Mackenzie would have something like a childhood in that hellish house they grew up in. The season always gave his stepfather a reason to drink, as if he needed any, which would eventually lead to violence and disappointment. This year would be different. As he sat on his cousin’s lumpy sofa kicking his ass in a game of Madden, he kept glancing at the clock, counting down the days for when Kennedy and the holiday would be his. She mailed him a Christmas card with a five-page letter. Written with pink ink, each page was filled with sweet kisses and I love yous. He could see her with her family in front of a tree, opening gifts. He longed to be part of her world then. He vowed to make their stolen days together just as special.

  It was the best promise he kept. Liam turned off the garlic toast in the oven. He then poured the pasta into the pot of sauce and gave it a final stir.

  “Okay! Ready!”

  He looked up. It had been a half hour at best. She worked fast. He turned off the gas flame under the pot and ventured back into their love nest. He found her next to a semi-decorated tree that sparkled with blinking colored lights and glittery ornaments. Liam turned off the lamps. With the fireplace and Christmas lights there wasn’t much of a need.

  “What do you think?” she asked. Kennedy stood next to the tree in tight blue jeans, brown suede knee boots, and an oversized pink cashmere sweater. She had her hair styled different this time. She wore it braided in corn rows with beads on the ends. He thought she’d never looked sexier. Everything from the soft shadow over her eyelids to the silver hoops in her ears enhanced her beauty.

  “The tree, Liam. What do you think?”

  “I, um, I like it.” He gave her a sly smile.

  “Is that all you can say?” she rushed over and slipped her arms around his waist. At his side, she stared at the tree, grinning. “You like it? You love it would be better.”

  “I love it,” he said, running his hand down her back. “Like I love you.”

  “Do you know what we need? Christmas music!”

  She let go of him before her body heat could warm him and crossed to the other side of the room on a mad search for entertainment. Didn’t she know the only entertainment he wanted was her in his arms, with his body wrapped around her tighter than a python?

  Kennedy bent over in front of the bookshelf. It took everything in Liam not to launch himself at her. Her sweater had risen to offer him the tempting view of her round, heart-shaped ass in her jeans. She didn’t wear jeans often. Now he understood why. Those curves were best kept under a skirt. Men only had so much self-control. He touched his head and noticed she had him sweating.

  “The Schoensteins have a great record collection. Sierra turned me on to some of it when we come here. It’s mostly seventies and sixties music. I wish I grew up during the times of 12-inch vinyl, you know?”

  “Ah, yeah,” he managed.

  “We never had a record player. Did you? I guess they’re antiques now. I know my dad said he once had a good collection of albums when he was a kid. I asked him once. He told me all about eight-track players too. Looked them up on the Internet. Really goofy-looking things.”

  Liam relaxed to the soothing sound of her voice. His woman sure could go. She’d ramble on and on over any subject. He soon l
ooked over to the tree. Best damn tree he’d ever seen, though skimpy on the trimmings, but her arrangement of the bulbs and tinsel was enough. Somehow, Kennedy had forgotten the star. He picked up the package and began to rip into the box.

  “Oh, yeah, that star is for you to put on the top of the tree. When we have kids that will be your daddy duty. You put on the star.”

  Liam smiled. “You got it all figured out?”

  “That’s right, your life and mine. All figured out. The kids will have a turtle, no dog, until they turn eight. Oh, and we need a minivan, too. I always think it’s so cute to see families piled in a minivan. My dad wanted one but mama said she’s not giving up her beemer.”

  Liam tuned the rest out. Kennedy sat with her legs folded in front of her, shuffling through albums. He rose with the star and placed the cone end on the top branch. Mackenzie’s last Christmas had been spent in the hospital. He couldn’t bring a tree into her room so he brought the star instead. She got a real kick out of that. He remembered the nurses dressed as elves when they passed out eggnog. He sat next to her bed watching Beauty and the Beast on the VHS player in her room. Every so often he’d check his watch and tell her where Santa Claus was at the moment. She fell asleep. When she woke, he’d surrounded her bed with the few gifts he could afford. Her favorite was a Rudolph with a blinking red nose. It was his fondest memory of Christmas Eve.

  “Should we open the presents, too?” Kennedy asked.

  Liam sighed. “Sure, babe, whatever you want.”

  “Aha, I found it!” She rose with a purple album cover that had a wreath to the center. “Motown Christmas. Even got the Jackson Five. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. This is perfect! Oh, our babies—”

  “Babies?” Liam brow’s shot up.

  “Of course, a boy and a girl. Anyways, when we get married, I want you to dress up as Santa Claus every year. My dad used to dress up when I was a kid. He had to stop it when Harper was three, though. She would scream and cry then pee on herself until he took off his beard. She can be such a little spoiled brat. Anyways, Daddy would dress up in the costume but leave off the beard. Man, I love it. I want our babies to believe in Santa Claus, and I want Santa Claus to be daddy. You know Santa Claus is a black man.”