Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
“All right. If you’re going to be in this house, stay in the office with me. No wandering through the other rooms.”
The tree chittered at him, but this time it sounded much happier than it had been. It obediently followed Nolan into the office and squatted where it was told. Nolan filled a pan of water and set it by the tree. Just as he was sitting at his desk, the room grew suddenly brighter. His head snapped up to find that the tree had plugged in its tiny white lights so that it was now glowing happily in the corner.
Yep. Today, Tavia the witch was getting a tree helper.
Chapter 4
December 11
Sky buzzed through the house, humming to himself as he peeked in the oven. The roast he’d put in more than an hour ago was nearly done, filling the house with a delicious aroma. In a few minutes, he’d shift things around so he could squeeze in a pan of cornbread muffins. The sun had set, and his darling boyfriend would be heading across the street soon.
With his new pet.
The tree followed Nolan to the other house every morning, where it would apparently sit in the corner while Nolan worked. It would only return at the end of the day when Nolan was finished working and the sun had set. As far as Sky knew, the neighbors hadn’t yet noticed the walking tree with its cord of lights trailing behind it as it scuttled across the street.
Speak of the devil…
The sound of the front door opening echoed through the house, followed by the stomp of Nolan’s shoes on the hall rug. Snow had fallen throughout the day, blanketing their neighborhood in a glittering white shroud.
“Gawd, baby! That smells so good!” Nolan called.
Sky grinned. There was no secret to winning his sweet man. The adage held true: the way to Nolan’s heart was through his stomach. If Sky didn’t know better, he’d think Nolan’s heart was a second stomach. The man could eat, but he almost never gained a pound. In his opinion, his boyfriend could stand to put on a bit of extra stuffing to match his own, but no matter how Sky tried, Nolan remained his usual sleek self.
He snatched up a dish towel and dried off his hands as he walked into the hall. Nolan was shedding his coat and putting it on the hook, while his green shadow was stomping its various root feet to get rid of the snow clinging to them.
“Any trouble getting across the street?”
“Nah. Though I’m in no hurry to drive in that. There’s at least four inches on the ground now, and it’s still coming down.”
“And what about your friend?”
Nolan smirked at him. “I don’t think it’s a fan.”
“Really? It doesn’t like the snow.”
“Do you?” Nolan shot back, and Sky instantly shuddered. He loved the look of snow, how it made everything pretty and sparkly. He liked to sit and watch it fall while inside his warm house as he sipped hot cocoa. But he did not like being out in it, shoveling it, scraping it off his car, or even driving in it.
“When we first headed out, it didn’t want to leave the porch,” Nolan continued. “But it soon figured out that it could follow in my footsteps, avoiding the deepest parts of it.”
Sky bent, putting his hands on his thighs as he leaned toward the tree. “Well, aren’t you a smart one?” The tree shivered, its branches quivering, and made a little noise.
“You can’t understand it?”
Sky shook his head as he straightened. “No.”
“But it sounds like Frank and the other minions to me.”
“Yeah. Maybe it uses a different dialect or something. As soon as Grammy returns from her friend’s, I’ll see what she says. I learned the minion language from a spell, so I might need to find the right spell to understand the tree.” Sky waved his hand at the tree. “Go over to your spot. I refilled your pan with fresh water.”
The tree scrambled across the floor, its plug bouncing along behind it.
Nolan wrapped his arms around Sky from behind and pressed a kiss to his neck. It would have been pleasant if not for the brush of Nolan’s ice-cold nose. Sky squealed and pushed his laughing boyfriend off him. The sneaky bastard had done that on purpose.
“It smells like you’ve been busy today,” Nolan stated, following his nose to the kitchen.
“That isn’t the only thing I’ve gotten done,” Sky said to his back.
Nolan stopped in the doorway to the kitchen. “I see that.” He continued into what had been the dining room, but the table and chairs were missing. Now, in the center of the room, was his artificial Christmas tree.
“I’m assuming you had help. How’s Frank?” Nolan teased.
Sky rolled his eyes at Nolan. “Yeah, like I was going to carry the table and chairs to the basement.” Sky snorted. “Besides, I had some deli meat in the fridge that was going to expire in a few days. The minions got sandwiches, and I got my Christmas tree.”