A Christmas Party from Hell: Part I

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A Christmas Party from Hell

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“Is there a reason why you’re hiding in my office?”

“Mmmhmmm, self-preservation,” Kenzie said as she popped one of the mini pumpkin pie that she couldn’t seem to get enough of in her mouth as she reclined on her brother’s couch, fully prepared to spend the rest of the night in here until she could leave.

“Mom or the asshole?” Reese asked, as he gently pushed her legs off the couch so that he could sit down, careful of the large plate of food in his hand.

“The asshole,” she said, sighing heavily as she sat up and popped another pie in her mouth.

“Is mom still nagging you?” Reese asked with a teasing glint in his eye as he reached over and-

“Damn it!”

Was reminded that she was a Bradford and didn’t willingly share her food. Unlike her cousins, her brothers knew better than to push her. Either that, or they took it easy on her because she was the baby of the family and their father’s favorite. At least, in her mind she was, she thought with a smug little smile as she selected another pumpkin pie off the large platter that she’d helped herself to and made a show of savoring it.

“Brat,” Reese muttered with a mocking glare as he returned his attention to his plate overflowing with food, which actually looked pretty good.

For a moment, Kenzie considered venturing out of her brother’s office and grabbing a plate for herself, but that would have meant risking running into with the asshole that she’d rather avoid. Since she really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him that meant that she wasn’t going anywhere until it was time to call it a night and sneak out the back door. Until then, she was just going to sit here, devouring the rest of the mini pies that were meant for the Christmas party that was currently going on in the other room, and try to figure out how she was going to make her escape without her mother noticing.

“Is mom still on your ass to move back home?” Reese asked as he placed his plate between them and gestured for her to help herself, reminding her why he was her favorite brother.

At least, at the moment he was, she thought with a pleased little sigh as she helped herself to a stuffed mushroom and couldn’t help but groan with the first bite.

“God, your wife is amazing,” she said with another groan as she finished off the stuffed mushroom and reached for another one, seriously contemplating taking her brother up on his offer to move in just for Kasey’s cooking alone.

“Yes, she is,” Reese said with that smile that all Bradford males had for their wives. “But, you didn’t answer my question,” he pointed out as he helped himself to the roast beef roll that she’d been eying.

Shrugging, she turned her attention to the chicken tenders. “Never stopped.”

“It might be a good idea with the storm hitting next weekend,” he said, finishing off the roast beef roll that might be enough to lure her away from her sanctuary unless she could convince him to get her a plate, which was always a possibility.

“I’ll be fine,” she said with another shrug, not bothering to point out that if the storm became too much that there were plenty of places that she could crash.

Shaking his head, Reese sighed heavily as he handed her the plate. “You’re going to be the death of me, brat.”

“Probably,” she absently agreed as she picked up the fork and dug into the food that was going to have to hold her over until she was able to get the electricity working again. “Any chance that you can grab me another plate?”

“Are you going to sneak out later without saying goodbye?” he countered, knowing her so well.

“Probably.”

“Fine,” he said, sighing heavily as he leaned down and kissed her forehead before he stood up and-

“Hey!”

Stole her platter of mini pumpkin pies with a chuckle as he headed for the door. Knowing that he would make it up to her, at least he’d better, she let him go without throwing her fork at his head and focused on eating. Once she was done, she placed her empty plate on the coffee table, sat back, and groaned when she realized that it was pouring outside.

“Crap,” she said, rubbing her hands down her face as she realized that she was probably going to sleep in her truck tonight, something that she liked to avoid whenever possible.

She could crash on her brother’s couch, but she’d rather avoid having to explain that the roof on the house that she was renovating needed to be replaced, something that she planned on doing once the weather cleared up. Until then she was going to have to-

“Having a good time, peanut?” the asshole that she’d been hoping to avoid asked, using that damn nickname that she hated so much as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.