One Kiss

Chapter 22

Seth held out an ornament. "Last one."

Zay placed it on the tree and took a step back. "It looks good."

"It does. I think this is actually the first time I've ever looked forward to Christmas." As he spoke he stepped up behind Zay to slip his arms around Zay's waist, and set his chin on his shoulder. "It's beautiful, Zay."

"It is. I'm happy you agreed to have a tree, now it feels like the holidays. Thank you."

"No need to thank me, I'm glad you insisted on it, it feels good to look forward to something."

Zay stepped away from him. "Are we going to exchange gifts too?"

Seth smiled and pulled him back into his arms. "Yes, of course. I have already chosen a very special gift for you."

Zay's cheeks turned slightly pink. "What do you want?"

Seth's brows rose. "Besides you? Nothing."

"Seth, stop it!"

"Nope, not going to."

"You're horrible."

"You knew that already don't sound so shocked." He pulled away and dropped down on the couch. "Have you given any more thought to it?"

"To what?"

"My offer to come work for my uncle."

Zay sat beside him with a sigh. "Yes and I don't think it's a good idea for us to work together."

"Why? We work well together, we've already proven that. I'd like to have someone with me I know I can trust."

"I know, but we also live together and my gut tells me spending that much time together wouldn't be good for our relationship."

"You can't know that. If it becomes too much you can always quit," Seth reasoned.

"I wouldn't feel right about it." He twisted sideways on the couch to face Seth. "My mother is a volunteer at the police station, this kid, twelve or thirteen years old, walked into the police station and accused his stepfather of abusing him. Instead of supporting her son and attempting to find out the truth, his mother stood by her husband and called her son a liar. Even after a doctor examined him and confirmed the boy's story. He refused to return home and asked that his real father be found. His mother never told his biological father that he had a son. My mother wanted to help very badly. The kid even stayed with us for a couple of weeks."

"Is this going somewhere?"

Zay nodded. "Yes, it is. My father is a lawyer, he deals with family law. The boy had a small inheritance from his grandmother, at my mother's suggestion he hired my father to find his biological father. It took several months and once he was found, it took several more months for him to sue for custody of the boy. He was pissed that he'd never been told he had a son. The mother also forged his signature on paperwork stating he gave up all his rights to the boy. The point is, during those months my parents worked closely together to make certain the kid ended up with his biological father. It was one of the few times they fought. It was a strain for them to spend that much time together."

"So you're basing your decision on what your parents did? On a single incident? It doesn't mean we will be the same."

"I know, but I don't want to take that chance." He shifted positions and snuggled beside Seth. "You are all I have right now and I don't want to lose what we have. I don't want it to change and I don't want us to fight or become distant or anything else."

Seth sighed. "I guess I can understand that. But I will say that I do like working with you, we work well together."

"We do and I'll still ride along occasionally if you want me to, but I honestly don't think we should work together on a permanent basis. It's just a gut feeling."