Holidays are Hell

Jill kept her gaze fixed on the side mirror until they turned a corner without seeing John's black van appear. She relaxed a little bit then and tried to think what she should do now. After a moment's thought, she glanced to Nick. "I need to call my brother."

"Of course. My cell phone is in the glove compartment."

When Jill peered at the glove compartment, but made no move to try to open it, Nick gave a short laugh.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking. I'll get it for you," he murmured. Pulling to a stop at a red light, he leaned sideways, reaching past her to open the glove compartment and retrieve the phone in question. He started to hand it to her, then paused and shook his head. "I guess I better dial for you."

Jill smiled faintly, but forced herself to stop when she realized her tongue hung out of her mouth when she did. Probably not the image she wanted to convey.

"What's his number?" Nick asked as the light turned green.

Jill rattled off the number and watched as he eased the car forward through the lights, his concentration split between the phone and the road ahead. Once finished, he didn't hand the phone to her, but placed it to his own ear and listened to it ring.

"The answering machine has picked up," he said after a moment, a frown curving his lips. "What do I say?"

Jill heaved a sigh. "Just hang up. They must still be out."

Nick flipped the phone closed and set it on the seat beside her. Jill stared at the phone with frustration for a moment and then said, "They probably won't be out much longer. If you dropped me off there I could wait for him to get back and—"

"No way," Nick said firmly. "Your brother's house is probably the first place this John guy will look."

Jill grimaced but didn't argue. Now that he'd said it, she realized it was true and she'd rather avoid running into John Heathcliffe again.

"And your place would probably be his next stop," Nick added before she could suggest it as an alternative.

Jill frowned and peered out the window, startled when she saw the husky's face reflected. Turning away from the image, she said, "Well, I have to wait somewhere. You can't just drive me around until my brother and his wife return home. If Claire and Beth have gone too, they could be doing last-minute Christmas shopping. They could stop for lunch or even a matinee movie and be gone for hours."

"Then we'll have to wait hours," he said firmly. "I'm not leaving you alone to be caught by that John guy."

"But you're supposed to be meeting the rest of the parade crew at your sister's place," she reminded him.

"Yes," he said and smiled suddenly. "So that's where we'll go. We'll go to my sister's party. You can keep calling from there."

"I'm not exactly dressed for a party," Jill pointed out dryly.

Nick glanced at her, his smile deepening before he said conversationally, "You know, I would have killed to have a talking dog as a kid."

Jill grunted, not amused.

"Although I probably would have picked a terrier. I always liked terriers best."

"Terriers are small," she pointed out.

When he glanced at her with confusion, she pointed out, "I can shift my shape, but I don't think I can shrink it down to the size of a terrier."

"Oh." He peered at her curiously, and then said, "So I suppose shifting into a mouse so I can slip you into my pocket to enter my sister's house is out, huh?"

"Ha ha," she said dryly and then heaved a sigh and slumped on the passenger seat, resting her head on her front paws with dejection. "I guess I'll have to go as a dog."

It wasn't how she'd imagined a first meeting with his family would be.

Nick glanced at her dejected state and frowned before turning his attention back to the road. When he turned right several moments later, and the SUV bounced slightly as it went over the lip of a driveway, Jill sat up and peered around curiously, expecting to see that they'd arrived at his sister's house. Instead, she found herself staring out at the large parking lot of a mall.

"What are we doing here?" she asked with bewilderment as he steered the car down the ramp into underground parking.

There's something I need to pick up before we go to my sister's, Nick answered as he pulled into an empty parking spot in the back corner of the complex. Turning off the engine, he glanced at her with concern. "Will you be all right here by yourself for a few minutes?"

"Yes, of course," she murmured, her gaze sliding over the other cars. It was winter and cold out, but there weren't many people around either coming or going from vehicles. Jill supposed when it got cold or inclement, workers of the shops in the mall who started first thing in the morning took up the majority of spaces in the underground parking. Nick had probably been lucky to find an open spot.

"I'll be as quick as I can," he assured her and then slipped out of the truck.