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“I’m not baby—” Declan checked his phone, realizing his dad had hung up on him. He was used to his dad having mood swings and being irritable, especially when Liam felt Declan asked too many questions, but it was his job to make sure his dad was safe. Even though his diagnosis was early, Declan suspected the reality of his illness hadn’t hit his dad until the doctor told Liam he shouldn’t drive anymore. He didn’t like to constantly remind Liam of his limitations, but Declan wanted to make sure his dad was being safe too. When his dad returned tonight, Declan was going to need to sit down with him and clear the air.
Declan finished cleaning up and redressed, stuffing his t-shirt and scrubs into a plastic bag so he could take them home and wash them. He turned off the alarm briefly and went out the back, arming it again before he locked up. The motion light behind the store lit up the tiny back alley where he parked his truck, and when it illuminated his white F-250, Declan stopped and stared.
Someone had covered his entire truck in plastic wrap. No, not someone. Declan knew who’d done it before he got close enough to pull off the big red bow on the hood, noticing the white envelope dangling from the festive red decoration. He ripped it open violently and stared down at the curling script.
Have fun unwrapping my gift to you! Ready to cry Uncle?
Holly
Declan crushed the missive in his hand before shoving it into his pocket, grinding his teeth with rage. Pulling his phone out, Declan took a picture of his truck, texting it to Clark with the caption Your sister-in-law is in for it now.
Clark sent back a shocked emoji followed by three of the little round laughing faces. Declan glared and backed out of his messages to call his dad again. He pressed the speaker phone as he used both hands to start ripping at the clear, clinging plastic. It went to voicemail and Declan pressed end, his fingers numb with cold as he continued to free his door. He’d check his family GPS app once he got all this off.
It must have taken her a while and a lot of determination. He’d barely cleared the driver’s door and window and he was already out of patience.
His phone rang and he picked it up, figuring it would be his dad, but Clark’s name flashed across the screen. Declan accepted the call and set the phone down, hitting the speaker icon. “Need another laugh?”
“Are you offering?” Clark asked, his voice shaking with amusement.
“No, and I could have done without this tonight. I’m cold, my dad has gone off without telling me where, and I haven’t even finished clearing a quarter of this mess.”
“This would not be the time to tell you I warned you, right?”
“Warned me?”
“Not to mess with Holly.”
“Hey, I’ll admit, this was good. I can give her points for that, but you should be warning her because now I’m taking the gloves off.”
There was a long pause before Clark asked, “Have you ever stopped to think about why you want to escalate this whole thing with Holly?”
“Because she is a spoiled”—Declan grunted as he ripped a large hunk of wrapping off his truck—“princess who thinks she can do whatever she wants because she’s cute.”
“Wait, you think Holly is cute?”
Declan growled. “I am a man with eyes. She is attractive, but that does not make up for the fact that she is an irritating pain in my ass.”
“Fair enough. But going back to what you were saying before, why are you worried about where your dad is?”
He paused, his brain stumbling over what to say. “I mean…I live with the guy and it snowed half the day. I just think giving me a heads-up on which direction to send the rescue team isn’t much to ask.”
“I get that. When my brother would stay out all night, I was constantly checking my GPS app to see where he was. I know he’s older, but I swear sometimes I feel like Sam’s keeper.”
“He moved out of your place, didn’t he?” Declan asked between grunts of exertion as he cleared the hood.
“Back in June, but I still check up on him. He comes over a lot, and he’s going to stay at our place with Jace and Daisy while we’re on our honeymoon. Although if I know Chris and Victoria, they’ll steal the both of them whenever Sam allows it.” Clark cleared his throat. “Do you want me to come down there and help you uncover your truck?”
“No, I got it. I’m going to do enough to get me inside and finish the rest tomorrow, but I do have a favor to ask…”
“Shoot.”
Declan picked up his phone with one hand and reached for his door with the other. “I want you to pick your fiancée’s brain about her sister. Her dislikes and fears. I need an upper hand to win this—”
Sinister laughter erupted from inside his cab when he opened the door, and he stumbled back with a shout, falling on his butt on the snow-covered asphalt. A gnome fell out of his truck and shattered on the ground with a high-pitched crack. Clark hollered faintly from the face-down position of Declan’s phone, and when he flipped it over Declan noticed a spiderweb cracking in the corner of the screen.
“Son of a bitch.” Declan wiped the snow off the glass as gently as he could, silently cursing himself for not getting a new glass protector.
“What happened?” Clark called.
