How Nick and Holly Wrecked...Saved Christmas Read Online Free Page B

leather. I would say I’m sorry for dumping on him again, but it seems I say I’m sorry to Nick Zernigan a lot lately and I’m not sure why. I hug the armrest on my side of the chair and pray a shooting star bursts through the glass to change the subject.
    “I don’t think I’m going to college.”
    Or something like that will do it, too.
    “What?” I practically choke myself.
    “No need to waste my parents’ money. I’m not a good student. I should have graduated at the end of this semester, and now I can’t until May. I was ahead of schedule until I spent two semesters in California and got delayed.”
    “Why, Nick? I know you’re smart. I saw your name on the honor society roster.”
    “Some credits didn’t transfer, I was missing a required class, but mostly I hate school. It’s suffocating. I want to do things. Not read things. I don’t want to take a test about why the birds nest the way they do or why the stars explode when they do, I want to see it. Be a part of it. Observe and preserve it.”
    “So get your butt to college and study science or birds or stars.”
    “Never mind. I don’t want to study birds and stars.”
    “All right. I know what you mean. I do. I want that, too. I want to sing and act and audition and perform, but I guess I can see myself doing that through college.”
    Nick gets up and stands at the glass doors. “And I can see myself doing what I want to do through the military.”
    “No. Way. Does your dad know this? He’s gonna freak!”
    Nick shakes his head. “He doesn’t know. I’m thinking about the Army. I’ve been talking with the recruiter.”
    “You mean that creepy Army guy who comes to the school during lunch? Don’t let that guy make you a bunch of fancy promises, Nick. They tell you you’ll see the world and fly helicopters but you can also end up serving roast chicken to your fellow soldiers in Kentucky. Or you can end up full of bullet holes overseas.”
    “There are a lot of jobs in the Army, Holly. I have some say in what I do. They make you take tests, see what you want and what you’re suited for.”
    Nick’s phone is blowing up on the nightstand. He hands me my diet cola. “We need to go and make that other stop. The Starbucks closes at midnight so we need to move.”
    “Sure,” I say and help him scoot the oversized chair back to its spot.
    My mind is reeling from our conversation. Nick Zernigan: Classic car lover, bird-watcher, star-gazer... soldier . Who knew?
    “Hey, don’t say anything to anyone about the military, OK? No one knows and I need to talk to my dad. I used to talk to my uncle about it because he’s a veteran, but he’s gone now.”
    “Sure, Nick. And it’s good you’re here for your Aunt Ivy. Granny says she misses him very much and is having a hard time.”
    “Yeah. So how did you end up with Collette for the holidays? And watch your step,” he adds as we work our way back down the stairs.
    “My mother’s boyfriend surprised her with a trip. He won it at work or something and they had to go at a certain time. I kinda think Jake wouldn’t have minded if I went along, but they couldn’t swing it financially. Either that or my mom didn’t want me to go. Then I broke my nose and I don’t know... Me and Granny for Christmas. Or at least until Christmas day. They’re supposed to be back.”
    Nick picks up keys, a Christmas gift, and an envelope from the counter. “That stinks.”
    “Yeah, tell me about it. But I love being with my granny. We’re doin’ all right.”
    “What about your dad? Could you have stayed with him?”
    “Um... No. My mom was never married to my dad. We’ve never been close.”
    I am relieved when he doesn’t push it. I long ago accepted my status as a casualty of a broken home. No reason to dwell on it now.
    He sticks his nose in the fridge again and I brace myself for the possible beer situation to rear its ugly head.
    I’ve never been more relieved to see a Mountain