Read One Bright Star for Free Online

There was weather in Kentucky bad enough to keep you from flying in?” Dan squinted suspiciously. “Bullshit.”
    “Connecting flight in Detroit. Have you not been watching the news?”
    “It’s Christmas Eve. Why would we watch the news on Christmas Eve?”
    “To find out if there was anything happening that might affect your dear friends who were travelling half-way across the country in wintery weather, maybe?”
    “Honestly never occurred to me.” Dan stepped a little closer. “You couldn’t get a different flight?” He didn’t seem too concerned about the noise they were making, and that made sense, really. Jeff and Evan both slept like they were comatose, and the baby’s room was at the far end of the hall; in a house as big as this one, that was a pretty good buffer.
    But Chris still kept his voice low as he said, “The storm’s screwed up most of the northern half of the continent. Everything’s shut down, and the flights through the south are way over-booked.”
    “The northern half of the continent is Canada . Do you mean the northern half of the country?”
    “Canada doesn’t count.” Chris was tired, but strangely happy. He was back where he belonged. He smiled at Dan and said, “We didn’t have any festive food at either of our houses. Not a lot of food at all, and the stores will be closed tomorrow. Also, neither one of us has a fireplace, and I was really looking forward to opening presents in front of a roaring fire. So we came here.”
    “Do you have any presents to open in front of the fire, or to give to others? Anything at all to contribute?” Dan crossed his arms in front of his chest and tried to look stern.
    “Come on, Danny. You’re not going to pull the ’no room at the inn’ trick on Christmas Eve. You’ll make Baby Jesus cry.”
    “It’s four in the morning. Christmas Eve is over, and Baby Jesus would absolutely understand that guests should arrive at a civilized hour. And I think he expected visitors to come bearing gifts. Got any frankincense on you?”
    “You said Evan was leaving an empty chair at the table for unexpected guests,” Ryan said.
    “Evan’s insane,” Dan said. Then he flashed his quick, beautiful smile. “You guys might regret this whole visit when he gets through with you.” He stepped aside and waved an arm down the hall in the direction of the room they normally crashed in. “Welcome home. Sorry you didn’t make it to Kentucky.”
    “Just as well, really,” Chris decided. “We gave Grandpa Travis a few more months of blissful ignorance.”
    They made their way down the hall to their familiar bedroom and shut the door firmly behind them. A few moments to get settled in and then Chris said, “I meant it, you know.”
    “I meant it, too.” They’d only turned on one light, but Ryan’s smile was bright. “I’d been thinking about it. I wasn’t planning on announcing it at a big family function or anything, but… I’d been thinking.”
    “We can announce it here, instead,” Chris said. It was better. Much better. He loved his Kentucky family, but he loved his California people too, and he was more comfortable here. Kentucky was about who he’d been as a boy, and then a young man, full of enthusiasm and insecurity and uncertainty. California was about who he was as an adult, confident and independent. California was where he made all his own decisions, including deciding who to love and who to marry.
    “Not that it’s legal either place,” Ryan sighed. He’d already taken his shoes off and now he flopped dramatically back onto the bed, the comforter rising around him like he’d fallen into a bank of powdery snow.
    “It’ll be legal here a hell of a lot sooner than it will be in Kentucky. And if we don’t feel like a long engagement, we can take a trip somewhere. Up to Canada, maybe.”
    “I thought Canada doesn’t count.”
    “Shut up,” Chris said, and he fell forward, catching himself with his hands and knees on