Ultimate Nyssa Glass, H. Burke [cat reading book .TXT] 📗

dead, that he’d never walk again, and that his father would never see him as “whole”—he would just hammer, weld, and drill scraps into twisted constructs that mirrored his mental state. He hadn’t felt the need to do that since he’d met Nyssa … Nyssa.

The red-tainted sun filtered through the front windows. He rested his forehead in his hands and sighed.

A shop girl with a perfume sample … like any shop girl would dare spray Nyssa if she didn’t want to be sprayed. She lied to me. Flat out lied. I should’ve just come out and told her what I saw.

He needed to believe there was a reason. They’d gone through so much together, life changing things. She was the first girl he’d ever kissed and the woman he wanted to spend his life with, and if she was lying to him … if she’d decided he wasn’t what she wanted, how would he pick up the pieces? Nyssa could have any man she wanted and that man would be lucky to have her. Thinking that she’d wanted him had made everything in his life so much sweeter.

His hands strayed to his thighs. He squeezed his lifeless legs. Though he couldn’t move them, if he pinched hard enough, there was pain, and he needed that pain right now. Hands clenching, he closed his eyes. I’m enough for her. Whatever the reason, it’s not because I can’t walk. She … she’s deeper than that. She wouldn’t tire of me because of that. Oh God, please, let me be wrong.

“Master Ellis?”

Ellis glanced over his shoulder.

Mrs. H stood in the doorway, clutching a plate. “Are you sure you won’t have a bite?”

“I don’t really …” His stomach grumbled. “I guess I could eat.”

She turned up the gas lamp and placed a plate of meat and potatoes on the workbench beside the twisted metal he’d been shaping. Her brow furrowed. “Is that something for Miss Nyssa?”

He laughed. “No. That’s … nothing.” He swept it off the bench into a bin of scraps.

“Ah. Theo mentioned that you bought her something today. I was surprised you didn’t make her gift. You’re so clever with your inventions.” She pulled a stool across the room and sat on the other side of the bench. “Do you feel well? You don’t usually skip a meal.”

“I’m fine.” He reached under the bench to a small shelf where he kept his private papers and pulled out a white box. “This is what I got her. I could use a feminine opinion on it. Do you think it’s enough?” He slipped off the lid. The pearl caught the light of the lamps and gleamed.

“Oh, beautiful,” Mrs. H whispered. “Yes, I think any woman would love that.”

Ellis carefully placed it back on the hidden shelf. Even if Nyssa left him, he’d want her to have something for their time together. Whatever happened next, she’d changed his life, literally saved it more than once.

“Master Ellis …”

Ellis looked up.

Mrs. H pursed her lips. “What you asked, if it were enough … Christmas isn’t about it being ‘enough.’ Miss Nyssa will think whatever you give her is enough because it came from you, and to her, you’re enough.” She reached across the desk and touched his hand. “When I first met that girl, I could tell she’d been hurt, that beneath that put-together shell, there was a little girl who never had a chance to … well, be a little girl. I also saw that when she was with you, everything about her softened. For someone like Miss Nyssa trust is the most precious gift she can give a person.” Her eyes brightened, and she laughed. “If only she could find a way to gift wrap her trust, that would be a wonderful Christmas present, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, it would.” An image of Nyssa herself wrapped beneath a Christmas tree flitted through his head and heat flushed through his body. He cleared his throat. “Thanks for dinner—and the talk.”

“It’s my pleasure, looking after two such excellent young people.” She stood and placed her hand on his shoulder. “If you were really smart, you’d take that necklace back and get Miss Nyssa a ring.”

Chapter Seven

Nyssa stood behind the shop counter, studying a diagram of Ellis’s chair. They’d worked on the chair together, once or twice. Ellis liked to tamper with it every so often, improving its speed or function. The machinery was almost like an extension of his own being, and Nyssa felt honored when he trusted her with any part of it.

Now, however, trying to “mess” with it without his knowledge, seemed a betrayal. Perhaps worth it, if successful, but still a betrayal. If this were to work, though, she’d need to figure the chair into the plan.

I should’ve been concentrating on the chair instead of wasting precious time with stupid Henri. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and all I have to show for my troubles are bruised toes. I think I can remember the steps Henri taught me well enough though. Back right, back left, feet together.

She quickly put her feet through the movements and felt decently competent.

Theo entered the shop, his shoulders slightly slumped and his eyes downcast. He glanced around. “Where’s Ellis?”

“Supply run,” Nyssa said. “He went to get the parts ordered we’ll need for next week’s repairs.”

“Oh.” Theo wandered over to the window display. Mrs. H had set up her creche in the center of the case, as if the videophones and radios were the magis’ presents for the Christ-Child. Theo stared down at the display. “At school they said we’re celebrating His birthday.”

“Yep.” Nyssa nodded.

“Then why do we get presents? Not Him?”

She chewed her bottom lip. “I don’t think He really needs anything from us. Also, it makes Him happy when we’re kind to one another. That’s why we give each other gifts.” She peered at Theo. His eyes lacked their usual sparkle. “Is something wrong?”

“Are you and Ellis fighting?” he asked.

Nyssa started. “No, of course not. Why would