A Coyote Ridge Christmas (The Walkers of Coyote Ridge, 7)

by Edwards, Nicole

  Beau glanced at his watch.

  “I think it’s a record, too. Your dad said she took a two-hour nap earlier.”

  Yep, that was what Pop had said.

  As though he was nervous, Beau walked over to the dresser, began rearranging things on top of it. There was baby shit strewn across the room. Bottles, pacifiers, toys, blankets, diapers. Everything they had at home had been relocated here, as though they were staying for a month, not a few days. Of course, having it there made Ethan feel better because he knew the kids wouldn’t need anything. It was still endearing to watch his husband fret over which things to take and ultimately deciding on everything.

  Ethan watched Beau, unable to hide his desire for the man.

  Pushing up from the edge of the bed, he reached for Beau’s hand. “Now that they’re asleep, we should commence with the festivities.”

  “Festivities?” Beau whispered, clearly not wanting to wake the sleeping babies.

  Without responding, Ethan tugged Beau’s arm, leading the way to the monstrous bathroom attached to the fancy room. He snagged the baby monitor from the dresser before stepping inside and closing the door behind them, ensuring it didn’t click. The triplets were light sleepers, and they’d learned even the softest sound seemed to wake them.

  “Did you lock the door?” Beau asked.

  “Yes,” Ethan assured him. “Even put on the privacy latch.”

  Beau nodded, though he still seemed nervous.

  Ethan set the monitor on the vanity, then stepped over to the shower and flipped on the water. When he turned back to Beau, the man was already removing his shirt, revealing his enormous chest. Ethan smiled but stopped Beau’s hand before he could undo the button on his jeans.

  “Relax. Let me take care of you,” he whispered, closing the distance between them. “This is my present to unwrap.”

  “It most certainly is,” Beau agreed, cupping Ethan’s face and pulling him in for a kiss.

  Their lips fused together, a soft mating at first. Ethan was in no hurry, wanting to savor this moment with his man. More importantly, he wanted Beau to chill. He was strung tight, likely in protective dad mode since they weren’t safely ensconced in their house.

  He backed Beau against the door and leaned into him, their tongues mating as Ethan’s hands roamed freely over Beau’s chest, his stomach, and finally around to his back. He devoured him slowly as the steam from the shower began to fill the space. By the time he pulled back, they were both breathing hard.

  As he stared into Beau’s beautiful brown eyes, Ethan released the button on Beau’s jeans, slowly inched the zipper down. His husband’s chest rose and fell rapidly, his stomach muscles tightening against Ethan’s knuckles. And when he hooked his fingers and dragged the denim down Beau’s long legs, his husband let out a sigh.

  God, he loved this man, and it amazed him that the love he had for him seemed to grow more and more every minute of every day. Every time he saw Beau with one of their babies, that love grew tenfold. There was no denying Beau was the best father to have ever graced the earth, and with him, Ethan was a better man.

  “Please, E.”

  Ethan eased to his knees, the hard tile of the floor beneath him, the sexy man before him. He smiled up at Beau as he fisted his cock, stroking slowly, reverently. He had no desire to rush this, though he wasn’t sure Beau was going to appreciate his need to linger. His husband looked to be strung tight already, and Ethan hadn’t even taken him in his mouth yet.

  Granted, he changed that instantly, sliding his tongue over the swollen head.

  Beau hissed, his head dropping back against the door as his hips shifted forward.

  “Look at me,” Ethan whispered. “Watch me.”

  Though his head looked too heavy for his neck to hold up, Beau did as he was instructed, his heavy-lidded eyes coming to rest on Ethan’s face.

  Only then did Ethan take him in his mouth, sucking him deep and slow, curling his tongue around the thick shaft. Ethan moaned when Beau’s fingers twined in his hair. He wasn’t controlling him, simply touching.

  “I love you, E,” Beau said softly.

  Ethan didn’t respond with words. Instead, he laved Beau’s rigid cock with his tongue, sliding over the sensitive underside, then lower. He teased Beau’s balls with his tongue and lips before sucking his heavy sac in his mouth, fondling him gently. His own cock was straining against his zipper, desperate to be inside this man.

  “I don’t wanna come yet,” Beau warned. “I want you inside me when I do.”

  A deep growl escaped Ethan, but he didn’t stop his ministrations, continuing to love Beau slowly, paying attention to every detail, ensuring he pushed every single one of Beau’s buttons.

  He pulled back temporarily. “Fuck my mouth. Then I’ll take your ass.”

  Beau’s eyes flared with heat as his other hand shifted, curling around Ethan’s chin. The big man held his head in place as he rocked his hips forward and back, driving deep into Ethan’s throat, accepting what Ethan was willing to give him. Long minutes passed as Beau’s soft moans drifted on the humid air. Ethan’s body hardened as Beau’s cock pulsed against his tongue. He was close. So damn close, and it required effort to keep from pushing his husband over that slippery edge.

  Suddenly, Beau hissed and pulled back, panting as he slumped against the wall.

  Ethan chuckled, loving how easily he could push Beau to the brink.

  He got to his feet, then shed his own clothes while Beau kicked off his jeans. A minute later, they were in the shower. This time Ethan was pressed into the wall, Beau’s heavy weight pinning him there as their tongues explored.

  “Inside me, E,” Beau pleaded.

  “My pleasure, baby.”

  Ethan snagged the bottle of lube he’d stashed in here for exactly this reason. While Beau stood beneath the spray, the water dripping down his hard body, Ethan stroked himself firmly, slicking his cock as he ached to get inside the man.

  “Turn around,” Ethan ordered, his words clipped, a burning need pulling at his self-control.

  Beau pivoted, planted his hands on the tile, and leaned forward.

  Stepping behind him, Ethan slid his cock along the crack of Beau’s ass, enjoying the urgent pleas that became a constant as Beau’s need reached a crescendo.

  Rather than impale him, Ethan inched inside Beau’s tight ass slowly, retreating nearly all the way, then pushing in deeper. His cock throbbed with the need for release because it had been days since he’d felt the blessed heat of Beau enveloping him. Somehow Ethan managed to hold on, thrusting his hips forward until he was fucking him ruthlessly.

  “E … oh, fuck … don’t stop.” The words were raspy and soft but no less potent.

  Ethan gritted his teeth as unbelievable pleasure consumed him, every nerve in his body singing as he fucked the man he loved more than life. When he nearly came from the sensation, he reached around Beau, fisted his cock, and jerked him roughly.

  Beau panted, mumbling his name over and over, begging for release until Ethan couldn’t contain it any longer.

  When he released Beau’s cock, his husband’s hand replaced his as Ethan gripped Beau’s hips, holding on as he slammed into him. He waited until Beau groaned, his body jerking as he came.

  When Ethan let go, he was pretty damn sure his head had blown clear off his body.

  *

  “ALL RIGHT, BOSS MAN, WHERE DO YOU want this stuff?” Kaleb asked when he joined Travis in the main floor recreation room.

  “Under the tree,” he told his brother. “Make sure all the packages are marked, though.”

  While his brothers carted down the gifts that had come from Santa, setting them up for the kids to find in the morning, Travis made his way to the kitchen, where Gage was putting together the cookies and milk that Kate had insisted they set out.

  “There’re some carrots in the fridge,” Gage told him.

  Ah, yes. Carrots for the reindeer, of course. The things their daughter came up wi
th.

  Travis retrieved the bag of baby carrots, then tossed them onto the stainless-steel counter beside Gage.

  “You have to open them.”

  Travis did.

  “Now you have to bite a couple, so it looks like the reindeer ate them.”

  “Why on earth would the reindeer be inside and leave the carrots behind?” Travis mused as he tore off the end of the bag and opened the resealable package.

  “How’re the kids gonna find them if we don’t?”

  True. Didn’t mean it made any damn sense.

  Since Travis didn’t like carrots, he didn’t bother biting them, just snagged a handful and tossed them on the plate Gage had sitting out.

  “Please tell me those are chocolate chip,” Sawyer said when he sauntered into the room.

  “They are,” Gage answered, then smacked Travis’s hand when he reached for one.

  Sawyer chuckled.

  “What time’s Mom comin’ down to start the turkey?” Ethan asked when he joined them.

  “Early,” Gage told him. “Kylie set her alarm for four, so I figure sometime around then.”

  Zane groaned, walking in. “I am not gettin’ up at four.”

  Maybe not, but Travis figured Reid—Zane’s oldest—would be. Right alongside Kate, who would be coming down to pillage what Santa had brought her. You had to love kids and their excitement.

  “Me, neither,” Brendon added.

  Travis hopped up on the counter, watched as the rest of his brothers stepped into the kitchen, circled the long counter where Gage was setting the last pan of cookies.

  “We can eat them all, right?” Braydon asked, earning a slap from Gage, too.

  “You have to leave a couple,” Gage told them.

  Travis knew his husband hadn’t baked two dozen cookies for them to leave out for Santa. He’d made two dozen so they could leave one behind, along with some crumbs. It was their tradition at home and he’d insisted on doing the same here. Granted, they generally shared the cookies with the kids before they went to bed, stored a dozen for later, but tonight they were sharing with his brothers.

  As Braydon and Brendon ribbed one another about who usually ate all the cookies, Travis smiled.

  While the past two days had been hectic, to say the least, it had been worth every chaotic minute. And tomorrow morning, when all those kids woke to find presents under the tree from Santa … that would be the icing on the cake.

  “How about some eggnog?” Zane asked, marching toward the industrial refrigerator.

  “I’ll get the bourbon,” Sawyer offered, heading out to the bar.

  “Make mine a double,” Travis told him when he returned. “Without the eggnog.”

  Sawyer smirked. “Great minds…”

  After eight drinks were made, two without the nasty shit, Travis lifted his glass. “To a new tradition.”

  “You plannin’ to do this again next year?” Sawyer asked, eyes wide.

  “And the year after that,” Travis replied.

  “That’s a great idea,” Zane offered.

  “To a new tradition, then,” Braydon stated, lifting his glass.

  His brothers grinned wide and echoed the sentiment. They clinked glasses, then resumed conversations while they munched on chocolate chip cookies and bourbon. Zane was the one to gnaw the ends off a couple of carrots, Brendon doing the honors of chugging down half a glass of milk. Before they managed to get sloppy drunk, Gage reined them in, leading the way back to the tree.

  Travis relocated a small table so Gage could set up the plate, the glass, the remnants of Santa’s midnight feast.

  Then they toasted once more to the best Christmas ever before heading off to bed. After all, four o’clock would come early for the women who insisted on making the Christmas feast. And Travis knew it wouldn’t be long after that Kate would be insisting they come down to see what Santa had left.

  Despite the fact he was exhausted, Travis found he couldn’t wait for morning, either, just so he could see the smiles on his kids’ faces.

  Chapter Eight

  Wednesday, December 25, 2019

  AS FAR AS LORRIE WAS CONCERNED, CHRISTMAS was her favorite holiday. For more reasons than the obvious, though that was equally important.

  Still, this was the day she looked forward to spending with her family. As many as they could fit in one space. This year they were blessed because the idea to gather at her boys’ resort allowed for far more than would fit in her house.

  The past couple of days had been amazing, but today was the real treat because her brothers and two of her sisters had been able to be there, along with a handful of their grown children. Curtis’s brothers and sisters had managed to make it as well, along with some of their adult children. Add in Lorrie’s seven sons, two sons-in-law, six daughters-in-law, three granddaughters, and twenty grandsons, and they had the makings of a party of epic proportions.

  Now that the Christmas presents had been opened, Santa’s gifts as well, they were all sitting down to a lunch feast that had taken roughly eight hours to prepare. Luckily, they’d had the use of a commercial kitchen; otherwise, Lorrie wasn’t sure they would’ve been able to handle it all. Thanks to that and all the extra hands, it had turned out far better than expected. And the good news was, there would be plenty of leftovers for later this evening when everyone wandered back for more.

  Now as she sat at a table with Curtis, she couldn’t help but smile at all the faces. There were dozens of conversations taking place at the many tables scattered throughout the restaurant, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

  “You all right, darlin’?” Curtis asked, leaning over and whispering in her ear.

  “Better than,” she assured him.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  “I’m good for now, thank you.”

  He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then turned his attention back to Gerald, who was sitting on his other side.

  Lorrie looked around, caught sight of Travis laughing at something Gage said, Kylie smiling at Kate, who was telling a story, based on her animated hand gestures.

  There was Kaleb offering Zoey a bite of the cornbread dressing while she blushed like a school girl.

  Zane was holding Dustin in his arms, giving V a chance to eat before he did.

  Ethan and Beau were focused on the triplets in their high chairs.

  Brendon and Braydon were completing one another’s sentences, though Lorrie couldn’t hear the conversation.

  And Sawyer was making an airplane motion with a spoon, delivering food to Matthew, while Brody stared wide-eyed at his father.

  It was a perfect gathering.

  Then again, it would’ve been perfect if they’d burned the pies or overcooked the turkey. None of that mattered in the grand scheme of things, because her family had long ago learned to overcome the small things because they had one another.

  And that was a gift that kept on giving, year after year.

  *

  IT HAD BEEN A HECTIC DAY, BUT a damn good one, Mack thought.

  First the kids storming the Christmas tree, all that wrapping paper scattered everywhere, the adults attempting to corral two dozen kids and convince them it was okay to share their toys with their brothers, sisters, cousins, whatever. Then there’d been the incredible lunch, the afternoon crash from too much food, returning for more so they could once again overdo it. After that last meal, Mack had offered to help clean the mess, but Kennedy had ushered him right out, assuring him they had it covered.

  Now that things had finally settled down, Mack made his way over to the makeshift bar he’d manned for the last couple of nights. It wasn’t Moonshiners, but it was decent as far as temporary setups went. He was happy to see several people had come down, mostly men tonight. Kaleb and Ethan were sitting at a table putting together what looked like a Lego figure, probably something Kaleb had bought one of his boys. Sawyer and Brendon were giving the enormous tree a once-over, likely wondering if they could t
op it next year. He hoped all the moms were taking a load off now that the major festivities had ceased. Kids were probably playing with their shiny new toys in their hotel rooms, eyes getting heavy or closed altogether.

  Mack had considered heading home rather than staying another night, but he’d changed his mind at the last minute. Not exactly sure why that was, though. After he’d gotten the third degree from Daniel via text message of all things, he knew he wouldn’t be able to endure sitting alone with himself all night long. So, here he was.

  As he reached for a bottle of bourbon, his attention was snagged by the handsome sheriff coming down the dramatic staircase.

  Yeah, okay, so Jeff was the real reason he was still here.

  He tried to be discreet as he took Jeff in from head to toe. Tonight he was wearing a navy blue button down with his Wranglers and boots. The sleeves were rolled up, revealing his ropey forearms, the top button opened at his throat. He looked good, but that wasn’t anything new.

  It didn’t make sense that he’d hung around for this, even Mack could admit as much, but he’d wanted to have a few more minutes where he didn’t have to worry about the outside world. More specifically, Daniel finding out that Mack was still holding a torch for Jeff. He’d done a damn good job of hiding it, or at least he hoped he had.

  When Jeff made it to the bottom of the stairs, his eyes scanned the space, coming to rest on him. Mack instantly averted his eyes, but he figured it was too late. Jeff had busted him ogling him.

  Oh, well.

  “What can I get ya?” Mack offered Travis when the man sidled up to the bar.

  “Just beer tonight.”

  Mack bent down and retrieved a bottle from the mini-fridge kept under the long wooden counter. Had they been at Moonshiners, he would’ve offered Travis what he had on draft, but this was clearly a temporary setup, so he made the best of what he had.

  “Thanks,” Travis said when Mack passed it over after removing the cap.

  Jeff came over and took the stool beside Travis.

  “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for inviting me,” Jeff told Travis.

  “You’re family,” Travis countered. “No thanks necessary. Glad you could be here. How’d Matthew and Brody fare?”