by Marie Force
What they’d done to her dad defied belief.
She held on tighter to Callie, who squirmed to get free and then let out a happy scream as Nolan’s truck came into view.
Her daughter was an unrepentant daddy’s girl.
When Nolan was out of the car and done scowling at the frolicking moose, Hannah let Callie go to toddle her way to him, her gait reminiscent of a drunken sailor. Hannah had never seen anything more perfect than the way her husband lit up at the sight of his daughter, scooping her up and making her shriek with laughter that had both moose and Homer stopping their game to make sure their little girl was all right.
Seeing Nolan, they resumed their game.
Their little family was unconventional, but Hannah wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I see it’s the usual circus around here,” Nolan said as he leaned in to kiss Hannah. “No Savannah today?”
Hannah normally took care of Dani’s daughter during the week. “Dani’s parents are here for Christmas and staying at a B&B two towns over. They had her today. We just got home a few minutes before you.”
“From where?”
“Family meeting at the barn.”
“What’s that about?”
“I’ll tell you inside. I don’t want her out in this cold for too long, and Dex will be looking for his dinner.”
“What about my dinner?” Nolan asked with a grin. He cooked as many nights as she did, so he wasn’t being sexist.
“We’ll see about that, too.”
“Is everything okay, Han? You’re doing that thing with your eyebrows that happens when you’re wound up about something.”
Hannah loved that he knew her so well, he could read her moods with a single glance. “Let’s go in.” She got up to lead the way, with Nolan carrying Callie as he followed her. Knowing it was dinnertime, Dex and Homer were right behind them, leaving Fred alone in the yard to moo his protest over the end of playtime.
“Don’t even think about inviting him in here,” Nolan said with a scowl.
“You’re not allowed to tell me what to think about.”
“In this case, I am.”
“Just because you’re still mad that Dexter outsmarted you doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me.” She took off Callie’s hat and coat and hung them on a hook by the door before removing her daughter’s tiny snow boots. Once free, Callie took off running. They laughed at how she’d gone from barely standing to running in a matter of days.
“Are you ever going to let me forget that Dexter outsmarted me?”
“Not in this lifetime.” Hannah shot him a saucy smile over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen to feed her boys. A couple of months ago, after Dex had gotten a little too comfortable with life inside the house, Nolan had told her it was time to let him go before it was too late for him to learn the things he needed to know to survive in the wild.
Hannah had been heartbroken at the thought of Dexter living anywhere but with her, but she’d agreed to let him go—if that was what he wanted. She’d let Dexter out into the yard for the first time without supervision to wait for Fred to come to play. Hannah had stayed in the house and watched from the window, trying not to cry at the thought of Dexter leaving with Fred, who’d tried to lure him away before.
And when he’d sprinted after Fred, her heart had shattered into a million pieces. She’d sobbed so hard, she’d woken Callie from her nap early.
However, hours later, after they’d gone to bed for the night, Dexter had returned, smacking his hooves against the door.
Hannah had bolted out of bed and gone to let him in.
Much to Nolan’s dismay, he’d never tried to leave again.
She knew they’d have to figure out a different plan—or buy a bigger house—before Dex was fully grown, but for now, he slept on his oversized dog bed in front of the fire every night, ate from a bowl next to Homer’s and was part of their family, even if people (including her own husband) thought she was insane. Maybe she was, but she loved Dex like family and was so thankful he’d chosen to stay with them, even if Nolan groused about it on a daily basis.
“So what happened at the barn?” Nolan asked, holding Callie as he cracked open a beer.
Hannah checked the crockpot of minestrone soup she’d made earlier. “You won’t believe it.”
By the time she finished telling him the whole story, he’d helped Callie eat her dinner of pasta and vegetables.
“That’s seriously messed up,” Nolan declared. “What’s your dad going to do?”
“He’s going there tomorrow, and we’re all going with him.”
“How come everyone is going?”
“Because we want them to see what came of the choice they forced him to make.” Even as she said the words, her heart ached with grief for her dad and what he’d had to give up to be with the woman he loved. The story had touched her deeply as she tried to picture life without the two men she’d loved or being forced to choose between them and her parents and siblings.
The thought of it made her shudder.
And then Nolan was there with his hands on her shoulders and his lips brushing over her hair. “You’re upset.”
“Hearing what they put him through… It was awful. I always wondered why we didn’t see or hear about his family, and now that I know why…”
“You wish you didn’t.”
“Right. How can I be related to someone who’d do such a thing to his own son?”
“Aww, Han, you’re nothing like that. You have a baby moose living in your house. I think it’s safe to say those genes passed you by.”
She laughed through her tears as she turned to face him. “How do you always know just what to say to me?”
“I speak Hannah.”
Wrapping her arms around him, she leaned into him, thankful as always for his steady presence. “Thank goodness someone does.”
“I’m dirty, sweetheart. Let me go take a shower and change so we can continue this conversation.”
Hannah held on tighter, certainly accustomed by now to the scents of motor oil, gas and grease that came home from the garage with him. He told her she was weird because she liked those smells. “Don’t go yet.”
“I’m here.”
They stood there for a long time, until Callie squeaked, wanting to be released from the high chair.
“Are you taking my little girl with you on this trip?”
“I’ll have to since you’re working and everyone else is going with me. I could ask Aunt Hannah to take her, but I’d hate to be away from her even for a day.”
“I’ll take the day off if you want to leave her at home.”
“You don’t have to. I don’t mind taking her.”
“What am I supposed to do without my ladies tomorrow night?”
“Snuggle Dex?”
“That is not happening.”
“You will feed him, though, right?”
“Yes, Hannah,” he said with a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll feed him.”
Ever since his son, Chase, was born in June, Will wanted to be with him all the time. The chunky blond baby was the center of his parents’ lives and had made what was already the best time in Will’s life that much better. During Cameron’s seemingly endless pregnancy, he’d had to live with the bone-deep fear of something going wrong, the way it had for her mother and grandmother, both of whom had died in childbirth.
He’d even held off on allowing himself to feel anything for his unborn child until he knew for certain that his beloved wife would survive the birth. They’d done everything they could to ensure a safe birth for both mother and baby, but until it actually happened, Will had remained stubbornly unemotional when it came to the baby.
Now that he’d had six months with his son, that detachment seemed like a lifetime ago. He was so in love with the little guy, it wasn’t even funny, and more in love with Cam than he’d ever been. Before Chase arrived, he wouldn’t have thought it possible to love Cameron more tha
n he already did, but seeing her as a mother, especially knowing she’d grown up without hers, had made his feelings for her that much deeper.
She was a beautiful, devoted, dedicated mother, and their son was lucky to have her.
These days, she worked mostly from home, which meant he missed her during the days they used to spend together. But they agreed that her being with Chase, especially the first year, was for the best.
Which was why his daily goal was to get home as early as possible. Rattled after the family meeting, he tried to process the things he’d learned about his father’s family. He drove past the spot where he’d met Cameron on a cold, muddy spring night after she ran into Fred and smashed up her brand-new car. Thinking of that night always made him smile. Even with two black eyes from the airbag, she’d been the loveliest woman he’d ever seen, and he’d been instantly intrigued by her.
Reliving the euphoria of his earliest days with Cameron made him feel sad for what his dad had gone through after meeting his mom. No one should have to make the kind of choice his grandfather had forced his father to make. It was obscene. He gripped the steering wheel tighter as he thought about how awful that must’ve been for his dad. Linc would say it hadn’t been a decision at all. Of course he’d chosen Molly, but the heartbreak of losing everyone else he loved had to have been dreadful.
Will pulled into the long driveway that led to their newly expanded cabin, which was finally finished after a months-long renovation. Living in the midst of construction with a newborn wasn’t something he was eager to do again any time soon. But the end result had been worth the chaos. They’d added two big bedrooms, a master bathroom and a much larger family room onto the back of the house, tripling their living space.
With just a few days until Christmas, he loved coming home to the house lit up with the lights he’d strung and smoke curling out of the chimney, while knowing the two people he loved the most were inside waiting for him. When he got out of his truck, their dogs, Trevor and Tanner, appeared out of the darkness to welcome him home.
“What’s up, boys?” he asked as they escorted him to the mudroom door through cold air that smelled of snow.
One of them barked, and the other followed suit, both of them running in circles that would’ve tripped someone who wasn’t used to their antics. The dogs were crazy about Chase, who was equally obsessed with them, thank goodness. He stepped into the warmth of home and the scent of the evergreen candles that Cameron burned constantly this time of year.
“Daddy’s home,” he called out as he removed his boots and hung up his coat.
As he did every night, Chase let out a scream of excitement when he heard Will’s voice, making his daddy smile from the thrill of being so loved.
Cameron and Chase were in the new family room, sitting by the huge Christmas tree he’d hauled in, with a fire in the hearth as they played with toys.
Will scooped up his son and spun him around, loving the way the baby’s face lit up with pleasure at the sight of him. “How’s my big boy?”
“He’s great, but don’t shake him up, or you might end up wearing his dinner.”
Will hugged him close, breathing in the clean smell of him. He’d become addicted to the scent of baby since Chase arrived. He sat on the floor with the baby on his lap and leaned in to kiss his gorgeous wife. Her long blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a bun, and her eyes were tired from a long day of trying to work while taking care of a baby. Her smile, however, was joyful.
“We missed you today,” she said.
“I missed you guys like crazy. I need to start working from home more often so you can get a break and I can spend more time with him. There’s no reason it has to fall all on you.”
“We’ve already had this ‘fight,’ remember? You can’t breastfeed him.”
“No, but I can work from home and help you with him while we’re both trying to work. You’re tired, baby. You’ve got dark circles under your eyes.”
She reached up to touch them, and he immediately felt like an ass for mentioning them. “I know. I hate them.”
“You’re the most beautiful girl in the entire world, dark circles or not, but I don’t want you getting run-down trying to do it all.”
“It’s just been really busy with the catalog and the holidays. It’ll get better in January.”
He put his arm around Cameron and brought her into the snuggle with Chase. “I have to go away for a night.”
She looked up at him. “When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“How come?”
“That’s a long story that I want to tell you after we get him down.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it is, but one night away is something I’ve got to do for my dad.”
Over the next hour, they worked together to get Chase down for the night and then brought the chicken curry she’d made in the Crock-Pot to sit in front of the fire to eat. Will poured the half glass of chardonnay that she allowed herself while breastfeeding and a full glass for himself.
“What’s up with your dad?”
Will told her a condensed version of the story his dad had relayed to them earlier, watching her face go flat with shock and dismay over what had happened so long ago. “And now his dad is dying and apparently wants to see him. We decided to go with him.”
“I can’t believe he’s actually going after what that man did to him.”
“I know. Part of me wishes he wouldn’t subject himself to the potential hurt of it, but I can understand his need for some sort of closure. If he doesn’t go, he might regret it. This way, he’s truly the better person.”
“I guess. It’s just hard to believe his father gave him that kind of ultimatum.”
“It’s horrible. I feel so bad for him. It must’ve been heartbreaking to lose his family that way.”
“I’ve always admired your parents, but now I do even more.”
“My mom said she was concerned for a very long time that he’d one day resent her for what he’d given up for her. I knew he’d given up going to Oxford for her, but I had no idea the full extent of it.”
“I would’ve felt the same way she did. My God, what an awful thing to do to someone you’re supposed to love and protect. It makes me sick.”
“Me, too.”
“I’m glad you’re going with him so his family can see what came of their love.”
“That’s what Hunter said when he suggested we go.”
“The twelve of you will make quite a statement.”
“That’s the idea, but I’ll hate being away from you and Chase for even a night.”
“You’ll be back before you can miss us.”
He shook his head and tipped her chin up to receive his kiss. “I miss you the second I leave you. And I miss you every second that your feet aren’t wrapped around mine under the desk at work.”
As they kissed again, Will pushed the coffee table away to make room for them to stretch out in front of the fire. He always wanted her, but recalling how tired she was, he slowed the kiss before withdrawing.
“What?” she asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.
“You’re so tired.”
“Not too tired to kiss my sexy husband.”
“Kissing usually leads to other things that you’re too tired for.”
“I’m not too tired for what kissing leads to.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure.” To make her point, she wrapped her legs around his hips and pressed her heat against his hard cock.
Will laughed at her not-so-subtle message. “Well, all righty, then.”
Chapter Ten
“There’s nothing you can know
that isn’t known.”
—John Lennon
Ella was already home and enjoying a cup of decaffeinated tea when Gavin came in from work, his face flushed from the cold and his thick dark hair tousled. He was, without any doubt, the sexiest man she’d ever met, and
some days she still wanted to pinch herself to believe he was actually hers.
“What’s up with your parents?” he asked, his brows furrowed with worry that reminded her of how he’d often looked before she made him fall in love with her.
“How do you know something’s up?”
“I saw Lucas.”
“Where’d you see him?”
“I can’t tell you that because it involves Christmas presents.”
Gavin came over where she was seated on the sofa, kissed her and took a long studying look at her face, as he did every night to make sure she was all right. She teased him about treating pregnancy as if it were a potentially fatal illness. But after what he’d been through losing his brother and closest friend, she indulged him in whatever he needed to find the peace of mind that had been so elusive for him since Caleb died.
“Luc said there was a family meeting, but I should get the deets from you. So give ’em to me.”
She reached for his hand to bring him down to sit with her.
“They’re okay, right? I’ve been in a panic trying to figure out what’s wrong. We just saw them, and they were fine.”
“I love you so much for the way you love my family.”
“Of course I do. They’ve been part of my life for a long time.” His family had moved to Butler when he and Caleb were in middle school. They’d been friends with her brothers from the start, and she’d been in love with Gavin for almost as long as she’d known him. She could barely remember a time when she hadn’t been in love with him. That she got to be with him every day now was the greatest blessing in her life.
“My parents are fine, but something happened with my dad’s family.”
“I don’t remember ever hearing much about them.”
“Because he never talks about them, and now we know why.” She shared the story she’d heard for the first time earlier, still finding it hard to believe even after having had a couple of hours to process it. “We’re going there with him tomorrow so he can see his father and show him what’s come of the marriage he was so opposed to.”
