“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Just trying to discuss some man business without Calla hearing,” Damon said simply, and got elbowed by Jared.
“That isn’t it!” he said, his voice abnormally low. “It’s just … it’s Calla.”
“And she’s naturally crazy,” Damon supplied helpfully.
“Dude!”
Damon snorted. “What? I don’t need to be nice. I’m not sleeping with her.”
Jared rolled his eyes. “You’re an ass.”
“Can someone fill me in?” Toby ventured before the two could get into it.
“Jared wants to open a gym,” Damon stated. “A gym … in Willow Creek.”
“It’s a great idea,” Jared protested. “Think about it, it would be the only one in town, which would make it a big deal.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Toby cut in. “My physical therapy is out in Newburry, but if I had a gym or something closer to home, it would save me a lot of time.”
Jared smacked him on the arm. “See?”
Damon shook his head. “This is the laziest town on the planet. Nobody’s going to want to work out at any gym.”
“I don’t know about that,” Toby argued. “We got the football team over at the high school and women are always trying to lose weight. I say it could work, but I don’t get why you don’t want Calla to know.”
“Because Calla’s a bossy taker-overer,” Damon said. “The minute she hears something remotely resembling a project, she’s all over it like shit on a fly.”
Jared punched him on the arm. “I will hit you in the mouth next time,” he warned.
“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Toby broke in quickly before the two could escalate. “She and Addy have about six years of events lined up. That should keep her occupied.”
The two exchanged glances.
“I still think we should look into it a bit more before bringing it up to the others,” Jared decided. “I personally think it will really take off.”
“Well, I’m in,” Toby said.
“I still think it won’t fly,” Damon protested. “But I’m in.”
“What are you three whispering about over there?” Beth emerged from the kitchen with Uncle Sloan right behind her.
“Nothing,” all three said simultaneously and earned a raised eyebrow.
“Well, get over here and sit down.” She looked over to where Addy was sitting and offered her a small smile. “Where’s the kids?”
“Upstairs,” Addy said. “Did you want me to get them?”
Beth shook her head. “No, let them play.” She peered over the rest of the room. “Is everyone here?”
“Your husband isn’t,” Calla pointed out teasingly.
His mom blinked in surprise. “Oh! Cole? Lily?”
The two emerged from the kitchen.
“Okay, I need a head count of how many people will be going to the cabin this year for Christmas,” she began. “Our numbers have grown so I want to make sure we have the room.”
He and Addy hadn’t talked about Christmas since he’d brought it up while she’d been signing the divorce papers. He wasn’t sure where they stood on that or if she wanted to stick to their plan.
His gaze went to the woman in question and found her watching him. Her eyebrows rose as though to say what do you think?
He motioned her over to him and stood mesmerized by the seductive sway of her body as she approached. The soft, red dress she wore clung across her beautiful breasts and hugged her narrow waist before tumbling over the perfect curves of her hips. It ripped around her long legs, drawing the eyes to her shapely calves and small feet.
She made it all the way to him before he realized he’d been staring.
“God, I love how you walk,” he groaned, making her laugh.
“You said the same thing this morning when I was making cereal,” she teased.
Toby shrugged. “What can I say? I’m damn crazy about you, woman.”
Her cheeks darkened, matching the color of her dress. “I’m not complaining.”
He hooked her middle with one arm and tugged her to him. “Good. So, what do you want to do?”
“I know Sean would want to hang out with his friends and so would Kari. I know I would love to spend it with just us, you, me and the kids, but…” She pressed her palms flat against his chest. “I’m kind of curious to see how the McClain’s celebrate Christmas.”
He kissed her temple. “Together it is then,” he murmured.
“Will there be enough rooms?”
He grinned. “Oh, we’ll make rooms.”
Epilogue ~ Addy
Five years later…
“Rosie, can you move the turkey more center, please?”
“Oh, leave it alone, Lily!” Beth bustled out of the kitchen, bowl of cream corn in hand. “Rosie love, can you take this and put it at the head of the table? I’m going to get the bread.”
“It’s not center, Beth!” Lily protested, eyeing the bird.
“Mom, I don’t think it makes a difference,” Willa assured the woman. “The table looks beautiful as it does every year.”
Lily looked no closer to being pacified, but she stopped her fussing and hurried into the kitchen.
Around the sprawling room, lights flickered in an array of bright colors that matched the strands wrapped around the tree. Garland and tinsel glittered. Someone had turned the radio on and some woman crooned about having a merry little Christmas. It was barely loud enough to be heard over the familiar hum of voices.
Standing across the room, cradled in the warm confines of her husband’s embrace, Addy watched the soothing ballet with the same sense of peace she always felt when surrounded by the people she loved. The noise and lights and the brimming sound of laughter and bickering were all the things that made Christmas her favorite time of the whole year.
Five years had passed since her past and present had collided. Five years of being part of a family and being loved by a man who still made her heart skip just by walking into the room. It was five years of countless blessings and joys, and so much happiness it made her soul hurt. It almost didn’t seem like it should be possible and yet every morning she woke up with a smile on her face.
“Lily, I swear I will hit you with a spoon if you touch that bird again!”
Beth’s warning brought Addy back to the moment. She focused on the two arguing about measurements and twenty year old Rosie, looking from one to the other with frustration and concern.
“You can’t just have the turkey off center,” Lily protested. “It throws off the entire table.”
“Didn’t they have this same argument last year?” Sean mumbled from the sofa.
“I think it was the ham then,” Owen muttered from next to him.
“You would think that with this happening every year, someone would get those two a ruler for Christmas,” Colten said from the armchair.
Owen and Sean nodded mutely.
Gone was her baby boy. It never failed to amaze her when she looked at him and saw a young man in his place. No longer was he small and scrawny. Just that spring, he’d joined the football team in school, something she never imagined, and had actually made the team as offensive guard. She hadn’t noticed until their first game just how much her baby had filled out, how much he’d grown. At fifteen, he was nearly as tall as Toby and still growing.
Sean caught her studying him and raised an eyebrow. Addy just shook her head and mouthed, I love you. Sean grinned around the color darkening his face. His gaze flicked to Colten, who met his eye, but said nothing.
“Mom? Dad?” Hanna appeared at Addy’s side with Kari right next to her. “If food’s late this year, can we eat the pudding?”
“No!” Addy retorted immediately. “You two stay out of the pudding. I mean it!” she called after them when they both sulked and shuffled away.
“They are so going to eat the pudding,” Toby murmured into her ear.
“Y
up.”
It didn’t matter how old the girl got, she still managed to sneak treats when no one was looking. It seemed she only got more creative with age and, at nine, she was practically a ninja.
“You know, this is why I sit right here every year,” Cole announced from his favorite recliner. “If you stay out of the way, you don’t get hit with spoons.”
Sloan merely shot his brother a frown from the next seat.
The front door flew open to a flurry of snow and ice. Two figures trudged in, bundled from head to toe. The door was slammed shut and the unraveling began. Jared and Damon emerged from the mountain of clothing.
“Christ, it’s cold,” Damon hissed.
“But we have enough firewood to last the entire weekend,” Jared piped in.
“We better,” Damon muttered, moving deeper into the cabin. “I am not going back out there.”
“You two better not be leaving your things just lying by the door,” Lily warned.
Groaning, the two turned and shuffled back into the short hallway.
Dinner ended without anyone getting hit by a spoon. Once everyone was seated, the tension immediately evaporated to a cheerful hum of the holidays.
Afterwards, the dishes were cleared away and everyone made their way to the sitting area and the tree glittering against the dark windowpane framing it. Outside, the blizzard beat against the wood structure. Inside, the fire crackled in the hearth, illuminating the three rows of stockings pinned along the top. The crowd gathered on the sofas and armchairs. Colten, Owen and Sean were banished to the floor. it was only when everyone was seated that Lily picked her way to the overflow of presents spilling out from beneath the tree.
“All right, you guys know the rules,” Lily announced. “One present each tonight and then bedtime.”
She handed the boys one each first. Then Rosie, Kari and Hanna. Everyone watched as the wrappings were torn off. Everyone, except Addy, who turned her head to Toby.
“I have a present for you,” she whispered.
Toby raised an eyebrow. “Is it dirty?”
She elbowed him playfully in the ribs and laughed. “No!”
“Oh my God!” Sean’s elated cry had her attention wavering and she turned to watch him pull out a navy blue hoodie with McClain stamped over the numbers twenty-seven across the back. “Grandma, I love it!”
Beth grinned. “Now you don’t have to keep wearing your jersey everywhere.”
Dropping the hoodie down on the discarded wrapper and box, Sean rose and waded around bodies, legs and the coffee table to hug the brunette. Beth hugged him back tight.
“Thanks.”
She kissed his cheek. “Welcome, love.”
“Hey, how come she gets all the thanks? I helped pick it out,” Cole protested and got a smack on the arm by his wife.
Sean chuckled. “Thanks Grandpa.”
Rose got a veterinarian encyclopedia that she screamed and clutched to her chest. Damon got a tackle hug for that one. Colten got a leather jacket from his dad. Kari got light up socks from her mom that she immediately tugged on and hopped around the house, making the knitted Christmas trees blink rapidly.
“No!” Owen held up a driver’s manual, eyes enormous. “Seriously?”
Sloan nodded. “I told you, you keep your grades up and I’d help you get your license.”
Beaming wide enough to tear his face in two, Owen whooped. “Thanks Grandpa!”
“But you better keep those grades up,” Damon warned.
Owen nodded vigorously. “I swear.”
The only one left was Hanna, who was gingerly picking at the bit of tape, careful not to tear the golden paper.
“Come on!” Owen badgered. “You’re always the last one.”
“Hey, lay off.” Sean shoved him.
“Boys!” Calla jumped in before a war could ensue. “The night’s almost over. Let’s not have bloodshed, okay?”
Hanna’s gift was the electric piano she’d been eyeing for over a year. The one that had encouraged her to take lessons and get good enough to earn it, and she had. From the moment she’d been placed in front of those ivory keys, she had surprised them all, even the instructor who had never seen anyone pick up the art with such seamless ease.
“A natural!” the woman had called her.
But Addy hadn’t bought it and one glance at Toby assured her that he hadn’t either.
Hanna gasped. Her tiny hands ran over the shiny box the way one would touch a priceless artifact. Her small face crumpled as she leaped to her feet and ran straight into Calla’s arms.
“I love it!” she cried into the other woman’s shoulder. “Thank you, Aunt Calla.”
“Just keep practicing, okay?” Calla kissed the side of her head. “You have a gift, sweetie. I want to come see you play on stage at Carnegie Hall one day, understand?”
Sniffling, Hanna nodded rapidly. “I promise.”
“Time for bed!” Lily croaked, wiping at her eyes.
“Wait!” Addy called before anyone could leave. “I, uh, I know the grownups are supposed to wait until morning, but I … I have a sort of gift for everyone.”
Toby narrowed his eyes. “I thought it was my present.”
“It is!” she assured him hurriedly. “Kind of.”
“Not sure I like the idea of sharing my present,” he complained, and was ignored.
Pushing to her feet, she stepped around Owen and over Kari to reach the tree. Leaning around back, she pulled out the box she’d tucked aside from the others. The silver foil glittered under the colored lights. It barely weighed anything and yet she nearly lost her hold on it twice.
Limbs trembling, she picked her way back to him carefully and held it out. His blue eyes met hers and held even as he reached up to accept it. Addy bit her lip as he tore the wrapper off. Her stomach flip-flopped anxiously. She held her breath as the lid was tugged up, just enough for him to peek inside.
His head jerked up immediately. His eyes going wide as they latched onto her face.
“Seriously?”
Too nauseous to verbally answer, Addy only nodded weakly.
“What?” Willa demanded when Toby’s mouth moved and nothing came out.
Jared lunged for the box. Toby jerked out of his reach and straight into Damon’s, who grabbed hold and yanked it straight out of Toby’s fingers.
“Boys!” Lily snapped. “Damon, you give that back!”
Toby didn’t seem to notice though. He continued to stare at Addy with a mixture of awe and stunned wonder.
“Say something,” she whispered, her anxiety building.
“We’re having a baby?” he blurted. He shot out of his seat and hauled her into his arms before she could respond, lifting her straight off the ground as he did so. Owen scurried out of the way, narrowly missing a foot to the head. “We’re having a baby!”
The room erupted as everyone scrambled to their feet. Addy was set down only long enough to be yanked into Willa’s arms. Then Calla’s. Beth held her the longest. Finally, she was in Toby’s arms once more, held so tight she was sure he was going to crack a rib.
“I don’t know what to say,” he breathed into her shoulder. “I’m so happy.”
Chuckling, Addy pulled back to wipe at her eyes and peer up into his face. “Yeah?”
Toby nodded. “Yeah.”
“A piano and a sister!” Hanna cried. “Best Christmas ever!”
Addy turned to her daughter, laughing. “You okay about not being the baby anymore?”
Hanna huffed. “Are you kidding? Being the baby is hard work. I am so done being cute.”
That brought laughs from everyone, but Addy had locked eyes with Sean. She searched his face, trying to find anger or disappointment. But he grinned at her and gave a nod. And just like that, the last knot in her chest unraveled. She exhaled and grinned back.
“We need to celebrate!” Beth announced. “Someone help me get glasses.”
The volume rose as the group celebrated. Everyo
ne moved, some towards the kitchen, others to gather the mess made by the gift giving. It was a flurry of beautiful commotion. Champagne was brought out—apple cider for Addy and the children.
“To another chapter!” Sloan toasted, raising his glass.
Everyone drank to that.
It was much later, once the children had been put to bed and the adults sat up watching the fire die that Addy reached for the box Damon had left on the armrest of the sofa. No one else had opened it.
Snuggled against Toby’s chest, Addy pried the top off and peered at the strip of paper inside with the four little words she’d written across it. She pulled it out and studied them.
“We’re having a baby,” Toby murmured into the top of her head, reading the print.
Addy nodded. “In seven months.” She tipped her head back and peered up at him. “Are you ready for this?”
His hand moved down to splay across her flat belly.
Baby, I was ready the day I met you.”
THE END
About Airicka Phoenix
Self-proclaimed romance addict, Airicka Phoenix lives in a world where unicorns, fairies and mermaids run amok through her home on a daily basis. When she's not chasing after pixies and rounding up imps, also known as her four children, she can be found conjuring imaginary friends to play with. Airicka is the prolific author of over eighteen novels for those who crave strong, female leads, sexy alpha heroes and out of control desires. She's a multi genre author who writes young adult, new adult and adult contemporary and paranormal romance.
For more about Airicka and the realm she rules with an iron fist--and tons of chocolate--visit her at: www.AirickaPhoenix.com
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