Heaven Hill Series - Complete Series

by Laramie Briscoe

  Walking towards their deck door, he heard her open it and step into their mudroom, beating the snow off her boots.

  “Is it slick out there?” He asked, grabbing a blanket as he made his way to the back of the house. He was happy to have her home; he didn’t do well with being by himself in the house. It reminded him too much of his childhood, alone in a house that was way too quiet.

  He watched as she took her jacket off, hanging it with the others, and shook her hair out. Drips of water and rapidly melting snow fell onto the floor, and he quickly grabbed a towel, cleaning it up.

  She nodded. “Oh my God, really slick. Plows haven’t been through town yet, much less out here. I slid a few times, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Is that mine?” she reached out for the blanket he held draped over his forearm.

  “Oh yeah, I figured you’d be cold. I have the fireplace going. Thought it would be a nice place for us to exchange gifts tonight,” he grinned down at her.

  “Sounds good to me,” she agreed, putting the blanket around her shoulders like a shawl. “Let me go get your gift.”

  “I already got yours, so just meet me down here when you’re ready.”

  She leaned up on the balls of her feet and kissed him quickly. “Be back in five.”

  Bianca was nervous as she went to the small closet in the spare bedroom. Jagger never went in here, and she’d known when she hid the guitar there, it would be safe. Now she had a case of nerves. What if this wasn’t something he really wanted? What if he was so attached to the other guitar he didn’t want someone buying him a new one? She’d never asked him what he wanted, hadn’t ever given it much thought. Now she wondered if maybe she was pushing something she enjoyed off onto him.

  Firming her shaking hands, she refused to let her insecurities and doubts win. Jagger never asked for anything. Ever. He wanted her love, her time, and her attention. Since the beginning, that was all he’d ever asked for. Out of everyone she knew, he was also the one who could give two shits about piling up lots of material things, which was why they took such good care of what they did have. Both of them had come from nothing, and together they now had a life that they were building together.

  “Bianca, quit being a dumbass and take this present downstairs.”

  She tried to calm her beating heart and knew it was her own fear that prevented her from living in the moment. She’d never gotten anyone a gift that meant as much as the one hidden in that closet did. Back when she was a kid living at home with a single mother, she hadn’t been able to get many gifts. More years than not in school, she’d been ‘sick’ on gift exchange days, because there simply hadn’t been extra money for one. She could count on one hand how many times she’d received gifts as a kid.

  When she’d gotten older, she’d made it a point to give gifts to the people in her life, even if they were simple things. This was the most extravagant one she’d ever given, and she knew that what she was really afraid of was that he wouldn’t love it the way she loved it for him, he wouldn’t see the thought she’d put behind it.

  Her heart waged war with her head though, because she knew her Jagger. If there was anyone who knew her hopes, fears, and her insecurities, it was the man downstairs. He would never make her feel like she was less important, never make her feel unworthy or like her gift didn’t matter. It was time for her to believe in herself, trust in their love, and realize she could handle any situation thrown at her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Who goes first?” B asked as she put her gift just outside the living room so he couldn’t see it. She knew if he saw the shape, he’d know exactly what it was and she’d worked really hard to keep it a secret. The day it had been delivered, he’d almost seen it because he’d come home from work early. She’d be damned if the surprise was going to get spoiled, today of all days.

  “You,” he patted the seat next to him, motioning her over to sit beside him.

  She was kind of disappointed because she really wanted to give him the guitar, but she also didn’t want to give away how big the gift was just yet. Seeing the excitement in his eyes, she wondered what in the hell he’d gotten her. He hadn’t looked this smug since the night he’d proposed.

  Walking into the room, she had a seat next to him, watching as he pulled a beautiful looking bag from the gifts. He’d really upped his wrapping game since they’d gotten married, and she knew if he continued, she’d hand all the wrapping over to him in the future.

  He pulled the bag back, laughing at the look on her face. “Don’t get all excited and thinking my wrapping skills have improved. I paid to have this done,” he joked as he handed it to her.

  She tilted her head back, giggling. It was as if he could read her mind, but in the end it didn’t matter. No matter if he’d done an awful job, she would still love it because it’d come from his heart.

  Peeking into the bag, she saw an envelope, which she decided to open last. Instead, she went first for her favorite perfume and body lotion. It was crazily expensive and she never spent the money on herself, but Jagger knew he was safe getting this gift for her. Giving him a small kiss on the cheek, she tore into the envelope, expecting a gift card. Instead, she glanced up at him with question in her eyes when she saw a plane ticket.

  “Open it, and you get to ask one question, beautiful. One. I think you’ll understand once you open it,” his voice was soft, like he had a secret that he wasn’t willing to share with her.

  She opened it with shaking fingers, gasping when she saw it was for New Orleans and it was around the date she’d been asked to present. There was no way he could have known about this, she’d made sure. Covering her mouth with her hand, she questioned how in the world he’d found out about it. “Jagger, how did you know?”

  He cleared his throat and grabbed her hands in between his. He waited until she lifted her eyes to his, waited until he had her full attention. He was only going to say this once and he wanted her to understand it. “I found out by accident, about a week ago. I’m not gonna lie and tell you it didn’t hurt me or piss me off that you didn’t tell me about this amazing opportunity you have. B, you’re so talented at what you do. How could you even think about not doing this? Why didn’t you tell me? I’m always so proud of every fucking thing you do.”

  She shook her head, trying to find the right words. Confronted with the truth, she wasn’t exactly sure why she’d kept it from him. It seemed so stupid now. “It’s really expensive for you to go and while my trip is paid for, I didn’t want to go without you. I didn’t know if we could swing it and I didn’t know if you could get the time off work,” she said it all in a rush.

  He put up his hand, shushing all her protests. He grabbed her wrists then moved his hands so that they could entwine their fingers together. “I know all of that, because I found the letter, babe. We’re going. The plane ticket is for me. I’m not going to let you give up on something that means so much to you because you’re worried about what might happen. I’ll leave my cut at home and go watch you shine.”

  Bianca hadn’t realized what a burden it had been on her heart until he’d made the decision for her. Unexpected tears were streaming down her face and the lights of the Christmas tree blurred. “I really wanted to do it. It’s hard to get picked, Jagger and they picked me. Out of hundreds, maybe even thousands, they picked me. A girl who used to waitress in a strip joint. Can you believe that?”

  The way she said those words broke his heart. Sometimes his Bianca was still that same insecure girl who waited tables wearing skimpy clothing, just hoping to get the best tips. He hated that she’d always see herself like that, and he also hated that he hadn’t realized what this was all about.

  “Because you’re truly one of the best at what you do. I’m not sure how to make you realize that. You’re a great teacher, and I wanna stand by your side when you do this like a proud husband should.”

  She’d never felt more blessed in her life. “It could be a vacation for us. We never had a honeymo
on. Maybe we can stay an extra couple of days, if it’s possible.”

  “It will be; we’ll figure it all out. We always do,” he pulled her close and kissed her forehead, wiping away the tears as best he could. To know this meant so much to her made him feel like a warrior. He’d made this happen for her.

  “Close your eyes. I wanna give you your gift now,” she whispered.

  He winked, a mischievous smile on his face. “Are you gonna get naked? Is that my Christmas gift?”

  She giggled, burying her face in his throat. “No, but I’m not ruling that out for later.”

  “Can’t fuckin’ wait,” he closed his eyes, leaning back against the plush carpet. He made a show of putting his hands behind his head, interlocking them and sinking deeper into the carpet.

  Bianca was nervous, more nervous than she’d been in a long time as she picked up the guitar, and sat it in front of him. The only thing shielding it from his view was the new case, which she’d also had the Heaven Hill logo airbrushed on. “Okay, open your eyes.”

  He did just that, a bright smile on his face that slowly dropped as he saw what was in front of him. Slowly he leaned up into a sitting position. He still didn’t speak though, just lifted his palm up and put it over his mouth. He sat in what appeared to be shock while she waited for him to have some sort of reaction.

  “Jagger?” She was worried now, because he didn’t make a move to open the case and he hadn’t even glanced her way. His eyes were trained on it, almost as if he wasn’t seeing it. He seemed to be deep in his head, and it scared her.

  “You got me a guitar?” His voice was hoarse as he asked the question. Like he didn’t believe she’d actually done it. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah,” she grinned, seeing for the first time how emotional this made him. If she wasn’t mistaken, there could have been some tears in his eyes. “Open it and tell me if I did a good job. I picked it out myself, and I hoped that you would love it.”

  “Babe, I know before even opening this that you knocked it out of the park. Nobody’s ever bought me a gift like this before,” he fought for words. “I always wanted one, asked for it for Christmas every year. I told you about my parents though, they were so religious they wouldn’t even let us listen to anything other than hymns, and they wouldn’t trust me with a guitar. Every year I asked for one and never got one, it just broke my heart. The first year I was by myself, I bought the one I’ve been using.” He glanced at her. “Wow.”

  She sank down in front of him, pushing his hair back off his face. “Nobody’s loved you like I do before. Open it.”

  Hands shaking, Jagger opened the case, running his fingertips over the airbrushed artwork before he lifted the top. He inhaled deeply as he caught sight of what was inside.

  “B, how in the fuck?” He pulled the guitar out reverently, and then flipped it over in his hands, examining every part of it.

  “The same way you knew to get that plane ticket. We know each other’s deepest thoughts and brightest dreams.”

  He pulled her close, kissing her so deeply she was thankful to be sitting down. Scooting over, she watched as he put the guitar in his lap, putting his fingers on the fret board.

  “Play me a little Brantley,” she clapped, whistling. “You know, besides you, he’s my favorite.”

  He gave her that heart-stopping grin that was hers alone. With the tree twinkling in the background, snow falling, and a room filled with love – he did just that – and nothing could have made them more in love with each other than they were at this moment.

  Part Four

  Liam & Denise

  Chapter Eighteen

  Liam Walker stomped his feet on the front porch to dislodge the snow around the bottoms of his motorcycle boots. What was supposed to be a weak cold front had actually ushered in a few inches of snow, surprising everybody living in Bowling Green.

  As he entered his home, it struck him how different things had been since a random day in August. Before that day he’d been a confirmed bachelor, all he’d cared about was his bike, his club, and his job as a mechanic at the family shop.

  A twist of fate had introduced him to a single mother with thirteen-year-old twins and when life had pushed them together, they’d fallen in love. Now, they all lived here, in his house. The four of them were finding their way as a family and damned if the kids hadn’t taken to calling him Dad. It was enough to make his head spin.

  What had once been a deathly quiet home when he entered, now was usually alive with the bickering of two teenagers and their mom, trying to help them come to a peaceful solution. That was no different tonight.

  “I don’t understand why we can’t open one gift. It’s Christmas Eve,” Mandy argued, a shrill tone in her voice carrying through the house.

  “Because, then we might not have anything to open on Christmas,” Drew, her brother breathed deeply as he answered.

  Liam had come to notice that deep breath as a sign of irritation in Drew. He was much older than his years and had a hard time not treating his sister as if she were much younger.

  “Hey,” Liam heard the soft voice of the woman who’d stolen his heart.

  Denise Cunningham had taken everything he’d thought he’d known about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness, and thrown it all in a blender. Liam had realized pretty damned quick that he hadn’t known anything at all. She and the two kids currently occupying his kitchen had quickly become center of his universe.

  Tilting his head, he listened to Denise talk to the kids, “We couldn’t open gifts on Christmas Eve last year because I didn’t have much money.”

  He knew that killed her to admit. More than anyone else, the kids had been privy to the dire financial situation she’d found herself in after being laid off from a factory job during the economic downturn. He was working on giving these three everything he had, everything he felt they deserved, because they’d lived through some very tough times.

  Drew’s voice, growing deeper by the day, could be heard again. “We know.”

  “But this year, you’re in luck. We can open a gift apiece tonight. I have one for Liam too, so as soon as he gets home, we can hang out and tear into them.”

  “Maybe we can make it a tradition again,” Mandy asked, sounding more hopeful than he’d heard in a long time.

  Denise answered. “We will most definitely make it a tradition.”

  Realizing they were just waiting for him to make an appearance, Liam pulled himself together and shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it on the coat rack before walking into the kitchen.

  “Hey,” he tried to make it seem as if he hadn’t been standing in the doorway, listening to their conversation. He wasn’t sure how they would take it, and he felt a little weird for eavesdropping.

  “Hey,” Denise grinned as she sauntered over to him, tilting her head up for a kiss. “We were just talking about you. The kids wanna open an early present.”

  “It used to be a tradition of ours,” Mandy grinned at him. “And we get to do it again this year. Mom said you’d do it with us.”

  Even though he’d heard the words before coming in, to have her say them to his face meant more than he could ever explain to anyone who asked. He’d never wanted kids, never wanted to be a dad, until he’d met Mandy and Drew. The two of them had turned his life upside down and their mother had forced him to do a complete one-eighty. “I’m really excited to join in the family tradition.”

  “Let’s head to the living room,” Denise did her best to corral them all, directing them to the part of the house where it looked like Christmas had grown roots and opened up shop.

  Never in his adult life had he decorated for Christmas, not often in his childhood either, if he was honest. And it had been taken over the top this year. To see the joy in Denise’s eyes and on the kids’ faces, had been all he’d needed to realize how important it was to them. Hell, he and Drew had even traipsed through the woods with Tyler and cut down a live tree. He’d become a pro at keeping
it alive by watching videos and tutorials on the internet. Domesticated didn’t begin to describe how he was feeling at this point in his life.

  He had a seat in the floor, his back to the couch, Mandy sat on one side of him, and Drew on the other. “How do we do this? I’ve never had any kind of holiday traditions.”

  “You’ve never had a tradition at Christmas?” Mandy asked as she turned her head so she could look at his face. It was obvious from her tone and the surprised look that she didn’t believe him.

  “No,” he laughed, running a hand through his shoulder-length hair. “My parents weren’t together, and Dad never really made it a big deal. I was happy if I got anything at all. A few years ago, I found out that Roni did most of the shopping and wrapped her own gifts so I didn’t feel like we’d been left out.”

  Drew grunted beside him. “That’s a pretty unselfish thing for her to do.”

  Liam had to agree and thought that probably out of all of them, Drew would definitely be the most like Roni.

  “Well, we had one when they were little and up until a few years ago,” Denise’s voice was quiet as she went around the tree and grabbed four boxes.

  “Mom,” Drew whined. “Really? When you said we could open a gift, I thought it was going to be something cool, not what we used to do.”