Mack had assured her she shouldn’t be nervous meeting his family, but what guy wouldn’t say that? Every man she’d ever met, including her ex-husband, had thought his family was bound for sainthood. (And Millie was fairly certain that her ex-in-laws, much like her ex-husband, were far more likely to be traveling on the highway to hell instead of the stairway to heaven, thank you very much.) She knew Mack had promised her over and over again that both his mom and sister were warm, friendly, outgoing people or, in his words, the complete opposite of him. Millie, of course, remained anxious. But who wouldn’t be? What if they didn’t like her? Would her relationship with Mack fizzle if she didn’t make a decent impression on these women? From what little she and Mack had discussed last night, she’d still been able to gather that these women were important to him. She’d been able to tell that he was close with them both and each meant a lot to him.
What if she screwed this up?
Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself for the eightieth time that she’d spoken to each woman on the phone on more than one occasion and found both to be perfectly lovely people. She’d even joked with his sister about Mack’s surly attitude on more than one occasion. They’d bonded. She had nothing to worry about. Nothing at all, she repeated to herself over and over again as a steady stream of travelers began to descend on the escalator, each wearing a beleaguered flight face as they waited to reach the lower level.
Scanning each person as they finally reached the lower level, Millie’s lips twitched when she heard a familiar voice.
“Mom, I can NOT believe you just went wading through a fountain! This is an airport, not the pool!” an aggrieved female berated her mother.
“That was my lucky penny, Aubrey Moonglow Daniels. I couldn’t waste it on a fountain that wasn’t actually designed to be a wishing well. When that sweet stewardess told us that it was just a pretty decoration for the airport, I knew I needed to get my coin back. You heard her, Aubrey. No one had even blessed that water! Honestly, dear, I only got the hem of my skirt wet. It’s not like I’m soaked to the bone.”
“Mother, for the last time, my middle name is Nicole. Aubrey Nicole Daniels. You and Dad named me after the freaking woman that introduced you to each other. I only agreed to respect your New Age beliefs if you’d stop trying to change my name.”
“I can’t help it. The serenity of the name Moonglow suits you, Breebee,” Millie heard the mother argue.
Choking back her laughter, Millie lifted a hand to wave at a younger woman dressed in jeans and an oversized Harvard sweatshirt and an older woman wearing a flowing lavender and magenta skirt with an ivory tunic as she carried what appeared to be a pair of wicker sandals in her hand.
“Daniels family?” Millicent called hopefully, hoping she could distract them before Bree decided to take her mom back upstairs and drown her in the fountain.
Bree jerked her head in Millie’s direction. “Who said that?”
“That would be me,” Millie answered, stepping around a tall man and his rolling suitcase. “Hello,” she greeted Mack’s sister and mom with what she prayed looked like a welcoming smile. “I’m…”
“Oh, we know who you are! You are Millicent, the Angel of Light that’s managed to wake my son’s heart up after a long, long slumber,” Mack’s mom returned dramatically, her lined face beaming as she held out her arms toward Millie. “You, dear, are the cream to my son’s coffee. The light to his dark. The soft to his….”
“Mom!” Bree groaned, shooting her mother a hard look and shaking her head at the older woman. “You’re going to scare her off, and Mack is going to spend your entire Christmas visit plotting which retirement home would be the best to lock you inside for the rest of your natural life… and this time, I’ll help him!”
Millie couldn’t help her giggle as Mack’s mother made a face at her daughter.
Aubrey rolled her eyes at her mother’s antics before turning toward Millie. “Please excuse my mother. She’s…. well, I’d love to tell you that she’s just a little eccentric, but as a psychiatrist, I can’t tell that lie. In my professional opinion, the woman is just crazier than a loon. ”
Millie’s eyes widened. “Oh, uhmmmm,” she hedged, not quite sure what to say.
“Oh, she’s quite harmless, but completely, one hundred percent certifiable,” Aubrey continued, shooting her mom a pained look.
Mack’s mom pinched her daughter’s arm and twisted the skin sharply. “I’ll give you harmless, young lady! You take that back,” she demanded on a hiss.
“Ouch! Stop that you crazy old bat,” Aubrey growled, squirming as her mother’s fingers pinched harder. “I swear, I’m gonna yell for security this time, Mom!” she warned.
Stepping quickly toward them before their altercation could catch the attention of a passing security guard, Millie pasted a bright smile on her face. “Ladies, as you already seem to know, I’m Millie. Mack’s stuck at the hospital delivering a baby, but his patient should have delivered by the time I get you ladies back to Paradise, and I know he’s excited to see you both. I think they’re starting to move your flight’s luggage through on the belt. Why don’t we see if we can grab it and get y’all out of here?”
“In other words, we’re beginning to attract attention and you wanna move us on out of the airport before Mack has to come down here and bail us out of jail,” Aubrey suggested with a wicked grin as her mother’s fingers released their hold on her skin.
Millie only blinked in response. Bree’s precocious grin was so much like Millie’s daughter, Paisley’s, that it caused her to do a double take. “Uhhhh…. Well….” Millie faltered, not wanting to offend either of Mack’s family within the first five minutes of meeting them.
“It’s okay, Millie,” Bree stated with an easy laugh. “Mom and I are well aware that we can be a handful.”
“We’re an acquired taste, dear. The good news is that once you manage to acquire us, we never go away, I promise,” Mack’s mother added.
“Mom, I’ m afraid that sounded like more of a threat than a promise,” Bree muttered on a sigh.
“It’s fine. I already think y’all are wonderful,” Millie declared with a wide smile, reaching out to squeeze Mack’s mother’s hand.
“Oh, I feel like such a fool. I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Joy Haven Daniels, Mack’s mother, but you just call me Mom. The way my son sounded on the phone, it won’t be long before you’re my daughter anyway,” the older woman directed draping an affectionate arm around Millie’s shoulders and giving her a squeeze. “And this is my daughter Aubrey.” Joy nodded toward an amused Bree.
“We’ve spoken before, Mother. Just call me Bree, Mills,” Bree said quickly, reaching out to shake Millie’s hand. Meeting Millie’s startled eyes, Mack’s sister grinned and shrugged her shoulder. “Welcome to the Daniels’ family, Millicent. You can try to run from us, but we’ll always catch you.”
Millie swallowed nervously because those words….those words definitely sounded like a threat.
“Oh, I see our bags,” Millie heard Mack’s mom announce. “Bree, be a dear and go grab them,” she ordered her daughter as she linked her arm through Millicent. “Now dear, tell me,” she began as they followed Bree through the crowd of travelers toward their luggage carrousel, “Is there a prominent lesbian population in Paradise? I don’t know if Mack’s mentioned it yet, but well, I’m gay, dear.”
“Yeah, she’s a late-in-life lesbian,” Bree called over her shoulder. “Surprise!”
As Millie continued to listen to Mack’s mother babble, Millie wondered just what she’d gotten herself into with Mackenzie Daniels.
Eight: What Child is This?
Later that night as the curtain closed on this year’s Nativity scene, Mack stood beside Millie and applauded Paisley’s performance. She’d been the best sheep in Paradise, and he couldn’t have been prouder if the kid had been his own blood. Offering Millie a sidelong look, he could still see the lines of strain around her mouth and fe
lt a pang of guilt.
He’d thrown her to the wolves today, and he felt like shit about it. Turning his head to see his sister and mom standing to his right, both applauding loudly, he knew that both women already loved Millie. Millie, however, was a little frightened of them.
Not that he blamed her. When you put his sister and mom in the same room, it was like intentionally putting a match to a stick of dynamite – an explosion was bound to happen.
He really should have warned Millicent about that before he’d sent her into the metaphorical wolves’ den today.
Wrapping one arm around her waist, he leaned toward her. “You still mad at me?” he asked against her ear, nipping her earlobe before pulling back enough to stare down at her with eyes that shined with apology. “I know my mom and sis can be a lot to take in, but they’re both basically good people.”
“Oh, I know they are,” Millie replied with a nod. “You, however, could have warned me that they were a little enthusiastic about showing their affection.” Lifting onto her tiptoes, Millie pressed her lips to his ear this time and continued. “And it might have been nice to know that your mom was a….what did she call it? Oh, yeah. A reformed heterosexual and a late-in-life lesbian. Not that I care, but still….hearing it from you in private would have been a lot better than hearing it announced in the middle of Knoxville’s airport with half the lower level looking at us,” she whispered violently into his ear.
Mack couldn’t help his chuckle. When he imagined the scene Millie painted with her words… it was just too fucking funny not to laugh. “I’m sorry, babe.”
“Uh huh,” Millie grunted. “You will be,” she warned, pinching his side as the children from the play began to flood into the main portion of the church. Spotting her daughter running toward them with her sheep’s head tucked up underneath her arm, Millie smiled.
“Momma! Dr. Mack! Didya see? Didya see me? I ‘membered my line!” Paisley squealed as she reached them and threw herself against Mack’s legs. “I did real good, didn’t I?”
A grin split Mack’s face as he bent and lifted Paisley into his arms and held her against his hip. “You were without a doubt the most convincing sheep I have ever seen. For a second, it was like we were really in the barn with Mary and Joseph.”
“Silly, Mackie!” Paisley giggled, clasping Mack’s cheeks and shaking his head from side to side. “It was pwetend! Tell ‘im, Momma,” she ordered with a look at her proud mother.
“I can’t,” Millie denied dramatically. “He’s right. You were the very best sheep this town has ever seen, Miss P. I think maybe I should get your autograph,” she said, reaching out and tickling her baby girl’s tummy.
“You’re a silly willy, too, Momma,” Paisley laughed, shaking her head as she finally spotted the two women standing off to the side watching them with smiles on their faces. “Who dey, Dr. Mack?” Paisley whispered loudly, pointing at the women while automatically curling closer to Mack.
Glancing over his shoulder to see who Paisley was indicating, Mack grinned. Things had been so rushed this afternoon that Paisley hadn’t gotten to meet his mom and sister yet. They’d met Millie here at the church and Paisley had already gone downstairs to practice for the play. “This is my family, Squirt.”
“You gots a family, Dr. Mack? ‘Sides us?” Paisley asked, looking bewildered as her little eyes darted between Mack and the two women watching them.
“Did you think I was found under a rock, Princess?” Mack teased, bouncing her up and down on his hip as Millie chuckled.
“Nah, I just thought me and Mommy was your family. I never saw you with anybody else,” the five-year-old reasoned out loud.
Mack’s heart melted at Paisley’s innocent remark, and he knew the three women surrounding him felt the same way as he heard a collective, ‘Awwwwwwww!’ released among them. “You’re absolutely right, sweetheart. You and your momma are a huge part of my family, too, Paisley. But this is my mom and sister, and you know what? By making me part of your family, that means you get part of mine in return,” he explained, gesturing toward the waiting women.
“And we really needed a cute little girl in our family,” Mack’s mother remarked. “We’ve had no one to give dollies or have pajama parties with in the longest time, have we, Aubrey?”
“Nope,” Aubrey agreed. “It’s been really lonely, Paisley. Is it okay if my mom and me join your family?”
“Do you like manicures?” Paisley asked, eyeing Aubrey’s bright pink nails.
“Heck, yeah! We like manicures and pedicures,” Aubrey replied with a wink. “Maybe later this week, I can steal you away and we can have a day of beauty.”
“Ooooohhh, that sounds fun,” Paisley breathed before shifting her attention to Mack’s mom. “Do you like to bake cookies?”
“Oh, yes,” Joy declared with an exaggerated nod. “Chocolate chip and oatmeal are my specialty, and sometimes I’ll whip up a batch of peanut butter cookies just to keep things interesting.”
“Don’t forget the Snickerdoodles,” Mack interjected, smiling when he felt Millie drop her chin against his shoulder as she watched the interaction between his family and her daughter play out. “My mom makes some amazing Snickerdoodles, Paisley. They’re my favorite.”
“I like Snickerdoodles, too, Dr. Mack! They’re my favoritest e-ver!” she announced excitedly.
Joy dropped her hands to her hips, “Well! Imagine that. My little boy and you have a whole lot in common, don’t you? Maybe we should go home and get started on that favoritest cookie of yours, huh?”
Paisley nodded eagerly, looking at her mother. “Can we, Momma? Can we go to Dr. Mack’s house? Please?” she begged.
“I think that can be arranged,” Millie replied with a slow nod. “If it’s okay with Mack,” she amended, looking up at him.
“Sounds like a great plan to me. I get Snickerdoodles and my two favorite girls with me for the evening,” he responded with a contented grin of his own. He was never going to miss an opportunity to have Millie and Paisley with him under his roof if he could help it.
Paisley turned back to Mack’s mother. “Momma and Dr. Mack said yes!” she yelled, squirming out of Mack’s arms and quickly reaching for his mom. “What do I call y’all?” she asked curiously, looking between Mack’s mom and sister.
“Why don’t you call me Breebee,” Aubrey suggested with a quick look at her brother. “It’s what Mack calls me.”
“Well, I’d love it if you’d call me… Gram?” Joy asked, looking at Millie for permission.
“I think Gram is fine,” Millie validated with a soft look at Mack’s mother.
Joy’s eyes filled with tears and the older woman swallowed hard. “Yes, good. Gram, then,” she told Paisley. “And I think I’m gonna call you my Sweet P, if that’s okay with you, Precious?” Joy asked as she held out her hand toward the little girl.
“Okay!” Paisley returned happily, bouncing toward her new Gram and taking her hand. “I got a Gram now, Momma. Not even Heaven has a Gram,” Paisley beamed, mentioning her best friend.
“No, she doesn’t, does she? I guess that makes you a pretty special girl today,” Millie acknowledged with a gentle smile at her daughter.
Mack watched with Millie in the curve of his arm as Paisley led Aubrey and his mom out the back door of the church. “I think it’s meant-to-be, babe. My mom has finally found a kid to spoil and Paisley gets another grandparent in her corner. You okay with that?” he asked, nodding toward his family while carefully watching Millie’s face for any sign of hesitance.
“They’re a part of you, Mack. Of course I’m fine with it,” Mille returned with a shrug. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Mack relaxed and released the breath he’d been holding. “No reason, babe. I just didn’t want you to feel like we were bulldozing our way into your life. If you wanted me to tell them to move slower, I would, but my mom loves kids. She’s been looking for one to spoil for what seems like forever. And Bree adores kids. The fact that she
’s not already married with a couple of her own kinda amazes me.”
“Your family is unique, Mack, but they’re wonderful. Paisley and I are lucky to have them in our lives,” Millie returned as he began to guide her toward the double doors leading outside. “I just don’t want to push myself on them, though. I know they came to see you. Not me and Paisley. We don’t need to monopolize your time while they’re here.”
Mack froze where he stood, his hand tightening on Millicent’s elbow as he turned her to face him. “Hey. Millie, you can’t monopolize what I want to share with you. I want you and Paisley with me all the time, whether my family is here or not. We’re together now. A couple. Well, a trio when we add in Paisley. That’s not going to change no matter who is visiting us. Got it? I want to be with you both – no matter what,” he emphasized truthfully, lifting a hand to tuck a strand of her reddish-brown hair behind her tiny ear. “Now, give me a kiss and let’s go make cookies with my mother.”
Millie laughed, but shook her head in denial. “Are you crazy? We’re in church. There are people watching us, Mack.”
“I know,” Mack said with a satisfied nod. “What better place is there for a guy to stake his claim in the South than standing in the middle of his woman’s church?” he remarked, drawing her against him and capturing her unsuspecting lips in a sweet, albeit chaste kiss. “I’ve heard kissing you in your place of worship is tantamount to a proposal. Is that true?” he whispered against her damp lips.
Millie nodded wordlessly as she looked up at him with wide, surprised eyes.
“Good.” Mack declared, feeling a sense of gratification the likes of which he’d never experienced in his life even when he’d been married to his first wife. “Then every man in here knows where I stand now,” he continued, brushing his lips against hers again.
The Homespun Holiday Page 9
