by Marie Force
“No shit,” Ned muttered.
“Don’t encourage her Dad,” Mac said. “She’s wild enough for me as she is.”
It took twenty minutes, but they finally pulled up to the open gate at Big Mac’s house. With two babies on board, Ned had become more anxious with every passing minute, but they’d done it. They’d gotten them all.
He and Big Mac helped everyone inside and went back with Mac and Joe to grab the bags.
“Can we stow the team in the barn?” Ned asked Big Mac.
“Yep. Let’s do it.”
They went back out into the storm to detach the horses from their harnesses and put them up in the barn-shaped garage that also doubled as a workshop. They filled buckets with oats and water, rubbed down the horses and covered them with dry blankets.
“Will they be okay out here?” Big Mac asked.
“Royal says they’re low maintenance and will be fine as long as they’re outta the elements and have food and water.” Ned petted their long snouts. “Ya boys did good work. Ya saved Christmas.”
“With a little help from our good friend Ned,” Big Mac added.
“They did the hard part.” Ned spotted the camping supplies piled in the corner of the garage. “We oughta grab the air mattresses and sleeping bags. I have a feeling we’re gonna need ‘em tonight.”
“Good thinking.”
Carrying sleeping bags and deflated air mattresses, the two men made their way through waist-high drifts to the back door. Inside, they stashed their cargo, kicked off their boots and shed layers of heavy wet outerwear.
Big Mac opened the door to the kitchen, and the roar of voices, laughter, screaming babies and Christmas music greeted them. “Now that,” he said, grinning at his best friend, “is more like it.”
“Merry Christmas, good buddy.” Ned raised his hand for a high five.
Big Mac returned the high five and then hugged him. “Best Christmas present anyone ever got me.”
* * *
“Can you tell me what the hell we’re doing in this madhouse?” Quinn asked Mallory, amused by the antics of Thomas, Ashleigh and Hailey, whose excitement bordered on mania.
“We’re enjoying my second Christmas with my new family.”
“Is that what we’re doing?” His eyes went wide when Ashleigh jumped on Thomas’s back and took him down into a heap.
They landed with a thump and promptly cracked up laughing.
Quinn released a deep breath. “I keep thinking I should’ve brought my medical bag.”
Mallory laughed at him. “Didn’t you grow up in a big family?”
“I did, but my big family is nowhere near as crazy as yours.”
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Mallory had been devastated to realize Christmas would be canceled due to the weather and elated to get the call about Ned coming with the sleigh.
“Wonderful. Hmmm, okay. If you say so.”
“We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
“I’m just teasing you, sweetheart. I know how badly you wanted to be right here in the middle of this madness.”
“I really did. I know we were having a nice quiet day, but I had so many of those before I knew my family.”
“It’s fine. I promise.”
“So you’ll be okay if I go help Linda in the kitchen?”
“I’ll be fine. The guys are watching football in the den. I’ll go in there where it’s safe.”
Mallory kissed him. “This is the best Christmas of my life.”
“Because you have your family. I get it.”
“Not just because of them, but because I have you, too.”
“Every day is like Christmas since I met you.”
“That’s very sweet of you to say, but thankfully not every day is as loud as Christmas with the McCarthys.”
“Very true. Not sure I could handle that.”
“At least they have a doctor and a nurse in residence, just in case.”
“Let’s hope they don’t need our professional expertise today.”
He’d no sooner said the words, when Ashleigh and Thomas rolled across the floor, taking out Hailey, who bumped her forehead on the coffee table.
“Spoke too soon.” Mallory scooped up her niece and held her tight as she howled. “Get some ice,” she told Maddie who came running when she heard her daughter crying.
“Mac!” Maddie called. “Talk to your son about roughhousing.”
Mac, who had baby Mac in his arms, said, “I love how he’s my son when he’s misbehaving and her son when he’s charming.”
“Move it,” Maddie said to her husband, taking Hailey from Mallory. “My poor baby. Did your brother knock you down?”
Hailey, who had a knot forming on her forehead and a quivering chin, nodded.
“A little ice will make that boo-boo go away,” Mallory told her, kissing her cheek.
“Auntie Mallory knows these things,” Maddie told Hailey. “She’s a nurse.”
Maddie went to sit with Hailey and the ice pack while Mallory joined Linda, Stephanie, Abby, Grace and Francine in the kitchen.
“What can I do to help?”
“How are you with a potato peeler?” Steph asked.
“That’s my holiday specialty,” Mallory replied. She took the potato peeler from Steph and eyed the ten-pound bag. “Where’s Janey?”
“Upstairs nursing Viv,” Grace said.
“I can’t believe we’re all here and carrying on as if there’s not a huge storm going on outside,” Abby said. “Our house was freezing!”
“Ours, too,” Mallory said. “We were bundled under ten blankets, and I was still cold.”
“Good old Ned,” Linda said. “Leave it to him to find a way to save Christmas.”
“Crazy old fool,” Francine muttered, eyes brimming with affection for her husband.
“Your crazy old fool saved the day,” Linda said.
“Yes, he did,” Francine said, shaking her head. “He never ceases to surprise me.”
“He’s the best of us all,” Linda declared.
“He sure is,” Steph said. “Did anyone hear from Laura and the others?”
“Frank, Betsy, Shane, Katie, Sarah, Charlie, Kevin, Chelsea and the boys all stayed at the Surf last night with Laura and Owen and the kids,” Linda said. “Big Mac talked to them earlier, and they’re hunkered down with a generator.”
“I’m glad they can all be together,” Grace said. “Did you talk to Charlie?” she asked Stephanie.
“We had Christmas Eve with him and Sarah,” Steph said of her stepfather. “After so many years apart on Christmas, we’ll take what we can get.”
Tiffany came into the kitchen holding Adeline. “I got a text from Blaine in all capital letters with multiple exclamation points that said, ‘ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!!!!,’ when I told him where we are and how we got here. I said it was all Ned’s fault.”
The others laughed at that.
“Poor Blaine out serving the community, thinking his family is safe at home,” Linda said. “And you’re actually cavorting in the snow with babies.”
“He was worried about us being home alone in the storm,” Tiffany said, “so at least we’re not home alone anymore.”
“There is that,” Maddie said, smiling at her sister’s reasoning.
Tiffany was an expert at manipulating her alpha husband who was slavishly devoted to her.
“How late does he have to work?” Francine asked.
“Not too much longer. He’s mostly making sure people heeded his advice to stay home.”
“Everyone did except his wife and her family,” Grace said, giggling.
“I’m going to hear about this,” Tiffany said.
“Ya think?” Francine asked, laughing.
“Ohhh, maybe he’ll spank me for disobeying him,” Tiffany said, shivering.
“Good lord,” Francine said as the others howled with laughter. “I have no idea where she came from.”
* * *
They opened presents, drank eggnog, sang Christmas songs and took turns going out into the cold for more firewood. Babies were passed from one set of arms to another, and the volume remained just below deafening.
Big Mac couldn’t remember a better Christmas.
Dinner for twenty-five—counting Blaine, if he made it—took some doing, but under Linda and Francine’s oversight, they had a ten-pound beef tenderloin with all the fixings on the table by two o’clock.
Big Mac sat at the head of the table and took in the faces that surrounded him—Linda, who made it all happen. Mac, Maddie, Thomas, Hailey and baby Mac. Mallory and Quinn. Grant and Stephanie. Adam and Abby. Evan and Grace. Janey, Joe, P.J. and baby Vivienne. Ned, Francine, Tiffany, Ashleigh and Adeline.
When he thought back to his wedding day, now forty-one years ago, Big Mac never could’ve imagined what would come of his life with Linda.
She reached for his hand under the table and they shared a smile. “Unbelievable, isn’t it?”
“Best Christmas ever. Look at them—everyone has the one they love most by their side.”
“Except Tiffany, but hopefully he’ll be here soon.”
“He’ll be here the minute he can get free,” Big Mac said. “Wild horses couldn’t keep him away from his wife and girls.”
“Wild horses brought his wife and girls through the snow to grandmother’s house,” Linda said in a sing-song voice.
“That they did. Ned to the rescue.”
“Best friend we ever had.”
“He sure is.”
Ned sat at the other end of the table, holding hands with Francine like the newlyweds they still were.
“We need a toast,” Linda said.
“I’m on it.” Big Mac stood, cleared his throat.
“Oh no,” Mac said, groaning. “Here we go.”
“Hush,” Big Mac said to his oldest son. “I’d like to propose a toast to family—the best gift any of us can get on Christmas.”
The others raised their glasses in support of that.
“And to Ned, our cab driver extraordinaire, who made it possible for us to be together today.”
“To Ned!” everyone said.
Ned’s face turned bright red. “Aww shucks,” he said, waving off the praise. “Twas no big deal.”
“Twas the biggest of big deals,” Big Mac said. “To all of us. Thank you again for coming up with a way to save Christmas.”
“My pleasure,” Ned said, smiling widely.
The front door slammed shut and boots landed on the floor with a loud thump. In came Gansett Island Police Chief Blaine Taylor, hands on hips, hair standing on end. “What in the name of god is wrong with you people?”
“So many things,” Quinn said, earning an elbow to the ribs from his beloved.
“What part of ‘stay off the roads’ wasn’t clear to you?”
Tiffany got up to greet her husband with a kiss. “You’re just in time for dinner, honey.”
“Don’t try to kiss your way out of this, Mrs. Taylor. You took our babies out in a blizzard!”
“They were perfectly safe. Ned knows these roads better than anyone, even you.”
Blaine glowered at her.
“Maddie, can you please watch Addie for a minute while I have a word with my husband?” Tiffany asked.
“I’ve got her,” Maddie said.
Tiffany took Blaine by the hand and dragged him along behind her, pushing him into the half bath in the hallway.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Blaine asked.
“This,” Tiffany said, pinning him against the sink to kiss him, “is a much better use of your mouth than scolding everyone.”
His fingers dug into her hips. “Everyone heeded my instructions except my own family. What does that say for my authority?”
“If you drop it for now, I’ll let you spank me when we get home.” She rubbed against him shamelessly. “If you want to, that is.”
The low, tense growl that came from deep inside him nearly made her laugh.
“Do we have a deal?”
“How soon can we leave to go home?”
“My husband, the police chief, said no one should be on the roads tonight, so we might have to stay here.”
“If you’re offering a spanking, we’re going home.”
“We’ll see about that. If it’s not safe, I’m not taking my babies out in the storm.”
His eyes bugged. “But you were fine with taking them out earlier in a freaking sleigh?”
“In a sleigh during the daylight with Ned, the most qualified driver on Gansett? Yes, I was fine with that.”
The scowl that overtook his handsome face made her laugh. “You don’t scare me.”
“Good,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “Even when you’re working me shamelessly, I’d never want you to be afraid of me.”
“I’m so happy you’re here. Wasn’t the same without you.”
“I couldn’t believe it when I got your text that you were here. Leave it to Ned.”
“We’ve been saying that all day. Ashleigh loved the sleigh ride.”
“I’ll bet she did. What did my little Addie think of it?”
“She slept right through it.”
“I need to see my girls, but I can’t go out there in this condition.” He looked down at his hard cock, which stood out in prominent detail under his jeans.
“I could take care of that for you,” she said, tugging his button and unzipping him. Before he could form a reply, she had her hand wrapped around the steely length of his erection and was stroking him.
“Fucking hell, Tiff,” he said, gasping.
She stopped the movement of her hand. “Are you saying no?”
“Fuck no, I’m not saying no.”
She smiled. So predictable. And she loved him madly.
His hands framed her face, and he kissed her senseless as she stroked him. He broke the kiss to suck in a deep breath before he came in her hand. While he continued to breathe hard, she reached around him to wash her hands. Then she tucked him back into his pants and patted his chest.
“You should be nice and relaxed now.”
“I have no idea what I ever did to deserve a wife like you,” he said, kissing her softly.
“You loved me—and my daughter—like no one else ever has. That’s what you did.”
“Loving you two and Addie is as easy for me as breathing.”
“That makes us very, very lucky.” She kissed him again. “Merry Christmas, love.”
“Merry Christmas, my disobedient sweetheart.”
* * *
After the guys handled kitchen cleanup, Mac got out the Twister game and taught the kids how to play with Adam and Evan’s assistance. As often happened on holidays at the McCarthy’s house, the game descended into a wrestling match that pitted Adam against Evan with Thomas and Ashleigh “helping” by jumping on top of them.
“If they knock my tree down, I’ll kill them,” Linda said, as she always did.
“Boys, if you knock your mother’s tree over, she’ll kill you,” Big Mac said.
“How old are they again?” Quinn asked.
“Old enough to know better,” Janey said. “But that’s never stopped them.”
“Get him, Thomas!” Mac said to his son, who had Evan in a headlock.
“No fair,” Evan gasped. “I’m being double-teamed.”
“Throw an elbow,” Grace said.
“Hey,” Abby said, laughing. “Don’t hurt my husband. I need him.” Just as she said that, Ashleigh’s foot connected with Adam’s groin, and he went down in a boneless pile, moaning.
The others howled with laughter, especially after Abby offered to kiss it better.
“Taken down by a widdle, widdle girl,” Evan said, rubbing his eyes dramatically. “Poor baby.”
“We beat him, Uncle Evan,” Thomas said.
“With Ashleigh’s help.” Evan high-fived Ashleigh.
“That’s the only way
you can win,” Adam croaked. “With the help of toddlers.”
“We aren’t toddlers,” Thomas said. “Hailey is a toddler.”
“My apologies,” Adam said.
“When can we play naked boy, naked girl?” Mac asked.
His wife let out a scream. “Mac!”
“We’re not allowed to play that anymore,” Thomas said solemnly. “But Mommy still gets to play it with Daddy cuz they’re married.”
“My mommy plays naked boy, naked girl with Blaine all the time,” Ashleigh said.
After a heartbeat of complete silence, Grace snorted with laughter that took down everyone in the room.
* * *
As darkness fell over the salt pond, Ned wandered to the big windows to check the weather. The snow continued to fall unabated, with easily two feet accumulated on Big Mac’s deck.
Linda joined him, curling her hands around his arm and resting her head on his shoulder. “I can’t thank you enough for organizing us today. You gave us all a priceless gift.”
“Ahh, doll, think about all the years I had no one but you and yer family and how welcome ya made me here. Twas the least I could do fer ya.”
“We love you.”
“Love ya, too, gal, but I hope ya still love me when I tell ya yer gonna be puttin’ up twenty-five of us tonight.”
“We’ve got plenty of room, and if it means having everyone home for Christmas, then so be it.” She turned to face the gathering. “Listen up, everyone! You’re all staying put tonight, so here’s what we’re going to do. Mac, Janey, Tiffany and Mallory—you get the four bedrooms upstairs.”
“Why do they get bedrooms?” Evan asked, pouting.
“Because three of them have babies and the other has a fiancé who is still new to this family. Since we’d like to keep him around until the wedding, they get a bedroom.” Linda ensured her tone left no room for negotiation.
“Thank you, Jesus,” Quinn said, grinning.
Mallory stuck her tongue out at Evan.
Linda loved to see her fitting right in with the siblings she’d discovered later in life.
“Thomas, Ashleigh and Hailey can have the kid’s room,” she said, referring to the bedroom she’d turned into a room for her grandchildren. “Ned and Francine, you get the pull-out sofa in the den. The rest of you get air mattresses and sleeping bags down here.”
