The Gift

by Heather Slade

  As much as she might doubt he meant it, in his heart, Maddox knew that without her in his life, it wouldn’t be worth living. Sure, he wanted a house full of little girls that looked just like her, and boys as rambunctious as Peyton’s two sons, but not more than anything. More than anything he wanted her.

  After everything they’d gone through, all the years of loving each other, but both too stubborn to admit it, how could she think he wouldn’t want to marry her unless she could get pregnant? It was time he proved to her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her as his wife.

  He thought about talking to Naughton or Brodie about it today, but what would he say? He was the oldest brother. How come he was the only one who had no idea how to ask the woman he loved to marry him?

  He hadn’t even gotten a ring for her yet, although neither Naughton nor Brodie picked out the ones they’d proposed with.

  Brodie gave Peyton his Grandmother Butler’s ring, which had been given to Kade, who in turn gave it to Brodie to give to Peyton. Naughton had given Bradley the ring that their mother had given him, which had belonged to her mother, Grandma Stewart.

  Would Alex want to pick out her own? Maddox heard some women preferred to. He could propose without one, couldn’t he? He’d just tell her they’d go get one together. But then, would she think he didn’t care enough about her to pick one out for her?

  God, he hated this kind of shit. If only he could ask Kade what to do. He’d needed his older brother so many times in the last few months, and the sonuvabitch had gotten himself killed.

  Maddox let out a heavy sigh and looked down to see Alex studying him.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

  What could he tell her? That he was trying to figure out a way to ask her to marry him? That might be about as romantic as when he asked if she was going to propose to him.

  “Maddox?”

  He pulled Alex closer to him and kissed her forehead. “Nothing, really. Just about the smoke taint and whether we’ll get any decent juice at all from this vintage.”

  She put her hand on his cheek and turned his head so he was looking at her. She studied his eyes, and then reached up to kiss him. “Liar.”

  He wouldn’t deny he was lying to her; that would only make it worse.

  “What do you think about Christmas Eve?” she asked him, but he didn’t follow. This would be the first year they’d spend holidays together since, in years past, she’d been with her family and he’d been with his.

  “Whatever you want to do is fine with me, Al. You know I don’t care that much about holidays.” Although he figured the reason he never had before was because they’d never spent them together.

  Alex flung her long hair over her shoulder, climbed up on top of him, and put both her hands on his chest. “Ask me,” she said.

  He shook his head and smiled. She could get him to do just about anything when she straddled his body with her nakedness.

  “What do you think about Christmas Eve?” he smirked.

  “I think it would be the perfect day for us to get married.”

  Maddox grasped her wrists and held her still, no longer smirking. “Marrying you isn’t a joke to me, sweetheart.”

  “It isn’t to me either.”

  He studied her, praying she wasn’t playing with him.

  “Ask me,” she said again, this time whispering.

  He rolled her over so she was beneath him. He cupped her face with both his hands, bringing his lips so close to hers, they were almost touching.

  “Alexis Avila, will you marry me on Christmas Eve?”

  “Yes, Maddox Butler, I will,” she answered, her eyes filling with tears.

  He’d ask her what their conversation last night was all about, but why? As long as she’d decided they didn’t need to wait until she got pregnant, he wouldn’t bring it up.

  “I have something for you.”

  “You do? Jesus, I am no good at this. I’m supposed to have something for you, Al.”

  “We’ll get to that, but first, let me give you your present.”

  He went to move so she could get out from under him, but she grabbed his arm. “Close your eyes,” she told him.

  He did and felt her shift slightly, followed by the nightstand drawer opening and closing. If she got him a ring, he’d feel like the biggest chump in the world. Women didn’t do that, did they? He had never heard of any women he knew proposing to their boyfriend by giving him a ring. Although, it wouldn’t be unlike Alex to start a new trend.

  He flinched when he felt her fingers touch his forehead.

  “Stop worrying, Mad-man. This is all good.”

  “But, I didn’t—”

  “Shh. Open your eyes.”

  When he did, he saw a white, plastic stick resting between her breasts. He squinted when she pointed to the center of it.

  “Know what that means?” she asked.

  He saw two solid pink lines, and written next to them, also in pink, the word pregnant.

  “Really? But last night—”

  “I guess it was pregnancy hormones. I’ve been too worried to go ahead and take it, afraid it would be negative again. But this morning, when I still hadn’t started my period, I finally got the courage to pee on the damn thing.”

  “Is this why you came into the winery earlier?”

  She nodded.

  “And I ruined it by talking about the smoke taint.”

  “I can’t imagine a better way to tell you than me being under you, with your naked body resting on mine. Make love to me, Maddox.”

  He growled deep in his throat and kissed her harder than he ever had before. “Do you know how much I love you?” he asked.

  Alex nodded and gripped the back of his neck, and pulled him closer. “Kiss me like that again and I’ll know for sure.”

  4

  Maddox was whistling when he walked back into the winery, and was somewhat surprised to see Bradley there.

  “I thought Naughton had you chained to the bed.”

  She turned around, raised her eyebrows, and smiled.

  “Not like that. Jeez, Bradley.”

  “I escaped.”

  “Seriously, he is gonna be pissed if he finds you in here. You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

  “It’s okay. I have a doctor’s note.” She held the wine thief up and took a sip of the same juice he’d tasted earlier. “Dammit,” she said, spitting into the bucket near the vat. “Merlot is more susceptible, but still, the smoke taint is pretty bad, Maddox.”

  He nodded. “I tasted it earlier. It’s a total loss.”

  “All of it?”

  Maddox nodded again. There was no point in hoping it would change, because it wouldn’t.

  “But you seemed happy…”

  “That’s because we’re getting married,” said Alex, walking in the winery door.

  “You are? That’s wonderful! Congratulations!” Bradley hugged Alex first, and then him. “I’m so happy for you both.”

  Maddox waited to see if Alex would say anything about being pregnant, but she didn’t. Maybe she didn’t want anyone to know yet.

  “I was actually looking for you, Bradley. Peyton called and asked if we were still meeting today.”

  Bradley looked at him. “Maddox?”

  “You don’t need my permission. I didn’t expect you here until next week anyway.”

  “Next week?” she started to laugh. “Are they all like this?” she said to Alex.

  “Overprotective and overbearing? Pretty much.”

  “And yet, you’re marrying Naughton, and Alex is marrying me. We can’t be all that bad.”

  “You make up for it in other ways.” Alex winked.

  Bradley smiled. “I’ll say.”

  Maddox groaned. “Weren’t you two leaving? Do I really have to hear this? I mean, do you actually talk about it?”

  “All the time.” Alex swatted his behind but didn’t get away quick enough after she did. He
grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. “Be careful what you dish out, darlin’. It might just come back to you.”

  “Promises, promises.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Come on, Bradley. Let’s go see Peyton.”

  An hour later, just as Maddox finished tasting the last bit of Merlot juice they’d crushed, Naughton came in the winery door.

  “Any good news?”

  “I’m getting married,” he deadpanned, and waited for Naughton to react to what he’d said.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  Naughton smiled and walked over. Instead of shaking his hand, Maddox pulled him into a hug.

  “I’m real happy for you, Mad,” he said, patting him on the back. “I knew it would happen sooner or later.”

  “We’re thinking about Christmas Eve.”

  “That’s great.” Naughton was smiling and shaking his head.

  “What?”

  “Bradley and me at the end of the harvest; you and Alex on Christmas Eve. Maybe Brodie and Peyton will get married on Valentine’s Day.”

  “Thanksgiving,” Brodie shouted out, walking through the winery door, too.

  “Huh?”

  “I took Peyton and the boys by the new house last night. When we got back to her place, we made the decision to get married on Thanksgiving. If nobody minds.”

  “Of course no one will mind. Congratulations, Brodie. I’m really happy for you,” said Maddox.

  “Me? What about you? Did I hear right? Are you and Alex really getting married on Christmas Eve?”

  “It’s true.”

  “Damn. This is somethin’ else.”

  “There’s more…”

  Naughton and Brodie waited for him to continue. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but he was practically bursting, holding it inside. “She’s pregnant.”

  More hugging, more back-slapping, and more congratulations resounded through the winery. Maddox shook his head. He really didn’t care whether they made a single bottle of wine this year. There was too much to celebrate instead.

  “Ma’s gonna croak,” Brodie laughed. “Or else she’ll think she’s died and gone to heaven.”

  “Where are you getting married?” Naughton looked between Brodie and Maddox, who shrugged.

  “I haven’t even picked out a ring yet,” he told them.

  “You better get on that,” said Naughton, laughing.

  Naughton was laughing. It wasn’t that his brother never laughed before, or never smiled, or never joked around, it was just that he’d never done it as much as he had since he’d met Bradley. It warmed Maddox’s heart to know both his brothers were as happy as he was.

  “Damn, I miss Kade,” he said out loud without meaning to. Naughton and Brodie nodded their heads.

  “Me, too, Mad,” said Naught.

  “I do, too,” added Brodie.

  Maddox couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t supposed to be this way. It didn’t matter how much time passed; he still felt as though Kade would walk through the winery door, the same way both Naughton and Brodie had.

  “I’ll never get over it,” said Naughton, surprising Maddox with his candor.

  “He wouldn’t want to ruin our celebration,” Brodie told them. “Five minutes ago, we were smiling and laughing, and now we’re not. Kade would hate that.”

  Maddox knew what Brodie meant, and regretted bringing their brother up. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “Don’t be, you just said what we were already thinking.”

  “Thanks.” Maddox squeezed Brodie’s shoulder.

  “Hey, so Alex and Bradley are at Peyton’s. We have at least a couple hours. Let’s go celebrate,” suggested Brodie.

  Naughton shoved his hands in his pockets. “We should go up to the house first, don’t ya think?”

  Maddox knew Naught was right. Here, the three of them were, celebrating all this good news, and until Naughton suggested it, Maddox hadn’t thought about telling his parents. That just wasn’t right.

  They all knew their father was hiding something from them, and it pissed him off. The idea that maybe their mother knew something about it, too, pissed him off even more.

  “Come on, let’s get this over with,” Maddox said, hating that he felt that way about talking to his parents.

  As predicted, their mother cried with joy when he told her that he’d asked Alex to marry him and she’d said yes. He held off telling her about the pregnancy though, thinking it was something he and Alex should tell his parents and her mother together.

  “We’ve finally set a date, too,” Brodie told her and their father, who hadn’t said very much.

  Their mother clapped her hands and tugged on their father’s arm. “Laird, carson nach eil thu toilichte? Our sons are finally getting married.”

  “I’m happy, Sorcha,” he insisted, but the smile he’d plastered on his face didn’t look real, and that broke Mad’s heart.

  She scoffed at him and turned to Brodie. “When, then, lad. Tell me.”

  “Thanksgiving.”

  “When?”

  “When? I just told you. On Thanksgiving.”

  “This Thanksgiving?” Sorcha looked horrified.

  “Yes, Ma,” Brodie answered.

  “You cannot plan a wedding in two months time, Brodie.” She smacked the back of his head. Maddox moved farther away from her, knowing he was next.

  “What about you?” she asked, proving him right. “I suppose you’re getting married on Christmas.”

  Maddox grimaced. “Christmas Eve, Ma.”

  A string of unintelligible Gaelic words followed, but their ma’s reaction didn’t bother Maddox half as much as the look on their da’s face.

  Mad caught his eye and motioned toward the back door, surprised when his father followed. Once outside, Maddox waited while he took the tobacco pouch out of his pocket, filled and lit his pipe.

  “We have questions, Da.”

  His father shook his head but didn’t ask what Maddox meant. It had been less than a month since he and his brothers had cornered their father, and Naughton told him they needed to talk.

  “When the time is right,” Laird said, confirming what Maddox thought. His father knew exactly what he’d meant.

  That wasn’t good enough, but what could Maddox do? It was clear that whatever secrets he was keeping weighed heavily on him. It wasn’t as though they could force him to tell them anything.

  “Tell me this much. Does Ma know whatever it is you can’t tell us?”

  Laird shook his head and looked away. “No, son. Your mother doesn’t know anything.”

  Maddox heard the door open and was relieved to see Naughton and Brodie walking through it rather than their mother.

  “It’s time we told Da what we know,” he said once he was certain the door was closed behind them.

  Neither Naughton nor Brodie disagreed, so Maddox suggested they all sit down.

  “Let’s walk instead.” Laird motioned for them to follow.

  He and his brothers followed their father out into the vineyards until they got to the opening of the caves. For a minute, Maddox thought he’d go inside. instead, he sat on a boulder near the entrance.

  “Da…” Maddox began, unsure of what to say next.

  “You know about your brother’s marriage.”

  He wasn’t sure about Naughton and Brodie, but Maddox struggled to catch his breath. As hard as he’d imagined it would be to broach the subject with his parents, he’d never realized the extent of the anger he would feel when his father confirmed he knew Kade had been married to Lena, and kept it a secret.

  The bile of betrayal he’d felt when he found a photo of the two of them together, and Lena told him they’d been married, once again rose in his throat.

  “How long have you known?” he managed to ask through his anger.

  He could see the war waging on his father’s face and knew the answer without him having to say it.
<
br />   “There were—and are—reasons your brother kept the marriage a secret. It was not my place to tell you.”

  “Why the hell not?” asked Naughton, gripping the back of his neck while he paced.

  Their father shook his head.

  “Who were you talking to in the winery?” he continued. “It was a woman.”

  Maddox considered telling Naughton to back off, but why? They all had the same questions, only Naught had balls enough to ask.

  Their father relit his pipe.

  “Was it Lena?”

  Laird shook his head.

  “Who, then?” Naughton’s face was red with anger.

  “No amount of provocation on your part will change what I’m able to discuss, Naughton.”

  Maddox was tired of his father’s riddles, but he was also convinced that, if he could, Da would tell them whatever it was he was hiding. There had to be very good reasons why he couldn’t, and whether his brothers agreed or not, Mad had to respect that. Maddox watched his father closely, looking for some clue as to the severity of his torment.

  “Does it have anything to do with Bradley’s kidnapping?” Naughton asked, and there it was—the tell Maddox had been looking for. Naughton had hit the nail on its head. It had only been a flicker, but Mad saw it.

  Whatever his father was hiding had something to do with Rory Calder. Maddox would bet his life on it.

  Their father refused to say anything more, but Maddox knew, by their lack of reaction, that his brothers had come to the same conclusion he had.

  5

  “It’s so weird,” Alex said when Maddox finished telling her about the conversation he and his brothers had had with their father that afternoon.

  “I hope it’s okay that I told Naught and Brodie that you’re pregnant.”

  “If you hadn’t, Peyton and Bradley would have.”

  “So, they know? Good. I don’t feel as bad.”

  “Have you eaten?” she asked.

  “No. I wasn’t hungry after we talked to Da. Before that, we were on our way to celebrate.” It sucked that after their conversation, none of them felt like it any longer.