The SEAL's Christmas Twins

by Laura Marie Altom

* * *

  CHRISTMAS MORNING, Hattie was first to wake. Usually the girls slept until seven, which gave her a little time to gather her thoughts and drink her first cup of coffee before slipping into mommy mode.

  Moving slow as to not wake Mason, she inched from the bed, only to get a fright when he snagged her around her waist. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Hands over her mouth, she laughed. “You scared the you-know-what out of me.”

  “Sorry. My intention was to scare the pants off of you.”

  “Get your mind out of the gutter.” Her halfhearted slug landed on his delicious biceps, which in turn made her appreciate his idea all the more.

  “Why? It’s much more fun in the gutter.”

  After he’d thoroughly kissed her, she had to agree.

  By the time they shared a shower guaranteed to land them on Santa’s naughty list, the girls were up, demanding their breakfast.

  Mason offered what had now become their usual routine. “Divide and conquer?”

  “Deal.”

  After feeding the girls, Mason made a fire in the living room hearth.

  Hattie turned on the tree lights and set out three platters of cookies she’d made the night before. Since Clementine’s mother had gone on a holiday cruise, she would be over for lunch with her boys. Fern and Jerry were stopping by for breakfast and lunch. She didn’t dare hope her parents would make an appearance for even one meal, let alone two.

  Back upstairs, Hattie fussed with the girls’ red-and-green dresses and put Velcro-latch bows in their hair. She added red tights and black patent shoes. For their first Christmas, she hoped Melissa was smiling down upon her adorable brood.

  Downstairs again, she asked Mason, “Mind watching the monkeys for a few minutes? I need to get ready.”

  He gave her a funny look. “What do you mean? You look great.”

  She set the twins on his lap. “I’m a hot mess. The pictures we take today will be with the girls the rest of their lives. I don’t want them ashamed of Aunt Hattie.”

  Once he’d placed the twins safely in the sofa corner, he tugged her to his lap. “You are amazing. Whether you’re wearing sweats and my T-shirt or a ball gown, in my eyes, there’s never been a more beautiful woman.”

  “Don’t...” She glanced down at her ragged nails.

  “What?” He kissed her just as the sun peeked over Mount Kneely. His warm lips, the scent of the coffee they’d just shared on his breath, raised goose bumps on her forearms and set happy tingles to flight in her belly. How did he do it? Make her feel like the most special woman on earth with a simple kiss? How had her sister ever found him lacking? Skimming his fingertips over her riotous hair, he stared at her with an intensity she found difficult to meet. “Sun’s making your skin and hair glow. You’re so beautiful.”

  “Stop...” she whispered when he nuzzled her neck.

  Heart racing, she wished she knew whether or not he honestly meant his kind words—or were they just lines he used on all his girls back in Virginia? How was she ever supposed to know?

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Too bad for me that this time,” he said with a final kiss to her nose, “I have to stop because if I don’t, we’re never going to open presents.”

  By the time Hattie finished dressing in her favorite plum turtleneck, black slacks and heels, then straightening her hair and applying makeup, she felt armored to resist Mason’s most ardent advances.

  She was most vulnerable to him when relaxed. When she wasn’t thinking rationally, but emotionally. When she stopped focusing on what was best for her and her nieces and succumbed to Mason’s heady charm.

  At the base of the stairs, she paused a moment to freeze the idyllic image in her head. Mason had turned carols on the stereo and knelt in front of the girls, who shared the sofa.

  “Peekaboooo!” he teased over and over to their delighted shrieks. In a perfect world, she’d give anything for him to stay, but perfection didn’t exist. Something, whether it was too much salt in her pumpkin pie or her father punching the man of her dreams, would always be bound to go wrong. From here on out, she’d enter any situation expecting the worst, and then, if even the smallest thing went right, she’d be grateful instead of disappointed.

  The bottom stair creaked, alerting Mason to her presence. When he wolf-whistled, she blushed. “Damn. You cleaned up nice. Do I need to change?” He wore pajama pants and no shirt. As far as she was concerned, he looked his sexy best.

  “You’re fine until company comes.” Fine was an understatement!

  “Cool. Now, can we open presents?”

  She laughed. “Sure. But you’re playing Santa.”

  * * *

  HOURS LATER, the living room filled with smiling faces, Mason gazed across a sea of wrapping paper to see Hattie cradling Vivian. She tickled the girl’s belly, eliciting a giggly response. In that moment, a fundamental part of him changed. Ever since Melissa had left him, Mason believed himself not only incapable of commitment, but he’d loathed the thought of it. Now? He couldn’t fathom being without not only Hattie, but the twins he’d somehow grown to love every bit as if they were his own little girls. It no longer mattered they’d been created from Melissa and Alec’s bond. If anything, he loved them all the more because of it, because if Melissa had never left him, Mason might never have realized the truth that had been right there all along—Hattie was the girl for him.

  Always had been.

  Always would be.

  As if they were connected by an invisible string, she looked up. Her sweet, simple blown kiss proved his undoing. The act that finally made him understand the profound piece of advice his friend Calder had shared.

  You know when you know.

  * * *

  “MOM! DOUGIE CHEATED!” Clementine’s oldest son’s booming voice made Hattie wince.

  “Did not,” three-year-old Dougie proclaimed. They played his new Candy Land game Santa had brought.

  Clementine topped her famous candied yams with minimarshmallows. “Sorry they’re so hyper. I warned you that if you craved a nice, peaceful holiday, we were the wrong crew to invite.”

  Hattie waved off her concern. “They’re adorable. And the last thing I want is quiet. It’ll only remind me of my parents, who I fear are holed up in their creepy-dark house, dining on TV dinners.”

  “Thought you’d decided not to worry about them?” Fern noted, checking on the ham she’d brought to their party.

  Mason and his dad watched football with the babies on the downstairs TV.

  “Easier said than done. I’m frustrated with them, but also worried. What’s it going to take for them to come back to the real world?”

  “Time.” Fern slipped her arm around Hattie’s shoulders. “This is probably the last thing you want to hear, but a year or two from now, they’ll probably be back to their usual selves, doting on the twins and meddling in your business.”

  “Oh—they’ve already got that covered.” Clementine tossed the empty marshmallow bag in the recycling bin. “Hattie, did you tell Fern about your dad hitting Mason when he saw him kiss you?”

  Hattie shot her friend a dirty look. “I thought we weren’t talking about that?”

  Fern waved off her concern. “I knew hours after it happened. In the time he’s been back, Mason and his dad have grown real close.”

  Hattie shut her eyes, wishing for so many things she couldn’t fit them all into a single prayer. Had her parents not been grief-stricken to the point of insanity—better yet, had Melissa never died—how might things be different? What if she and Mason had had their reunion by chance, and then romance had blossomed? Would her folks have then embraced their relationship? Would Hattie trust he was attracted to only her, and not the ghost of her sister he may still see in Hattie’s eyes or
smile?

  * * *

  “WHEW...” MASON CLOSED the door on the last of their guests. “I was beginning to fear they’d never leave.”

  “Me, too.” At ten, the twins had long since been bathed and tucked in by Fern and Jerry, who seemed to enjoy their new role as adoptive grandparents so much that they’d hardly argued at all. As much as she’d enjoyed being around her friends, she’d still sorely missed her family.

  In the kitchen, she and Mason worked in tandem to unload the dishwasher.

  Nearly finished, she asked, “Am I a bad person for not having taken Van and Viv to see my parents? Was I too harsh, expecting them to come here?”

  He snorted. “You’re asking me? To my way of thinking your parents and Alec’s have a lot of lost time to make up for with their granddaughters, and no one to blame for it but themselves.”

  Abandoning their task, she hugged him. “In case I haven’t told you lately, thank you—for sticking around after I broke my arm, for not returning my dad’s punch. Thanks for everything. I’ll be so sorry to see you go.”

  He tensed. “About that... What would you say if I didn’t?”

  Hands pressed to his chest, she didn’t dare hope that was what he meant. His heart beat so hard, she felt its comforting rhythm. “Are you thinking of asking for another extension on your leave?”

  “Not exactly.” When he dropped to one knee, then took her left hand, her pulse took off on a perilous course. With his free hand, he reached into his back pocket, pulling out a simple, yet lovely diamond solitaire ring. “I found this when I was out shopping with my dad. I want you to marry me, Hat Trick. I’m tired of playing house. Let’s do it for real.”

  Was this a dream? “M-Mason...I don’t know what to say.”

  “I should think it’s fairly obvious.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Then you will? Marry me?”

  Yes! her heart screamed.

  “I’m sorry, but no,” her head forced her to say. How long had she dreamed of a moment like this, yet without all the baggage? With 100 percent trust this was wholly what he wanted—she was wholly what he wanted.

  “I’m sorry, what?” Brow furrowed, he shook his head. “Did you just turn me down?”

  “What did you expect? There’s this whole mess with my parents to sort out and the fact that you live about a gazillion miles from here. Not to mention the not-so-little concern that maybe the whole town’s right, and I am stepping right into my sister’s life. It’s all a little too convenient, don’t you think?”

  His gaze narrowed. “Did you really turn down my proposal because you’re on the outs with your parents or afraid of what the town thinks?”

  Chin raised, she didn’t back down from his angry stare. “Can you blame me for having doubts? Everything between us happened so fast....”

  He tossed his hands in the air. “Gee, Hattie, I guess when I asked you to marry me, not because of some sense of duty, but because I thought I loved you, I kind of expected your opinion—not your mom’s or dad’s or Sophie’s or that old curmudgeon’s who never leaves your bar.”

  Throat painfully knotted from the effort of holding back tears, she had to ask, “Do you? Love me?”

  “A few minutes ago, I might’ve said yes. Now?” He shook his head. “Hell if I know.”

  * * *

  MASON GAVE EACH girl a goodbye hug and kiss, whispering his love, but only when he stormed down to the garage, then careened out of the driveway behind the wheel of Alec’s Hummer did he breathe.

  What had just happened? Had he honestly taken the step his dad and Calder had advised, only to be summarily shot down?

  He’d done everything for Hattie and her sister’s girls. He’d been prepared to give up everything—including the career he credited with saving his life after Melissa’s betrayal damn near killed him. He’d done all of that and for what?

  Five minutes later, he reached his dad’s only to find Fern’s truck in the drive.

  Swell.

  Figured the one time he really needed to talk with his father, Jerry had more important matters on his mind. And here it wasn’t even Saturday. Regardless, he rapped on the door until his old man answered.

  “What’re you doing?” his dad asked. “Everything all right with Hattie and the girls?”

  Mason sighed. There wasn’t a short version to the story, and since he was mortified about having his proposal shot down, he told a necessary white lie. “I, ah, got called in. It’s short notice, but it comes with the territory.”

  “Hate seeing you go,” Jerry said before pulling him into a tight hug. “But I sure am proud of you, son.”

  His dad would never know how much Mason needed that affirmation—that he was on track in at least one portion of his life.

  After saying goodbye to Fern, and getting a hug from her, too, Mason drove to the airport. His dad wanted him to stay with him until his flight, but Mason politely declined. He needed to be alone. Have time to think. At this time of night the airport terminal would be closed, but on his phone, he went ahead and made a reservation online to fly out first thing in the morning. He’d sleep in the car. His dad knew everyone, and promised Mason that if he left the vehicle’s keys with airport security, he’d get it back to Hattie.

  Most everything he owned was at the house, but screw it. Belongings were replaceable. Only thing he couldn’t buy was a new heart.

  * * *

  HATTIE WOKE TO find her eyes swollen and red and an empty pillow alongside her instead of Mason resting his hand on her belly. The loss was crushing. The fact that she’d brought this pain on herself? Certifiable.

  But what else could she have done?

  Rolling over, she gripped the blanket, drawing it up to her chin. Where was he now? Maybe once he calmed from the initial shock of her frank rejection, he’d understand it was for the best.

  But was it? Fear hanging heavy at the base of her stomach told a different story. What if turning him away for what she perceived to be all the right reasons turned out to be her life’s single biggest mistake?

  Over the baby monitor came the sound of Vivian’s cries.

  Before Hattie could pull on her robe and poke her cold toes into slippers, Vanessa had chimed in. Had it really only been yesterday Mason had helped her with the morning routine? She now wished she hadn’t taken a moment of his presence for granted.

  He meant everything to her, but to be with him meant destroying her family, which was already so badly broken.

  * * *

  “YOU’RE A SIGHT for sore eyes.”

  “Thanks.” Mason closed the door behind him and entered the apartment he shared with Cooper. Since their friends Calder and Heath had married, they were the last remaining bachelors on their SEAL team. Thanks to Hattie, Mason suspected he was done when it came to anything more than sharing a drink with the fairer sex. Ha! Fairer sex, his ass. A more appropriate title would be that women were the shortsighted, incapable-of-trust sex.

  “Have a good holiday?” Cooper asked, pausing “Call of Duty” on his Xbox.

  “Swell.”

  “Me, too.” Cooper had never been the overly talkative type, and it looked as if he hadn’t changed since Mason had been gone. “Well, it’s been a long day. Think I’ll grab a quick shower, then turn in.”

  “Sounds good, man. See you in the a.m.”

  * * *

  “WELL, IF YOU ASK ME, I say good riddance.” Hattie’s mom fanned a pile of scrapbooking paper while her father added another log to their hearth’s fire.

  Hattie couldn’t wrap her head around her parents’ one-eighty. Mason had been out of her life for a week, and the second they’d heard through the Conifer gossip hotline that he’d left town for good, they’d run right over to Melissa’s extending not only the mother of all
olive branches, but multiple offers to help with her nieces.

  Just as Hattie feared, the girls were on the verge of being inconsolable with Mason gone. Perpetually irritable and weepy, they seemed like different babies from the ones they’d been only a short time ago.

  Her dad jiggled Vanessa on his knee. “Me and my fist would like to claim credit for sending him on his way, but he’s always been a smart kid. He no doubt finally got the clue he wasn’t wanted around here.”

  “Would you two knock it off,” Hattie snapped. When Vivian cried in her carrier, Hattie lifted her, pacing while trying to soothe the cranky infant. “This is Mason we’re talking about. He’s a longtime family friend who’s helped me more times than I can count—and both of you. Look how his leaving has affected your granddaughters. When he was here, except for the first couple weeks after losing Melissa and Alec, they never acted like this.”

  Her mother slapped her craft papers to the coffee table. “So, you’re saying your sister’s memory was only worth two weeks?”

  “I didn’t mean that at all,” Hattie said above Vivian’s increased wails. “I just think that where Mason is concerned, you two are being disrespectful. Mason’s a good guy—a great guy. I’m sorry he left.” All the more so, because a huge reason why I turned him away was out of respect for you.

  * * *

  “SNOWMAN, MY THREE-YEAR-OLD girl runs faster than you! Get the lead out!”

  “Yessir, Master Chief.” In the week Mason had been back on the job, he’d sorely missed his peaceful days playing Mr. Mom. Soon enough, his body would be back in top-notch form, but he feared getting his head back in the right place may take longer.

  When the team stopped running for a water break, Calder approached him. “You look like crap.”

  “Thanks, man. Love you, too.”

  “Thought you were going to marry the girl?”

  “What gave you that dumbass idea?” Mason splashed half the contents of his water bottle over his head.

  Calder checked to make sure they were alone, then said in a low tone, “I told you the secret. Remember? How you’ll know when you know.”