Chapter 15
Heath pulled his robe tighter around him, stoked up the wood stove, turned the thermostat up, and made coffee. It had become his morning routine. He and Parker kept each other plenty warm all night but by morning the house was chilly and his cowboy didn’t really understand the cold yet.
He would, if he stayed long enough, but Parker wasn’t there right now.
It was still dark so he turned on the tree before he headed back upstairs.
It was Christmas morning.
Very, very early Christmas morning.
Parker lifted the covers. “C’mere, honey. I need you to warm me up.”
“I’m going to be cold, you know.” He set their coffees down on the bedside table, ditched his robe and slippers and climbed back into bed. “And those kids are waiting don’t forget.”
“Uh-huh. Just two minutes. No more. Just two.” Parker pushed right into him.
“Two minutes.” He wrapped his arms around Parker. He could stay here for many more minutes. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” Parker rubbed their noses together. “The coffee smells good.”
“It’s hot. To warm up my cowboy.”
“You’re too good to me.” Parker held him tight. “I’ll warm up my lawyer.”
“Is this a hard day for you? Where do you usually spend Christmas, babe?”
“Mom’s, usually.” Parker wrinkled his nose. “I run down, stay for the day, and run away.”
“So…this is better. You don’t miss it?”
“God no. I…you…you make things…amazing.”
“Good. I want you to be happy. Especially today.” Heath snorted. “I must really care about you to get my ass out of bed this early today, right?”
“You really must care about those babies, too.”
“I do. I knew their biological parents, and Skyler and Beckett’s house has so much love in it.” He thought maybe he was a little jealous, though he never had been before.
“It does.” Parker stole a kiss. “So does yours.”
“Lately, that’s true.” He’d put a lot of care into the house too, but that wasn’t the same.
“I’m glad. I hope you can say the same thing next Christmas.”
“I really hope so too.” He had no doubt, but did he dare say that out loud? He wasn’t going anywhere. “I figure if we can survive a road trip together, we can survive anything.”
“I have spent my entire adult life on the road, honey.” Parker cupped his cheek. “Once this trip is over, I’d like to set my burden down some.”
“Good. You and Sheila will settle right here then.” He kissed Parker and whispered, “You can be the foreman on our garage project.”
The “our” was important to him.
“I can.” Parker didn’t seem worried in the least. “I’m a smart dog. I’ll learn to fit in here and be…irreplaceable.”
“You’re not going to have to try very hard.” He kissed Parker again. The one thing neither of them was ever going to have to work on was wanting each other. “Damn.” He pulled back suddenly. “Can’t disappoint the kids.”
“No. No, Santa would be mad.” Parker’s eyes were laser focused. “Come on, gorgeous. Let’s do this. If we stay in here, I’ll get busy.”
“Promises, promises.” He slid out of bed and found Parker’s robe and tossed it to him before pulling his own back on. The house was warming up, but it wasn’t as warm as Parker liked it yet.
“It is. I will pay up when we get home today.” Parker kissed his nose. “I promise.”
“Holding you to that.” He ducked into the bathroom and started the shower so the bathroom would warm up. “Mom is excited to meet you.”
“I’m excited too. Moms like me.” There was no doubt in Parker’s voice.
“Yeah? You’re good at sucking up to your boyfriends’ mothers?” He held the shower door for Parker and followed him in. Somehow, they managed to stay all business as they cleaned up.
“Hey! I’m a cowboy—we’re polite, friendly, good to ladies and children, and I come bearing gifts.” Parker winked at him, wiggling happily.
“Oh, right. You’re not like us Yankee assholes; I forgot.” Heath gave him a toothy grin.
“I happen to be deep into a certain Yankee, so I’ll thank you not to abuse him.” Parker blew him a kiss.
He laughed and shut the water off. “All clean. And not feeling abused in the least.” He ducked out and grabbed towels. “Mom keeps her house warm, so wear layers.” He always ended up in a T-shirt by dinner time.
“Got it.”
Parker dressed quickly in his button-down, covered with a flannel. “This way I can show up with no stains.”
“So clever. You look good in flannel.” He kissed Parker’s cheek, then took a big swallow of his coffee. “What else do we need?”
“Everything’s in the truck. I just need my wallet and the wine.”
“You mean this?” He snagged the wallet, waved it at Parker, and took off down the stairs.
Parker’s laugh followed him, happy and warm, his lover chasing him through the house. He gave up in the mudroom after Parker cornered him there. “No fair, I have to put on boots.” Heath held it up in the air out of Parker’s reach.
Parker cupped his balls, rolled them, the touch firm, but not painful.
Oh, that…felt great, dammit. But no. Christmas. Kids. “Cheater! You cheat. That’s cheating!”
“Nope. Love and war, right?”
“I will get you back.” He handed the wallet over and bent to tug his boots on. “When you least expect it.”
“Ooh. I like that. You do know how to make a guy shivery.”
“I’m sure that’s the draft. Get your boots on cowboy.” He grabbed his keys and tried to remote-start his truck. It had gotten the time of year where it was iffy whether it would work, but it did. “Woo! Heated seats await us.”
“Hell yeah. Let’s go see Santa!” Parker’s excitement was a little contagious. He bounced along a little like Pepe Le Pew.
They sang loudly with a holiday playlist all the way to Beckett and Skyler’s house, and the sun was just starting to come up as they arrived.
It was still so damn early.
Charlie was on the front porch, though, fully dressed, staring. “Uncle Parker! Uncle Heath! Santa came!”
“Of course he did.” Parker beamed and slid out of the truck. “Happy Christmas!”
She waited long enough for Parker to reach the porch and then hung on him all the way inside. “It’s Merry Christmas, silly.”
“Oh, sorry. Merry Christmas, sweetie. I love y’all so much.”
“Good morning, guys. Coffee?”
He nodded. “Yes, please.”
“Uncle Parker!” Noah came running and launched himself into Parker’s arms. “I was a good boy, and Santa came!”
“I told you, didn’t I? You are amazing!” Parker spun Noah around.
“You did! I am amazing!” Noah clapped his hands.
That made him laugh. “And the volume level for this hour of the morning is amazing too.”
“Don’t be a humbug, Scrooge.” Beckett clapped him on the shoulder. “Coffee.”
“Oh, thank you.” Maybe he could handle things now.
Sierra came squealing in, and suddenly Parker was surrounded by children. Parker plopped down on the floor in front of the tree with all of them, oohing and aahing like Santa had actually shown in the flesh.
“A dog isn’t going to be enough for him,” Beckett whispered.
He raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
Beckett pointed. “Kids.”
“Dude. We’ve known each other a week.”
“I know.” Beckett walked away laughing. “Who’s ready to open a present?”
“Me!” The kids went nuts, and Parker helped to get them all settled.
You don’t say, “How do you feel about kids,” after a week. Especially if you don’t know yourself. Not that he needed to ask that question, anyone with eyes could see that Parker was destined to be a dad.
“One thing at a time,” he said out loud to no one in particular.
“Santa came for you too, Heath.” Parker leaned down to whisper in Sierra’s ear, and she stood, running over to take his hand.
“Uncle! Come on!”
“Oh my goodness.” He held her little hand and let her lead him to a spot on the floor near Parker. Then she plopped right down in his lap. “Oh. Hi.”
Skyler chuckled somewhere behind him.
“Santa came for you too! Look!”
There were, in fact, a lovely little set of presents, all marked “To Heath, From Santa.”
He recognized Parker’s wrapping paper on most of them.
He had presents too, but they were at Mom’s, so Parker would just have to wait.
“Santa came for me? I guess I was a good boy.”
Sierra smiled up at him. “Pappy says you’re very nice.”
He was surprised Beckett talked about him. “He does? Do you think I’m nice?”
Sierra nodded. “You’re nice, and you have a neat beard.”
“Well, thank you, sweetheart.” He glanced at Parker. “I heard Santa came for you at my Mom’s house.”
“Ooh. I get two Santa visits. You know what that means?”
Noah nodded. “That lots of people love you.”
“That’s right. I’m so glad to be home, y’all. Finally.”
Finally.
He wondered if Parker knew he felt that way too.