Chapter Eight #2
Ten minutes later, Jigs and twins had gone back down to the bunkhouse and the rest of us were standing in the middle of Den and Val’s renovated basement.
Each of us had a candle or a flashlight.
The walls were painted the same cream color as the main level, and the small kitchen space also had a small round table with four chairs.
There was a coffeepot on one end of the countertop and a small green retro fridge at the other end, with an oven between them.
The floors were carpet, plush and soft under my socks.
As I scanned the space, I blindly reached out for Mags’s hand.
“This is amazing. How did you get all this done without my knowledge?”
Denver smirked but didn’t give me an answer.
Val spoke instead. “There’s clothes in each of your rooms. Diana and Mags, you two are on the right.
Beau and Abbie, your room is right here.
” She pointed to the door closest to us.
“Harm and Mase, you two are just down that little hallway. There’s space heaters in every room, but Mags and Diana, you two have the hearth. ”
“You have clothes for us?” Mase asked.
“Clearly, you don’t know your sister-in-law,” Beau drawled, winking at Val. “Of course she does.”
“Thank you, Val,” Mags said, his voice low.
She beamed. “You’re my family. You don’t have to thank us for this.”
Denver’s large arm snaked around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. “What would I do without you, Enchantress?” he asked, his smoke gray eyes scanning her face.
“Die alone in this house,” Mase answered.
“Mason!” I hissed, reaching over and pinching his arm.
“Ow! Hey!”
Harmony bit the inside of her cheek.
Abbie spoke then, “So this is—” She cut herself off as the lights flickered back on. We all looked up, and a wave of relief hit me as the heat kicked on.
“Thank God,” I breathed.
“Don’t get too excited, beautiful,” Mags said from beside me.
“What do you mean?”
“Our power lines are underground,” Denver explained, “but where our lines are connected are above ground, and that’s where our problem is.”
“Well, hopefully that problem magically fixed itself,” Harmony chirped, looking at Valerie. “Every family holiday movie I’ve seen always has a few hiccups. This is nothing.”
“Are you comparing this to a movie, Little Song?”
“It would make good entertainment,” Beau said thoughtfully, flicking off his flashlight.
Abbie rolled her eyes. “Would you stop? All you’ve managed to do today is get on my nerves.”
Valerie pressed her lips together, but it was too late for me to contain my laugh.
Beau pressed his lips to her temple. “No. I live to get on your nerves, Abbie Spears,” he whispered, smiling.
“The breaker for this level is down here.” Denver gestured down the short hallway, heading that way. The cowboys followed him, leaving us alone. We all huddled close to each other, our red and green candles burning between us.
“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” I asked Val. “Is there anything else we need to do?”
“All the sides have been prepped, the cookies are baked, presents are wrapped, and the tree is up,” Harmony confirmed, going through the mental checklist.
“The only thing left to do is hope that no one kills anybody,” Val said with a sigh.
“Hey.” I grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “This is going so well.”
“I just want everything to be perfect.”
“I’m having a great time,” Harm added.
“Agreed,” Abbie tacked on.
I gave Val’s hand a secondary squeeze. “Mags and I set Santa’s gifts in the laundry room so you and Denver can set them out whenever.”
All our eyes flicked to Abbie, our silent question louder than the cowboys had been bickering earlier. “Beau didn’t fuck me in the laundry room,” she hissed.
“Yeah, but where did he because he said—”
“He didn’t—no,” she huffed, holding up her hands. “We had a semi-intense make-out session in the dining room during his senior year, but John Langston nearly caught us, and we had to run out the back door. There was no sex.”
Valerie looked relieved. “Thank God.”
“What’s that look for, Val?” I asked, laughing softly. “Don’t want anyone getting down in your house?”
“Not in the laundry room. That’s…um…Denver and I….” She trailed off, her cheeks growing red.
Abbie waved her hand. “Say no more.”
“What time did you want us up tomorrow?” Harmony asked.
Val waved her free hand. “It’s Christmas. We aren’t on a strict schedule.”
“It’s best if you give us a time, or Beau will sleep until noon,” Abbie suggested.
The hair on the back of my neck rose then and I looked over my shoulder to find Mags leaning against the wall, watching me. “You ladies done? Can I take my woman to bed now?” he grumbled.
“What if we say no?” Harm challenged with a smile.
He ticked his head to the side, his dark eyes sparkling. “Are you going to keep her from me?” My cheeks heated, suddenly very aware of the fat diamond ring on my finger. “That wouldn’t end up well for you, Red,” he said, his lip twitching.
“Merry Christmas Eve, babes,” I whispered as I backed away from the group, letting go of my best friend’s hand. “Love you,” I mouthed.
They returned the sentiment as Mags’s rough, warm hand wrapped around mine and he led me to the right side of the basement. He opened the bedroom door for me and put his hand on my lower back, ushering me inside as he whispered, “Gonna eat that cunt before Santa gets here.”