Chapter 20
Twenty
“Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you.
Tomorrow I’ll miss you.”
—Paul McCartney
Lucas followed Dani into the room where they were sleeping with Savannah and hoped it wasn’t too much to ask that she’d go down easy so he could have some time alone with his love.
“She’s on fire tonight,” Dani said. “I can’t believe she’s still going with no nap today.”
The minute Dani put her on the bed, Savannah popped up to start jumping.
Lucas nabbed her out of the air. “Time to settle down, sweet girl. Santa can’t come if little girls are still awake.”
“Santa, Lu.”
“That’s right, baby girl. If you want Santa to come, you have to go night-night.”
“No, Lu.”
“Yes, Savvy.”
“No, Lu.”
Dani covered her mouth to contain the laughter that was trying to get out. After Lu, her nickname for Lucas, no had become their little girl’s second-favorite word. She hadn’t even said Mama yet, but she had no fully mastered.
“Do not laugh,” he said to Dani.
“Trying so hard.”
Lucas walked her around the room for thirty minutes until she began to surrender to sleep.
He rubbed her back and whispered to her about sweet dreams and sugar plums and Santa coming on his sleigh to bring good girls lots of presents.
All the while, he thought about what he’d been doing a year ago on Christmas Eve.
After dinner with his family, he and Landon had gone barhopping with some friends from the firehouse.
How different both their lives were now, and he wouldn’t go back to how it’d been for anything.
Having Dani and Savvy in his life was the best thing to ever happen to him.
In this coming year, he and Dani would get married and maybe add to their little family.
He couldn’t wait for everything they had ahead of them.
When he was sure that Savvy was asleep, he kissed her and put her down in the portable crib. Then he shook out his arms, which were tingling with pins and needles from holding her for so long.
“My hero,” Dani whispered when he joined her in bed.
“I love her so freaking much.”
“She loves you just as much. You’ve got the magic touch with her.”
“Do I have it with you, too?” he asked, cupping her backside to bring her in closer to him.
“Always,” she said, smothering a yawn. She’d been working seven days a week for two months at the warehouse and was off until after New Year’s Day. He’d taken the week off, too, and couldn’t wait to spend it with her.
He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “Get some sleep, love. You’re exhausted.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “You don’t want to…”
“Always,” he said, echoing her comment. “But you need sleep more than you need me tonight.”
“I need you more,” she said, yawning again.
“Sleep. We’ve got a whole week to snuggle.”
“Mmm, can’t wait.”
“Me either.”
“Colton.”
“Hmmm.”
“Colton.”
He opened one eye to his favorite thing to look at—Lucy’s adorable face.
“We need to go to bed.”
“I can’t move.”
“You have to move, or your pregnant wife is going to sleep on the floor, which will make me cranky on Christmas. Do you want me cranky on Christmas?”
“Nope.”
She poked his ribs, and he startled awake.
“Damn, woman.”
“Take me to bed, Colton, or else.”
Since he didn’t want to find out what or else entailed, he forced himself to stand and to help her up, holding her for a second until she was steady. As she reached the last month of pregnancy, she lost her balance more often. “You good, babe?”
“I’ll be better when I’m in a bed.”
Their dogs, Sarah and Elmer, looked up to see where they were going, but decided to stay put next to the fire, where they were snuggled up to Trevor and Tanner as well as George, Ringo, Homer and Horace. There were nearly as many dogs in the house tonight as there were people.
Colton and Lucy said good night to his dad and grandfather, who were enjoying a nightcap before bed.
“Sleep well, children,” Elmer said.
“I’ll let the pups out one more time before I go to bed,” Linc said.
“Thanks, Dad,” Colton said. “Good night.”
“Night, son.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Colton asked Lucy when they were on the way upstairs.
“Other than being fat and my boobs aching, I’m just dandy.”
“You’re not fat. You’re beautiful.”
“I can be both.”
“You’re the most gorgeous pregnant woman I’ve ever seen.”
“You have to say that. You did this to me.”
“I did a rather spectacular job of knocking you up, didn’t I?”
She turned to face him and squeezed his lips shut.
Colton, being Colton, kept talking anyway. “Admit it,” he said, his voice muffled. “No one has ever knocked up anyone better than I knocked you up.”
Lucy, being Lucy, knew just how to shut him up when she’d heard enough out of him. She curled her arms around his neck and kissed him.
That always worked to shut him up. Temporarily, anyway.
He picked her up to carry her the rest of the way up the stairs and eased her onto the bed, landing next to her, all without breaking the kiss that became more desperate by the second. “I thought you were tired.”
“I am,” she said, reaching for him.
Colton loved pregnant Lucy and how she couldn’t get enough sex, no matter how often they did it. That worked for him.
“Hurry,” she said.
He hurried, and when they came together in a moment of heat and need and love so big it threatened to consume him, he gave thanks as he often did for whatever stroke of fate had brought her to him.
Making love with his Lucy was a nearly religious experience, every damned time, especially after having been away from her for three endless days and two long nights.
“Missed you so much,” he whispered as he moved in her, careful not to put weight on the baby.
“Missed you, too. Our mountain isn’t the same without my mountain man.”
“I was worried about you up there by yourself.”
“I wasn’t by myself. Sarah and Elmer took good care of me.”
Colton pushed into her and held still while grasping her hips, knowing how that drove her wild.
“Colton,” she said, sounding desperate. “Don’t torture me.”
“Why not? I love to torture you.”
She pinched his butt and made him startle, which got him moving again.
“That was a dirty trick, my love.”
“Whatever it takes.”
“Is this what you want?” he asked, picking up the pace.
“Yes,” she said, arching into him as best she could with the beach ball between them.
“Hold that thought,” he said, withdrawing from her.
“Ugh.”
He carefully arranged her on her knees and entered her from behind.
“Don’t stop,” she said.
“Shhh, we’re not on the mountain.”
“Do. Not. Stop.”
Colton laughed as he gave his love what she wanted, reminding her again to be quiet as they reached a highly satisfying conclusion.
“Was I loud?” Lucy asked as she melted into the bed.
Colton withdrew from her and turned on his side to face her. “Very, but that’s fine. It’s good for people to know how happy I keep you.”
She squished his lips again, making him laugh. “You keep me very happy, but your ego is out of control.”
“Just the way you like it.”
“Whatever you say.”
“I love you, my Lucy in the sky with diamonds, the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“I love you, too, Colton, my mountain man with an ego bigger than the sun.”
“We’re a match made in heaven.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. I say so.”
Since she was already most of the way asleep, he settled for having the last word.
Hunter had trouble winding down from the emotional few days with his family, his mind racing with the things he’d learned about his father’s past. He wanted to know more about the uncle he’d been named for and would ask his dad about him when things settled down.
Megan was downstairs seeing to some last-minute details for breakfast, which she was in charge of. Breakfast for more than two dozen people would be nothing for her, but he was worried about her overdoing it. He was thinking about going after her when she came into the room.
“There you are. I was about to come fetch you.”
“Breakfast is going to be epic.”
“With you in charge, I have no doubt. Now come get in bed with your lonely husband who missed you so much.”
“I’m coming.”
When she snuggled up to him a few minutes later, he felt himself begin to relax. She was usually the fix for whatever ailed him. Why should now be any different?
“I could tell you were stressed when you got home,” she said. “Are you better now?”
“Getting there.” He held her close. “This helps.”
“The trip went well, though, right?”
“Yeah, it was fine, all things considered. It just has me thinking a lot about how you don’t really know people and what they’ve endured. Even the people closest to you sometimes.”
“It’s true. I see your dad every day. I have for years. And I had no idea any of this had happened to him.”
“He didn’t want us to know.”
“He didn’t want you to hurt for him.”
“I suppose.”
“And yet you have anyway, haven’t you?”
“A little.”
“You have the biggest heart, Hunter. It’s one of the things I love the best about you.”
Ready to lighten up his mood, he said, “What are some of the other things?”
“I love the way you take care of me and everyone else you love. I adore your gorgeous brown eyes and your handsome face and sexy body and—”
He kissed her, devouring her lips in a passionate kiss that wiped his mind clear of anything that wasn’t her and them and how it felt to be with her this way.
On many a day, even a year after their wedding, he still wanted to pinch himself to believe he’d actually gotten the woman of his dreams to marry him.
“Happy anniversary,” he said against her lips. “Best year of my life.”
“Happy anniversary.” She ran her fingers through his hair and gazed up at him with her heart in her eyes. “Best year of my life, too.”
“I can’t wait for year two.”
“I’m looking forward to all the years.”
“Mmm, me, too.”
“How much sex do you think is happening in this barn tonight?” Charley asked Tyler.
“A lot.”
“The elixir you injected me with before I left on the trip has worn off, and I have to spend all day tomorrow with my siblings. I think I need another infusion to ensure family unity on Christmas.”
Tyler’s low rumble of laughter made her smile. Three days and two nights without him had made her realize she was even more dependent upon his presence in her life than she’d previously believed. And that was saying something.
He turned so he hovered above her, looking down at her with the fierce, sexy look that let her know every day that she was the center of his universe. “I’m always happy to tame you, as long as you know I love you just the way you are.”
“That’s why I’m here. Because you get me.”
“I get you, and getting you is the best thing to ever happen to me.”
She reached for him, bringing him into her embrace. “Merry Christmas, Ty.”
“Merry Christmas, Charl.”
“Is she asleep?” Gavin asked when Ella finished feeding baby Sarah.
“I think so.”
“Should we put her in the bassinette?”
“Probably.”
“You don’t want to?”
Ella gazed down at the tiny face that had taken over her life in the span of twenty-four hours. “I want to hold her all the time.”
“Didn’t the books say we’re not supposed to do that?”
“Yep.”
“So…”
“I want to hold her all the time.”
Gavin laughed and put his arm around her so he could hold her while she held the baby she’d wanted for so long. “Are you still hurting?”
“So bad, but it was worth it. She’s perfect, isn’t she?”
“Almost as perfect as her mommy.” He kissed the top of Ella’s head. “Now let’s put her down so you can get some rest. She’ll be awake again in a couple of hours.”
“I can’t wait.”
Smiling, he got up, took the baby and settled her in the bassinette. “Are you sure she doesn’t need a blanket?”
“No, the sleeper is her blanket. We don’t want anything else in there with her.”
He bent to kiss the baby’s forehead. “Sleep tight, little one.” Leaving her to sleep, he slid into bed with Ella and brought her head to rest on his chest. “Are you comfortable?”
“Uh-huh, but I just realized I never got to finish your Christmas present.”
“Yes, you did. She’s sleeping in her bassinette.”
“I made something else for you, but it’s not done.”
“No worries, sweetheart. I’ll still love it whenever you get a chance to finish it.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I love everything you’ve ever given me. You saved my life with your big love, my sweet Ella, and gave me the most beautiful little girl. You don’t ever have to give me anything else again.”
“I feel guilty.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m this happy when so many other people aren’t.”
“Enjoy this moment you’ve waited so long to have. This, right here and now, is all there is.”
Since he knew of what he spoke, she decided to take his wise advice.