Chapter 56
56
The next afternoon, Michelle knew in her heart of hearts that even though Keith said he’d be happy with her and her children, it would mean a lot if Kevin and Sam joined them for Christmas. She didn’t know how to broach the subject but knew she needed to.
Michelle lay bundled up on the sofa, reading a book in front of a roaring fire when Keith walked in. He’d built the fire before he and the boys had left to ride down to the river. She had kept it going, loving the feel of the heat.
“Hey, honey,” he said as he came through the back door.
She put her book down and walked to where he sat to remove his boots with a purposeful stride. “Did y’all have fun?”
“It was a nice ride. I wish you would’ve come with us.”
“Maybe next time,” she said as she bit her bottom lip.
He sat straighter and looked at her. “You’ve got something on your mind.”
“I do.”
His brows raised. “Do I want to know what this is? Does it have something to do with me?”
“It does have something to do with you, and I don’t know if you’d want to know what it is, but I’m going to tell you.”
He leaned against the back of the wooden bench. “What’s on your mind, honey?”
“I want Kevin and Sam to join us for Christmas.”
Keith’s eyes widen. “I don’t know if that’s possible.”
“Why not?”
“First, we haven’t asked them, and second, they may already have plans.”
“That’s not good enough. We said we wanted them to meet my children.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think we meant in the next two weeks.”
Michelle turned and walked toward the kitchen. “Can’t we at least ask?”
Keith followed her. “What’s gotten into you?”
“We’re getting along so well, and I don’t want to lose that. If they don’t see me again for months, it’ll be like starting all over again when we do.”
Keith loosely held her hips. “Michelle, you’ve got to remember there’s one big difference between your situation and mine. Their mother is alive and has a say about seeing them.”
“That’s not fair, Keith. I want to experience a full holiday. My children will be with us, and I want yours there too.”
“I want all of us together too.”
“Please, Keith.”
He cupped her face. “All I can do is ask. I can’t promise...” His lips gently pressed against hers.
A couple of soft coughs came from across the room, causing Keith and Michelle to pull apart.
“Hi. We didn’t hear you come in,” Michelle said as she smoothed her shirt.
“Obviously,” Kevin said with a grin.
“How much did you hear?” Keith asked.
“I want to be with you for Christmas too,” Kevin said.
“Ditto,” Sam quickly added.
“Really?” Keith asked.
“Yeah, having a Christmas like our friends would be nice.”
“We’d love to have you,” Michelle said with a broad grin.
“What does your mother have planned?” Keith asked.
“Same old thing. Going to Hawaii as far as we know,” Kevin said. “She hasn’t told us any differently. I guess we’ll find out when we go home tomorrow.”
“You may have to pay the late cancellation fees,” Sam said.
“Gladly.” Keith massaged his chin as thoughts ran through his mind. “Staying through New Year’s?”
“Normally,” Kevin responded.
“If both of you really want to do this, I can have my plane in Hawaii on the twenty-third. You’ll fly all day, then get into North Carolina Christmas Eve morning.”
“We’ll fly out to Hawaii with Mom a few days before. I’m sure she’ll be happy to have us out of her hair, especially if Luke joins us.”
“Check with her and let us know. I can have you back in Hawaii for New Year’s,” Keith said with a smile.
Michelle failed to hide her excitement. “If y’all are joining us, then there needs to be gifts under the tree. Am I right?”
“We’ll get plenty of gifts,” Kevin said with a pink tinge to his cheeks.
“Not at my house.” She gave them each a piece of paper and a pen. “Write down your sizes in clothes and shoes, your college, something you’ve been wanting for a while like video games. I don’t know what you have or need.”
Keith wrapped his arm around her. “Michelle, that’s too much.”
Michelle didn’t miss the secret smiles the boys shared. They looked more like eight and ten than eighteen and twenty. “I didn’t say I would get them everything, but I will get them some things on their list.” She looked at Kevin and Sam. “Oh, and don’t forget to list one or two favorite dishes. I’ll try to make sure you have something special on the table.”
Keith chuckled. “Is this one of those things that I don’t get to help pay for?”
She cut him a saucy glance. “We’ll talk about it.”
The boys stopped in front of her on their way back to their rooms. “Thank you, Michelle. We’ll be there regardless of what our mother says.” Kevin gave her an awkward hug.
“We’ve seen our parents argue plenty but never over us. Dad worked a lot, and Mom complained about it and then spent his money to get even... more on herself than us. But I’ve never seen them work through a disagreement like you just did, and I’ve never felt more wanted than I do right now.” Sam mechanically hugged her like he was afraid of wrinkling her clothes.
Tears stung her eyes. All she wanted to do was squeeze those boys for all they were worth. She smiled and nodded since she didn’t trust her voice to speak. She watched them walk down the hallway with big grins and paper and pen in tow.
“Wow,” Keith said. “I knew you’d win them over, but what I just witnessed was amazing. We’re going to have my boys with us for Christmas.” He beamed.
Michelle’s heart overflowed with love from the looks on their faces. She was determined to make them a happy family.