Page 3 of Eight Years Later

“Well, I guess we need a distraction,” Soph finally said, pulling me from my sad haze. She got up, walked to my wardrobe, and threw the doors open. “Let’s play ‘cleaning out the stripper’s closet because she’s about to become a respectable member of society.’”

I couldn’t help but laugh, even though my chest felt like it was being torn in two.

“First up, the crotchless chaps.”

Chapter One

TALLY

EIGHT YEARS LATER

“You nearly done?” I called to Tie, attempting to hold the ladder as he jiggled and shuffled around. “My balls are gonna freeze off if we’re out here much longer.”

We were on Christmas light duty because Harmony insisted that they needed to be up so things would start to feel moremagical.

“Almost,” Tie yelled back, though I was already shivering.

I hated the cold.

It made it harder to do almost anything.

Talk.

Think.

Ride my motorcycle.

The distinct growl of a couple of Harleys pulling around the corner at the end of the block was a noise I would know anywhere.

And apparently, I wasn’t the only one who knew it.

“Daddy’s back!”

“Nya, don’t go out there.” Harmony’s call had me turning on my heel in time to see a tiny blonde-haired toddler shoot out of the clubhouse doors, heading for the front gates. “Nya!”

I abandoned the ladder, skidding on the cold ground as I started running. Thankfully, one of my footsteps was like five three-year-old steps, so I managed to cut the kid off before she got too close to the road. I grabbed her under the arms, the high-pitched giggles that left her tiny body instantly made me laugh as I tossed her into the air and caught her again.

“The escapee has been detained,” I announced, tucking her under my arm as she kicked and flailed.

“Let… me… go,” she protested, though the way it was broken up by laughter was a sure sign she was planning on making another run for it the second her feet hit the ground.

“Nya,” the troublemaker’s older brother, Layton, exclaimed. He stepped outside with Harmony beside him. Both had concerned frowns on their faces. “You have to wait until Dad stops before you come out here. Those are the rules.”

Layton was one of the most level-headed six-year-olds I’d ever met.

Honestly, you couldn’t get two more different kids.

While Layton took the world a little too seriously sometimes, always cautious and extremely protective, Nya saw everything and anything as a new opportunity to cause absolute chaos. She was a toddler-sized tornado, and I was not looking forward to when she got to her teens.

Kit and Harmony were lucky they had Layton to hopefully keep an eye on her and try to steer her straight.

But I was already taking bets on how much hair Kit would lose before Nya even turned sixteen.

Kit and Wreck finally pulled in the front gates and eased their rides into the open garage where the rest were parked, just in case we were hit with any snow or ice. It wasn’t likely, but stranger things had happened at Christmas.

Like Harmony said, it was fucking magical.

“Unccy Tally… down now, please!”

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