Page 2 of A More Than Mayhem Christmas

Mom took Katie into her arms, kissed my cheek, and promised me that things would get better. Easier. And they did.

To this day, I have no idea what was said in that bedroom while I was gone, and I’ll never ask. But whatever it was, it changed their relationship forever.

“Are you still pouting about the favorite child thing?” Mark asks now, a smiling Katie sitting on his shoulders. Hands out, finger stretched, she reaches for me just as a yawn escapes me. I take her from him, then attack her cheek and neck, pretending to bite her. She squirms in my arms and giggles loudly—the greatest sound in the entire world, but I’m biased, obviously.

“Daddy silly, isn’t he?” Mark asks her.

“Silly Daddy,” she repeats, kicking out her legs—a sign for me to put her back down. The second her feet touch the grass, she’s off again, running around my parents’ backyard, kicking up fallen leaves with her tiny little boots.

“She has so much energy,” Mark chuckles, standing beside me while Katie runs toward a giant oak tree.

“I know. I don’t know where she gets it,” I reply, my words muffled by another yawn.

Katie had woken us up just before five this morning, jumping on the bed and yelling, “Mama! Daddy! Santa came! Santa came!”

Luce and I had just gotten to sleep a few hours earlier after spending the night wrapping the insane number of gifts we’d gotten her. We had a low-key breakfast, just the three of us, then headed to Lucy’s family home for lunch, and then we came here for dinner and to drop Katie off before the mayhem truly begins. It’s been a long-ass day, and I’m exhausted. I don’t know how Katie is still upright. “Twenty-eleventy-three,” Katie shouts from behind the oak tree. “Ready or not, here I come!”

“Shit, were we supposed to be hiding?” Mark mumbles, taking off before I have time to respond. He hides behind a large potted plant, and I climb onto the trampoline and lie flat. If I’m lucky, I might be able to close my eyes for a few minutes.

“Daddy! Grandpa!” Katie shouts. “Where are you?”

“I want to play!” Lucy calls out, and I lift my head to see her and Mom walking toward Katie.

“Let’s count again,” Mom says, taking Katie’s hand and leading her back toward the oak tree. “Give your mama time to hide.”

Katie goes willingly, and I wait until Lucy’s close before sitting up to help her climb onto the trampoline with me. We lie on our sides, facing each other, the sound of Katie counting made-up numbers filling our ears. “You good?” I ask, hand on her waist as I pull her close.

Lucy nods, her lips curving into a smile. “Do you realize how lucky we are?”

“I know how luckyIam. I have you. You, though—you’re stuck with me.”

Shaking her head, she moves in closer, her lips meeting mine for all of a millisecond. “I wouldn’t want to do life without you.”

“Really?” I ask, raising my eyebrows. “Two nights ago, you threatened to murder me in my sleep.”

She rolls her eyes, her smile getting wider. “I threaten that every night, and you’re still breathing, so…”

“True.” I chuckle, bringing her closer so her head’s to my chest. “So what you’re saying is that you love me, and I’m your favorite.”

“You’ve always been my favorite, and you always will be.”

I sigh. “That’s all I need to hear.”

“Found you, Grandpa!” Katie squeals, and Luce and I separate, lifting our heads to watch them.

“You’re so smart! How did you know where I was?” Mark says, poking her sides until she runs away from him. He chases after her, hands out, fingers ready to tickle her some more.

“I think she might be the luckiest girl in the world,” I murmur, facing Lucy again. “She has two amazing grandpas.”

“And the best grandma,” she says.

“Grandmas,” I correct. “One here, and one watching over her twenty-four-seven.”

Lucy smiles at that.

“And enough aunts and uncles to always have her back.”

“And the most amazing dad to always protect her,” Lucy adds, kissing me once. Then returning for more, deepening the kiss just enough to stir up a lick of fire inside me.

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