Page 3 of A More Than Mayhem Christmas

“And the most beautiful, most giving…” I grab her ass, squeeze tight. “Mostsexiestmom in the entire world.”

Luce pulls away and sits up straight, her cheeks flushed. “We’re leaving now!” she yells.

I laugh under my breath and hop off the trampoline before helping her down. Mom takes Katie’s hand and leads her toward us, saying, “So, you have plans with your friends tonight?”

“Yep,” Lucy replies.

“It’s so nice that you can all be together for the holidays. I miss them.”

Living in a small town, she sees our friends often. It’s only Heidi, Jake and Mikayla who moved away, and out of North Carolina. My mom didn’t really get to know Heidi well back when we were in high school, and she moved away after college, so she’s not around much.

Micky and Jake live in St. Louis now, but Micky’s been spending more time here lately, so what my mom is really saying is she missesJake. My momlovesJake. Scratch that.Allmoms love Jake. It’s hard not to.

“So, what’s the plan?” Mark asks. “You’re just going to hang out in your cabin?”

Lucy fake sniffles. “It’s the farewell tour, Marky Mark.”

Mark hugs her to his side. “I bet y’all have a ton of memories there, huh?”

Lucy pouts for real this time, nodding as she says, “We’ve been there for so long. It’s where we grew up, grewtogether, and where we brought Katie home.”

“But you have a beautiful new home where you can make fresh memories,” Mom tries to assure. “And how many women get to say they live in a house their husband designed and their brothers built?”

“That’s true,” Lucy says, moving from Mark’s side to mine. She smiles up at me, and I return the expression. Our new house, still built on the Preston property, has been my favorite project to work on because it’sours. Luce and I worked tirelessly to make everything perfect in our forever home, and personally, I can’t wait to move in there. But Luce—she’s a romantic, not just with love but with the memories the cabin holds. We’d practically lived there together since her dad built it for her whenwe were still in high school. There are a lot of moments tied to the place and a hell of a lot offirsts.

“So, what happens to the cabin now?” Mark asks.

“The twins have already claimed it,” I answer. Lucy’s brothers—Lincoln and Liam—are social media influencers, and so they’re turning it into a studio/office.

“Well, have fun tonight,” Mom says. “And don’t feel you have to rush to pick her up tomorrow.”

“She can stay as long as you need,” Mark agrees.

“You know we love having her,” Mom adds. “And I have no plans for days, just in case you two wanted to get things done while you’re off work.”

Since I can remember, Mark had always wanted to “take care” of Mom and me, and to him, that meant setting me up for life and giving Mom the option to never have to work again. It took a lot of convincing on his end, but once Katie was born, Mom finally conceded. She has Katie a few days a week while Lucy and I work.Notsurprisingly, those are also the days Mark seems to have very little going on at his car dealership, so he only works half-days.

On the days Mom doesn’t have her, Katie goes to work with Lucy at the bookstore, or she’s with Tom, Lucy’s dad, or any of her brothers and their girls. Sometimes, it almost becomes a competition to be the one to take care of her. Like I said, Katie’s the luckiest girl in the entire world.

“I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how we’re holding up,” I tell them.

Lucy squats down, hugging our daughter tight. “Be good for Grandma and Grandpa, okay?”

Katie holds her mother’s face in her hands, kissing the tip of her nose like she’s watched me do a thousand times before. “I be good,” she says, then whispers something in Lucy’s ear before pulling back.

Lucy sighs. “Just one time. And do it now so it’s out of your system.”

Katie’s eyes go wide with excitement, before looking up at me, then at her grandparents. She takes a step back, so she’s the center of our universe. Then she smirks—crooked, just like her mother’s. “One time?” she confirms with Lucy.

“Just once,” Luce agrees.

Katie giggles. And then… “Fucking shit.”

2

Jake

I never realized how much of the world is made up ofthreesuntil I stopped to really think about it.

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