Page 27 of A Collier First Christmas
He opened my door and reached in and lifted me from the car.
He kicked the door shut and then kissed me. It was hot and possessive.
“Mine,” he growled as he carried me into the house and reminded me exactly why letting Peyton and Oliver babysit was a very good idea.
Thomas
Chapter 14
Lily and I were finally settling into a good, healthy routine. Cammie was thriving and Lily wasn’t as tired all the time. The best part was that sex had never been better. It was like I had managed to reawaken my mate like we were back to our mating days.
Time was passing quickly and the closer we got to Christmas Eve and the pack run, the crazier things seemed to get, but unlike the episodes leading up to the tree lighting ceremony, Christmas in Collier was coming along flawlessly, and I had my gorgeous mate to thank for that.
Her list had certainly gotten more practical as time went on. She’d added a few little things between the two events, like Don Shay was playing Santa every evening for the kids. Ruby and Bran had continued their nightly carriage rides, sometimes bringing their daughter Opal along for the ride. I suspected it might even become a new family tradition for my sister.
People seemed to be outdoors more and there was a festive excitement in the air.
Still, it was two days until Christmas Eve and while Lily had decorated every inch of town, it did not go unnoticed by me that we hadn’t even picked out a tree for our house.
I supposed it didn’t matter much. We had already decided that we’d be spending Christmas day at the Alpha house with my family.
Lying in bed that night I asked Lily, “What is that you want for Christmas this year?”
She shrugged. “I have everything I could possibly want.”
“Come on, there has to be something.”
I could tell she was holding back, which was very unlike my mate. Normally Lily was an open book even when she shouldn’t be.
She sighed. “I guess I’m just missing my family. Mom and MC came out for a few days when I had Cammie. The rest of my family hasn’t even met her yet. I talked to Kelsey today and she was telling me about how they were all getting together for Christmas and it just made me miss them so much.”
I pulled her closer to my chest as we laid in bed talking about it. I had no idea that she was feeling so homesick for the holidays. In the three years we’d been together we’d always stayed home for Christmas and with all her grandeur plans this year, I hadn’t even considered anything else.
“I’m fine. Christmas is going to be perfect. I just feel a little left out sometimes. Even Shelby and Lizzy are staying in Westin for Christmas this year.”
My sister Shelby and her mate Ben held permanent residency in Westin Pack, but my sister Lizzy and her mate Cole split time between the two packs. They had been in Collier last Christmas so it made sense to me that they would choose to stay there this year.
I wasn’t sure what I could do to make her miss her family any less, but I vowed to call Kyle and see if maybe we could at least video message them opening presents or something. There was little I wouldn’t do to make my mate happy.
*****
When Luke first suggested a Christmas Eve pack run, I thought he was insane. We’d never done such a thing before, but when Lily had decided to make the pack run a full on ChristmasEve celebration, I’d thought she had finally dove off the deep end.
I knew her plans had been massive, a product of far too many Christmas movies. Somehow, she’d pulled it off though.
It wasn’t until we were driving over to the country club, which wasn’t just for golf but doubled as our pack hall knowing the Alpha house was far too small to accommodate the entire Pack, that Lily started freaking out.
“Oh no!” she yelled stiffening in her seat next to me.
I nearly wrecked the car fearing the worst. I pulled over to the side of the road with my wolf on full alert.
“What is it?”
“I haven’t even wrapped Cammie’s presents yet. Thomas, we don’t even have a Christmas tree.” She sat there and started to cry.
I wrapped my arms around her and just held her for a moment.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m not staying long tonight. I’ll bring Cammie back with me and put her to bed, then I’ll take care of everything. It’s going to be perfect. You’ll see.”
