Page 36 of Chelsea’s Knight

“Well, yeah, but if they’ve put up their Christmas trees, I have to get ornaments too, Canyon. Plus, they always have cute pet things and now that we have two dogs, we’ll have to represent pet parents appropriately.”

“We have to, huh?” he teases, turning and winking at me.

“Absolutely. I think it’s the Dog Owner’s Manual.”

“Never read it, babe. Not gonna either, just saying, so you’re gonna have to keep me in line.”

“I’m up for the challenge, Canyon.”

CHAPTERTWELVE

Canyon

“Kinda glad we’re finally home,” she says, sighing as we pull into the parking lot of the clubhouse.

“We’re running out of room anyhow,” I tease, chuckling when she lets out a shriek. “Babe, I had no freaking clue you were one of those people when it comes to Christmas.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Canyon? I have all the babies, plus the little ones to shop for now, as well as everyone else. Outside of the gifts Gia and I exchanged after my grandparents died, I haven’t had free rein like this.”

“Sweetness, you can buy, order, or make whatever the fuck you want, trust me. I suspect no one is gonna mind that you’re spoiling their kid since you’re family now.”

She preens in the passenger seat as both dogs give soft woofs from the back, almost as if they’re telling menotto encourage my woman.

However, seeing her face wreathed in smiles as she had not one, but two employees follow her out to the truck earlier was worth having to shift shit around.

“I’m glad you said that because I have a tree for my room arriving the day after tomorrow. Not sure what happened to the next day shipping I pay for, but whatever, it’ll give me a chance to get all of this sorted, wrapped, and tucked away. Oh! I’m going to need to go to the storage unit I have that’s got Nonni’s ornaments. But I know you’ve probably already got appointments set up since we’ve been gone as long as we have, so I can see if Tessie or maybe some of the old ladies can help get them.”

“We can always go after I’m done working, Chels. Are the boxes labeled and shit?”

I’m imagining having to sort through countless boxes of items to pull Christmas decorations from, internally cowering at the overwhelming task when she starts laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I ask.

“You should see your face. You probably think Nonni was a Christmas beast too, don’t you? Well, she kind of was, but we had living quarters at Gia’s family home. While they were spacious, neither Nonni nor Poppa wanted to have a lot of stuff. All of their important papers are in a marked tote that’s in my closet, but the five totes of ornaments and knick-knacks she set out are clearly labeled and toward the front of the storage unit.”

“Kind of surprised they’re not already here with you,” I mutter, smirking.

“The two totes I personally own already are,” she sasses. “I need the other five, however, because Nonni had a beautiful Christmas village that I’d love nothing more than to set up in the living room area if possible.”

“We’ll get you sorted out, sweetness. Now, can we get out of the truck? My brothers are staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.”

“Oh, shit!” she exclaims, before she starts laughing. “I’ve gotten so used to it just being us and how we wait to get out of the truck when we’re not finished talking.”

I shake my head because truthfully, I do the same thing now.

“No worries, Chels. Let me get the boys out, then help you out so you can introduce Smokey to everyone while I try and wrangle Cooper.”

“What about our stuff?” she asks as her door opens and Trident stands there.

“We’ll help get it unloaded later. Right now, there are old ladies who want to see you, see your dog, and hear all about your trip,” Trident retorts, helping my old lady down from the truck.

“Appreciate it, brother,” I tell him, giving and receiving a back slap before I hand Smokey’s lead to Chelsea.

“Trident, this is Smokey. Smokey, friend,” she says with a hint of command in her voice, emphasizing the word ‘friend’.

Unlike Atlas and Patsy’s dogs, Smokey’s commands are in English for the most part because if she’s incapable of speaking due to being in the throes of a seizure, whoever is with her needs to be able to translate those commands in her stead.

“We having church today?” I ask as we follow her through the door.

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