Page 22 of Home For Christmas

Where was the fun in that? I stuck my tongue out at my husband. “I had fun.”

“And you’re paying the price today,” Declan retorted.

Ugh, I hated when he was right.

Ellie hugged Colt and the kids, then gave us all a wave. “Gotta go. There’s a protest out in Nolensville I’m supposed to be at.”

Colt groaned. “Ellie, do not get arrested again.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Love you!” Then she left the house, never acknowledging her brother.

Colt watched the door shut and shook his head. “I swear she will be the death of me.” He took Carter from Derek and pulled his phone out of his back pocket, pressing a few buttons before placing it at his ear. A few seconds went by before Colt began to speak. “Hey, Zander, what protest is scheduled in Nolensville today?”

Derek laughed and turned his attention to Lydia. “How was your weekend?”

Jack had wiggled away from my brother and came to jump into my lap. “Hey, Uncle Ty!”

The noise in the house was damn near deafening between all the conversations. The kids flitted between the adults, talking about all the various things they’d done, what they wanted for Christmas, and when we would all be back in Oklahoma.

According to Carter, waiting until Friday to see us all again was simply too long. Jack spent fifteen minutes trying to get Carter to understand that he could count the sleeps until they’d see us while Lydia rolled her eyes and shook her head. “It’s pointless to try to rationalize with him,” she muttered to me as I took a drink of coffee. I damn near choked on the hot liquid and I was pretty sure I’d lost lining in my throat. If Meadow was anywhere near as grown-up as Lydia when she turned nine, we were in trouble.

I loved watching Jasper with the kids. He’d come out of his shell and had no problems with the kids using him as a jungle gym. My kids didn’t get to spend as much time with Jasper, Harrison, and Greg, but that was mainly because they were too young to follow them around like Derek’s kids did.

The last half of the afternoon and evening seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. The kids had boundless energy that my brother somehow kept up with. But as soon as their doors were shut at eight thirty that night, he collapsed onto the couch next to me. “We are so done having kids,” he said with a sigh. “It sucks that you all have to leave in ninety minutes. I wish we could have longer.”

“Everyone will be at the ranch in five days,” Greg said. “I have so much shit to catch up on at the office this week it isn’t even funny.”

Declan hummed in agreement. “I’m not looking forward to the hours I’m going to have to put in before I can leave. You know, I hated the amount of paperwork that was involved in retiring from the navy. But the amount of paperwork I fill out every week for the office is insane.”

Greg could easily commiserate with Declan. They were both retired SEALs and had both gone to work for Oscar, a former SEAL who’d opened a security company. Greg refused to travel, so he had ended up taking over much of the Oklahoma office to allow Oscar to travel more. Running an office meant stacks of paperwork and filing, and for a SEAL—retired or not—being tied to a desk was pure torture. “Hours are better, though.”

Declan raised his beer bottle in salute and the conversation morphed into plans for the rest of the week. My kids had playdates and I had some last-minute shopping to do, but Derek and Colt sounded like they would end up running circles around me. Between holiday parties at school, the school Christmas concert Lydia and Jack were expected to participate in, Colt’s work schedule, and Derek’s natural need to stay busy, I suspected we would all be looking forward to a break come Friday. Two weeks in Oklahoma not worrying about work sounded like just what Santa had ordered.

As we packed up to leave, the five of us were already yawning. Colt had gotten Derek ready for bed shortly after nine when he was sure the kids were all asleep, and then it was time to say goodbye to my brother for the next few days. We had a long week ahead of us and I was thankful Declan and I could sleep on the plane, and we’d basically pick up a few hours of sleep before being able to crash in our bed in California for an almost full night’s sleep. I doubted Jasper, Harrison, and Greg would be so lucky since their flight was after ours, shorter than ours, and Oklahoma was only an hour behind Tennessee.

Declan and I watched Jasper and his guys head down toward the opposite end of the Nashville terminal. “They’re so cute together.” I smiled as I watched Greg pull them both close, then not so discreetly cup Jasper’s ass while shoving his hand into Harrison’s back pocket.

“Let’s see if you’re still saying that come the new year after we’ve all spent two weeks together on the ranch.”

Chapter 2

Declan

December 16th

“One more day… one more day…” I muttered to myself as I reworked the schedule for the fourth time that day. I swore it shouldn’t have been that hard to organize five guys over a two-week period, but I also didn’t want to be that asshole who kept the new dad away from his family on Christmas Day or the boss who made Axel change his plans about proposing to his girlfriend on New Year’s Eve.

I sighed and scrubbed my hand down my face. The fucking numbers were starting to blur and I wasn’t ready to admit I needed those damned reading glasses in my desk drawer—I was only thirty. I’d just about thrown in the towel when my phone pinged. I was distracted enough that I picked it up without much thought, despite not usually answering for anyone other than Ty. I’d set a special ringtone for him years earlier and it had always remained.

Greg: I’m losing my mind. If I see another fucking spreadsheet, I’m going to walk out.

I laughed into the empty office. I’d been nearing that point, and I knew Greg was in the same boat. We were both trying to wrap up loose ends before we could leave work at work for two weeks.

Me: I was thinking the same thing. I fucking hate schedules.

Greg’s response was almost immediate.

Greg: That’s been done, but I’ve got a client who’s being a pain in the ass and giving one of my guys the runaround. He wants nothing to do with him, Daddy Dearest hired us, not the son.

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