Page 24 of Home For Christmas

His response had Koji laughing hysterically again, to the point where I wasn’t sure he’d actually switched to orange juice like he’d sworn he had two drinks earlier.

I leaned over toward Russ and whispered in his ear. “Please tell me Koji didn’t drive.”

Russ barked out a laugh of surprise. “Oh, hell no. Gavin brought him. You know he hates city driving.” Russ gestured vaguely around the street corner we were on. “It doesn’t get much more city than around here.”

The office was along one of the busiest streets in San Diego, but it was central to highways and clients never had an issue finding us, so I wasn’t going to complain. Hell, we’d had more than our fair share of walk-in clients over the last two years just from being in a high-traffic area.

“It’s so pretty,” Ty said as he held the Christmas tree slash butt plug just a little bit too high for being in public, but I had to admit that when the light caught it, it sparkled brilliantly.

“I wonder if anyone would notice if we just stuck it on the mantle?” I wondered aloud.

The way Ty’s eyes sparkled told me I shouldn’t have said that. I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close, kissing his temple and whispering into his ear. “Don’t you think about it.”

Ty sighed dramatically. “You take all the fun out of things.” The words were barely out of Ty’s mouth when Meadow woke up. She didn’t look very happy, and Ty groaned. “I know that look! I’m getting out of here with these two before we have to call a hazmat team.”

“I maintain that if you know that look so well, it’s probably time to start potty training,” I said. Though it was still hard to believe that my babies were old enough to be discussing potty training.

“I’ll be happy to get rid of the diapers,” Ty agreed as he hefted the diaper bag and started putting the gifts in the little basket below the stroller. “See you at home,” he said to me as he leaned down to kiss me.

I knew the kiss had become more heated than I’d intended when I heard catcalls from around the table. Ty broke the kiss with an exaggerated roll of his eyes, flipping the table off. “Love you,” he said to me as he stood up, pointedly adjusting himself in his jeans.

The table laughed, but Cody groaned good-naturedly. “If someone had told me this is how my life would end up, I’d never believe it.”

“Shelly’s getting you trained well.

“Love you, Doc. Have a good rest of your day.”

Ty waved goodbye as he started weaving his way to the exit.

Fifteen minutes later, we’d managed to pay the bill and were parting ways. There were quick hugs all around, but Russ held the hug for a few seconds longer than necessary. “Just enjoy being with your family. My dads learned early on that they had to make their own family. I have more aunts and uncles than I can count. They live all over the world. But you know who I’ve never met? Any of my dads’ biological families. Not once in my life have I ever felt like I’m missing someone.”

I gave Russ an extra squeeze. “Thanks. That helps, I think.” And it did. There was part of me that had worried my kids would miss having my family in their lives.

By the time I made it back to my office, my thirty-minute lunch had turned into nearly three hours. I sighed. There was so much to get done, but my desk phone rang before I could even get my laptop booted up.

“Declan Scott,” I barked a little too loudly into the phone. There was part of me that knew my SEAL training would never fully go away.

“At ease, sailor.” Oscar’s teasing voice came across the line, and my body relaxed at my boss’s calm voice. “I hear you’re working yourself nearly to death.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I’m just trying to make sure things are running smoothly before Ty and I head back to Oklahoma.”

“Dec,” Oscar scolded. “You have a very capable staff there. I sent you Dave, and I keep telling you, if you’d lean on Cody just a little, I bet he’d join the team.”

I’d heard the lecture repeatedly from Oscar. I’d casually told Cody that there was a place for him if and when he decided to retire. He’d thanked me and I wasn’t ready to push, despite Oscar being so certain Cody would jump ship given the right offer. Sensing he wasn’t going to get me to push Cody harder, Oscar changed tactics. “Declan, you need to go home and spend some time with your little family before you get here. From what Greg’s saying, I suspect there’s going to be some chaos at your in-laws’.”

“I’d expect nothing less. Oscar, chaos is the Scott family’s middle name!”

“Fair enough. I’ve met them enough now. Your mother-in-law is a force to be reckoned with. You know I tried to give her a job. She didn’t believe me.”

A laugh bubbled out of me that grew until I’d doubled over with tears streaming down my face. “Oh hell, don’t do that. She’d be running that place in days.”

“The way these guys behave like overgrown kids in the office, sometimes I think it wouldn’t be half-bad.”

A commotion in the lobby drew my attention from Oscar for a moment. When I heard cheering and the unmistakable sound of a Ping-Pong ball, I couldn’t help but see his point. “I promise I’ll try to cut out early.”

Oscar hummed his agreement, then began discussing some housekeeping stuff we needed to accomplish over the next few months. We talked for nearly forty-five minutes before finally saying goodbye. By that point I’d forgotten all about cutting out early, my brain focused back on the schedule as well as the stuff we’d talked about.

When my eyes started to burn, I blinked to find the office dark and the outside even darker. A quick glance at my computer told me I’d long since missed dinner, the kids’ bedtime, and by that point in the night, Ty’s too. “Dammit,” I cursed as I shut things down, pulling on the light sweater I kept behind my door for chilly nights. I hated missing bedtime, but I especially hated missing the quiet time Ty and I had between their bedtime and ours. Sex didn’t even have to be in the equation—sitting curled together watching TV or a movie and not speaking was sometimes just as nice as mind-blowing sex.

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