A Heaven Hill Christmas Read online

  “Mom! Dad! Get up so we can open presents!”

  That was the first time both her kids had said anything in unison and most importantly agreed on anything in months. Didn’t matter. She’d take it.

  “We’re being summoned,” she laughed.

  “So we are.” He leaned in for one more kiss with a smile.

  “You ready for this?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” he grinned. “I really am.”

  And she could tell he wasn’t fibbing, he wasn’t saying it to please her. He really enjoyed his role as Dad. With a smile back, she opened the door and the two of them were herded down the stairs, into the living room.

  *

  Liam hadn’t realized he would be so excited to give the kids the Christmas gifts he’d picked out for them. He’d done it under the watchful eye of Denise and had asked her permission for the biggest gift for both of them.

  They’d loved their clothes, DVD’s, a makeup vanity for Mandy, and a real watch for Drew, now he couldn’t wait to give them the biggest one of them all.

  “That’s not all we have for you,” Liam said as he grabbed two envelopes from the tree. He watched the two of them as they looked at him, both wondering what in the world else they were going to have. He could see it in their eyes. They felt spoiled, but knowing they did after the lives they’d lived made him feel ten feet tall. “I talked this over with your mom and she agreed you could have them, but you’ve got to promise to be careful. Neither one of you can get on these things and act like fools.”

  “What is it?” Drew asked.

  “Yeah, I’m dying,” Mandy agreed as she glanced at her brothers.

  “They’re out in the shop, so we’re gonna have to go out there. Remember it snowed last night. You guys go grab some warm clothes.”

  He watched as they scrambled up the stairs, tripping over each other.

  “They love you so much,” Denise looked at him, a softness in her gaze. Her eyes traveled over the new leather jacket she’d helped Mandy pick out and the new wallet she’d helped Drew pick out. Liam had immediately put the jacket on and made a show of moving everything from his old wallet to the new one, letting the kids know he’d loved everything they’d gotten him.

  “I love them too, they filled a hole in my life I didn’t know I had.” It was the easiest way for him to explain the situation to people on the outside looking in. He’d never had aspirations of being anyone’s dad, and to know he had these kids, it filled him with the greatest of joys.

  “Dad, we’re ready,” Drew hollered from the front door.

  “C’mon, we can’t keep them waiting,” he laughed as he grabbed Denise’s hand and pulled her to where the brother and sister stood, waiting impatiently on their parents. He and Denise put on their jackets and snow boots in record time before all four of them went outside and towards the shop.

  They stopped and Liam turned around to talk to the kids. “Now, you’ve got to promise me you’re going to be careful, you’re going to follow rules, and you’re going to be smart.”

  Mandy made an exasperated sound. “We promise, now open the door!”

  He chuckled as he unlocked the door and opened it, revealing two four wheelers. One in gray and red for Drew and one in pink and black for Mandy. They squealed as they got a good look at them. There was a flurry of sound and activity as they made noises over one another, so excited it had snowed the night before and they’d be able to take these out into the elements.

  Finally they looked at Liam and Denise and both took off at a run for them, all four of them catching each other in a big hug.

  “Thanks Dad,” they were saying and he knew he’d never get sick of hearing them call him that. He’d worked hard to have their respect and damned if it didn’t mean the world to him.

  “You’re welcome, now do as I said and be careful on them. It’s cold, so your mom and I are gonna head back, but we’ll watch you from the back porch.”

  He grabbed Denise’s hand and they made their way to the porch, both watching as they settled in to the couch that sat back there. He’d turned the heater on and they snuggled up together under a heavy blanket.

  “You made their year,” she laughed as Mandy took off in front of Drew, squealing when the power revved.

  “They made my life,” his voice filled with awe as he watched them.

  Denise turned in his arms, resting her head on his chest. “Pretty sure the feeling is mutual all the way around. I’ll never regret doing the things I did that lead me to you,” she whispered.

  “I don’t regret anything I’ve done either. I’d go back and do it all again if I had to. My life would be so boring, so dead without all of you in it. I hadn’t realized how lonely I was.”

  “I knew how lonely I was,” she rubbed her cheek against his pectoral muscle. “But I didn’t know how to fix it.”

  He settled deeper into the couch, holding her tighter in his embrace. The sound of their kids having fun in the background and the peace that overtook every time he held her in his arms washing over them, he realized he’d always fix everything she needed him to. With the knowledge they would fix each other, he let his eyes close and realized he’d never had a more relaxing Christmas ever.

  “Merry Christmas,” he kissed her on the forehead.

  “Merry Christmas to you, too,” she answered back. Laughing when she heard Mandy challenge Drew to ‘let’s see what these babies can do’ in the distance.

  This was definitely the life.

  Dalton & Mandy

  ‡

  Chapter One

  “They’re calling for freezing rain,” Amanda Walker groaned as she watched the weather report for the upcoming week.

  She and her long-time boyfriend were getting married on Christmas Eve. After many years, almost breaking up, a house, and a baby, they were finally tying the knot.

  “Mandy,” her fiancé’s cool voice took on the soothing tone it always did when she was on the verge of having a major freak-out. “Everything’s gonna be okay. Don’t get all worked up and worried about it.”

  It was easy for him to say, she’d been waiting for this day most of her life. She had a secret Pinterest board and everything.

  “I keep telling myself that the most important thing is we’ll be together and even if no one else can show up, we’ll be there,” she frowned, jumping when a squawk from the baby monitor let her know their son was awake.

  At just over fifteen months, he was into everything—running and walking, talking as best he could, and generally being the cutest child any of them had ever seen. Well, that was true until her brother Drew and his wife Charity had welcomed twin girls. Now there was a flurry of activity in their family, just trying to accommodate the sheer number of people they’d grown to be.

  “I’ll go get him,” Dalton leaned over, kissing her on the cheek. “But I’m telling you, we could get married in jeans and t-shirts and it would make no difference to me. The only thing I want is for you to have my last name.” He kissed her again before he got up and headed towards their son’s bedroom.

  Sometimes she hated how easily he could calm her down because she felt as if she were entitled to her meltdowns. When Dalton kept his cool it made her feel like she was insane.

  Her phone rang and seeing her sister’s name pop up, she answered it on the first ring.

  “Are you freaking out?” her little sister’s voice had the opposite effect Dalton’s had.

  “Yes, I’m freaking out! What if no one can make it to the wedding? We have enough food ordered to feed over a hundred, we ordered tents and heaters, and none of it was cheap. We’ve saved for the last year for this wedding.”

  Tatum sighed. “You know Dad offered to pay for it. You really pissed him off when you told him no.”

  Mandy shuddered as she remembered that conversation with their dad. “I know, but I feel like he should pay for yours. Dalton and I are older, and we have a child….”

  “Do I look like I’m getting marr
ied anytime soon?” Her barely-out-of-her-teens sister interrupted.

  Mandy wanted to say ‘if Remy could get his head out of his ass you would in a heartbeat’, but she was scared of the possible repercussions. “Still,” she continued. “What if you want some sort of cool trip or something? Dad should pay for that for you,” Mandy insisted.

  “Maybe that’s what I should do for the New Year,” Tatum was saying. “Tell Dad to send me and Addie on a getaway. Mexico or someplace like that.”

  “Good luck with that, T,” Mandy giggled, realizing talking to her little sister had put her in a better mood. “I gotta go, Dalton went to grab Walker and I need to see if he wants help.”

  “All right, but if you need anything, please let me know,” Tatum said before making a kissy noise in the phone and hanging up.

  Mandy watched as Dalton came down the hallway back towards the living room, holding Walker in his arms. There wasn’t anything sexier than seeing Dalton hold their son.

  *

  “What?” Dalton asked as he set Walker down on the carpeted floor. “You look like you’re either going to yell at me… or jump my bones.”

  He loved the woman who was going to be his wife, but he was always a just little unsure what she was likely to do to him at any given moment. Even after so many years, he still couldn’t read her completely. For some men that might have been a source of friction but not with him. Dalton was man enough to admit sometimes Mandy wore the pants in the family.

  “No,” she shook her head from side to side slowly as she sat down, handing Walker a sippy cup. “This is definitely a jump your bones look. I can’t begin to tell you how hot you look carrying our son.”

  “We still have a few hours before he goes back down but he likes his pack and play, and he loves that hour-long cartoon movie,” Dalton was already advancing on her.

  She held up a hand, warding him off. “As much as I would love to spend the next hour in your arms, I have to go for a trial-run of my wedding hair. Christine wants to make sure she can do it,” she frowned, tempted to stay but committed to going.

  Dalton walked over and pushed his hands under her shirt, clasping them at her back. They stood like that for a few moments, before he tilted his head and brought his lips to her neck. He knew they had limited time, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t get her hot for him before she left.

  He groaned against her flesh as he felt her hands on his back, grasping his shirt between her fingers and pulling on it as she nipped. “Dalton, we don’t have time for this,” she panted.

  He didn’t let her go for a few more heartbeats and when he pulled away, he could see her nipples peaked against her shirt. Her breath coming in small gasps; it wasn’t as if he was unaffected, but he loved when he could break the firm control she normally had on herself.

  “Just a little something for you to think about while you’re gone,” he flashed her a smile before turning away and going to tend to their son.

  “You don’t play fair,” he could hear the pout in her voice.

  “Oh babe, don’t act like you do either. Besides, all’s fair in love and sex.”

  She giggled.

  “You know I’m right,” he winked.

  She grinned and nodded as she grabbed her jacket and keys because yeah, she knew he was.

  *

  “Are you sure you’re gonna be able to make my hair look that full?” Mandy looked skeptically at the picture she’d pulled up on her phone. She’d fallen in love with the hairstyle the moment she’d seen it, but now she was having second thoughts about being able to pull it off.

  “I promise you Mandy, it’s going to look amazing,” Christine assured her friend.

  “I’m sorry I’m so neurotic, I’m just nervous about the weather report for next Wednesday,” she put her thumbnail in her mouth, chewing on the end.

  Christine nodded sympathetically as she walked over to a cabinet and started withdrawing tools Mandy assumed she needed to give her the hair she wanted. “I know you’re stressed and I understand, but you just need to remember you’ve got a great man, an adorable kid, and a family full of people who love you. We’re gonna make it work.”

  And she knew that. “It’s hard though, I’ve wanted this for most of my life,” she laughed, shaking her head. “I never thought I’d be Bridezilla, but I’m pretty sure everyone is avoiding me like the plague. The only one excited to see me coming is Walker and that’s because he needs me.”

  Christine set down the stuff she was sifting through. “That’s a damn lie and you know it. You just need to take a few deep breaths and realize things really are going to be fine.”

  She watched as Christine walked back over and picked up what looked like hair. “I’m trying, but I think both Dalton and I are way more nervous than we thought we’d be. And it’s been almost two weeks since we’ve had any alone time,” she inadvertently blurted out.

  Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she needed to feel close to her husband-to-be. Maybe they just needed a night to themselves, so they could take a break from all of this stress.

  When was the last time they’d been together without the stress of the wedding, or of the house they had only recently finished building and moved into, weighing down on them? She really couldn’t remember and wasn’t that a bad spot to be in?

  “All right,” Christine walked over to where Mandy sat, holding a bunch of what looked like hair in her hands.

  “What is that?”

  “You were right, you don’t have enough hair for the volume you want, so we’re going to give you some help with that. Extensions.”

  Mandy had heard awful things about fake hair, but for her wedding, she’d do what she had to.

  *

  “Walker,” Dalton sighed as he tried to keep up with his son. “Don’t run!”

  They were in the clubhouse parking lot and while most drivers knew he had a little hellion on his hands, there was the off-chance someone was visiting. They may not know his spawn had a penchant for running once he was out of the car seat.

  Dalton ran to catch up with him, planning on giving him another stern talking to about running away, but before he could, Liam came out of the clubhouse.

  “He run away from you again?” Liam yelled to his soon-to-be son-in-law.

  “Yeah,” he answered, struggling to walk with the bag of Walker equipment they needed to tote along everywhere they went.

  As he approached Walker and his grandfather, he could see Liam bend down on his knee so that he was eye level with the little boy. The look on Liam’s face was one Dalton had seen many times – he was teaching a lesson.

  Dalton breathed a sigh of relief. This was one lesson he wouldn’t have to teach his son. Grandpa had this one.

  ‡

  Chapter Two

  “I don’t know why he does that,” Dalton mumbled as he made his way into the clubhouse. Wondering why his son felt the need to test the brakes of anyone in his path. He hoped like hell they would be able to teach him better than that.

  Liam had picked up the wayward child and was carrying him as they entered. He glanced at them and had to smile. Grandson and grandfather had a very special relationship. Anyone could sense the bond, just by looking at them. Liam watched the child like he was a piece of fine china and Walker looked at the older man like he hung the moon.

  “He’s testing his boundaries, aren’t you?” Liam tickled the little boy’s stomach, grinning as Walker giggled loudly and fought to be released onto the ground.

  When he was down, he let loose with a boost of speed and energy that made them all envious.

  Plopping onto a nearby couch, Dalton sighed. “He’s wearing me out,” he grumbled good-naturedly. It had taken them almost two hours to get out of their house and down here to the clubhouse.

  “Where’s Mandy?” Liam asked as he had a seat beside him, and offered him a beer.

  Usually Dalton didn’t drink during the middle of the day, but his stress level was at an all-time high
and he appreciated the mellow feeling a bottle of beer would give him.

  “She’s at Christine’s,” he took a drink and let the crisp taste pour down his throat. At least some of the tension melted away. “They’re practicing her wedding hair or some shit like that.”

  Liam snuck a glance at the younger man. “I take it she probably saw the weather report for the week. How’s she doing?”

  “Ha! She’s in full freak-out mode. I tried telling her it doesn’t matter. We can get married in a pair of jeans and a couple of t-shirts with two people there. It’s not that big of a deal. All that matters at the end of the day is she wears my ring and has my last name,” he attempted to explain. “But she’s all kinds of fucked up about it.”

  “She’s a lot like her mom,” Liam whispered so his wife wouldn’t hear. “You need to take her mind off of it.”

  Was Dalton mistaken or was Liam telling him to have relations with his daughter? Quickly deciding that’s what he was saying, he gave his head a rueful shake. “Been there, tried to do that, but there’s too much going on right now. Every time we get close, something happens or Walker needs attention. It’s hasn’t been that easy.”

  “I remember what that was like,” Liam laughed, clapping a hand on Dalton’s shoulder. “You’ve got to take all the distractions out and focus on the time you two need to spend together. Especially with this big event in your lives about to happen.”

  “But it feels so wrong to look at it like that when the ‘distraction’ is our son,” Dalton tipped his bottle at the boy who was squealing as he ran away from Remy, who was giving a good chase.

  “Sooo,” Liam drawled out, “that’s when he comes to stay with Grandma and Grandpa for the night.”

  “I don’t want to seem as if I’m pawning him off,” Dalton tried to explain. It meant a lot to him to take good care of his son; he took the responsibility as seriously as he could, because his own parents hadn’t.

  “You aren’t, I’m offering,” Liam assured. “Mandy’s at Christine’s right? Why don’t you go grab the bike and pick her up? She wouldn’t be expecting a nighttime ride with you would she? It’s cold, but it’s not frigid, grab a couple of jackets and a hat. If we’re really going to get that freezing rain in a few days, it’s gonna have to cool off a lot more than it is now.”