A Heaven Hill Christmas Page 13

  *

  Christmas Eve

  “I didn’t think I would be this nervous,” Mandy breathed through the nerves tightening her chest as she sat in a chair in one of the dorm rooms at the clubhouse, waiting for Christine to finish fixing her hair.

  “You’re gonna be fine,” Christine assured her, as she ran her comb through Mandy’s hair, doing her best to work her magic.

  “That’s what Dalton’s been saying all along, but I feel like my heart’s about to come outta my chest. I know there’s a whole list of things we need to do, and I need to check the weather again,” she tried to grab her cell phone, but Tatum cut her off by grabbing it out of her hands.

  “Sis,” Tatum forced her to sit back down in her seat. “What you need to do is freakin’ relax! You’re gonna ruin this because you don’t know how to delegate. Your to-do list is getting done; Mom’s handling it. I’m checking the weather and making sure we’re prepared. Your groom has your son. The ladies of the club have the food, and your hair and makeup is in capable hands. You just sit there and think about all the kinky shit you’re gonna do on your honeymoon.”

  Mandy couldn’t help but laugh as Tatum left the room. “I don’t know what the hell any of us are going to do with her,” she shook her head at Christine. “She’s grown up way too fast for me.”

  “I know,” Christine smiled. “I remember when I first came to be with the club and she was just a toddler, maybe not even that old. And to see the way she carries herself now, the things she does and the stuff she says, it’s amazing to me. She’s going to make someone very happy one day.”

  And she wants that person to be Remy. Mandy added to herself. She hoped like hell her sister wouldn’t be disappointed in her hope for a man to love, or her rush to make it happen. If anyone believed in things taking their time and coming back around, Mandy did. Had she not been patient and willing to accept Dalton and all his faults – they wouldn’t be here right now. There were times when she wondered if she’d been crazy to put up with his bullshit, but she had to admit, the last year and a half had been the happiest of her life, and it was because of the joys he’d ultimately brought to their family.

  “We got a delivery,” Drew announced as he came through the door, carrying a vase of roses.

  “They’re my favorite,” she beamed as she looked over at her brother. “Did you or Dad get them for me?”

  Drew set them down in front of her. “Neither. Your husband got them for you.”

  Dalton had never gotten her flowers before and it was almost enough to make the waterworks come. She was the type of woman who never asked for anything, and most of the time she was happy spending the day with her Dalton and their son, but to know he’d done this….well, it touched a place inside her heart.

  “I’m just delivering them… and checking up on my daughters,” Drew smiled softly over at Charity who held one of the twins they’d been blessed with.

  “They’re doing fine, I promise,” Mandy reached out and grabbed her brother’s hand. “By the time they leave here tonight, they’ll sleep all night for you.”

  He laughed loudly. “I’ll believe that shit when I see it,” he walked over to Charity, kissing both of them on the forehead, then leaned down and kissed his other daughter who lay in her car seat. “̓Cause I don’t think we’re gonna sleep a full night until these kids are eighteen.”

  Denise chose that moment to come into the room. “Just remember. You reap what you sow,” she winked.

  “Fuck,” he groaned. “I was such a shit for a few years. I hope they take after her,” he jerked his thumb at his wife. “She’s the beauty and brains of this operation. I just do a little bit of the heavy lifting.”

  Charity smacked him on the shoulder. “Get outta here. You did your good deed by delivering the flowers. Now leave us ladies alone to get ready.”

  He leaned in for another kiss and reached in, hugging Mandy before he left the room.

  “Wait,” Mandy stopped him. “Can you give this to Dalton for me? You know as a family we always had a gift we could open on Christmas Eve. I want him to be part of the family tradition.” She handed him a wrapped gift.

  Drew gave her a smile. “I think that’s the perfect way to officially introduce him to the family.”

  When she could, Mandy reached over, grabbing the card out of the vase. Her hands shook, although she couldn’t think why. It wasn’t like Dalton hadn’t become a romantic man in the past almost two years. He had. He’d done so many things differently and he made her feel like the best thing in his world. Taking the card out of the envelope, she flipped it over so she could read it.

  Thank you for never giving up. Thank you for making me the man I am. Thank you for allowing me to be a father. And most of all, thank you for loving me enough to help me see my true potential when I couldn’t see past the end of my nose.

  I love you, our family, and the joy you bring to my life daily. See you when I see you. I’ll be the dude wearing the suit, even when I wish I was in jeans and my cut.

  – D

  She laughed, pushing tears away from her eyes as she read his note. The one thing they’d argued about was wearing a suit, and he’d conceded. She hadn’t seen him in one since their Prom and she was dying to get a glimpse of him today.

  “Don’t mess up your makeup,” Christine did her best to fan Mandy’s eyes.

  With a light touch, she dabbed away the tears using a borrowed handkerchief but she knew those were happy tears, and they’d probably fall all damn night.

  ‡

  Chapter Six

  Dalton did his best to calm the motion of his knee as it jiggled up and down. The heel of his foot wouldn’t rest on the floor as he waited for Mandy to make an appearance. Reaching inside his suit pocket, he grabbed out the flask she’d given him as a gift and took a liberal drink of the Pappy Van Winkle she’d filled it with. It burned going down but it did wonders to calm his nerves.

  They had decided the first time they saw each other would be before anyone else saw them. She’d been worried about being able to control her emotions and truth be told, he’d been kinda worried about his. Now, he sat in the back hallway of the clubhouse, waiting for her to appear.

  His mind wandered as he tried to wait patiently. Everyone they knew and loved had congregated outside under tents with plenty of heaters inside to keep everyone comfortable. Thankfully there had been no freezing rain, although the temp had dipped down into the thirties. They were going to be able to pull this off; he knew it deep in his heart.

  Behind him, he heard a door open and the voice of the family friend who would be marrying them.

  “Dalton, if you’d get up and move backwards, I’ll direct Mandy to you so the two of you almost touch.”

  He shook as he backed up, doing his best not to trip over his own two feet. He wanted to see her, wanted to turn around and get a good look at the woman who held his heart. He knew without a doubt that she’d be beautiful, she’d take his breath away and make his heart swell, but he wanted to tell her all of that.

  “Okay, give me your hand.”

  He did as the man instructed and almost gasped when he felt her smaller hand in his larger one.

  “Whenever the two of you are ready, go for it.” He walked away, giving them a moment alone.

  “Are you ready?” Mandy asked him. He could hear the tremble in her throat, the waver in her voice, could feel the shaking of her hand in his.

  “Damn right I am.” And those words were the truest ones he’d ever spoken.

  The journey they’d taken to get to this moment hadn’t been easy. There had been times when he’d wanted to give up, knew there were times when she’d wanted to give up. After what he’d pulled when he’d found out she was pregnant with Walker, he was beyond lucky to be here, in this situation, and he knew it. He’d spend the rest of his life making that dumb decision up to her.

  She’d taken him back, welcomed him with open arms, and if he would turn around, she’d be
his forever.

  “On three?” he offered, wanting them to see each other at the same time.

  “On three,” her voice echoed back, running through him. Her voice always calmed him, always let him know whatever storm of emotion he was feeling was almost over.

  “One,” he started the count.

  “Two,” she continued, her fingers gripping his tightly.

  “Three.”

  The word was said in unison and they turned, using their clasped hands to turn one another. She gasped when she saw him, and he felt a lump in his throat as he saw her.

  “You look hot,” she grinned at him, tears in her eyes as she ran her hands over his suit jacket, moving them up to his hair and mussing it up a bit.

  He couldn’t form words for what he saw when he looked at her.

  “You’re so beautiful,” his voice was hoarse as he cupped her cheek in his hand. “Even more beautiful than I could have imagined,” he leaned in, running his nose along hers. “And I can imagine a lot.”

  She laughed, blushing bright red at his words.

  The dress she wore wasn’t intricate at all, but it showcased every part of her he loved. It showed off just enough of her chest, nipped in at her waist, and let him see her neck. The off-white color she’d gone with went well with her coloring too, making it look like she had a tan, even in the dead of winter. “I want to kiss you, you’re so gorgeous, but I want to save that for when he tells us we can.”

  She nodded, breathing deeply against him as his nose continued to run along her face. “Me, too. It’ll mean more.”

  He wasn’t sure anything could mean any more than this moment did.

  *

  Mandy’s knees were knocking as she made her way down the aisle on Liam’s arm.

  “We can make a break for it if you want to,” he joked as he walked her slowly towards the man who would take her hand.

  She giggled softly. “No, Dad, I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  “I know you do, but I want you to know if you ever need me, I’m here for you. It’s never too late at night, never too early in the morning, and I sure as hell am never too busy,” he finished as they made their way to the front of the tent.

  Grasping him in a fierce hug, she pulled back. “You’ve always had time for me, Dad. Even when you didn’t have to, and even when I was scared of you. Thank you for having me.”

  Dalton walked towards the two of them, sticking his hand out to Liam, holding Walker in his free arm. Their son wore the cutest suit that matched the rest of the guys. They met in just a few more steps and Dalton gave Walker to his grandfather.

  Liam cleared his throat roughly. “I’m giving you one of the people I cherish the most in the world I still remember when this little girl was so scared of me that she wouldn’t say anything. I’m trusting you with her, and by God, if you screw it up, I’ll make sure you know it.”

  Dalton glanced at both Liam and Mandy before he spoke. “You have my word. I know exactly what I have, and exactly what I’d be missing if I didn’t have this woman in my life anymore. She’s safe with me.”

  Liam gave him a clap on the back before giving Mandy a hug.

  “Who gives this woman?”

  Liam glanced at Mandy, grinning. “Her mother and I do.”

  She’d never been so proud of her dad.

  Walker’s little voice piped up. “Me too!”

  Laughing, she leaned in to kiss her son on the cheek. “You definitely do too.”

  In minutes she’d moved to the middle of the room and faced Dalton, both of them repeating words she’d heard many times before. She’d watched her parents take these vows. What she wasn’t prepared for was Dalton’s added vow.

  “I promise to love, honor, cherish, and know when to take her for a ride on my Harley, because this one likes a little horsepower,” he winked as the crowd snickered and yelled.

  She threw her head back, laughing loudly. “He’s right; I do like a little horsepower.”

  Before she knew it, they had their rings on, they were being pronounced man and wife, and they were being told to kiss each other. That’s when time stood still. Everything around her stopped and the scene played out in super sharp focus, almost like a movie. She could even make out the tilt of Dalton’s head as he swooped in to take her lips with his. He was gentle, yet demanding, soft, yet hard as he bent her to his will, showed her how he wanted to take her mouth. She couldn’t even bring herself to care that it was in front of all the people they loved. It was the sweetest, hottest, most sincere kiss she’d ever experienced.

  “Let’s go,” he whispered as he pulled away.

  They turned and she followed him down the aisle, knowing that with the white gold band on her hand, she’d follow him anywhere he led.

  At the end of the aisle, they turned to each other, both grinning.

  “Best Christmas ever?” he asked.

  She nodded, her eyes shining. “Best Christmas ever.”

  Tyler & Meredith

  ‡

  Chapter One

  Tyler Blackfoot paused as his palm made contact with the metal knob of his front door. Sometimes before walking in, he would take a minute to compose himself and prepare for the craziness that often greeted him.

  If anyone had told him ten years ago this would be his life, he would have laughed in their faces. Not for the first time, he realized how different his life had turned out, compared to how it began. He’d been a John Doe. Hell, the name Tyler Blackfoot didn’t mean a whole lot to him as far as history went, but he’d serve the name proudly, no matter what.

  But that was neither here nor there tonight. Behind the door were two little kids who made his world go ’round. He was used to dealing with chaos in his life but as the father of a four-year-old daughter and almost two-year-old son, he knew that his kids brought chaos to a whole new level. It had been a rough day at work but he knew that as soon as he entered the house, he’d put all that behind him and focus on his family. Something else the old selfish Tyler wouldn’t have done, but the dad of two toddlers switched gears without even thinking about it.

  Giving them attention wasn’t hard, because he loved his family more than anything in the world, but every once in a while, it took a little time for him to turn off the part of his brain focused on business and turn the other one on. He had no idea how his wife, Meredith, did it but she went seamlessly from businesswoman to wife and mother in sixty seconds. It was sexy as hell – the way she could take in a situation and figure out which hat to put on so quickly. Meredith never handed responsibility over to someone else, she relished it the way he did. Another reason they were so good together.

  He squared his shoulders, exhaling deeply, finally ready to face what was behind the door. Opening it up, he prepared himself for the onslaught.

  *

  “Daddy!”

  Meredith grinned as she heard their daughter’s excited squeal. Tyler had gotten home at least five minutes earlier, but she knew sometimes he needed to decompress and she let him have that time. Many days the kids were sure they heard Dad’s bike, but she just said it was someone on the road; that was her and Tyler’s little secret.

  Reaching over the bathtub, she tipped the cup she was using to rinse the shampoo from Caelin’s hair over his head one last time. Then she reached into the bathwater and pulled the stopper. When the tub was almost fully drained, she stood Caelin up as she reached for a towel.

  Moving so that she could look around the bathroom door, she gave her husband a smile. “Welcome home. I had to give Caelin a bath early tonight,” she explained when he greeted her with a lifted brow. Bath time for the kids was usually after dinner and before bed. “He had an unfortunate incident with some nail polish he found today.”

  Her heart skipped a beat when Tyler smiled at her. Even years later, his smile could get to her. Teeth glowed impossibly white against the backdrop of a perpetually tan face. When they’d met his skin had been flawless, but lines surrounded his mouth
now and they didn’t detract from how handsome he was at all, they added. They were hard-fought smile and laugh lines. Something he’d known very little of before he’d met her – he’d told her that numerous times. His long hair was still midnight black and thick as always; no thinning or graying on her man. If anyone wore pushing forty well, it was her husband.

  “Do I have to clean up anything?” He asked as Addie used him for her own private jungle gym. She grasped hold of his hair, pulling tightly to keep herself from falling off his back. “Ouch! Son of a…” he trailed off, realizing his audience quickly.

  “Mom said that earlier!” Addie told on her mom as she pushed Tyler’s cheeks together, and then pulled them apart. Giggling when he made a sound and stuck his tongue out at her.

  “She did, huh?” He flashed a gaze over at his wife along with a pure bad boy smirk.

  She didn’t even make an excuse for it. “If you’d walked into what I walked into – those would have been the same cuss words spoken. But no, you’re off the hook, I already got it cleaned up,” she lifted Caelin out of the bathtub, wrapping him in the towel. The memory of the mess she’d walked into, nail polish on the floor, on the walls, and all over her son was enough to give her sleepless nights for weeks. She still wasn’t sure how she’d get it off the wall. “Someone’s going to bed early tonight though.”

  Tyler looked down into his son’s eyes. There wasn’t any way he could ever deny this kid was his. He looked exactly like Tyler, right down to the long eyelashes. When Caelin didn’t meet his gaze, he hitched Addie further up onto his back and used his free hand to cup Caelin’s chin. The soft pressure upwards forced the little boy to meet his gaze.

  “You understand why you’re going to bed early don’t you?”

  His lip jutted out as far as it would go, but Tyler didn’t succumb to the tears he saw swimming there in his eyes. It broke Tyler’s heart, but he knew they had to be strong with their kids, had to teach them right from wrong. It wasn’t up to one of them to punish, it was up to both of them and he never let Meredith discipline on her own.