He crept from the bedroom, knowing that if he wanted to get done what he’d planned, it would take care and precision. But most of all, time. Time that was fast running out as Christmas approached.
When he reached the office in the corner of the downstairs level, just off the living room, he picked up the phone and began making calls. Money was no object. The work would have to be done at night. By the time he was finished, he was short a hefty amount of cash but he was satisfied that he’d been assured that what he wanted would be done.
Now, however, he needed to go make damn sure that Callie’s dads didn’t end up shooting someone for trespassing in the dead of night.
If he hurried, he could make it back in time to cook breakfast for his girls. He smiled as the word simmered in his mind. His girls. The woman he loved more than anything and his baby sister. Both here and safe with him. Family.
He went for his coat, grabbed the keys to the Range Rover, and headed out the door. Normally he’d make the walk across the meadow to the Colters’ cabin, but he wanted to make it back before Callie and Lauren got up.
A few minutes later, he pulled up to the Colters’ cabin and slid out of the car. He was almost to the door when it opened and Ethan called out a greeting.
“Morning, Max. What brings you out so early?”
Max took the extended hand and shook it before following Ethan inside, where it was a good deal warmer. Already a fire blazed in the big stone hearth and the room was alive with the twinkling Christmas lights strung from the tree and along the mantel.
It just felt like home in this big, cozy cabin that had once housed hunters when the Colters had operated a guide service for elk hunting.
“How is Holly?” Max asked.
Ethan was quiet for a moment and his hand shook as he raised the cup of coffee he was holding to his lips. After he took a sip, he turned his gaze on Max. “She’s doing better. She’s happy to be home. She doesn’t like to be away for long and being in the hospital was driving her crazy.”
“I bet,” Max replied. “I’m glad she’s home, and I know Callie is super relieved.”
“Yeah, we all are,” Ethan said quietly. “She scared the hell out of us. It’s a sobering wake-up call when you realize just how close you come to losing someone or how easily they can slip away.”
But Max knew. He knew all too well because he’d come so damn close to losing Callie that it still hurt him to think about it.
Adam walked into the living room, his head rearing back in surprise when he saw Max standing there.
“Anything the matter, son?” Adam asked.
Max was a grown man, but it still gave him a ridiculous thrill when Adam called him son. It made him feel included. Like another of the Colter brothers. His place certainly hadn’t always been assured in this family. He was lucky Callie’s dads and brothers hadn’t wiped the earth with him and ripped his nuts off. It certainly wasn’t because they hadn’t wanted to.
But now there was warmth and acceptance, and Max soaked it in. With the passing of his mother, he and Lauren had been left alone in the world. Having the Colters was something he treasured greatly, and he’d go to any lengths to protect what he now considered his. They had his loyalty and his love.
“No, not at all,” Max said. “I wanted to see how Holly was doing so I could let Callie know when she gets up. She was pretty tired and I wanted to let her sleep, but I know the minute she wakes up, she’s going to be worried about her mama.”
“That’s nice of you,” Ethan said. “I know Holly will appreciate your concern. We all do.”
Max glanced at both men. “I also wanted to discuss something with you. A little surprise I have in mind for the women in the family.”
At the mention of the women, Max had Adam’s and Ethan’s undivided attention. One thing he’d quickly learned in the two years he’d known this family was that the Colters treasured their women. They pampered them, spoiled them, and loved them beyond measure.
“What’s your plan, and do you need our help?” Adam asked.
Max smiled. “I won’t need your help, except in keeping the secret, of course. I will, however, need to make you aware that for the next several nights, you’re going to have a crew crawling all over Callie’s Meadow. I’ve made sure they’ll be coming late and leaving before dawn. Where I have it planned isn’t easily visible from the road so I think we’ll be safe. Plus, I know Holly won’t be getting out and about, and if Callie’s going to come over, I’ll make damn sure I drive her myself.”
Ethan grinned. “How well you know us. No, Holly won’t be lifting so much as a damn finger between now and Christmas so you certainly won’t have to worry about her finding out.”
“Okay, so tell us exactly what you’re doing,” Adam said.
Max smiled and then related everything he’d just spent the last hour setting up over the phone. When he was done, both Ethan and Adam were smiling broadly. Adam slapped him on the back.
“They’re going to love it.”
CHAPTER 15
DO you remember our first Christmas together?” Holly asked softly.
She was sitting on the couch, blanket hugged up all around her. Only her hands stuck out, clutching the cup of hot chocolate that Ryan had given her moments before.
The fire roared in the hearth and outside snow was falling at a steady pace. If she was feeling better, it would have been a wonderful day to get the sleigh and play. Her husbands would have heart attacks if she even suggested stepping foot outdoors.
Adam was sitting next to her while Ethan was on her other side. Ryan stood by the hearth, poking at one of the logs to stoke the flames.
Ethan’s hand went to her head, smoothing back her hair, his smile gentle and full of love. His eyes had a faraway look of remembrance.
“It was the best Christmas ever,” Ethan said.
Emotion glimmered in Ryan’s eyes as he settled into an armchair across from the couch. “Seth was just a baby and we were still reeling and so damn grateful to have you back in our lives.”
Adam’s arm tightened around Holly. A tremor raced up his body and she turned, smiling tenderly at him. He still hated the mention of the time they’d spent apart. He hated remembering the fear that they’d lost her, that she wasn’t coming back.
But she’d known. There was never a question that she’d make her way back home to the men who loved her.
“So many Christmases since then,” she said, her voice aching at the memories. “But you know what? I have a feeling this will be the best yet.”
Ethan smiled indulgently. “You say that every year.”
She pulled a face. “I didn’t say that last year when Callie and Max were in Europe. I hated that they were gone.”
“This year will be special,” Ryan said. “It’ll be nice to have our children home. All of them.”
Holly’s eyes glittered with tears that she didn’t try to hide. Her life was so full and wonderful. Each and every day. How many people could say that? How many people could say they were loved as Holly was loved?
She was surrounded by it. It enveloped her. Her husbands, her children. Those who’d joined the family. Max and Lauren. And Lily. Sweet, fragile Lily who’d turned her boys’ lives upside down.
“If you start crying, you’re going to hurt,” Adam said gruffly. “Doc said you’d be sore for a few days.”
“You just hate to see me cry,” she teased.
“That too.”
He kissed the side of her head. “I love you, you know.”
Her smile broadened. “Yeah, I know.”
She turned back to include Ryan and Ethan in her view.
“I think we should take a trip after Christmas.”
Ryan’s brows drew together and Ethan shot her a puzzled look. She couldn’t blame them. She was happiest when she was right here in her own home, surrounded by the people she loved. Callie was the one with wanderlust, always going, wanting to go, waiting for that next adventure.
“What kind of trip?” Adam asked hesitantly.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe someplace warm. Hawaii or some tropical island somewhere. Someplace private, maybe a private beach where we could just lounge and make love and stay nak*d all week if we wanted.”
Ethan blinked. “Well, hell.”
“I vote you stay nak*d,” Ryan drawled. “Maybe the rest of us will at least wear swim trunks, but you, sweetheart, I’d love to keep nak*d for as long as possible.”
Her heart fluttered and went soft. After all these years, they still thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. They still desired her. Still wanted her. That had never changed, never slowed. Their love had only gotten better and stronger with age.
“We’re as young as we want to be,” she said.
Adam lifted a brow at that. “Are you feeling your years, baby? Because I have to say that you damn sure don’t look like a woman in her fifties.”
She blushed to her toes at the hungry look in his eyes. “I was just reminding myself that age is just a number. It’s all in how you feel, and you know what I feel?”
“What?”
The question came from all three men.
She smiled and kept smiling, the grin growing bigger until her cheeks hurt. “I feel loved, and as long as I feel as loved as I do, I’ll stay young forever. This whole episode made me realize that there’s still a lot I want to do, and I don’t want to miss out on anything. Maybe after we take a trip we can get together with Max and Callie. Plan a family trip for us all. Us, Max and Callie. Even Lauren. Seth, Michael, Dillon, and Lily. Think how much fun it would be to take a big family vacation. We haven’t done that since the children were young.”
Ryan’s eyes went soft. “We’ll take you wherever you want to go, sweetheart. I can’t imagine a better time than one spent with my family. But first we’ll take our trip. Just us, a beach, and a sunset somewhere.”
“Gets my vote,” Ethan said.
Adam’s eyes gleamed with mischief as he stared at Holly. “Just think how easy it’ll be to pack. You won’t even have to bring a suitcase.”
Her brows puckered up as she glanced questioningly up at him.
He leaned over and kissed away the lines on her forehead. “You don’t have to pack if you’re going to stay nak*d for the entire time, and that damn sure gets my vote.”
CHAPTER 16
LILY sat on the edge of her bed, her bottom lip firmly between her teeth as she stared sightlessly toward the closet. Anxiety ate a hole in her stomach. It was Christmas Eve. They were due at her in laws’ soon—they should have already left.
They’d decided to tell the entire family tonight. At dinner. A surprise. A wonderful Christmas present.
She closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure she was prepared. She almost wished she would have gone a quieter route. Told Holly and Callie first. Then maybe the dads. Then she wouldn’t have to face everyone at once.
But neither did she want to deprive her husbands of their special moment. They were over the moon. Cautious. Worried about her. But over the moon ecstatic at the thought of having a child. She knew they wanted several. As many as she was comfortable having.
And maybe she did too. She loved the Colter family. Loved everything about them. She wanted it for her family. Her husbands. Her children.
If only she could move past this paralyzing fear that gripped her every time she dwelled more than a moment on the growing life inside her.
“Lily?”
She glanced up to see Dillon standing at the door. His stance told her he’d been standing there awhile. Watching her. Probably worrying.
He walked in without saying anything further and slid onto the bed next to her so that their thighs were touching.
“Everything okay?”
She nodded, hesitated a moment, and then sighed. “I’m just nervous. Maybe a little scared. I know everyone will be happy, but they’ll be worried too. I’m afraid they won’t want to be too excited because they won’t know how well I’m taking it. I don’t want to suck the joy out of this moment for them like I did with you.”
Dillon frowned and turned more fully toward her so he could capture her with his glare. “You did not ruin the moment for me. You’ve got to cut yourself some slack, Lily. You took a hit. You weren’t expecting to become pregnant. It wasn’t something we planned. Under the circumstances, I think you handled it quite well.”
She smiled wanly. “Thanks for saying that.”
He caught her hand and squeezed. “Mom and the dads are going to be overjoyed. Of course they’re going to worry about you. They love you. They know what you’ve been through. But they’ll know when you tell them. They’ll be able to see it in your eyes. Nothing will ruin that moment for them. Learning at Christmas that they’re going to have their first grandchild will be a memory they’ll hold forever. And you’re the one who’ll give that to them.”