“Here you are,” Mack said, passing over her drink. He nodded behind her. “Looks like Zoey’s tryin’ to get your attention.”
With her drink in hand, Bristol turned. Sure enough, Zoey lifted a hand and waved her over. As she moved to the table where Zoey, Kylie, Jessie, and Cheyenne were sitting, she couldn’t help scanning the area for Kaden and Keegan. It was a natural reaction, she told herself. Self-preservation and all that.
“We’re so glad you could make it after all,” Jessie said when she took her seat. “Zoey told me you didn’t think you’d be able to get off work.”
Yeah, that was a conditioned response whenever she wanted to get out of doing something. And it wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy spending time with the Walkers. They’d been good to her, inviting her to their family functions as though she belonged there. However, deep down, she knew she didn’t, and she hated the idea of being an extra wheel.
“My assistant manager agreed to handle things. At least for the next two days. I’ll have to get back on Thursday.”
“Well, at least you’re here now,” Kylie said, then lifted her drink. “Here’s to relaxing.”
The five of them toasted before easing back into their chairs.
“I still don’t know how they managed to pull this off,” Zoey said, peering around at the decor. “Without any of us figuring it out.”
“Sneaky husbands, that’s what they are,” Cheyenne noted. “Although, I knew Brendon was up to something. He’s a crappy liar.”
The women laughed at that.
“Braydon, too,” Jessie agreed. “But whenever I pushed, he changed the subject. To sex, of course.”
More laughter.
“They’re good at that, aren’t they?” Kylie said.
“Too good,” Cheyenne answered.
Bristol had known when she agreed to come that she would be one of the only single women there, and she hadn’t been wrong. Then again, most of the time she was the only single one. Since she spent most of her free time with her best friend, Bianca, who was celebrating five years of wedded bliss, or with Rex, who’d recently pledged his life and love to Jack, or the Walkers, who were all celebrating wedded bliss, her relationship status tended to be at the forefront of her mind.
“I heard a rumor that the mayor’s thinkin’ about havin’ a Valentine’s Day auction next year.” Kylie’s eyes shifted to Bristol. “Since she’s your best friend, do you know anything about that?”
“It’s more than a rumor,” she agreed. “And it’s only one of many events she’s got planned for next year.”
“Yeah? She raisin’ money for somethin’?” Cheyenne inquired.
Bristol nodded. “She’s got a list and it gets longer every day.”
“Bianca’s good in that role,” Jessie said. “And she’s doin’ a good job raising money. The fall festival was better than ever this year. I heard she raised enough to ensure every resident had a Thanksgiving meal.”
Bristol nodded again. “She did. But she had a lot of help.”
“That’s right,” Cheyenne said. “Lorrie headed up the committee, didn’t she?”
“She most certainly did.” Bristol smiled at the memory. Lorrie was a force to be reckoned with, and the woman didn’t know the meaning of half-ass.
Which explained where her boys got it from.
“What’s she gonna auction?” Zoey asked.
“Single men,” Bristol blurted and felt her face heat from embarrassment.
“Seriously?” Kylie sat up, eyes wide. “That’s a brilliant idea.”
Jessie laughed. “I agree. Can you imagine?”
Bristol didn’t bother to mention that she’d been tasked with finding the men who would fill the ten open spots Bianca had.
“You know who’d be perfect to auction off?” Cheyenne said. “Those two.”
Glancing in the direction Cheyenne motioned with her chin, Bristol noticed Kaden and Keegan talking to Mack at the bar. She watched them for a moment, tried to envision a horde of women bidding on a single date with one or both of them. It wasn’t hard to visualize, but for some reason, she wasn’t excited about the idea.
“I’m gonna get us another round,” Jessie said, getting to her feet.
“I’d bet they’d get the highest bid,” Kylie said when her sister walked away.
“Agree,” Zoey stated. “Although, there’re quite a few single men in this town.”
“Would they go as a pair?” Cheyenne asked.
“Most definitely,” Zoey answered. “Kaleb told me they have a pact. They plan to marry one woman, share her between them.”
“Yeah, well, we all know pacts can be broken,” Cheyenne said. “Most figured Braydon and Brendon would do the same.”
“True, but I think it’s different with them,” Zoey said. “They’ve never dated separately.”
“Seriously? Never?” Kylie whistled as she stared at the twins.
Bristol had heard that, too. And ever since Kaden and Keegan had come to town years ago, she’d never seen them apart. It was as though they were connected at the hip.
“You gonna bid on them?”
Bristol’s head swiveled toward Kylie as the softly spoken words registered. “Me?”
Kylie grinned.
“Oh, no. Totally not my thing.”
“What’s not your thing?” Jessie asked, setting three drinks on the table. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”
When she returned with the last two, Jessie took a seat and kept her eyes on Bristol, eyebrows raising as though she was ready for an answer.
“We were talkin’ about Kaden and Keegan,” she informed her. “How they share their women.”
Jessie glanced over her shoulder at the twins, then turned back.
“Well, all I have to say is don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” Kylie supplied. “Two men is … quite interesting.”
The women laughed even as Bristol’s face heated once again.
Chapter Six
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
CURTIS WALKER SAT IN THE LEATHER CHAIR, watching as his grandkids—those old enough to walk, anyway—got in line to meet and greet Santa Claus. It was utter chaos. A lot of chattering, a few giggles, plenty of distraction, and even a couple of tears.
Even in this grand hotel, Curtis felt right at home, but he figured his boys had known he would when they came up with the idea of a Christmas getaway. They’d certainly gone out of their way to make the environment comfortable. Homey, even. He doubted this place saw this sort of action on a good night. While he’d never inquired what went on here—didn’t need to know—Curtis couldn’t help but wonder if this place had ever seen a kid before this event.
No, he doubted it. Hell, it probably hadn’t seen this many clothes, either.
Not that Curtis had come to the hotel since it had opened its doors to those who were lucky enough to get an invitation, nor had his boys made the offer. And while he wasn’t exactly comfortable with the nature of this resort, he was proud of his boys for what they’d created. Their success was all he cared about, and even when he wasn’t necessarily behind the concept of public debauchery, he would never hold back his approval for their desire to succeed.
His attention shifted to the heavyset man heading over to the enormous chair that had been set up, decorated with a backdrop that did a damn fine job of resembling the North Pole from the many fiction books his grandkids favored.
“Ho, ho, ho,” the man bellowed heartily, smiling at the kids as he rested a hand on his big, round belly.
Curtis wasn’t sure who the guy was, but he had to admit, the man was the spitting image of ol’ St. Nick, right down to the jolly eyes and jelly belly. Curtis figured Travis had found the best of the best and was sparing no expense by giving the kids a last-minute chance to tell the man in the suit what they wanted for Christmas. He remembered doing the same for his boys growing up, though they’d used the chimney-sweeping old man as a means of keeping their boys in line. T
hey didn’t have any of the creepy elf things that sat on the shelf and stared eerily over the household. Oh, no. They’d threatened that Santa wouldn’t be stopping by. For the most part, it had worked.
“Hey, Pop. Would you mind holdin’ her?”
Curtis drew his attention away from the white-bearded man to Ethan as he stepped closer, five-month-old Kiera in his arms.
Mind? He would be delighted.
“Come here, darlin’,” Curtis said, extending his arms. “Don’t like Santa much, huh?”
“That’s an understatement,” Ethan muttered, passing her over. “I’ll be back in a few. Gonna help Beau with the boys.”
“Take your time,” he told the boy. “We’ll be fine right here, won’t we, baby girl?”
When Kiera settled in his arms, she laid her head on his chest, and Curtis exhaled with a smile on his face. He held her as he’d done a few dozen times, watching the other little ones getting ready to have their pictures snapped, not realizing this event was as much for the parents’ memories as for the kids’ enjoyment. Curtis knew Lorrie had dozens of snapshots of their boys with Santa over the years. And they weren’t just on paper anymore. Last year, with the help of his daughters-in-law, Lorrie had converted them to digital, or so she’d told him. But he didn’t need a computer to remember what had been frozen in time. Some where they were smiling, others where they were bawling and desperate to get away, even a few when they were teeny tiny and sleeping in the bearded man’s arms.
“Probably should’ve had them take naps before they did this,” Lorrie said when she came over, her beautiful face alight with happiness as she cradled the newest member of their family to her chest. Only a few weeks old, Dustin was sleeping through the festivities, but still part of the action.
This was exactly where his bride of more than fifty years wanted to be, surrounded by family, their grandbabies with them. Didn’t matter the holiday—birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, even St. Patrick’s Day—these instances were what she looked forward to most. And as long as she was happy, Curtis was happy.
“Best to get it over with early,” he told her.
“Yes. Especially since Travis has been holding out on the snow machine.”
Curtis chuckled. “Using it as leverage to keep them in line?”
“Of course.”
He glanced over at his oldest boy. Travis looked happy as he stood with his arm over Kylie’s shoulder, the other holding Maddox. Gage was attempting to corral the other kids in line. No sooner would he get one settled than another would pop out of line and wander elsewhere.
One step forward, two steps back, that was the way it was with little ones.
“I still can’t believe he did this,” Lorrie said softly. “It’s wonderful.”
Curtis knew she wasn’t referring to Santa or the snow machine or the many other activities the kids had undergone since their arrival yesterday. No, Lorrie was referring to the fact their boys had understood what Lorrie had worked hard to instill in them since they were little. Family was everything, and now that they were married and settled down, they were carrying on the tradition. One day, the grandbabies would be doing the same.
If for no other reason than that, Curtis couldn’t help thinking they’d succeeded at this parenting thing.
*
MACK WAS DAMN GLAD THEY HADN’T ASKED him to play Santa Claus. Oh, he’d done it before. Reluctantly, of course. Years and years ago at his wife’s insistence, back when Daniel was a baby, he’d donned the red suit and cheap white beard in an effort to impress his kid. Even though Daniel had been beside himself with glee, Mack had hated every second of it.
Story of his life, it seemed. The more he hated his own existence, the happier Daniel seemed to be.
“Hey, Mack.”
Mack turned to see Curtis motioning toward the chair beside him. The very one Lorrie had just vacated. She offered him a smile and a pat on the shoulder as she passed.
“Take a load off, boy.”
He smiled, more so at the man referring to him as a boy. Mack hadn’t been a boy in a long-ass time. In fact, he would be celebrating his fifty-seventh birthday in less than two weeks. Something he preferred not to think about.
“How’s your brother doin’?” Curtis asked when Mack settled into the chair.
“He’s good,” Mack told him. “Spendin’ Christmas with his wife on a Caribbean island.”
Curtis laughed. “Robert always was the adventurous one, wasn’t he?”
That was an understatement. And at sixty, the man acted as though he was still in his twenties. But he was happy. Genuinely.
“How’s the bar treatin’ you?” Curtis inquired.
Unable to look the man in the eye, Mack nodded. “Good.”
“I heard a rumor you’re thinkin’ about sellin’.”
Mack sighed. “Just a rumor.”
“Glad to hear that. Not sure what this town’d be without Moonshiners.”
Unfortunately, they’d likely figure that out soon enough. Unless, of course, the new owners decided to keep the name.
Watching the kids take turns talking to Santa, Mack tried not to think about it. Didn’t work. Every time he considered following through with Daniel’s request, his stomach twisted in knots. Moonshiners had once belonged to his brother, Robert, and Mack had come to think of it as their family legacy. Not that the place made much money, but it did enough to keep shelter over his head and food in his belly. These days, those were the only things he cared about anyway.
His attention was still lingering on the Santa setup, though he wasn’t seeing much of anything when he heard the familiar voice. It drew him out of his mind-wandering episode and back to the present.
“Sheriff,” Curtis greeted, getting to his feet, shifting his granddaughter easily, never interrupting her afternoon snooze. “Good to see you.”
The two men shook hands, as was customary for men in this town. Didn’t matter that Curtis and Jeff were related by the marriage of their children, they still showed one another the respect they deserved.
“I was just about to head upstairs,” Curtis stated. “Figured this one could use a little quiet.”
Curtis peered down at him and Mack met the other man’s steel-blue gaze. He didn’t have to be good at reading people to see what the eldest Walker was doing.
“Take my seat, Jeff. Help Mack keep an eye on those rug rats.”
Jeff chuckled, though he didn’t look at Mack. “It’d be my pleasure.”
“I’ll talk to you later, boy,” Curtis said, meeting Mack’s stare and offering a knowing smile.
“Yes, sir,” he said politely, even though he’d recognized the old bait-and-switch routine.
“Looks like they’ve got it all under control,” Jeff said as he took a seat.
“Looks like,” Mack muttered, unable to look at him.
“Town’s quiet this mornin’.”
“That’s good.”
“Hopin’ it’ll stay that way through tomorrow.”
“Yep,” Mack said, still unable to look at Jeff.
“How’s Daniel?”
“Good.”
“He here?”
“In Austin with his mama.”
“You gonna see him for Christmas?”
Since the questions seemed to be getting more personal, Mack forced his gaze to settle on Jeff. The moment their eyes met, that weird churning in his stomach returned. It was a combination of nerves and regret. Every time he looked at Jeff, he was reminded of all that he’d lost. Well, technically, all that he’d thrown away, because it had been his choice to call a halt to their relationship.
“Probably not,” he replied.
Jeff nodded, as though the answer made sense.
“Look, I only came because Travis invited me,” Mack explained, keeping his voice low. “I’m not here to make it weird.”
“But it is,” Jeff said simply, as though he accepted it.
And he was right, it was definitely
awkward. Almost as though not a single day had passed since Mack had forced himself to walk away from the only man he’d ever loved with everything he was. Still did, too. In fact, Mack had vowed he would never take another lover for the rest of his days because there was only one he wanted, one he couldn’t have.
He’d figured that was a decent penance for hurting Jeff by ending their relationship. Only, he knew Jeff had remained single as well. Every time the sheriff’s name was brought up in conversation, Mack feared he would hear how he’d found someone, was moving on with his life. The pain the thought inflicted was unbearable, but he knew that was him being selfish.
When the constriction shifted to his chest, Mack got to his feet. “I should go.”
In an instant, Jeff was standing before him, stepping in close. “You could, but that won’t change a damn thing.”
Mack’s eyes widened at the tortured note in Jeff’s voice.
“We’re gonna hash this out. Sooner or later.” There was a promise in Jeff’s softly spoken words. “You can only run for so long.”
He wanted to argue that he hadn’t been running, but Mack knew it was futile. Although he’d remained in place, he had been separating himself from everyone in this town. Hell, from the town itself and it was killing him.
“There’s nothin’ to hash out,” Mack finally said when it was clear Jeff was waiting for him to say something.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong. There’s plenty.” The man stepped in closer. “And mark my words, we will finish this. One way or the other.”
With that, Jeff walked away.
Once again, Mack’s heart followed.
Chapter Seven
“AND SHE’S FINALLY DOWN FOR THE COUNT,” Beau whispered when he stepped away from Kiera’s portable crib, a smile on his sexy mouth.
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