McKenzie Cousins Box Set One: Books One, Two, Three

by Lexi Buchanan

  “It has. I’ve been so miserable without him.”

  “I knew there was something wrong, but your brother wouldn’t tell me anything. I had no clue that Sirena had details.” Mom huffs.

  Chuckling, I add, “I don’t want to wait to get married, Mom. I know Michael and Brooke haven’t been married long, but I just want to be Tanner’s wife.”

  “You tell me the date and we’ll work around it.”

  “Thanks Mom.”

  “Can I ask you something without you getting upset?”

  I frown and tilting my head to the side, wonder what she’s thinking as I nod.

  “Tanner was engaged when you both met?”

  I should have expected this question, but I hadn’t. “He wasn’t engaged when we met, but he was before and after, which I’m not getting into. His ex actually tried to cause trouble and told Tanner one thing and the people in town another. He sorted it all out the day after Christmas. Emma has finally shut up with her lies, and the father of her child has come forward. Turns out she’d been having an affair with the new deputy in town. Well, he was new when they met a few months before. Hopefully we won’t hear anything else from her from now on.”

  “Sounds like it hasn’t been easy.”

  “No, it hasn’t… Is that what you wanted to ask me?”

  Mom looks away and wrings her hands together, so I cover them. “Mom, you’re worrying me. Is everything okay with you and Dad?”

  “Oh honey. We’re fine.” She sighs. “I want to ask you about your cousins, but I also don’t want to put you on the spot.”

  My heart sinks because if it’s what I’m sure we’ve all noticed, that no one speaks about, I’m not sure what to say.

  “I’ve noticed a few things, and the final decision to ask you about it was when I mentioned to Rachel that Alexander was bringing a date with him to the New Year party. She made an excuse and went to the barn. She looked heartbroken, and I hate that I caused that.”

  “You didn’t cause it Mom. Alexander did.” I shake my head. “You know what’s going on, don’t you?”

  “Do you?” she counters.

  “I haven’t been told anything and I’ve only seen the looks they try to hide. I think they’re in love with each other, Mom.”

  “That’s what I think too.” Mom looks concerned. “What are we going to do?”

  “We’re not going to do anything. They’re old enough to know that they have to stay apart in that way. Perhaps this is Alexander moving on, and Rachel will follow suit. Put their feelings all behind them.”

  “You really don’t believe they’ll be able to do that, do you?” Mom sighs and clasps my hands. “I want to believe it because it’s what they have to do.”

  I rest my head on her shoulder and smile at Elias, who is watching us from the crib. “Only time will tell. Let’s go back downstairs.”

  Standing, Mom pulls me into her arms. “I’m so glad that you followed your heart.” Even as she says those words, I wonder about my cousins. I wonder if they’ll ever follow their hearts.

  84

  Tanner

  Charlotte’s family is friendly, loud, and overwhelming, and my head is spinning. Every time I glance at my father, he has a bewildered expression on his face. He seems to be having fun though, which makes me happy. Everything about this Christmas makes me happy. The woman I love and a large family like I used to ask Santa for every Christmas as a child growing up.

  I grin as I watch Charlotte with her bright, candy pink hat, talking to one of her cousins. Madison if I remember correctly. She’s currently throwing her head back and laughing with my woman. They look happy. In fact, I haven’t met anyone today who doesn’t look happy.

  The dinner tonight turned out to be a huge family affair with others turning up to congratulate us, or to check me out, I’m not sure. I don’t really care, as I know Charlotte is mine. I do have confidence in that.

  “Why aren’t you out there with them?” Ruben, Madison’s uncle asks.

  I laugh. “I value my teeth.” I wince as Joshua takes a knee to his groin, doubling over, so I add, “And other parts of the anatomy.”

  Ruben winces. “Me too.” He chuckles. “I think my brothers and I need to show them how it’s done without causing impotence.”

  I glance at his retreating form wondering if I’ve heard him correctly. I have the feeling I did.

  “So, you’re the man my cousin cried over.”

  I turn and find an attractive woman, with long blonde hair tied at the nape of her neck, staring at me.

  “Have we met?”

  “I’m Sofia, Ruben and Rosie’s daughter. The baker,” she says, grinning.

  “It’s nice to meet you Sofia.” I glance at Charlotte and notice her gaze is on me as I turn back to her cousin. “You know that I wouldn’t hurt her for the world, right? She’s everything to me.”

  “I know. She told me.” She smiles. “Congratulations. Don’t let her forget that I make wedding cakes.”

  “Oh, I’m sure she won’t.” I wave Charlotte over. “The wedding will be soon.” I wrap my arm around Charlotte’s shoulders when she joins us with Madison. “I’m just telling Sofia that our wedding will be soon.”

  “Ah, the wedding cake! We’ll talk about flavors and get back to you because I’m not having anyone else on this.” She grins. “I’m going to let you surprise us with the design though, but remember, I don’t like fussy.”

  “So that’s the cake sorted.” Sofia rubs her hands together. I’m not sure whether from the cold or because she’s excited. “We all need to arrange a girls’ trip to get your dress.”

  “That will be fun. We’ll bring grandma with us, she’ll love that.” Charlotte wraps her arms around my neck and plants a big kiss to my cold lips.

  I hold her close, burying my face into her neck.

  “Hey, enough of that,” Dad grumbles. “Plenty of time later.”

  “Are you staying at Charlotte’s apartment with them?” Madison asks my father.

  Silence follows so I break my hold on Charlotte and glance at my dad wondering why he isn’t answering. He notices my frown and quickly clears his throat.

  “Um, no, I’m not. I thought it best if I stay in a hotel with them acting like newlyweds.” He glances away and then says, “If you’ll excuse me.” He walks toward the house.

  “Is he okay?” Charlotte asks following his retreating back. “I haven’t seen him distracted like that before.”

  “I don’t know. That wasn’t like him.”

  Madison runs a hand through her hair that has a light layer of snowflakes covering it, and shrugs. “Maybe it’s me. He acted weird when we were introduced. Couldn’t take his hand back quick enough.” She moves away and joins in the game that the others are playing.

  “I’ll talk to him later.” I hug Charlotte. “Don’t worry.”

  “Charlotte?” Madison shouts. “Come and join in. I need you!”

  I wrap my arm around her midriff, keeping her with me. “You can’t be going playing rough with them.”

  “I always do.” She turns her head, a frown on her beautiful features.

  “You might be pregnant,” I whisper. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Oh,” she grins, throwing herself into my arms. “I think we should leave then. I mean…practice makes perfect.” Her cool lips lock around mine and everyone else is forgotten…until an ice cold snowball hits me in the back of the neck.

  I groan and curse while Charlotte chuckles. “Figured you needed help cooling down,” Joshua shouts, grinning.

  Turning back to Charlotte, I raise a brow and she answers my silent question with a laugh. “Let’s do this.”

  We reach down for handfuls of snow and then, letting them sail through the air, we take cover as more snowballs fly in our direction.

  Charlotte can hardly form a ball through laughing so much, but I don’t have that problem and continue exchanging the cold snow until my arms feel heavy.


  Twenty minutes later, all sweaty and tired, we trudge around to the back of the house to dry off in the wet room before stepping inside. Charlotte’s cheeks are rosy from the cold and the fun we’ve had—just looking at her fills my heart.

  She notices my gaze, slipping her cold hands inside my sweater and rubbing my stomach, which certainly warms me up. “Did you have fun?” she asks, resting her chin on my chest, her eyes full of mirth as she holds my gaze.

  “I did.” I dip down and capture her lips for a quick kiss. “I’m just cold and wet right now,” I smirk, “although you’re warming me up.”

  Grinning against my lips, she mumbles, “I think we need to head home.”

  “Mmm,” I wrap her up in my arms. “I think you’re right.”

  “Thank God!” Joshua mutters, moving past us.

  “I’ll remind you of all these comments when you bring a woman here,” Charlotte shouts to his retreating back.

  He waves, but doesn’t turn around.

  “He’s a pain,” she comments.

  “He’s your brother. Isn’t he supposed to give you shit?”

  “Yeah, but he walks off before anyone can get to him.” She grins. “We need to get him under the mistletoe at New Year with someone.”

  I raise a brow. “Isn’t that a Christmas tradition?”

  “Mom puts it up everywhere for the New Year’s party. It’s fun.”

  “It won’t be funny if you get caught under it with another guy,” I grumble.

  “Hmm, yeah. I’m not going to be impressed if you have to spend the night kissing my cousins.” Her eyes widen. “Oh no! Perhaps I better have a word with Mom about the mistletoe.”

  Taking her hand, I lead her into the kitchen and ask, “Why?”

  She whispers, “Kissing Cousins. I’ll explain later,” and then kisses me on the neck. When I feel her tongue, I gently push her away.

  “None of that in your parents’ kitchen.”

  She rolls her eyes. “I’m sure my parents have gotten up to a lot more than necking in the kitchen.”

  “You would be right, honey,” Lily pats Charlotte’s cheek, amusement written across her face.

  “Mom,” she groans, “we really didn’t need that confirmed.”

  Lily laughs as Michael wraps an arm around his wife. “What confirmed?”

  “Never mind, Dad,” Charlotte rushes out, taking my hand. “We’re going to head home.”

  85

  Charlotte

  The snow blizzard is keeping us inside, which I have no complaint about. The one who is restless is Derek, who came over for dinner last night, only to change his mind about traveling back to his hotel when he saw the build up of snow.

  He has some cabin fever, and I’m about to take advantage of that as I join him at the kitchen table while Tanner finishes watching a Die Hard movie. According to him, it isn’t Christmas unless he’s watched Bruce Willis save the day.

  I slowly sip my cup of coffee and stare at the man who is rather distracted and has no clue that I’m currently sitting with him. His head is down, his shoulders sag, and even though I haven’t known him long, I can see he has a lot on his mind.

  Clearing my throat, his head pops up. After a few startled moments, he offers me a wry smile. “I was elsewhere, huh?”

  “I’d say so.”

  He nods and looks away before turning to meet my gaze. “You want to know what’s wrong with me?” He winces. “I’m not actually sure how to answer that because I can’t put my finger on it myself. I’m not usually so…melancholy.”

  “I know I’m going to be your daughter-in-law, but you can talk to me. I hate that you’re sitting here alone and I don’t know how to help you.”

  He reaches out and briefly squeezes my hand. “You do help me. You love my son, which takes a lot off my mind.” He offers me a genuine smile. “I’m truly happy for you both, and even though I’m not past fifty yet, I’m looking forward to the grandchildren you’re both going to give me.”

  I blush. “I think we’ll settle on one for now.”

  He laughs before becoming serious. “I’m okay, Charlotte. You don’t need to worry about me.”

  I tilt my head and watch him closely, as I ask, “What happened between you and my cousin, Madison?”

  If I hadn’t been watching him closely, I’d have missed the subtle widening of his eyes in surprise before he covers it up.

  “I didn’t have chance to talk to Madison.” He glances away and seems to fight with himself before he asks, “What does she do?”

  “She’s recently started working at McKenzies on the interior design side of the company. She loves it, and her ideas have been impressing clients. It’s a family run company but we all excel in different areas. It works out just fine.”

  “Not one of you are thirty, yet you all run McKenzies like you’ve been doing it for years. Your parents must be proud.”

  I grin. “They are, but Dad and his brothers still have a lot to do with the company. Not day-to-day stuff, but they’re there whenever we need them. It works.”

  He concentrates on his hands and asks, “How old is Madison?”

  I’m surprised by his question and then everything starts clicking into place, as I quietly answer, “Twenty-four.” He tightens his jaw and looks away.

  “Thought so,” he mumbles. “I think I might skip the party at your parents place tomorrow.”

  “What? No! You can’t, Derek.” I reach out and grab his hands. “Please come. I don’t want you at the hotel alone. You’re part of my family now, so you have to be there. Please…”

  He sighs. “I’ll be there.”

  I grin. “I knew that already.”

  “I think I’ll go and get some work done on my laptop.” He pushes away from the table.

  Just as he’s about to disappear, I call, “Derek…”

  He turns and faces me.

  “Don’t avoid Madison tomorrow night. It will hurt her if you do.”

  He stares and then nods, disappearing into the guest room.

  “What was that about?” Tanner asks, moving to pour himself a cup of coffee.

  My eyes wander over him, and he’s sexy in his worn jeans, red T-shirt, and his hair all mused. The scruff on his face always turns me on, and the memory of how he feels when he’s between my legs pops into my head. So when he joins me at the table, I move and sit astride him. As I nuzzle into his neck, I admit, “I’m having really dirty thoughts about you right now.”

  He pauses and chuckles, placing the cup down on the table. His hands grab my bottom as he whispers, “Why were you telling my dad about Madison?”

  I slide my fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck, and admit, “He was weird with her. Like maybe he’s attracted to her.” I shrug when Tanner glares at me. “I’m serious. They met, and that was it, but there was something going on between them. We both noticed.”

  “She’s younger than you,” Tanner comments, a worried frown between his eyes. “You’re serious?”

  “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure it’s all in my imagination, just like my kissing cousins is.”

  “Tell me so that I can have my wicked way with you.”

  I roll my eyes. “Mom asked me what was going on between my cousins, Alexander and Rachel.” I sigh. “My family is like a soap opera.”

  He chuckles. “I’m still waiting…”

  “That’s just it though, I don’t really know what’s going on between them. We only think we know, which is weird. They always seem to gravitate toward each other, and I have the feeling that their hearts are involved with each other the way that ours are. They’re cousins. I’m not sure it’s allowed.”

  Shrugging, I add, “Alexander is bringing a date for the party, and Paige, Rachel’s sister, said Rachel is as well. Should be interesting at any rate.”

  “I totally see the soap opera theme.”

  I grin. “Me too.”

  “Do you think we can stop discussing my dad and yo
ur cousins, and concentrate on what’s going on in my jeans?”

  Leaning in, I bite his earlobe and feel him shudder under me, especially when I press against his cock, rocking my hips.

  He growls in my ear as his hands slip up my shirt, covering my breasts. He rubs and pinches my nipples, flooding my panties with my arousal. That’s all that’s between us: my panties and his jeans.

  “I want you, right here.” I lift up and make quick work of his jeans. He helps me get them past his hips and then I have his hard, pulsing shaft in my hand.

  Tanner dives between my legs and sliding my panties to the side, he tugs me down. Impaling me deeply, I struggle to catch a breath as my body feels like it’s about to explode with pleasure.

  “I’m so deep like this,” Tanner gasps against my lips. “So deep.”

  I rotate my hips and arching back, Tanner moves his hands from my back and shoves my shirt over my breasts, clamping his warm mouth around a nipple. He suckles hard and my core answers him by rippling around the thick penis that currently teases me with the long, hard strokes he’s doing.

  “I’m going to come.” I moan against his lips as they claim mine in a soul-searching kiss. My arms cling to his shoulders, and then I moan loudly into his mouth as my release claims me.

  Tanner grunts and gasps and then I feel his release squirting against my sensitive walls. “Feels so good,” I moan, rotating my hips, prolonging our pleasure.

  “You always feel good.” Tanner wraps his arms around my waist, panting. “I want you as my wife as soon as we can arrange it.”

  I smile into his neck. “Yes.”

  86

  Tanner

  The New Year’s Eve party at Lily and Michael’s house is in full swing, and my arms are currently around my fiancée as we dance to a slow song that Lily insisted on.

  Charlotte introduced me to the remaining family I hadn’t already met earlier on, and so far, I’m doing well remembering who is who. There are a lot of McKenzies, which doesn’t make it easy.