by Beth Ehemann
I closed the door quietly behind me and sat on the end of Piper’s bed. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” Piper gave me a huge grin with her mother’s sparkling, excited eyes.
“Did you guys help Gigi a little bit today?” I looked from her to Lucy.
“Yeah. We couldn’t do as much as we wanted because mom called Gigi and said she was picking us up to take us to the library for story time with Santa.” Lucy shrugged.
I pressed my lips together and took a long, deep breath. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little nervous about everything coming together like I was hoping it would. “Okay, well, if all the decorating isn’t done it’s not really the end of the world. It’s more important that everyone gets here on time and that your mom is totally surprised.”
Big smiles broke out across both of their faces.
“You guys remember to be a big help to Gigi tomorrow, okay? Whatever she needs . . . decorating, watching Grace, anything. Okay?”
They both nodded.
I stood up and walked over to each of the girls, kissing the tops of their heads before they curled down into their beds. “Alright, get some sleep, Twinkadinks. Big day tomorrow.”
The next morning, I was up way before my alarm, staring at the clock like a little kid on Christmas morning. I had just started to drift back to sleep when my phone lit up. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Kacie was still sleeping and picked it up on my way to the bathroom. It was a text from Sophia.
Sophia: Hey. Fred and I made a big pot of coffee last night and stayed up decorating together. Any chance you can somehow get her to let you bring the girls over today? We don’t want her seeing the stuff early.
My eyes darted around the bathroom as I wracked my brain, trying to think of a way to get Kacie let me take the girls over to Sophia’s.
I’m sure I can think of something. Eleven o’clock still work?
Sophia: Yep, totally fine. What time did you say you told everyone to be here?
No later than six. She wanted to watch A Christmas Story with the girls tonight so I’m not sure I can keep her out past seven.
Sophia: Got it! See you in a while.
I quietly opened the door to sneak back to bed and came face to face with a blinking, sleepy Kacie. “Hey,” she said as she rubbed her eyes. Noticing my phone in my hand, she pulled her brows in tight and looked up at me. “What are you doing?”
I shrugged. “I was checking the weather. What do you think about going to the outdoor mall over in North Branch today?”
Her face lifted. “Oooh, we haven’t been there in a while. Good plan.”
Thank God.
She lifted her hand and covered her mouth as she let out a big yawn. “What time is it anyway?”
I glanced down at my phone. “Almost six.”
“The girls won’t be up for another hour yet, let’s go back to bed.”
“Now you’re talking,” I wiggled my eyebrows up and down.
She rolled her eyes. “No way. I’m still sore from last night.”
“Sore? Really?”
She gave me a small, shy grin and nodded.
I puffed my chest out and strutted as I followed her back to the bed. “Well, that’ll teach you to underestimate the hot neighborhood plumber and his magical pipe wrench, huh?”
A couple hours later, the house was chaos as usual and everyone was rushing around.
“Okay,” Kacie ran her hand through her hair, “I know I showered last night, but I’m gonna go take another quick one. When I get out, I’ll run the girls over to mom’s while you shower. Deal?”
“Uh . . . sounds good.” I smiled, trying not to let the panic show. I listened to her footsteps as they climbed the stairs, moved down the hall and into the bathroom. The pipes hummed as she turned the shower on, and as soon as I knew I was clear, I sprinted as quietly as I could up the steps.
I flung open Lucy and Piper’s door, accidentally scaring the crap out of them before I started rambling. “Girls, hurry! Mom’s in the shower, then she wants to take you to Gigi’s, but Gigi texted me and said she and Fred decorated so we have to get you over there before mom gets out!”
Their eyes grew huge as they jumped off their beds and started running in circles.
“Lucy,” I called out, pointing at her, “Can you make sure that Emma has actual clothes on and not just a cape and Peppa Pig underwear?”
“I’ll do my best,” she said as she rushed out of the room.
“And you—” I turned to Piper, “—I’m gonna pack a bag for Grace real quick. Can you put her coat on her and bring her downstairs.”
“Got it,” she agreed. I followed her down the hall to Grace’s room and grabbed the backpack from the closet. In one motion, I pulled her dresser drawer open and started throwing clothes in the bag haphazardly. There was a good chance it was nothing but shorts and tank tops, but I didn’t have time to care. I grabbed a handful of diapers, stuffed those into the bag, zipped it shut and ran down the stairs. Piper stood by the front door holding Grace, just like I’d asked her to do, and a minute later, Lucy came down with Emma. I opened the door and shuffled them out to the car quietly.
Ten minutes later, I was back home and out of breath. I inhaled slowly through my nose and tried to slow my breathing as Kacie came down the stairs with a towel wrapped around her hair. She frowned as her eyes moved left to right around the kitchen. “Uh . . . where is everyone?”
“Surprise!” I held my arms out wide. “I packed their bags and took them to your mom’s already.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What? Why? I didn’t even get to say good-bye.”
“I was just trying to save us some time. We’re only gonna be gone for a few hours, babe.” I put my hands on her shoulders and turned her around, walking back toward the stairs. “Hurry. Go get ready so we can come home and watch our movie together tonight.”
“Okay.” She sounded kinda mopey but I knew just how to cheer her up.
“Hey—” I smacked her ass as I followed her up the stairs, “—on a scale from one to ten, how firm was that no about the quickie in the mall parking lot? The plumber has another tool he’d like to show you.”
“I cannot believe you did this,” I shook my head slowly before laying it on Brody’s shoulder. He lifted his arm and put it around me, pulling me tight against him.
“I’m pretty amazing, aren’t I?”
“You are,” I agreed.
I thought we were going to shop like Brody said, but after lunch at an adorable little cafe right on the river, we stepped outside and I was surprised to see a horse drawn carriage waiting for us. As Brody held my hand, I stepped up into the black carriage and the driver handed each of us a tall Styrofoam mug of steaming hot chocolate. We sat back against the private carriage seat and away we went.
“Do we have to go home?” I joked with a happy sigh. We were only halfway or so into our ride, but the simplicity of being in that carriage cuddled up under a blanket with Brody, breathing in the chilly air as we rode around the small downtown area, was the perfect break that I needed. Life had been so crazy lately, between hockey and mom’s house and everything else, that I’d started to forget the simple things . . . like how amazing my sexy husband smelled, and how good his arms felt around me.
“We don’t have to go home, but you’re the one who has to call your mom and tell her she’s the proud new mother of four crazy girls.” He chuckled and his chest vibrated against my head.
“Are you kidding me? She’d probably love that. We’re really so lucky to have her, you know that?”
He nodded. “We are.”
My eyes dropped to the burgundy lipstick mark on my hot chocolate cup. “I think that’s why this thing has been so hard for me.”
Brody looked down at me, “What do you mean?”
“The inn is special to me, obviously, and I’m super sad to see it go, but I’m mostly sad to see mom go. I love having her right next door.”
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��Awww, honey.” He pressed his lips against my temple and kissed me, lingering there for just a second. “I know you do, but she’s only going five minutes away. You’ll still see her all the time. And . . . now that she doesn’t have to be doing stuff around the inn all the time, you’ll probably see her even more.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think about that part.”
“And you have to know that all you’re doing over there to help means the world to her.”
“I know it does,” I nodded. “And I’m happy to do it. As much as I don’t want to admit it, the place is kinda cute. It’s old and definitely needed a lot of work, and will still need a lot even after they’re in, but it’s perfect for them. And they’re so happy. I’ve never seen my mom smile more.”
I sniffed. It was part the cold air and part feeling emotional about my mom and all the changes that were happening in my life.
He reached down and wrapped his big, warm hand around mine, squeezing it. “Did this whole inn thing ruin your perfect Christmas?”
My face snapped up to his, “Ruin it? No. Change it? Maybe a little.” I shrugged. On the upside, I learned how to tile a kitchen backsplash, so that’s something.” I gave him a huge, cheesy grin.
A sexy smirk crossed his lips, “Good. Now we have a plumber and a tile person in the family.”
After the carriage ride, we shopped until our feet ached and we felt like we couldn’t take one more step. The drive home was about half an hour, but as soon as Brody turned onto the highway, I fell sound asleep.
“Hey, beautiful. We’re home,” Brody said softly as he brushed my cheek with the back of his finger.
I cracked my eyes open and my house slowly came into focus. I sat up and tilted my head side to side, rubbing my sore neck. “I’m so tired. Wanna do the movie with the girls another night?”
“Fine with me,” he shrugged.
“Good.” I opened the car door and stood, stretching my arms high above my head. “Do you mind getting them from mom’s for me? I’m gonna go in and take these shoes off.”
“Uh . . .” he stammered nervously, staring at me with panic on his face, “Why don’t you come with me? I’m sure the girls are excited to see you.”
I frowned and dropped my arms. “I’m excited to see them, too, but can’t I see them in ten minutes when you bring them home?”
He nodded his head toward the path through the woods that led to mom’s. “Come on. Walk with me. I wanna hold your hand.” He shot me his signature boyish grin.
“Ugh,” I playfully mumbled under my breath. “That smile . . . kryptonite.”
The pebbles crunched under our feet as we made the short trek to my mom’s house in silence. We climbed the wooden steps of the porch and I froze, staring at the door.
“Look,” I pointed. “She put her wreath up.”
“Maybe she decided to do a few small things after all,” he responded nonchalantly.
“I hope she put her tree up too. The girls would love that so much!” I reached out and turned the doorknob. As soon as the door swung open, I heard my mom hush someone loudly from the kitchen. I turned back to Brody and pulled my brows down low. “Did you hear that? I wonder who’s here?”
I closed the door and walked around the corner toward the back of the house. Just as I crossed through the doorway into the great room, my heart soared into my throat.
“Surprise!”
Viper and Michelle with Matthew, Maura, and Michael.
Andy and Dani with Becca and Logan.
Derek and Alexa and their daughter, Hayley.
Tommy and Lauren, and their sons, Max and Alex.
Fred, mom and the girls.
All of my favorite people in the whole world were standing together in one room, huddled together against the far wall . . . smiling at me.
Silently, I stood with my hands over my mouth, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I looked from them to Brody to my mom and back again. “What . . . I don’t even . . . what’s happening?” I finally asked.
“Well—” mom said slowly as she walked toward me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, turning to face my friends. She motioned toward Brody, “—this amazing husband of yours felt so bad when you were upset about me selling the inn, that he rounded up all of your friends and asked them to come and stay here for the next week.”
My mouth dropped open as I gasped softly. “Here? For a whole week?” I looked over at Brody, who was smiling as big as I’d ever seen him. “You did this? For me?”
He shoved his hands in his jean pockets and nodded, his cheeks turning pink.
“Can we go play now?” Piper asked, but before the question was out of her mouth, all of the kids scampered off down the hall toward the playroom.
“I don’t even know what to say. I can’t believe this.” I walked over and wrapped my arms around Brody’s waist, laying my head against his chest as my eyes flooded with happy tears.
“My turn!” Alexa sniffed as she and Lauren came across the room with wide-open arms. I hugged my friend so hard I thought I might break every single one of her ribs, but I refused to loosen my grip. I held one arm out, inviting Lauren into our hug, and she gladly accepted, locking her arms around both of us at the same time. We swayed back and forth, elated to be together and crying on each other’s shoulders. The three of us hadn’t been together in several months. Kids, schedules, and life just seemed to keep getting in the way.
“I’m so glad you guys are here.” I finally let go and wiped my eyes on the sleeve of my jacket.
Alexa stepped over to the island and grabbed the tissue box, offering it to me and Lauren. “We’re glad too. When Brody called last month, it was a no-brainer.”
“Last month?” I exclaimed.
She nodded. “He’s been planning this for a really long time. But . . . Lauren and I can only stay tonight, not the whole week. We already had family plans so we both have to leave in the morning.”
“That’s okay,” I shook my head and squeezed both of their hands. “I’ll take you for as long as I can have you.”
Lauren giggled as she cleaned the mascara from under her eyes. “Though, I’m pretty sure when Brody called and asked us to hang here for a week, Tommy was more than willing to blow off Christmas at his parents.”
Our eyes all moved to Tommy, the world’s biggest Wild fan, who was standing in between Brody and Viper with wide, awe-struck eyes.
“Look at him. He’s pathetic,” Lauren shook her head. “Babe! Your hockey boner is showing again.”
Tommy turned back and gave her a huge grin, but denied nothing.
“Speaking of hockey,” Brody stepped over. “We should probably talk about that.”
“Okay?” I answered nervously.
“We still have games early next week, so tomorrow night me and Viper are heading back out of town, and Andy’s coming along too,” he said.
Tommy opened his mouth to talk, but Lauren held a finger up against his lips.
“Before you say a word, no . . . you aren’t going with them,” she said.
Like a scolded toddler, he closed his mouth and pouted.
“The good news is, that while the boys are gone, we’re going to have the coolest girls sleepover ever,” Michelle added with an excited grin as she walked over and tucked her arm inside of Viper’s.
“Awwww, that’s so fun,” I said, a million ideas of what we could do racing through my head. I turned back to Brody. “And you guys will be home when?”
“The night before Christmas Eve . . . late,” he answered.
I turned back to my group of friends. “You guys, I’m just so excited about this. I’m so excited that you’re all here at the inn for one last week.” A knot formed in my throat and I struggled to swallow it. “I’m sure Brody explained that mom was selling and I’m obviously really sad about it, but having you all here for the week makes the last Christmas at the Cranberry Inn so incredibly special and I am so thankful for all of you.” I shifted my eyes ove
r to Brody. “I’m especially thankful for you.”
I walked over and raised up on my tippy toes, planting a kiss right on Brody’s lips, not caring who watched us.
“Would you two knock that off,” Viper teased, throwing a pillow from the couch at us. “Knowing you two, you’ll end up pregnant again.”
I pulled back and licked my lips, my eyes focused on Brody’s. We were thinking the same thing, but only we knew it. He narrowed his eyes at me and I gave him a small nod.
“Funny you should mention that, Lawrence!” Brody boasted as he turned toward Viper and puffed his chest out.
Viper’s eyes darted from him to me. “No way!” he said with a stunned look on his face.
“Yes way, young Finkle. It appears that a little before Halloween time, Kacie and I made another little pumpkin of our own.”
“Oh my God!” Michelle called out as several gasps came from our group of friends.
All at once, the room was a flurry of hugs and handshakes and congratulations. Brody and I hadn’t yet discussed how, or when, we were going to tell everyone, but the moment came along and we went with it.
“So . . . is it too early to start taking bets on this baby being a girl too?” Viper teased, wrapping his arms around Brody and squeezing hard as he lifted him off the ground.
“Wait!” Dani called out. “Do you guys already know what you’re having?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I’ve had one doctor appointment but that’s it. I’m just ten weeks.”
“Another girl would be fine with me,” Brody said. “I teased Kacie once that we were going to keep trying till we had a boy, but I’ve grown kinda fond of the Murphy girls. I wouldn’t mind another one.”
As a collective sigh came from the women in the room, I looked around for my mom. She was standing in the kitchen with Fred, wiping her eyes with a tissue.
I hurried over to her. “Are you upset with me? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, or more privately. It just kinda happened.”