Holland shrugged. “It’s going to end up being Dad. I’m outnumbered, two to one.”
“But we love you anyway,” I said, kissed her on the mouth, then Lincoln grabbed the diaper bag and headed out, Kingston in Holland’s arms, being quiet for once, and I grabbed the extra go bag for us.
I had always wanted a family. I just hadn’t known how it would come about. I had done my best never to think about what my future would be because I hadn’t known how Lincoln would fit in. And now he was my touchstone, just as Holland was my everything. Somehow, I got so damn lucky I could barely breathe. But now we were here for Kingston’s first Christmas, and I knew that no matter what happened next, I always had my family.
Spit-ups, crying jags, lack of sleep, no green beans and all.
Chapter 3
Aaron
I knocked on my parents’ door, Madison leaning into me, a smile on both of our faces.
“You know, you could just go in,” Madison said, and I shook my head. “No, because it’s the holidays, and my mom’s going to want to open the door and greet us.”
“That makes sense,” my wife said, and I just held back a grin. My wife. I still couldn’t quite believe that I could say that.
I had always known I’d wanted to get married and start a family. But actually having a wife? Finding someone that I genuinely loved beyond all measure and knew I would spend the rest of my life with? I still couldn’t grasp that that was my life sometimes.
The door opened, and my mother stood there, clapping her hands. She had on her Christmas best, the pearls around her neck shining under the light, and a wide smile on her face. The pearls had been a gift from Dad for their twenty-fifth anniversary, and she only broke them out for special occasions. “You’re here. You’re here.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “I’m not late, am I?” I leaned in, kissed my mother on the cheek, and moved back so Madison could hug her. I was still holding two casserole dishes, as well as presents on one arm, and Madison had two sets of gifts in her arms, but we were good at juggling.
“Come in, and you’re not late. You’re always on time. Bristol and Marcus are here, as are Zia and Meredith, and Julia, Ronin, and Kincaid are here as well.”
I blinked, trying to put names to faces even though Bristol was my sister, and the rest were practically family, even if they weren’t Montgomerys.
“Wait, so there are only two sets of siblings here?”
My mother waved off my words as she took the casserole from my hands. She immediately handed them over to my dad, who rolled his eyes and smiled.
Dad leaned forward. “Arden, Liam, Lake, and Jasper will be here any minute. They had a slow start because they had a couple more presents to open. And the new parents will be here soon. They had an even later start. But things tend to get that way when you have a new bundle of joy demanding all of your time.”
I looked at Madison, who blushed and shook her head.
Okay, soon then.
“But you know you would think with three of them that they’d be able to handle the timing better,” I joked, and my mom narrowed her eyes at me.
“Be nice, or I’m going to have to slap you upside the head. And don’t think I won’t. Because I will, young man.”
My dad just laughed. “You know she will.”
“Yes, but I didn’t think she’d be so blatant about it,” I laughed.
“Of course I will, Aaron. Be kind. You never know when it will be your turn to be the new parents that are never sleeping.”
“You never know,” I agreed causally. I handed Mom one set of presents and then took the rest from Madison to empty her hands. “Okay, I think we got everything that we needed for everyone.”
Mom looked at us, her eyes wide. “I thought we said we were only doing presents for the family. As in, Secret Santa.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know that this is the first year that we have grandkids and nieces and nephews in the family. Of course we’re going to splurge.”
Madison laughed. “And, we got something for everyone, but it’s the same thing, so I hope that’s okay.”
My mom’s eyes filled with tears, and I knew today was going to be a long day of happiness and crying. But I didn’t mind. It was what we wanted.
“Oh, that’s so sweet. So this is all for us?”
“Yes, at least for each household, and we do not expect presents from everyone. We just saw something and knew it would fit perfectly even though it was going against the rules.”
“My little rule-breaker.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not that bad, Mom.”
“You are, but it’s why I love you—at least one of the many reasons.”
We set the presents in front of the tree, and Madison knelt to start putting things in the correct order. I helped her down, making sure she was okay, and she just rolled her eyes at me.
“Go say hi to your sister and brother, and the rest of them, stop worrying over me.”
I shook my head. “I’m always going to worry over you,” I whispered, before I kissed her again and made my way into the dining room. Bristol was sitting in a large armchair in the corner, her feet up, and looking absolutely miserable.
“So, how are you doing, late sister?” I asked before kissing her on the forehead.
“I am two days overdue, exhausted, and I think my ankles are the size of grapefruits.”
“Oranges, darling, just oranges,” Marcus said, leaning into his wife. The man smiled, his dark brown eyes bright even if I saw the worry in them.
“You guys doing okay?” I asked, being serious this time.
“We’re doing fine,” Bristol said on a sigh. “I guess.”
I looked at Marcus to confirm.
“We are doing okay. We’re just tired.”
“I don’t get to sleep anymore. Heartburn sucks, life sucks, and I just want the baby to come out. Get out, get out, get out, get out!” she said, pointing at her stomach.
“I’m sure that’s how it works,” Zia said as she walked in, her purple hair in ringlets all around her face. She usually never wore it in that style, and I liked the look on her for the holiday season. She wore a plum-colored dress with leather and lace swatches and lace tights and looked kick-ass. And since she could probably kick my ass, I didn’t mind.
Meredith, her wife, and sort of my ex, came in behind her and kissed me on the cheek.
“Hello, Merry Christmas, happy holidays, blessed yule.”
“And all of that back to you,” I said, grinning. “You two look great.” I looked down at Meredith with her equally leather and lace outfit, though her hair was bright blonde and had an undercut that I wanted to try one day. “Sorry. We’re late,” I said.
Meredith waved it off. “You already apologized to your mom, and technically you’re not late. We’re all early.”
“My mom wanted us out of the house and here resting since Bristol had a shot of energy after our lunch,” Marcus explained.
“So you already had Christmas with your parents and family, then?”
Marcus nodded. “Yes, and we’re still all planning New Year’s with the whole group. Between my sisters, their spouses, and their kids, it’s going to be louder than usual.”
“We’re used to loud,” Bristol said, patting her belly. “And you never know, by this time next week, we may have a baby. And no sleep. Much like Ethan and his crew.”
“And there will be only two of you,” I said.
“So I hear. Where’s the other trio?” Bristol asked frowning.
“Oh yeah, where are Kincaid and crew? I have a gift for Kincaid after he helped me with something.”
“Aww, look at you with your man crush,” Bristol said, and Madison walked in and wrapped her arm around my waist. I did the same to her, and leaned my head on top of hers. She fit perfectly against me, like she was made for me. I said that often to her, and she just rolled her eyes and called me sentimental before blushing and leaning into me for a kiss. I was one
lucky bastard.
“Hey, you’re here,” Julia said as she came up to me. I opened my other arm, and she snuggled into me, just like Madison was doing. She waved at Madison, and the two pulled away from me to hug each other.
“You look great,” Madison said, looking at Julia. “Seriously great.”
“It’s that beach glow,” Julia said, grinning.
“I still can’t believe you guys went to the Caribbean the week before Christmas and still made everything work out.”
“We had everything planned long before, and then the baby came with Ethan and crew, and I was terrified that it was going to be too much on the rest of the staff with both of us being out, but somehow we made it work.”
“Because you guys are all good at what you guys do,” I said, smiling down at Julia before looking up at Kincaid and Ronin.
“You guys are here,” I said, and hugged the two guys.
“Of course we’re here. It’s Montgomery dinner. I’m here for the cheese,” Kincaid said and nodded.
“Hey, long time no see,” Ronin said, and I rolled my eyes. He worked with Marcus, and the two were busy as hell, despite the fact that they were closed for part of the holidays. However, that meant they had to do all the backup work they couldn’t get to when the library’s hours were open.
“Oh, I have something for you,” I told Kincaid, as the other man tilted his head and studied me. “Really?”
“Yeah, just a thank you gift for help with my latest pieces.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You didn’t have to do anything for me.”
I shook my head. “Yeah, I did. You’re a world-renowned photographer, and you’ve worked your ass off. And you spent a whole day working with me taking photos of my pieces for my next show, so you did not have to do that.”
“But as I said, I didn’t mind. It was fun. Something different.”
I shrugged. “Now look at us, all so talented, and working on what we love.”
“I don’t remember what it feels like to put a cello in front of me. I can’t reach it,” Bristol complained, patting her belly. “Come on, baby. I want to meet you. Get out, get out, get out, get out.”
I snorted, but I didn’t say anything. It felt like Bristol had been pregnant for a year, but soon there would be a new bundle of joy, promptly screaming and vomiting and keeping everyone up at night. Honestly, I couldn’t wait.
“I can’t wait to see you as a mom,” I said, echoing my own thoughts.
“I don’t know if you’re making fun of me or being sweet? I can’t tell sarcasm anymore. I think it’s part of the whole pregnancy brain.”
“I wasn’t sarcastic. You’re going to be a great mom. You’re already great at pretty much everything that you do.”
“Aww,” Zia said, as she wrapped her arm around Bristol’s shoulders. “Look at your brother being so cute. What does he want?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be anything good,” Bristol said, narrowing her eyes.
“It’s like you guys don’t trust me.”
“We’re here,” Ethan called from the front door, and I heard the voices of a few others arriving. Everyone began the exodus toward the new arrivals. Marcus hefted up his wife, and I did my best not to smirk, knowing that I would get beaten if I used the word hefted out loud. And probably deserve it.
“So are we,” Liam said. We all met up in the living room, the noise getting louder as Jasper and Lake started dancing in the middle of the room.
“Kingston is so cute! I love my cousin so much.” Lake leaned down to see the baby and started talking about what she had for Christmas and saying hello to everybody. She ran into my side, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Hi, Uncle Aaron. I love you.”
I swallowed hard, the emotion getting to me. “I love you too, Lake.”
It felt like we had had her in our lives for years rather than only the single year.
She had been a Montgomery for even less than that, and she had taken to us far quicker than I had thought possible. But that’s what happened when you had the Montgomerys, Arden’s family, and so many of us around making sure she knew she was loved and would always be with us.
Madison leaned into me and sighed. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she mumbled, and my mother’s eyes narrowed.
“Madison?
“I’m sorry I’ve got to go.” She turned on her heel and ran, and I followed her.
“Be right back,” I said, and closed the bathroom door behind us.
“Stop it. I don’t need you to be here. You don’t need to witness this.”
“I love you, I’m here to hold your hair back.” She went down to her knees and promptly threw up everything that she’d eaten that day, though it hadn’t been much. She had already thrown up a few times that day.
“Damn it, I don’t want to go back to the hospital,” she whispered, as I ran a cool cloth over her face.
“I have ginger ale and crackers,” Mother said the other side of the door. “Let me in, son. I want to make sure that my little daughter is okay.”
“Might as well,” Madison rumbled as she leaned against the bathtub. “They’re all going to guess what’s wrong sooner or later.”
“There’s nothing wrong,” I sighed. “Everything’s just right. We’re just having a wicked fashion about it.”
“Whatever you say. I think I’m going to be sick again.” And she promptly did so, and I opened the door for my mother as soon as Madison was done.
“So, morning sickness?” Mom asked as she knelt beside my wife.
“How could you tell?” Madison still had her eyes closed, looking far too pale for my liking.
“I had four babies, and now my babies are having babies.”
“It’s bad, Mom,” I mumbled. “She has hyperemesis gravidarum.”
Mom’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. Is that why it’s so bad? You look like you’ve lost weight, Madison. How far along are you?”
“Heading into the second trimester, thank God. I had to stay in overnight with IV fluids before Thanksgiving,” she mumbled.
Mom glared at me. “And you didn’t tell us?”
“Because we had a lot of family things to deal with, that was difficult, and we could handle it.”
“Does Lincoln know?
“I knew,” Lincoln said, leaning against the doorway. “And I was going to tell all of you if it got any worse. And hey, it looks like it’s getting worse.” As Lincoln and Madison were cousins, we felt it only right for us to tell him because Madison needed a family member to lean on. Telling the entirety of the Montgomerys would have been too much.
“We didn’t want to tell everyone until we knew I could get at least into the second trimester. I’m sick, but I’m going to be okay. The baby’s fine. I just have severe morning sickness. And it sucks.”
“I would say so,” Mom said. “Okay, let’s clean you up, and we’ll bring you out, and you can sit down next to Bristol. Holland is going to sit down right next to you because that girl has not gotten any sleep, and we’ll probably stick Arden with all of you because I know she’s in the middle of a flare.”
My eyes narrow. “Is she okay?” I ask.
“I’m fine,” Arden said, and I realized that nearly everybody that I knew and loved was standing in the bathroom doorway and watching the proceedings.
“Oh no,” Madison said, and groaned into her hands.
My mom clucked her tongue. “We’ll bring her out in a second, and then we’ll celebrate a new baby. But come on, give her some privacy.”
“What’s privacy?” Liam asked. “We’re Montgomerys. We don’t believe in privacy.”
My mom narrowed her eyes, and then my dad groaned before pulling the rest of the siblings and family members and friends of family out of the doorway.
“Come on, my girls will sit down on that big couch of mine, and we’ll bring everything to you. You won’t have to lift a finger.”
Madison gave me a wobbly smile. �
��I seriously love your family, Aaron.”
I looked down at my wife, the soon to be mother of my child, and my own mother, and smiled.
“And I love my family too. More every day.”
I was one fucking lucky Montgomery and an even luckier man.
Chapter 4
Bristol
I put my feet up and groaned. “Why am I one hundred and seven weeks pregnant. Why does someone think that this is okay to do to me?” I asked, and narrowed my eyes at my loving and handsome and evil husband.
Marcus just shook his head. “I realize that you didn’t get pregnant all by yourself, and I had some help in that, but you look gorgeous, so don’t growl at me.”
“Ixnay on the growlingay,” Ethan whispered as he held Kingston to him, trying to get the little tyke to calm down. He was screaming, the colic a little too much for my nephew. And then my brother-in-law Lincoln took Kingston from his husband’s arms, and the baby quieted down. My brother narrowed his eyes at his husband, and Lincoln just grinned before leaving the living room.
“I’m pretty sure he did that on purpose,” Holland said, staring at her husbands and baby. “This week is all about Lincoln, but I think if we’re true to form, next week Kingston will stop screaming while he’s in my arms.”
I blinked and looked over at my sister-in-law. “That’s a thing? They take their turns?”
“Kingston seems to. And we’re going to pretend that that’s normal,” Holland said, before she yawned so wide I swore I could see her tonsils. “Sorry,” she mumbled and leaned against the soft cushion. “I think I’ve had around eight minutes of sleep this week.”
“That bad?” I asked, anxiety filling me. I put my hands on my stomach, felt a kick, and patted the little baby’s foot. “I really like sleep.”
“And you do a lot of it,” Marcus teased, rubbing my ankles.
“You’re lucky I love you, and you’re lucky that you’re rubbing my feet right now, or I would kick you. I just really want you to keep rubbing.”
“Anything you say, wife of mine.”
A Very Montgomery Christmas: A Montgomery Ink Boulder Holiday Romance Page 3