“Oh, she’ll be there if I have to put her in handcuffs and deliver her myself,” Zeke ground out through barely moving lips.
Honor whirled to glare at the lawman. “I swear, I’m gonna report you to the mayor! You are forever abusin’ your authority AND your handcuffs!”
Millie bit back a grin as Mack quickly jumped to Zeke’s defense. “Somebody has to take you in hand, Honor. Otherwise, you’d never show up for an appointment.”
Bree’s mouth dropped open. She’d never seen her brother get so personally involved with his patients. “This place just keeps getting better and better. I may have to move here. This action is just too good to miss,” she murmured to Millie.
“You know, I was gonna offer you one of the only chess cakes I’ve got left as a Christmas present for all you’ve done for me and my family this year, Dr. Daniels, but upon further reflection, I’ll just eat the blasted thing myself,” Honor huffed before stomping back toward the kitchen with the Sheriff following right on her heels.
Millie met Mack’s amused eyes and narrowed her eyes at him. “You could have handled that better, Doc,” she admonished sourly.
“What?” he asked, blinking innocently back at her.
“Unlike you, I love chess cake, you Christmas Cake dream killer,” Millie complained huffily.
Looking from a dour-faced Millie to an unrepentant Mack, Bree nodded firmly. “Well, that just cinched it.”
“What?” Mack asked gruffly.
“I’m definitely moving here.”
“What sealed the deal for you?” Millie questioned, her face radiating happiness as she turned toward the other woman.
“Mills, any town that’s managed to get my surly-ass brother smiling, superhot lawman fuming over tiny little fireballs, enough crazy customers to keep a psychiatrist such as myself in manicures for years, AND the world’s cutest little girl eating snickerdoodles with me at night is DEFINITELY a place where I’ve GOT to move.”
“Well,” Mack said with a sigh as he draped his arm around his girlfriend’s chair, “Looks like one more nut just fell out of Paradise’s crazy tree.”
And he’d be damned if he wasn’t somewhat pleased with the turn of events.
Ten: Santa Claus is Watching You
Saturday, December 21
“You realize that if we could harness the energy of every Kindergartener in the world, we could defeat both ISIS and the Taliban and solve world hunger by the end of the week.” Leaning his chin heavily against his hand as his tired eyes stared across the aisle at the booth where Paisley Robbins sat, eating her fourth chocolate-covered donut as she spoke animatedly to her best friend Heaven McKinnon Stone, Mack had to wonder where the pint size wonder was putting all those donuts. “Seriously, Jake, how do you keep up with Heaven?” he asked Heaven’s adopted father, Jake Stone.
Jake released a low chuckle as he looked across the table at the exhausted doctor. “Sooner or later, these girls give out. The key is hanging on long enough to outlast them. You gotta build up your stamina. Seriously, remember to take your vitamins in the morning, man. You’ll need ‘em when dealing with these tiny terrors,” he advised, jerking his head toward the pair of giggling girls.
“I’m learning that,” Mack agreed with a grin. “She’s worth it though,” he added softly, his eyes on a smiling Paisley as she licked the icing off her fingers.
Jack grinned. “That little girl over there has got you wrapped.”
Mack glared at Paisley’s best friend’s father. “I’m not wrapped.”
Jake shook his head at the other man’s clipped claim. “Hey, man, there’s no shame in it. It happens to the best of us. Look at me,” he said, holding his arms aloft. “God knows, Heaven suckered me in from the first time those big blue eyes of hers met mine. Same story with her momma. Unlike you, I just didn’t fight my fate for months. I knew from almost the moment I met Harmony and Heaven McKinnon that they were meant to be mine.”
Mack’s mouth tightened for a moment before he slowly relaxed and allowed the truth of Jake’s statement to soak into his bones. He was wrapped around Paisley’s little finger. Hell, being here in the I Don’t Care Café at seven PM on a Saturday night was proof of that. Spending the entire afternoon going from shop to shop, helping a kid look for the perfect gift for her mother was further evidence that supported Jake’s claim. “Fuck,” he muttered on a sigh. “You’re right, Stone. She and her momma both have me tied up in knots,” he acknowledged softly.
“Why’d you fight it for so long, Doc?” Jake asked curiously. “You caused me to lose twenty bucks. Harmony bet Patience that you were never gonna pull your head outta your ass and see what was standing right in front of you and I got stuck payin’ her tab.”
“I always saw Millie, Jake,” Mack replied quietly. “I wanted her from the second her little ass walked into my office. But wanting her didn’t mean that I was what was best for her. In case you missed it, I’m not exactly a family-friendly type of guy.”
“With everybody else in town, I’d agree with ya. You’re sorta grouchy bastard unless you’re dealing with a patient. But, the good news is that you seem to be doing alright with Paisley and Millie,” Jake remarked easily. “Maybe the key was finding a woman and a kid that made it easy to conform to family life. Hell, Mack, I know how you feel. I was an undercover DEA agent before I found Harmony and Heaven. I rubbed elbows with some of the nastiest, vilest criminals in America. One look at my girls, though, and I knew they were exactly what I needed.”
“I know what you mean. Well, not about the criminals,” he amended with a shake of his head. “About the girls. It was slower for me, though. It took my brain a while to catch up to what my heart already knew. A few weeks ago, things just finally clicked into place for me. I realized that when I had Millie and Paisley near me, I felt complete. They make me whole. When I’m not with ‘em…it feels like I’m missing something vital. If she or Paisley isn’t with me, it’s like I’m walking around with a beating heart, but I feel dead inside. For years, it felt like I could barely catch a breath, and now I can finally breathe. And I breathe easy with them, Jake.”
“Yup. That’s love for you. So… when you plannin’ on makin’ it official with those girls of yours?”
Mack’s eyes jerked from Paisley to Jake. “Is it that obvious that I’m ready to take things up a notch?”
“Only to a guy that’s been there before you. The giveaway for me was when you snarled at Paisley’s art teacher last night at the elementary school’s Christmas program for rubbing Millie’s arm while he was talking to her. Harmony and I thought you were gonna deck him.”
“I don’t care what Millie says, that little hipster wannabe was tryin’ to cop a feel of my woman, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let that happen,” Mack growled, his voice low and sinister. “No artsy fuck is gonna take away the woman that allows me to finally take a deep breath.”
Jake lifted his coffee in a silent toast. “You’re a man after my own heart, Dr. Daniels. That weasel lookin’ fucker kept eyeing Harmony, too. I thought I was gonna have to rearrange his pretty little face for him at one point.”
“Little Picasso-loving Lothario needs to stay the hell away from mothers that are obviously taken. I mean, hell, Jake…I was standing right fucking there,” Mack hissed, tapping his index finger against the table as Jake nodded along with him.
“Oh, yes,” a sweet feminine voice clucked from her position, standing behind Jake’s left shoulder. “You officially sound like this caveman now, Dr. Daniels,” Harmony McKinnon proclaimed as she nodded toward her husband in the booth. “Millie will be sooooo impressed that you’re finally fittin’ in with the other town alpha male Neanderthals,” she added dryly.
Jake snorted as he looked up at his wife. “There’s nothing wrong with a man claiming what’s his, darlin’. It’s good to keep things as clear as possible when it comes to guys like that French fucker,” he remarked unapologetically.
“Are you two fools
blind?” Harmony asked with an impatient look at the two men sitting before her. “Mr. Moreau is gay,” she hissed, bending at the waist so that both men could hear her lowered voice. “Pierre and his partner, Jean Claude, just built a house outside of town. They moved here from Paris over five years ago because they fell in love with the mountains while they were here on their honeymoon.”
“Seriously?” Mack yelped, feeling like a fool as he stared at Harmony.
“For real?” Jake asked, frowning hard at his wife.
“Yes!” Harmony snapped. “I wonder what you two apes will find to grunt over now?” she asked sarcastically, looking from one man to the other.
“He sure didn’t seem gay,” Mack muttered, recalling the way the man’s hand had slid up and down Millie’s arm before he’d jerked her away from the teacher.
“Well, he is,” Harmony insisted. “Though, I do think it’s cute how jealous you were over Millie. She deserves to have a man that sees how wonderful she is and wants to keep her for himself. Call me after you propose. I’m so happy that she found a man that was finally worthy of her that I’ll do the event planning on y’alls wedding for free if you want,” she offered generously as she slid her arm around Jake’s shoulder and leaned against him.
“Is it that obvious to everybody that I’m ready to ask her to marry me? Am I wearing a sign or something?” Mack growled, glaring at the grinning couple. “At this rate, I’m not even gonna need to ask Millie… somebody in town is gonna do it for me.”
Harmony laughed. “Weddings are my business, Doctor. Or, at least, they are when I’m not working here in the café. I can recognize a man who’s deeply in love when I see one… even when he doesn’t want anybody to see it. You’ve got the glow.”
“Well, I haven’t decided when I’m going to pop the question yet. I’m worried that she’ll think it’s too soon,” Mack reported, keeping his voice quiet so the children in the booth across from him didn’t hear what he was saying. “I haven’t even talked to Paisley about marrying her mom yet, and I’m not making a single move if I’m not convinced that little girl would be okay with it. The poor kid hasn’t had a father to speak of her whole life and I don’t want to spook her with a proposal that comes out of left field.”
“Yeah, Millie’s ex wasn’t quite as awful as mine, but he wasn’t exactly a prize either,” Harmony admitted, scrunching her nose with distaste.
“If I ever meet him, somebody is gonna have to bail me outta jail. Might be worth doing time though. I’d love the chance to inflict some pain on the son of a bitch,” Mack returned, sharing a look of complete understanding with Jake.
“I hear that,” Jake murmured.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Harmony continued in a hushed voice. “Far as I know, nobody’s heard a peep out of John Shea since he left town.”
“For his sake, I hope it stays that way,” Mack returned, his voice hard and unforgiving as the muscle in his jaw tightened and flexed. “I’ve got Millicent and Paisley now. The kid doesn’t even share that dick’s last name. He doesn’t have a place in their lives any longer.”
“I swear, it’s an epidemic. Another possessive caveman is in our midst,” Harmony murmured as she tried not to smile. “It’s like a disease that’s spreading, infecting every man in town,” she declared with a slightly disbelieving look on her face. “I never thought you’d fall, Dr. Daniels, but I’m happy to know that I was wrong.”
Mack shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn’t used to talking about his personal business. He barely shared anything intimate with his family – and those people were conditioned to love him. He virtually never shared anything of consequence with anyone else. Yet, here he was, sitting in a busy restaurant, basically baring his soul to two people he barely knew. He wasn’t sure if he should blame Millicent or this wacky town where he now resided for the fact that he was now opening up with others, but oddly enough, it wasn’t nearly as painful as he’d thought it would be.
Fucking love was turning him into a pussy.
Because he could admit it now – if only to himself.
He, Mackenzie Jonathan Daniels, MD, was in love for the second (and what he desperately hoped was the last!) time in his life. Because the truth was that this falling in love business was not only terrifying, but hard on a man’s nerves, too. Usually, he was ice cold when it came to making decisions about his life. Even his family knew he could be a ruthlessly icy son of a bitch when his temper was pricked. With Millicent, however, no matter what mood he was in, that woman made him run hot. He could merely look at the woman and he could feel his blood heat. It was disconcerting to experience since not even his ex-wife had managed to make him do that.
“Mack? Did you hear Harmony, man? We need to get going,” Jake said for what Mack assumed was the second time as he jerked his eyes back to the married couple in front of him.
“Of course,” Mack said with a nod, holding his hand out to shake Jake’s hand. “If I don’t see you before, y’all have a merry Christmas,” he wished the couple as Harmony motioned for her daughter to join them.
“Time to go, Heaven,” Harmony called, crooking her finger. “Tell Paisley to have a happy Christmas.”
“Awwwww, Momma, can’t we stay for a little while longer? I’ll miss her,” Heaven begged, reaching across the table to clutch Paisley’s hand like she was never going see her again. “Paisley is my best friend!”
“I know she is. I’ll call Miss P’s mom and we’ll make you two a playdate together after we get done with the holidays. For now, though, we need to go. Remember, Santa doesn’t like little girls to have temper tantrums right before Christmas. It irritates him when he has to take presents off his sleigh. So, if you wanna have a big Christmas with Daddy and me at Aunt Honor’s house and Paisley wants to get all her gifts, I suggest y’all listen.”
Heaven and Paisley exchanged a wide-eyed look of dismay. “I want all my presents, Heaven, so you gots to go,” Paisley exclaimed, jerking her hand from her pal’s sticky grip. “I see you later.”
Nodding avidly, Heaven trotted the three steps it took to get to her parents. “I’m ready, Momma and Daddy!”
“I need to remember that trick, Harmony.” Mack chuckled along with Heaven’s parents as Paisley crossed the floor to him and climbed on his lap.
“I’m having Christmas with Dr. Mack this year. Me and Momma both is, right, Dr. Mack?” Paisley asked Mack over her shoulder.
“You sure are, Squirt,” Mack agreed, dropping a kiss against the little girl’s silky hair. “I can’t wait.”
Harmony smiled as Jake slid out of the booth and stood. “Y’all have a great holiday, and remember what I said, Doc. My offer stands. Just let me know the day and I’ll make sure it happens perfectly.”
“Thanks,” Mack said with a small smile and a nod as he and Paisley watched the small family head toward the door. Glancing down as Paisley sighed heavily, and his gaze followed to where she stared, her eyes glued to where Heaven walked beside her father, her hand firmly clasped in his. “Something wrong, Princess?” he asked, jostling her small body as he bounced his knee.
“No,” Paisley mumbled. “I’s just makin’ a Christmas wish.”
“A wish, huh? You wanna share what it is?” he asked, shifting Paisley so that she sat beside him in the booth. Staring down into her pensive face, Mack knew he’d do most anything to put a smile back on her tiny lips. “Maybe I can see what I can do to make it come true.”
“You can’t. Only Santa can make wishes come true. And everybody knows that if you tell your wish to anybody but Santa, it’ll never come true.”
“Hmmmm….” Mack hummed, wondering what she’d seen in Jake and Heaven’s interaction that had so obviously disturbed her. Vowing to himself that he’d figure it out, he decided to wait until the ride home to try and pry it out of her. “Well, what can I do to get you to smile?”
“Can I have another donut with the chocolate frosting?” Paisley asked br
ightly.
Mack’s eyebrows went up in surprise, and he stared at his little mini-Millie with something that very closely resembled a kind of amazed adoration. “How many donuts have you already eaten, kiddo?”
“Four,” Paisley announced proudly, shoving four fingers under Mack’s nose.
“Oomph,” Mack grunted as two of those fingers hooked in his nostril. Gently capturing his charge’s hand, he shook his head. “Would your momma let you have a fifth donut?” he asked doubtfully.
“Oh, I think so. See, donuts have sugar in ‘em. And sugar is fuel for my body. And my body needs lots of fuel to power my day. So donuts are reaaaaallllly good. My teacher told us so at school.”
Equal parts impressed and horrified at the child’s logic, Mack shook his head. “Did you learn this from the same teacher that got upset that you knew the word ‘vagina’?”
“Nope. Dis was the P.E. teacher. She teaches us stuff ‘bout our bodies,” Paisley returned, the added hopefully, “So, can I have another donut?”
Clearly his little angel was chasing her sugar high, pursuing it with a vengeance that rivaled any addicts craving. “I think you’ve had enough, sweetheart.”
“But my tummy feels soooooo empty, Dr. Mack,” Paisley whimpered, pushing out her lower lip and staring up at him with a pitiful expression.
“What about a nice fresh fruit or fresh vegetable cup?” Mack bargained hopefully. “From what I hear, they come with a little cup of ranch stuff to dip your fruit or veggies in.”
“Ewwwww,” Paisley grumbled, sticking her tongue out and shaking her head.
The Homespun Holiday Page 11