by Anthology
“You should find my Christmas tree and put it up. Would you do that for me? I really think I want a tree this year.”
“Sure.” Peter walked toward the couch.
Her eyes were closed and a small smile curved across her face. Dinner could wait. She deserved some rest.
He surveyed the room. Plain. Beige. Brown furniture with a few white accent pillows and a couple of lamps that looked like they were from a garage sale in the seventies. In fact, most of the furniture looked like it’d come from a flea market.
This room needed more than just a Christmas tree to breathe some life back into it.
Chapter 8
Carolyn opened her eyes and blinked. Lighted garland hung from the mantle above the fireplace. A large pine wreath sat above it. The fire was crackling below, giving off comforting waves of warmth from the bright red coals…like it had been burning for hours. How long had she been out? Where had all the Christmas stuff come from…her Christmas stuff.
She rubbed her eyes and groaned when she shifted her leg. Pain lanced through her body and she froze. As long as she was still, nothing hurt too much. The ache was there, but it was muddled through the drugs the hospital had given her.
Turning her head a little further, she opened her eyes again and gasped. A large Christmas tree sat completely decorated in the far corner of the living room. The colored lights blinked and threw festive patterns against the bare beige walls.
He’d found everything.
“Peter?”
She heard a rustle in the hallway and a loud thump as the attic door snapped back into place. Heavy footsteps approached on the hardwood floors. A moment later, Peter’s face appeared in her line of sight.
He wasn’t wearing a Santa costume any longer though. A pair of worn jeans, cowboy boots, and a red plaid flannel shirt had transformed her Holiday attacker/savior into an even more ruggedly handsome man. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled halfway up his forearms, revealing sinuous and well-defined muscles. It made her instantly wish for another reason to be cradled in those beautiful arms.
“You’re awake.”
“How long was I asleep?”
“Three hours. I hope you don’t mind. I went and picked up your pain meds, grabbed some groceries for a late dinner, and then started digging through your attic since you said you wanted me to put up the Christmas tree.”
“I said that?”
Peter’s face tightened and his smile flattened into a straight line. “Yes.” He set the box in his hands on the coffee table.
“It looks really nice. Thank you.”
His shoulders dropped and his smile returned instantly. He unfolded the flaps on the box and began pulling out the porcelain nativity scene her grandmother had given her when she got married.
It was beautiful. She’d forgotten.
“You didn’t have to do all this.”
“You’re not supposed to walk for seven days. I couldn’t let you have Christmas again without some holiday cheer, especially after you asked for the tree. I hope you don’t mind me taking the liberties with the rest of your things. Can I ask you a question, though?”
“Fire away.” Carolyn pulled herself up onto a throw pillow.
He carefully placed the nativity scene gently, piece by piece, across the long shelf of the mantle above the fireplace, then turned to face her. “Good?”
She smiled. “Perfect.”
He moved the box to the other side of the room and returned, taking a seat in the large recliner across from her, closer to the fire place. “Why is all your furniture so old? You have this beautiful historic house that I know cost quite a bit, but nothing matches, and it all seems very worn.”
Carolyn sighed. “My ex let me keep the house, but he took all the furniture. I replaced things with hand-me-downs from neighbors and cheap stuff at garage sales. It’s better than sitting on the floor…which I did do for nearly three months,” she added. “People felt sorry for me for the first few months, but after that…I just sorta drifted off their radar. I stopped going to church. Stopped meeting friends. I just stopped.” She rubbed her temples. “It was easier to disappear than fight to find a new way to live. Since I work from home…”
“It was too easy,” he filled in.
She nodded.
“So it took being run over by a horse to knock you out of your rut?”
“Actually, I think it was your dimples that did it,” she said, taking a risk with the admission. How would he respond? She was pretty sure he was interested, but she could be wrong. It wasn’t like she was an expert on men. She’d only ever been with one, and she hadn’t dated since she was a teenager. And that was over twenty-five years ago.
The small smile on his face broadened.
“What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just brought up a memory.”
“Good?”
“Yeah, something my wife used to say. That my dimples were what she woke up every morning, and wanted to see first.”
“I’m sorry.” She glanced away and stared into the burning embers of the fire. Competing with a dead woman wasn’t really what she had in mind.
“Carolyn.”
She nearly jumped out of her skin. He was right next to her, sitting on the floor in front of the couch. When did he move?
“I loved my wife very dearly. She’s been gone for fifteen years, but I will always have a place for her in my heart. It doesn’t hurt to talk about her and I don’t want it to make you uncomfortable. She was one of the most joyful women I’ve ever known. Even when the cancer finally stole her away from me…” His eyes watered. “All I can see in my mind is her smile. She told me to keep my eyes forward and not dwell in the past. I haven’t done that very well, but today when I picked you up that very first time…I didn’t want to put you down.”
“I pretended to fight.”
“I know.”
“I haven’t been held by a man since my husband left me ten years ago.”
She gasped for a breath of air before his mouth descended on hers. Soft, but demanding. He crushed her lips and swept his tongue inside her open and willing mouth.
It’d been so long. He felt so good.
Peter slipped one arm beneath her torso and wrapped the other around the top, drawing her upper half closer to his chest, but not disturbing her legs.
His mouth moved from her lips to feather kisses along her jawline, down her neck and into the pulse points above her collarbone.
Her breasts ached and her nipples tightened inside her bra, becoming uncomfortable. She wanted more, but when she tried to move her leg, the pain was overwhelming. She winced and he moved his hand to her thigh, pushing her leg back flat on the couch.
“Not right now,” he whispered. “But I promise I’m not going anywhere. I fully intend to taste every inch of you.”
Chapter 9
Three months later…
“Peter?” Carolyn called from her bedroom.
He appeared in the doorway a moment later, all six feet of sexy cowboy, and all hers. She’d vowed to take that crazy mare of the VonBrandts an apple one day as a thank you, but they hadn’t made it out there yet.
Right now they were in the middle of packing her house and his. They were both moving forward and rather quickly. Six weeks after she’d gotten her cast off, they’d been married in small private ceremony in the Baptist Church in town. Now they were moving into a new home together.
Both of them decided they needed a fresh start, so they’d sold their houses and purchased a lovely home several blocks west of her old one. It was a fixer-upper, but she was really looking forward to sprucing it up to showcasing Peter’s personality as well as hers.
“This is the last box,” she said, taping it up. She sat on the bare mattress and stared out the window into what had been her back yard for the past twenty years.
“It’s hard to say goodbye, isn’t it.” Peter slid next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to h
is chest and tucking her head beneath his chin.
“I didn’t think it would be.”
“It’s okay to be sad. This was your home for a long time.”
“What about your house? Are you going to miss it?”
He gave her a squeeze. “Nope. Because I’m going to be making new memories with you. I can’t wait.”
She smiled. He always knew what to say. The man was a packed suitcase of positivity. How he’d survived what he had to be the man he was today was unfathomable, but she was so very grateful that he had.
If it hadn’t been for him, she might’ve lived the rest of her life in depressing solitude and self-pity, but Peter changed everything.
Waking up in his arms every morning was everything she could’ve ever hoped for. He’d given her so much more than love.
He’d given her new life.
He’d given her joy.
And she wanted to bathe in every glorious second.
Preferably in the tub with him.
About the Author
Emma lives in Texas in a sprawling ranch style home with her husband, daughter, and a pack of rescue Basset Hounds. She is an advocate for the American Society of Autism and does her part to spread awareness about the disorders associated with the Autism, sharing the experiences she’s traversed with her daughter.
Needless to say, life is never boring when you have an elementary-aged child and four or five 4-legged friends roaming the house. They keep her and her husband busy, smiling, and laughing.
Her stories reflect her love for the Lone Star State, sexy cowboys, high-powered action, dogs, and romance.
P.S. She also writes paranormal romance as Krystal Shannan so if you need a little magick in your story, hop over and take a look.
Get a FREE book when you sign up to Emma’s newsletter!
www.emmaroman.com
* * *
Books by Emma
Somewhere, TX Bachelors Series
Can’t Get You Off My Mind (Dec 2015)
What’s Love Got To Do With It (Feb 2016)
You’re The One That I Want (March 2016)
Somewhere, TX Saga
A Wedding In Somewhere
The MacLaughlin Family Series
Trevor
Caiden
Harvey
Lizzy
www.emmaroman.com
Merry TREXmas
by Allie K. Adams
Copyright © 2015 by Allie K. Adams
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
LICENSE NOTES: This Ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This Ebook may not be re-sold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book with others, please purchase an additional copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Allie K. Adams
www.alliekadams.com
Created with Vellum
Foreword
Christmas turns to chaos when the senior agents of TREX get together in Seattle for the holidays. What’s a forced reunion without a little laughter, a few tears, and a couple fistfights?
After too many hours under the same roof, too many alphas, and too little patience, tempers snap. The agents are out of their element in more ways than one, especially when the special director drops a bomb no one saw coming.
It takes a 12-year-old autistic boy and his faithful companion to remind them all of the true meaning of Christmas. His appearance and the reason behind it reminds the agents why they’re together in the first place.
Preface
TREX’S MISSION STATEMENT
Tactical Retrieval Experts (TREX) is a privately funded agency independent of law enforcement, military, or any governmental restrictions. Our focus is on tracking and retrieving anything or anyone. Simply put: we find things. Employing highly trained agents with unlimited resources and extensive experience in covert operations, we will find anything and with guaranteed confidentiality. No matter the circumstances. No matter the danger. Call on TREX—we find what’s been lost.
Chapter 1
Washington State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Wayde Davis stood off from the rest of the group, his arms folded across his chest. Something was off. He couldn’t quite place it, which didn’t please him any. He might not have the uncanny ability to read people like his boss in TREX, but he could hold his own. As a dual agent between the two agencies, it was his job to pick up on a person’s tells. He used to be a member of the SBI’s Special Victims Unit taskforce, but after losing his partner last year and having the bureau bury the fact, he couldn’t make the jump to homicide fast enough. Now every victim would get justice—as would the killer.
His attention zeroed in on the living room. He’d never seen so many stockings crowding a fireplace mantle. It was a fire hazard having that much flammable material so close to open flames. Try telling that to the women hanging stockings of every shape and size—both the stockings and the women.
Wayde watched his wife alongside several TREX agents and their spouses, some of them TREX agents as well. Why the hell was his house ground zero for Christmas? An old friend had given the mansion on Lake Washington to him and Mia as a wedding present. They’d just celebrated their first year of marriage. He had hoped to take his wife away for the holidays, their final vacation before the baby came along. What right did TREX have crashing the party? Sure, TREX had used it as HQ during the mission he’d met Mia. That didn’t give them permission to use it as headquarters for a TREXmas gathering.
Mia laughed, the melody dancing in the air and in her pretty jade eyes. She made being five months pregnant look good. Then again, she made everything look good. So did JT Weber, one hell of a field agent and the only woman able to deal with Special Director Dan Weber on a regular basis.
Wayde tensed every time Weber’s daughter stumbled too close to anything dangerous. The giant Christmas tree. The corners of all the tables. The cage in front of the fireplace. Hell, everything was dangerous when it came to a two-year-old. Especially Weber’s two-year-old. That kid had no fear as she chased the four-year-old around the room. It scared the hell out of Wayde knowing he’d have his own kid by April. Maybe he should start thinking about what it would take to baby proof this place.
Using his shoulder, he propped himself against the wall and crossed his arms as he glanced out the large living room window overlooking the water. He couldn’t shake the unease. Something didn’t fit. Why would the special director of TREX’s frontline divisions invite the special director of TREX’s sideline divisions to spend Christmas in Seattle? Dan Weber might be peers with Malcolm McKoy, but it was no secret they didn’t like each other.
So why the invite? And why on God’s green earth did Malcom feel the need to cart all seven of his kids—all TREX agents but one—from Montana with him? As if it wasn’t already crowded enough with the Seattle-based agents here.
Spencer Allen, one of two Special Agents in Charge and Weber’s second-in-command, approached and mirrored Wayde’s stance. He gave Wayde a quick assessment with that smoky gaze. The SAC always noticed every detail. It came in handy on finds.
Right now, it was damn annoying.
“What?” Wayde snapped, immediately on the defensive. He didn’t trust Spencer when he looked at him like that.
“I didn’t say anything,” Spencer mused and tipped his lips into a grin.
“You didn’t have to.”
Spencer chuckled and shook his head. “Are there any circumstances where you actually enjoy yourself anymore? Or is that scowl permanent?”
“Don’t bust my balls. I don’t see why everyone has to congregate here.”
“You could have said no.”
Wayde looked at him. “Yeah, right. And end up with shit jobs for the next ten years? No, thank you.”
“You have the biggest place to house all these McKoys.”
“No shit,” Wayde chuckled. “There are a mess of them.”
“If not here, we would have had to clear out your old apartment building. The TREX agents living there wouldn’t have been too happy about that. Well, except for Jason Bowman. He’s got a thing for one of the McKoys. Now that he’s got his own place, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing it with Bailey.”
Ah, the old apartment building. It would have ended up bankrupting Wayde had TREX not stepped in to take it off his hands and transform it into housing for agents. They’d retrofitted it with only the best in high-end security. Some units were used as safe houses, as well. It was that secure. Wayde had been thrilled happy to sell it to TREX.
“You want to tell me what’s got you so uptight?” Allen asked when Wayde didn’t so much as crack a smile at his comment. “Well, at least more uptight than usual.”
“Not really.”
“How about you try anyway.”
Wayde sighed. “I want to know why everyone is here. It bugs the hell out of me that I can’t figure out why Weber invited Malcolm McKoy. Sure, I may have the biggest house, but that doesn’t explain the why behind bringing everyone together like some damn family reunion.”
“We’re all TREX.”
“That doesn’t explain why both directors are here. Why not Montana? That’s where half these people are from anyway.”