“The same way you knew to get that plane ticket. We know each other’s deepest thoughts and brightest dreams.”
He pulled her close, kissing her so deeply she was thankful to be sitting down. Scooting over, she watched as he put the guitar in his lap, putting his fingers on the fret board.
“Play me a little Brantley,” she clapped, whistling. “You know, besides you, he’s my favorite.”
He gave her that heart-stopping grin that was hers alone. With the tree twinkling in the background, snow falling, and a room filled with love – he did just that – and nothing could have made them more in love with each other than they were at this moment.
Liam & Denise
‡
Chapter One
Liam Walker stomped his feet on the front porch to dislodge the snow around the bottoms of his motorcycle boots. What was supposed to be a weak cold front had actually ushered in a few inches of snow, surprising everybody living in Bowling Green.
As he entered his home, it struck him how different things had been since a random day in August. Before that day he’d been a confirmed bachelor, all he’d cared about was his bike, his club, and his job as a mechanic at the family shop.
A twist of fate had introduced him to a single mother with thirteen-year-old twins and when life had pushed them together, they’d fallen in love. Now, they all lived here, in his house. The four of them were finding their way as a family and damned if the kids hadn’t taken to calling him Dad. It was enough to make his head spin.
What had once been a deathly quiet home when he entered, now was usually alive with the bickering of two teenagers and their mom, trying to help them come to a peaceful solution. That was no different tonight.
“I don’t understand why we can’t open one gift. It’s Christmas Eve,” Mandy argued, a shrill tone in her voice carrying through the house.
“Because, then we might not have anything to open on Christmas,” Drew, her brother breathed deeply as he answered.
Liam had come to notice that deep breath as a sign of irritation in Drew. He was much older than his years and had a hard time not treating his sister as if she were much younger.
“Hey,” Liam heard the soft voice of the woman who’d stolen his heart.
Denise Cunningham had taken everything he’d thought he’d known about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness, and thrown it all in a blender. Liam had realized pretty damned quick that he hadn’t known anything at all. She and the two kids currently occupying his kitchen had quickly become center of his universe.
Tilting his head, he listened to Denise talk to the kids, “We couldn’t open gifts on Christmas Eve last year because I didn’t have much money.”
He knew that killed her to admit. More than anyone else, the kids had been privy to the dire financial situation she’d found herself in after being laid off from a factory job during the economic downturn. He was working on giving these three everything he had, everything he felt they deserved, because they’d lived through some very tough times.
Drew’s voice, growing deeper by the day, could be heard again. “We know.”
“But this year, you’re in luck. We can open a gift apiece tonight. I have one for Liam too, so as soon as he gets home, we can hang out and tear into them.”
“Maybe we can make it a tradition again,” Mandy asked, sounding more hopeful than he’d heard in a long time.
Denise answered. “We will most definitely make it a tradition.”
Realizing they were just waiting for him to make an appearance, Liam pulled himself together and shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it on the coat rack before walking into the kitchen.
“Hey,” he tried to make it seem as if he hadn’t been standing in the doorway, listening to their conversation. He wasn’t sure how they would take it, and he felt a little weird for eavesdropping.
“Hey,” Denise grinned as she sauntered over to him, tilting her head up for a kiss. “We were just talking about you. The kids wanna open an early present.”
“It used to be a tradition of ours,” Mandy grinned at him. “And we get to do it again this year. Mom said you’d do it with us.”
Even though he’d heard the words before coming in, to have her say them to his face meant more than he could ever explain to anyone who asked. He’d never wanted kids, never wanted to be a dad, until he’d met Mandy and Drew. The two of them had turned his life upside down and their mother had forced him to do a complete one-eighty. “I’m really excited to join in the family tradition.”
“Let’s head to the living room,” Denise did her best to corral them all, directing them to the part of the house where it looked like Christmas had grown roots and opened up shop.
Never in his adult life had he decorated for Christmas, not often in his childhood either, if he was honest. And it had been taken over the top this year. To see the joy in Denise’s eyes and on the kids’ faces, had been all he’d needed to realize how important it was to them. Hell, he and Drew had even traipsed through the woods with Tyler and cut down a live tree. He’d become a pro at keeping it alive by watching videos and tutorials on the internet. Domesticated didn’t begin to describe how he was feeling at this point in his life.
He had a seat in the floor, his back to the couch, Mandy sat on one side of him, and Drew on the other. “How do we do this? I’ve never had any kind of holiday traditions.”
“You’ve never had a tradition at Christmas?” Mandy asked as she turned her head so she could look at his face. It was obvious from her tone and the surprised look that she didn’t believe him.
“No,” he laughed, running a hand through his shoulder-length hair. “My parents weren’t together, and Dad never really made it a big deal. I was happy if I got anything at all. A few years ago, I found out that Roni did most of the shopping and wrapped her own gifts so I didn’t feel like we’d been left out.”
Drew grunted beside him. “That’s a pretty unselfish thing for her to do.”
Liam had to agree and thought that probably out of all of them, Drew would definitely be the most like Roni.
“Well, we had one when they were little and up until a few years ago,” Denise’s voice was quiet as she went around the tree and grabbed four boxes.
“Mom,” Drew whined. “Really? When you said we could open a gift, I thought it was going to be something cool, not what we used to do.”
“C’mon,” she put the wrapped gift in his hand. “Don’t break my heart. You know I loved this when you two were little.”
“Yeah,” Drew blew out a breath. “When we were little.”
Liam felt as if he were missing an important part of the equation, but he was willing to ride this out. If Denise felt like this was something they needed to do as a family, he would stand behind her. “What’s in here?” he shook it, trying to figure it out for himself.
She flashed him a sweet smile. “Why don’t you open it and find out? In fact, we can open ours together.”
Mandy tore into hers with gusto as did Denise. Liam took his cue from Drew and opened the wrapping at a much slower pace. Drew grumbled as he got into the package and it took everything Liam had to not to sneak a glance over at the boy he’d come to think of as his son.
When he got into the box and removed the tissue paper, he lifted up what was inside. “What the fuck?” he choked out, seeing a pair of flannel pajamas… with feet.
“Aren’t they awesome?” Mandy grinned as she held hers up. She and Denise were standing side by side, with matching grins on their faces.
He and Drew exchanged a look of horror with one another. He was thankful to have someone in the house who obviously had his back in this situation. Liam was torn. Did he lie and act like these were the best things in the world to make Denise and Mandy happy? Or did he keep his man card and agree with Drew that these things were hideous?
“You only have to wear them for one picture,” Denise was saying.
“A picture? You want this in a physical
copy so that I can never forget I wore flannel footie pjs?”
She bit her lip. “It’s tradition. We always used to open our pajamas, take a family picture, and watch A Christmas Story,” she pushed her hair back from her face. “We don’t have to though, if this isn’t your thing.”
She’d looked so excited and he’d basically killed it for her. It was time to teach Drew what being a man was really about sometimes. “No. We’ll do it, won’t we Drew?”
Drew shot him a glare. “For the women in our lives, we sometimes make sacrifices,” he explained, muttering through his teeth and shooting back a glare of his own.
“Sure Dad, we’ll do it,” he answered through equally gritted teeth.
It wasn’t the resounding Yes she’d wanted to hear but dammit, at least they were doing something as a family.
‡
Chapter Two
Denise’s heart was as full as it had been in years, maybe even decades, as she watched the three people she loved most in life argue about the pajamas she’d gotten them. She’d bought the flannels on a whim, and she’d known Drew and Liam would have something to say about it, but she’d wanted a piece of her former life back. And more importantly, she’d wanted to share that piece of her life with the man she loved.
Loving Liam wasn’t something she’d planned on, wasn’t even something she’d thought was on her radar. And in the beginning in hadn’t been. She’d been a single mom just trying to make it by when he’d stormed into her life on the back of a Harley. Thinking back a few months to her birthday, it amazed her how far she’d come in such a short amount of time.
“We’ll take the picture,” Liam’s loud voice reverberated off the walls of the living room. “Then… if any of us want to, we’ll change before we watch the movie. Is that a good compromise?” he asked as he blue eyes bore into hers.
If anyone had told her when she’d met him that he’d be willing to meet her halfway on so many things, she would have said they were crazy. He had turned out to be the best and scariest thing that had ever happened to her.
“We’ll meet back here in five,” she said loud enough that the kids could hear, grabbed her camera off the table and went about setting it up on a tripod.
Grumbling, Drew made his way up the stairs while Mandy admonished him for not wanting to be a part of their family tradition.
“Thank you,” she whispered to Liam as she finished setting the tripod up. “I don’t think he would have agreed to it if you hadn’t. I sometimes forget how much he’s grown up in the last few months. Things I took for granted when he was my little boy, I can’t count on anymore.”
“Babe,” Liam walked over, putting his arms around her waist. “He’s all about what’s cool to do and trust me when I say flannel footies are not the coolest thing in the world. As he gets older though, he’ll realize you do what you have to for the woman you love, and hopefully she’ll pay you back with favors in the bedroom.”
He laughed as he ducked the hand that tried to smack him.
“Don’t even joke about that! He’s thirteen, I’m fully aware that he’s probably already doing things I never thought of at that age,” she buried her head in his chest, enjoying the way his hands swept down her back, calming the emotions that flooded through her.
It was a lot to take in. Not just the fact her kids were growing up, but literally where they all were right now. Just a few months ago, they’d been hurting for food.
Now they lived in a beautiful home with a screened-in back porch (her new favorite place to sit and watch the world go by), they weren’t worried about having gas to go to town, food wasn’t luxury, and she didn’t have to worry about the money she spent. Drew got shoes practically every month because that’s how fast his feet grew, and Mandy had hair accessories and makeup to play with. They were happier than they’d ever been, and it was still enough to take her breath away sometimes.
“C’mon, let’s run upstairs and change so we can get this over with,” Liam held his hand out to her and she couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up through her.
She’d never seen him so eager to take a picture in his life.
*
An hour later, they were all on the couches in the living room, popcorn and various cookies strewn between them, watching A Christmas Story. They guys were in comfortable clothes but the girls were staying strong in their pajamas.
“Did you get a gun for Christmas when you were a kid, Dad?” Drew asked from where he sat next to Mandy.
Liam lay on the opposite couch, his head in Denise’s lap as she scratched his scalp. He’d been paying less attention to the movie and more attention the way she was lulling him into a relaxed, almost sleepy state. Bringing himself back to the present, he saw the part of the movie where the main character opened up his BB gun.
“One year I did, and while I didn’t shoot my eye out, it probably wasn’t the best gift for me,” he chuckled thinking back to how he’d almost killed a squirrel, and then in his fear he’d almost shot Roni. “I got spooked and almost shot Roni. After that, it got taken away. I didn’t get another gun for a very long time.”
They were all quiet as they continued watching the movie, and out of nowhere a thought hit him. “Do you want one? Is that why you’re asking?”
Drew glanced over at his parents and nodded almost imperceptivity. “Dalton’s brother got one and he took us out shooting the other day.”
“He took you out shooting?” Denise shrieked. No one had asked her permission.
“Relax mom, he didn’t let us hold the gun or anything, but it looked fun,” he shrugged.
Liam exhaled a deep breath. “Let me and your mom talk about it, we’ll see what we decide together. But promise me you won’t go shooting without permission from either of us. That wasn’t cool of Deacon to do that, and I’ll be having a talk with him about respecting boundaries when it comes to you and Dalton.”
Drew looked like he wanted to argue, but Mandy piped up from where she sat. “We always said we wanted a dad… getting in trouble comes with the territory. I’m waiting to get grounded,” she grinned.
“You’re weird,” Drew threw a piece of popcorn at her. “Nobody wants to get grounded.”
“Maybe I do,” she argued. “You don’t know my life.”
Liam chuckled as he listened to the brother and sister argue. They reminded him so much of him and Roni it was scary. Almost like being transported back twenty years.
“Be nice to each other,” Denise admonished. “If she wants to be grounded,” she laughed. “Let her be grounded. Some of us have weird goals for our lives, let her have what she wants.”
“See,” Mandy stuck her tongue out at him. “At least we have a normal life now,” she whispered.
It brought all of them back to a somber place where they remembered how it had been when they’d first come to meet each other. Now though, their lives were entwined together in a way that all of them knew they’d never let go.
*
“When are they going to stop arguing?” Denise asked as she and Liam cleaned up the living room and kitchen, after the twins had gone to bed. “I thought once they stopped sharing toys it would get easier. Guess I was wrong.”
“Dead wrong,” Liam walked over, pushing her hair back from her face. “Roni and I were just getting started when we were their age. We still have cars to get through and oh my God, wait until one of them gets a boyfriend or girlfriend. Like a serious one. There’s nothing that puts siblings at war better than that, especially if one of them doesn’t like that boyfriend or girlfriend for their twin.”
“Sounds like you speak from experience,” she looped her arms around his neck.
“Roni dated some real douchebags back in high school. Even friends of mine.”
Her eyes widened. “But I’d figure with them being your friends, you’d be okay with that.”
“I did, but there’s just something about the douchebag that’s dating your sister. It didn’t work out well for
them,” he finished mysteriously.
She wondered if he meant any of them in particular, but decided to not push. Sometimes when she pushed, he closed off, and since they were still in the getting to know you phase of their relationship, she didn’t want to press her luck.
“So thanks for telling me everything I have to look forward to,” she laughed.
“Hey, I’ll be right here with you every step of the way. It’s not like I’m disappearing. These kids call me Dad, and that means something to me.”
And that’s why she loved him so much it hurt. It did mean something to him. While the man who’d actually fathered them wanted nothing to do with her or them, Liam did. He made time for all of them, no matter what he had going on in his life. There was nothing more important than what they, as a family needed.
“C’mon, let’s get to bed,” she jerked her head towards their upstairs bedroom. “Regardless of how old they are, on Christmas morning they still get up at the crack of dawn.”
“That’ll be new, I usually spend my holiday by myself until I meet up with guys from the club.”
Denise grabbed his hand, leading him up the stairs as they turned off lights as they went. “Welcome to life with a family.”
‡
Chapter Three
Upstairs, with the door to their bedroom shut and locked against the outside world, they were all alone. Liam watched as Denise pulled off her flannel footies, which she’d proudly worn through the movie, even though she probably had to be burning up.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t be sleeping in those,” he shot her a grin as he lifted his t-shirt over his torso.
“With the sexy grin you just threw me, I have a feeling you’re hoping I won’t be wearing anything at all when I go to bed.”
How did she know everything he was thinking, everything he was feeling, all the time? “You kinda, sorta, read my mind.”
She threw hear head back, her dark tresses sweeping over the curve of her spine. “Let me let you in on a little secret.”
A Heaven Hill Christmas Page 9