Alphas for the Holidays

by Mandy M. Roth

  I didn’t know if I would ever admit it to anyone, but, deep down, I wished that I hadn’t gotten pregnant so soon…not that I would give up my beautiful babies for anything in the world. Every once in a while, though, I did think it might have been nice for Connor and me to have more time together just as a couple before we had to be parents as well.

  But that wasn’t what the universe had planned for us, and so far we’d done a decent job of rolling with it. At least we had a more or less an unlimited supply of babysitters in both our clans, should the need arise.

  The salads came out then, and conversation slowed, although Connor and Anthony did keep up their discussion about the vineyard Anthony was overseeing and which Connor was quietly bankrolling. The operation was in its beginning stages, but no less time-intensive for all that, since the property had established vines already, and Anthony was having to babysit them through the winter. No, they didn’t get much snow down in the lower parts of the Verde Valley, unlike up in Jerome, but hard frosts were still a worry.

  Sydney tried not to look bored by the technical talk and asked Sylvia Emory, “So what are Margot and Lucas doing for their honeymoon?”

  I pricked up my ears at that question, since I hadn’t been privy to any details about their plans for after the wedding. No reason why I should have been; it wasn’t like they needed my permission to travel…although they’d need the permission of Maya de la Paz if they planned to head south. For some reason, I assumed that was what they’d probably do, since Connor and I had also gone to the southern part of Arizona for our own honeymoon.

  To my surprise, Sylvia said, “They’re going to New Mexico. Santa Fe. Apparently the Wilcoxes are on good terms with the clan there — the Castillos. Since Margot has never been out of Arizona before, she’s really looking forward to it.”

  I did sort of dimly recall hearing that the Wilcox clan didn’t share the same animosity with the New Mexico witch families as it had with those in its own state, but I hadn’t even considered the possibility that might be where Lucas and Margot were headed. Well, good for them. There was supposed to be a lot of culture in Santa Fe — museums and live music and art galleries and all kinds of fabulous restaurants. They’d probably have a great time.

  “So they’re traveling at Christmas?” I asked, and Sylvia shook her head.

  “No, they’re going back up to Flagstaff tomorrow to spend the holiday with the family there, and then they’ll leave on the twenty-sixth and come back after New Year’s.”

  That sounded like fun, even if it meant I probably wouldn’t get to see the happy couple after today. At least I was here now, and they’d get a real honeymoon in a new and exciting place. I wondered if Lucas had ever been to Santa Fe before, or whether this would be the first time for both of them.

  “I’ve never been to New Mexico,” Sydney said. “Anthony and I are going to San Diego after our wedding, but that won’t be until the spring. I hope the weather will be nice.”

  I told her I thought it should be fine, but inwardly I reflected that I sure wasn’t in any hurry to return to California. Yes, I’d learned important truths about my past there. On the other hand, Connor and I had also run into some pretty nasty warlocks on our way home, and although I knew those young men weren’t representative of the California witch clans as a whole, I still didn’t have any desire to repeat the experience.

  Sylvia made a wistful comment about wishing she could visit California one day. Anthony looked somewhat puzzled by her remark; he couldn’t know that, as a rule, witches and warlocks didn’t venture very far from their home territories. All he could probably see was an older woman of some means, judging by the jewelry she wore, and so he was most likely wondering why she couldn’t just pick up and go to California if she felt like it.

  The waiters reappeared at that point to remove our salad plates, and the moment was gone, Sydney chattering away about her own wedding plans. I had no idea whether her intervention was intentional or not, but I definitely welcomed it. While I was beginning to share Anthony’s attitude about the wedding — i.e., my eyes started to glaze over whenever Syd got too detailed — right then I was glad of the distraction. You could brush off not traveling to Europe or Asia because of a fear of flying, but that was a little harder to do when talking about the state next door.

  And then my aunt asked how long we were planning to stay here in Jerome, since I hadn’t been definite the last time we spoke. “At least until a few days after Christmas. We have New Year’s plans — and a babysitter,” I added quickly, because I could see Sylvia’s penciled brows draw together at even the thought that we might be taking our children out in the cold when they were so young. “Connor’s cousin Eleanor is going to watch them for us.”

  “Ah,” Sylvia replied, appearing to relax a bit. “Well, that sounds like fun.”

  I hoped it would be. We’d had a good time last year when we went, although I doubted we’d get quite as inebriated this year. We couldn’t just walk home from the pinecone drop in downtown Flagstaff anymore; the house where we lived now was a good five miles away.

  The conversation ebbed and flowed after that, while the main course of maple duck breast was served and the waiters came and went with their bottles of champagne. I had to put my hand over my glass after the second fill-up, because that stuff was flowing like water.

  And eventually the toasts came around, with Connor standing up and saying a few words, since he was Lucas’ cousin and the head of their clan. Then it was my turn, which I hated, because being the center of attention wasn’t anything I ever intentionally sought. But I was the prima, and because the connection between our two families was still pretty new and fragile, I needed to show that I was here for the McAllisters, even if I had been spending most of my time in Wilcox territory during the past few months.

  I stood up, acutely conscious of all those pairs of eyes on me. Lucas and Margot were smiling, their fingers twined around one another where they rested on the tabletop. Seeing them like that, witnessing the palpable love and happiness that surrounded them, I realized this wouldn’t be as hard as I’d feared it would be.

  “We’ve all seen a lot of changes over the past few months,” I said. “Some large, some not quite as earth-shattering. And I can’t think of anything that symbolizes the changes we’ve seen more than this gathering here, McAllisters and Wilcoxes together, celebrating the joining of Lucas Wilcox and Margot Emory. I think they’re living proof that good things come to those who wait.”

  A raucous clinking of glasses followed my statement, and Lucas leaned in to steal a kiss from his new wife. Color flamed along cheekbones. His family calls Lucas ‘Lucky Lucas.’ Well, I think we can all agree that today he’s got to be one of the luckiest men alive.” I held my champagne glass high. “So here’s to Lucas and Margot — may they share in that luck for the rest of their lives!”

  A chorus of “hear, hear,” and everyone raised their glasses and toasted the couple. Relieved that I’d done my duty, I sank back into my chair and allowed myself an extra swallow of champagne. Under the table, Connor reached over and gave my leg a little squeeze. He knew how much I’d been dreading having to stand up in front of everyone and speak.

  Now the moment was past, though, and more toasts were made before the cake was brought out. Lucas popped a piece of cake in Margot’s mouth with the precision of a fighter plane landing on an aircraft carrier; I guessed she’d warned him with bodily harm if he tried to get too crazy about feeding her the cake. At least, I’d done the same thing with Connor, and I had a feeling Margot was just as uptight about that sort of thing as I was.

  She fed him with the same precision, and then the wait staff swooped in to take over and finish cutting the cake. My table got the first round of slices — rank hath its privileges, after all, and I sure wasn’t going to argue with dark chocolate cake with cream frosting and cream custard as the filling.

  The venue wasn’t big enough for dancing, so having the cake and a final
round of champagne more or less put the period on the event. I wondered if that had been a compromise they’d made for having the wedding here in Jerome, or whether Margot just wasn’t into dancing. But she’d danced with Lucas at my wedding reception. Looking back, I realized that had to have been the start of it all, even though at the time she hadn’t looked all that thrilled to be dancing with a Wilcox.

  Well, she definitely seemed thrilled to be with one now.

  People started to wander out in small groups, so I got up and made my way over to where Margot and Lucas stood. They’d been talking with Boyd Willis, one of the McAllister elders, but he excused himself when I approached.

  “I hear you’re off to Santa Fe,” I said.

  Margot beamed. Had Margot ever beamed before in her life?

  “Yes, the day after Christmas. We’ll head home tonight and spend a few days in Flagstaff before we head out.” She still held Lucas’ hand, where a new band of platinum gleamed on his ring finger.

  “That sounds like fun, although I’m sorry you won’t stay in Jerome for Christmas.”

  Lucas said, “We decided that since the wedding was here, we’d give the Wilcoxes a little love for Christmas.” His dark eyes twinkled as he added, “Anyway, I thought you pagans didn’t even celebrate the holiday.”

  “Some of us don’t,” I replied, refusing to be offended by the term “pagan.” That’s exactly what some of us were, after all, and besides, Lucas was one of those people who could get away with saying almost anything. “But some do, or at least use it as an excuse to decorate trees and eat and drink too much.”

  “I’d say that sounds like a pretty good excuse.” He grinned down at Margot. “Maybe we should have stayed in Jerome after all.”

  “Next year,” she said, smiling as well. I still wasn’t used to Margot looking so relaxed. In the past, her smiles had always seemed tight somehow, as if she had to force them out, or was thinking of some unpleasant duty she had to undertake, even as she was talking to you and trying to be polite.

  “It’s a deal.”

  I told them we should all plan on that, and headed back to join up with the rest of the group. My Aunt Rachel and Tobias had already left, but I knew I’d be seeing them the following day. And it was time for Connor and me to be getting back anyway. Tricia had done us a huge favor by watching the twins for us, and I didn’t want to impose too much on her hospitality. She had to have holiday preparations of her own she needed to take care of.

  So we all made our goodbyes, and I hugged Sydney and Anthony and told them they needed to come up to Flagstaff soon for a visit. They wouldn’t be with us for New Year’s because one of his cousins had offered his Scottsdale timeshare for that week, and Syd and Anthony had jumped at the chance. “I’ll get to lie out in the sun on New Year’s Day!” Sydney had told me in some excitement. Frankly, I wanted New Year’s to feel like New Year’s, but if she wanted to wear shorts and flip-flops to ring in the new year, so be it.

  When we got home, Tricia informed us that the twins had been absolute angels, and had woken up and had a bottle and gone promptly to sleep again after being changed. Which sounded great on the surface, but meant I’d probably be up at midnight with a couple of fussy babies who’d suddenly realized they’d had enough of this sleeping thing and needed some mommy time.

  Even though Tricia assured us they were sleeping happily, Connor and I had to go upstairs to check on them after she left. Sure enough, they were two passed-out little babies, dark lashes fanned against their chubby cheeks.

  “See?” Connor said quietly. “Everything’s fine. So you can put your feet up for a while.”

  “I was thinking of something a little more…active…than that,” I replied with a wink.

  A certain warmth I recognized entered his eyes. “Well, Mrs. Wilcox, I think that sounds like a fine idea.”

  “Mrs. McAllister-Wilcox, thank you very much.”

  He grinned. “How about plain old ‘Angela’?”

  “That works, too.”

  His arms went around me, and he lifted me right off the floor without blinking an eye. And I knew that had to be harder than it used to — the baby weight was starting to come off, but I wasn’t nearly as slender as I’d been when he’d first met me. He didn’t seem to mind, though, and carried me out of the nursery and down to the master bedroom so he could set me down on the king-size bed there. A flick of his fingers ignited the gas logs in the fireplace.

  Then he sank down on the bed next to me, his mouth warm and familiar on mine, the sharp tang of champagne on his tongue. Already I could feel the heat of our bond flowing through my veins, my body aching for his, even though I knew I had changed since the last time we’d made love weeks before the babies arrived, that I wasn’t quite the same Angela he was used to.

  That was all right. We would adapt, just as we always had. It would still be wonderful. Perfect.

  And then I heard Emily’s thin cry, followed by Ian’s more forceful wail, and it was as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over me. Connor stilled, and then let out a small sigh.

  “Rain check?” he asked wearily. Poor guy. He’d had to ask for quite a lot of those lately.

  I sat up, trying to get my dress more or less where it was supposed to be. From somewhere I found a smile and put it on, then kissed his cheek. I’d wanted more, but I still wanted to show him how much I loved him. He smiled in return, even as I said,

  “Yes, a rain check.”

  Chapter 3

  We didn’t have any chance to cash in that rain check, though, because the twins were up and down all night after that. By the time morning rolled around, we were too tired to do anything except make enough coffee to rouse us from our zombie-like state and more or less prepare us for the onslaught of relatives we were expecting later that day.

  All right, that makes it sound as if my family members would be unwelcome, but we really did want to see everyone. I just wished we could be doing it on more than four hours of sleep.

  But that was why the Goddess invented caffeine, so we each had three cups of coffee and took turns showering. Neither of us was motivated to share the shower, which would have been logistically difficult anyway. My libido felt as if it had been dunked in ice water, and besides, the clawfoot bathtub with surrounding shower curtain wasn’t really designed for romantic interludes. I had scheduled the bathroom remodel for the beginning of January, but that wasn’t going to help us in the meantime.

  So we both got ready and put on our game faces, and got the crock pot of spiced cider going on the sideboard in the dining room, along with trays of Rachel’s homemade cookies. She’d left those for us in the pantry, apparently guessing that I wouldn’t have much time to bake treats. Frankly, most days Connor was lucky if he got a nuked pizza for dinner. Sooner or later I’d get it together — I hoped — and he’d done a great job of bringing home takeout, but it was too much to expect that he’d start cooking. My dear husband had many sterling qualities, but being talented in the kitchen was not one of them.

  At least everyone knew not to start showing up until a little past ten-thirty. By that point the babies were awake and alert, and I’d even been able to steal enough time in the bathroom to get on some mascara and lip gloss, along with some spackle for my under-eye circles. Maybe Syd had the right idea. A midwinter tan would do a lot to hide the bruised-looking flesh next to my eyes.

  Forget about it, I told myself. If a mother of newborn twins can’t sport some serious bags, there’s something wrong with the world.

  Connor wasn’t looking so chipper, either, and he could have used his powers of illusion to hide the signs of weariness in his face. But I knew he wouldn’t do that to me, would wear his dark circles with pride to show solidarity.

  The first ones to stop in were — not surprisingly — Allegra Moss, one of the clan elders, and her husband Daniel. I knew Allegra wouldn’t be able to stay away, since she was one of the clan’s biggest busybodies. All right, maybe that was a little
too harsh. She really didn’t gossip much, but she did like to know what was going on with everyone all the time. The only person I could think of who liked to stick her nose in other people’s business even more than Allegra was my cousin Adam’s older sister Jenny. Again, I’d never caught her carrying tales, but man, if you had a question about someone, she probably knew the answer. No wonder she’d gone to work for the Cottonwood police department as a dispatcher. That way she could snoop on a bunch of civilians as well.

  I swept all those uncharitable thoughts away, however, as I put on my “company” smile and let Allegra ooh and ah over the twins. And I found it wasn’t that hard to be friendly, really; the best way to earn points with a new mother was to tell her that her babies were the prettiest in the world.

  “And such eyes!” Allegra exclaimed, as she expertly held Emily and peered down into her face. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby with eyes so green. Even yours, Angela — they didn’t start to turn until you were about four or five months old, if I recall correctly. We were all surprised because your mo — that is, Sonya’s eyes were hazel. Pretty, but not nearly as striking as yours.”

  Funny how even after all these years people found it difficult to refer to Sonya McAllister as my mother. Maybe they’d decided that she’d abrogated that right by running away when she didn’t want to be prima.

  I decided it was best to brush Allegra’s little bobble aside. Getting into ancient history wouldn’t serve any real purpose. “Yes, we’re loving our little green-eyed babies. But I’m not sure what other color their eyes could be, considering that both Connor and I have green eyes, too.”