by Leah Brooke
Deanna smiled and handed Casey one of the smallest bags to take into the house. “Unless you want your daddies and me to decorate you for Christmas!”
Casey giggled at that. “Wait until I show Daddies the pink reindeer we bought for the tree.”
Deanna smiled, imagining their reactions. “I’m sure your daddies are going to love having pink reindeer on the Christmas tree.”
As she set the bags on the floor, she straightened, stilling when a movement from the front window caught her eye. Her heart stopped, the blood draining from her face and making her dizzy.
“Jimmy.”
Grabbing the bat, she raced toward the kitchen. “Casey! Lock the door and hide! He’s here!”
Trusting that her daughter knew what to do, Deanna raced through the kitchen and out the back door, slamming it shut behind her.
Holding the bat with both hands, she rushed toward the side of the house, aware that some ranch hands would be close but not taking the time to look for them.
Before she could go more than a few feet, Jimmy appeared at the back corner of the house.
“Well, bitch. Looks like you can’t hide from me after all.”
Her blood ran cold at the sound of a voice that had sent terror through her for years.
“Go away, Jimmy.”
The sound of a whistle blowing drowned out his reply as he staggered forward.
Knowing she couldn’t look away to look for Casey, Deanna raised the bat, swinging it as hard as she could as he closed the distance between them.
She did it again and again, the rage borne from years of fear and pain breaking free with a vengeance.
She swung again and again with every bit of strength she possessed, hitting his arms and shoulders until he screamed with pain and fury.
Jimmy tried to catch the bat, but Deanna was ready for him, hitting his arm hard before pulling the bat out of his reach and swinging it again.
The look of rage on his face was enough to keep her moving, the horror of knowing that if he got past her, he would take Casey giving her the strength she needed to swing again.
Tears blurred her vision, and she cried out when he grabbed the end of the bat and held tight.
The whistle stopped just as he screamed at her, telling her that he was going to kill her and take Casey.
With adrenaline rushing through her veins, she kicked at him, managing to get past his slow reflexes to pull the bat from his grip.
“Fucking bitch!”
Horrified when he drew a gun from his waistband, she sucked in a breath, her heart lurching when a huge fist appeared from nowhere, hitting Jimmy in the face, while another large hand closed over Jimmy’s hand holding the gun, lifting it high above his head.
Sam and Carson.
Carson squeezed Jimmy’s hand, the rage in his eyes breathtaking. “Drop the gun, asshole.”
Jimmy slumped, clearly dazed by Sam’s punch to the jaw. Releasing the gun, he shook his head as if to clear it and jerked away from Carson’s hold.
Casey came running from somewhere behind her, but before Deanna could catch her, she ran toward Sam and Carson, jumping up and down excitedly. “Daddy! Daddy! You came! You heared my whistle and you came.”
Sam moved to stand between her and Jimmy, his body stiff with fury. “We promised that we would. Go to Mommy. You okay, baby?”
“Yes.” Deanna sucked in breath after breath, her heart racing as she looked up to see that more than a dozen men had gathered, all with their guns drawn. “Dear God.”
Sam raised a brow. “You finished, darlin’, or do you need more?”
Deanna blinked. “You watched? You knew?”
Carson smiled. “Not surprised you didn’t see us. You seemed real intent on payback, and we figured you deserved it.”
Her knees buckled just as Casey came toward her, and wrapping her arms around her daughter, Deanna dropped to the ground, holding Casey against her. “It’s okay, baby. Everything’s okay.”
Clearly drunk, Jimmy was in a rage. “Did she call them Daddy? She’s mine. Come here, Casey. Now!”
Steve smiled coldly. “What about it, Boss? We’ve already got the hole dug.”
Jimmy blanched. “You can’t kill me! You’re insane!”
“You beat a sweet thing like Deanna and you’re calling us crazy?” Carson tucked Jimmy’s gun into his waistband and turned to wink at Deanna, the rage and concern in his eyes telling her that it would be a long time before he settled again. “Sure we can kill you. Nobody would ever find you here.”
Deanna cried out when Casey suddenly pulled away from her. “Casey!”
Sam turned, his body poised to defend as Casey rushed forward, while Carson grabbed the front of Jimmy’s jacket, lifting the other man to his toes and raising his fist in anticipation.
Sam practically growled. “Steve, take Deanna and Casey inside and call the cops.”
They all stared in disbelief as Casey rushed to Jimmy, and as Jimmy smiled in victory, Casey did something no one expected.
She kicked him in the shin. “My daddies are gonna beat you up!”
With laughter breaking out all around them, Deanna rose and gathered Casey close again just as a deafening sound of screeching metal came from the driveway.
Seconds later, Abe drove the snowplow into view, pushing a crumbled motorcycle. He stopped, turning off the engine. “Hey, Boss. Whatcha want me to do with this?”
When Steve took her arm and urged her toward the back door, Deanna tried to dig her heels in. “What are they going to do to him?”
Steve shrugged, smiling faintly. “Probably give their little girl what she wants—at least until the cops get here. It’s something they’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
Once he’d hustled her and Casey inside, he shut the door and turned. “I think your uncle would approve.”
Epilogue
Looking up at the brightly lit Christmas tree, Deanna sipped her hot chocolate, blinking back tears. “It’s so beautiful.”
It was Christmas Eve, her first with them, and everything seemed so magical she sometimes felt as if she was dreaming.
“If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.”
Sam set his coffee cup aside and pulled her against him. “No dream, baby.” Chuckling, he kissed her hair. “I don’t think I’d have pink reindeer in my dream.”
Giggling, Deanna looked at the tree, the balls and lights intermingled with pink reindeer. “She likes pink.”
“That she does.” Carson turned from stoking the fire in the fireplace and lowered himself to the sofa beside her. “She sure does love having a Christmas tree.”
“She loves having her daddies even more. Thank you for that.”
Sam kissed her hair. “We should be thanking you. Now that we’re married and she legally belongs to all three of us, we’re a family.”
Deanna blinked back more tears. “Uncle Don would have loved this.”
Carson smiled and pulled her to his lap. “He would have liked knowing that Jimmy’s behind bars, too. Len thinks he’ll get life.”
Sam ran a hand up Deanna’s leg. “We all get life. I wonder if Casey’s asleep yet. She sure is excited about Santa putting presents under her tree.”
Sam chuckled. “We’d better get to it.” He bent to kiss Deanna, letting his kiss linger. “Stay put. We know where they all are.”
Once they’d made the last trip, Deanna’s eyes welled with tears again. “There wasn’t much money. I usually bought her a coloring book and crayons and wrapped them in pretty paper with a candy cane on top. Sometimes some socks. It wasn’t the same without a tree, though. We made a paper one once, but Jimmy set a match to it.”
Shaking her head, she wiped her eyes and got to her feet. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it. I just want you to know how much this Christmas means to her. To us.”
She eyed the assortment of presents under the tree, which included more books, several toys, and
a new pair of boots to replace the ones she’d already begun to grow out of. “Do you think I went overboard?”
“Nope.” Carson hugged her. “The money’s out of the trust and totally yours. You can spend it on anything you want.” He ran a hand over her breast. “I saw a lot of presents for Sam and me. Care to give us a hint or two?”
“No.” Her breasts had become more sensitive, her nipples beading at the slightest touch.
“I’ll bet I can make you.”
Sam smiled and eyed the plate of cookies and glass of milk Casey had insisted had to be left for Santa. “I guess I’ve earned it.”
Carson leaned forward and grabbed a cookie. “We’ve earned it. Besides, I need my strength if I’m going to convince Deanna to tell us what she got us for Christmas.”
Nervous and excited for a moment she’d spent a week planning, Deanna got to her feet and went to the tree, pulling free the envelope she’d tucked there. “I guess I can give you one of your presents tonight.”
Carson grinned. “Yeah? Well, yours aren’t going under the tree until you’re asleep.”
“She’s almost asleep now.” Sam accepted the envelope. “This is for both of us?”
Deanna smiled, trying not to give away the surprise. “Oh, it’s definitely for both of you.”
She watched Carson frown and lean closer to Sam, reading the paper that Sam unfolded—the paper that Dr. Scott had given her that showed the results of her pregnancy test.
They looked up at the same time, their slow smiles filled with wonder setting off another round of tears.
Sam got to his feet, appearing slightly unsteady. “We’re having a baby?”
Carson dropped to his knees in front of her, pressing his lips to her belly. “A baby? God, I love you.”
Sam gathered her close and bent to gently touch his lips to hers, his eyes glittering with emotion. “I love you, baby. I never planned to find someone like you, but I’m sure as hell glad that I did.”
“We did.” Carson rose to his feet. “I’m sure as hell glad we got that new bed that has enough room for all three of us. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep without you again.”
Sam and Carson shared a look, both smiling again before hugging her close.
Pressing his lips to her hair, Sam blew out a breath. “This is the best Christmas gift you could have given us.”
Straightening, he wrapped an arm around her back. “Time for bed. You and the baby need your sleep.”
Carson closed in on her other side. “We’ve got to put more salt down. If she falls—hell, it’s better if she doesn’t go out without one of us.”
Sam ran a hand down her back. “Yeah. With all the snow and ice, she could fall anywhere.”
“God forbid. I wonder what Casey’s going to think about having a little brother or sister.”
Deanna shook her head. “I don’t think we should tell her right away.”
Sam inclined his head. “We’ll wait a bit, but you’re going to have to be careful. No more picking her up.”
As soon as they walked into the bedroom, Carson untied her robe. “We should call the doctor and see what he has to say.”
Amused, Deanna kicked off her slippers and threw back the covers. “He gave me the name of a good obstetrician.”
Still dressed, Sam slid in on the other side of the bed and pulled her against him. “Good. We need to call and make an appointment.”
“I already have an appointment.”
Carson sat on the other side of the bed, facing her. “We didn’t even ask when the baby’s due.”
Curled on her side, Deanna started to drift, unable to stop smiling. “The Fourth of July.”
Sam slid a hand to her belly and chuckled softly. “So pink reindeer on Christmas trees and fireworks for birthday parties.”
Deanna opened one eye, her breath catching at the love in their eyes, a love that surrounded her with warmth and a feeling of security she’d never take for granted again. “I love both of you so much. I hate to think about what would have happened if I hadn’t come here.”
Carson ran his hand over her thigh. “Didn’t happen. No unhappy thoughts. We made a baby.”
Deanna held her breath. “And both of you are happy? No jealousy? No wondering whose baby I’m carrying?”
Sam stiffened and sat up, lifting her against him. “No wondering whose baby is inside you. That baby belongs to both of us. Casey belongs to both of us. You belong to both of us. Are we clear on that?”
More tears burned her eyes. Nodding, she leaned into him. “Okay.”
Carson inclined his head, bending to touch his lips to hers. “Good. We love you. We love Casey. We love the baby already. Now you need to get some sleep. Casey’s going to wake up early.”
Reaching out, he turned off the light, and with both men cuddled against her, Deanna found she couldn’t fight sleep any longer.
She drifted off, waking up when they rose from the bed to finish putting gifts under the tree but too tired to open her eyes.
Chuckling softly, Sam started out of the room. “I wonder what our wife is gonna say when she finds out we’re giving Casey a horse for Christmas.”
“I’m more concerned with how she’s gonna react when she sees the puppy.”
* * * *
With a cup of herbal tea in hand, Deanna, wrapped in a soft blanket, sat in one of the chairs on the back porch and smiled as she watched Casey and her new puppy run around in the snow.
Sam stood close by, patiently waiting for the puppy to do its business and laughing at their antics.
The sun had risen only minutes earlier, reflecting off of the recent layer of snow, the peacefulness seeping into her soul.
Deanna smiled and slid a hand to her abdomen, letting the tears that wouldn’t seem to stop flow.
Carson’s arms tightened around her, his lips warm against her ear. “Those tears better be happy tears.”
“They are. Very happy.” Deanna sniffed and leaned into him. “Sunrise, Mississippi, seems a world away.”
Instead of being a place she couldn’t escape, sunrise now heralded a new day—each one filled with love and so much happiness she felt as if she would burst.
“It is. Your home is here now.” Carson pulled the blanket more firmly around her. “You, Casey, and the baby belong here. With us.”
Deanna smiled and lifted her face for his kiss. “There’s no place we’d rather be.”
THE END
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