Twas The Knight Before Christmas (Something Great Series) (7 page)

Chapter 13

Becky

After we came home, we put out the cookies and milk for Santa and then put the kids to bed. While Matthew was making sure we had turned out all the lights downstairs and turned on the house alarm, I got ready for his surprise. Hearing a text bing, I looked at my phone.

Matthew:
Come downstairs
.

Me:
Why?

Matthew:
It’s warm down here with the fireplace on. Also I’ve laid out blankets for us.

He ruined my plan, but I could make it work. He’d have to see me in my Princess Leia outfit; Jenna and I had bought the same one online with her phone when we went Christmas shopping together.

Me:
I’ll be right down
.

Slipping on my white robe, I quietly headed out of the room. As I took step after step down the stairs, I admired Matt’s gift on the wall, every one of the canvases of our family. And I loved each one of them, every precious moment. Shifting my attention to finding Matt, I only saw the fireplace blazing when I reached the last step. By the fireplace was a fluffy blanket, a bottle of wine, and two glasses.

“Matthew,” I whispered. Feeling a cool draft slip through my robe, I folded my arms around me to keep warm. Quickening my steps, I headed to the fireplace and released a sigh. Heat wrapped around me like a warm blanket. When I heard a tiny noise, I turned toward the sound to see Matt coming for me without a shirt and with a Santa hat on.

Holy Cow!
My husband was hot, but seeing the glistening of the fire illuminating the areas of his perfectly defined chest made the temperature rise ten degrees more. I had been warming up, but it suddenly got hot real fast.

“Hello,
Becca.”
He sang my name just the way I loved to hear it when he was just a foot away from me, and I saw he was chewing on something.

Flirtatiously, I ever so softly glided a finger from his Adam’s apple, straight down to the jeans he had changed into after we got home. “It’s Princess Leia. Becca isn’t here right now.”

“Thus the braids, I see. What’s under that robe?” He waggled his brows, reaching for me.

I backed away, making him frown. “First tell me what you’re eating?”

“Why don’t you kiss me and find out?” he challenged.

I planted my lips on his, giving him my tongue and the kind of kiss that would leave him begging for more. “Chocolate chip cookies. Did you leave some crumbs and drink at least half the milk?”

“Of course. I left evidence Santa was here.” He pointed to his hat. “I even left the presents under the tree and pretended I was him. So, now that I’ve been a good boy, it’s my turn. What are you wearing?”

My hands traveled around his shoulders. “Why don’t you take the robe off and see for yourself?” I murmured. “Or you can use the power of the force and undress me.”

Matt chuckled and began to untie the robe, then guided it to slip off one shoulder, then the next. His eyes darkened and grew lustful when he saw my skimpy costume.

“My, my, my, don’t you look edible.” His words escaped his mouth in the most tantalizing way. “No amount of force power could keep me away from you.”

I backed away and turned for him, so he could see every inch of it, exposing every curve of my body.

“Come here.” Matt yanked me to him. “I need to touch you, Princess Leia.”

There was no more talking after that. Matt and I finally got our alone time together. We savored every second, minute, hour, and made love to each other.

“Round two?” he asked, kissing me softly near my belly button.

“Maybe more,” I hummed and moaned, enjoying his hands gingerly caressing my legs.

Matt not only gave me round two, but round three as well. We made up for the times we had been too busy to spend quality time together. Promising each other that we would do this more often, we went upstairs hand in hand.

Chapter 14

Matthew

The flight to Mount Mammoth was exciting for the children, but the drive to our rented house sucked. I wasn’t a fan of driving in the snow, but it was one of the most fun times of the year for the children, and that alone kept me going, as well as the view. Snow blanketed the land from the rooftops to the leaves on the trees, and over every inch of the streets. Somehow it gave the feeling of serenity. Or maybe it was the fact that Thomas had called to let us know Victor had dropped the case. It was the best news of all. Thomas was going to get a fat bonus from us for sure.

Max and I had rented the same house we’d rented since we started coming here after Christmas with our family about three years ago. It was starting to become a tradition. The house was grand. It was a ten thousand square-foot home with enough bedrooms to accommodate both of our families and then some.

“We’re here!” Addy squealed, racing out the door with Mason not long after I parked the truck I’d rented. She was such a great big sister, always looking after Mason.

“Addy, be careful. Don’t run in the snow,” Becca said, getting out of the truck.

The cool breeze nipped my nose when I got out, but the air felt fresh. I loved the smell of winter. “They’ll be fine,” I reassured her, going to the trunk to get our suitcases.

There was definitely a difference between moms and dads. Moms seemed worried about little things, like falling down, while dads’ thoughts were more along the lines of fall down, feel the pain, learn their lesson and they won’t do it again.

We were greeted by Max’s family upon entering. The heater was already on and the fireplace was crackling, inviting me. After dropping the suitcases in our bedroom, I went straight for the sofa and tossed my jacket aside, while Becca followed Jenna and the children to the kitchen. I had heard something about making hot cocoa.

“How was the trip?” Max asked, handing me a bottle of beer. After we tapped our bottles together, Max sat beside me.

“It was fine, and yours?” I took a sip.

“Fine,” he replied. “We’re taking Addy and Connor for skiing lessons tomorrow, right?”

I took another sip. “Yeah. Addy is looking forward to it. I’m assuming the girls will take the younger ones to play in the snow?”

“That’s the plan.” Max paused to take a gulp. “So, looks like we’re going to Kauai together this spring break.”

“We sure are. You’re stuck with me.” I chuckled, giving him a light punch in his shoulder.

Max rolled his eyes playfully. “I guess I’ll have to deal with it.”

Max and I turned to the sound of our children’s steps coming toward us, each with a closed lidded cup in their hands, followed by their mothers. With them sitting around us, I took in the warmth not only from the fireplace but from the love I felt at that very moment. I couldn’t believe how fast time had flown by and how much older our children were. Addy and Connor were going to take their first skiing lesson tomorrow. I remembered when Max and I had taken our first lesson together like it was yesterday.

I kissed Becca on her head when she snuggled up to me, and Max did the same to Jenna. We were both lucky men. We had everything we wanted. All the struggles Becky and I, and Max and Jenna, had at the beginning of our relationships were a thing of the past. They seemed like they happened ages ago. We were at a new stage in our lives, sandwiched between taking care of our kids and making sure we were there for our parents. But what a great place to be.

Turning to Becca, I stared at my wife with all of my love. I would go through all of our hurt, fights, and make-up sex all over again. Then I looked at Addy and Mason. My family was my home, my everything. And I would treasure every precious moment, counting my blessings.

Max

The children had already finished their hot cocoa and were begging to go outside. So I put on my thick winter jacket and zipped up.

“Snow fight!” I yelled. Opening the front door, I was the first one out, followed by Matt who was delayed from slipping into his jacket.

“Yay!” the children screamed, putting on their winter coats and dashing outside.

Jenna and Becky were last, closing the door behind them.

I got down on my knees to build a fort and tossed a small snowball at Matt.

“I guess I’m not on your team.” Matt grabbed Addy and Mason and started to build a fort, while Connor and Christopher got down close to me and started to make snowballs as fast as their little hands could make them. Those thick waterproof gloves came in handy. Cassie clung to Jenna, while they kicked back and watched away from the danger zone. Then it was chaos.

We threw snowballs at each other as fast as we could. We laughed, shot out “bombs away,” and laughed some more. My boys and I even came out of our security and went closer to the opposing team. Matt’s group also came out of hiding.

“Wait,” Matt said. “Let’s team up. We have some party poopers by the door.”

All of our eyes slowly and steadfastly shifted to Becky and Jenna.

“Leave Cassie out of this,” I said. “Go!”

Becky and Jenna had no idea what was happening. They were too busy talking. Cassie started to shake her body in Jenna’s arms, anticipating and knowing we were running toward them.

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,” Cassie shrieked.

It was too late. Snowballs slammed into the lower half of Jenna and Becky’s bodies. The looks on their faces were epic.

“You’re getting it now.” Becky ran after us.

Jenna placed Cassie down and followed suit.

Loud happy screams filled the air as snowballs flew across the space. How I loved to hear the sound of my happy family. It was the greatest sound of all. When Jenna was too occupied running after Connor, I tackled her from the front and landed on top of her with my hands steadied so as not to slam into her.  Laughing, we crashed into the thick, plush snow.

Jenna grabbed me and planted a quick kiss on my lips. “I love you,” she said, smiling. “But I’m going to get you back for this. Next time I’m going to be on top.”

I waggled my brows. “I hope you are,” I said flirtatiously. Then I started to tickle her, but it was short-lived. Everyone else piled on top of us, even Matthew and Becky who was holding Cassie, but they were careful not to put too much pressure on us.

We laughed and giggled some more, until it was getting too cold for Jenna and me. “Snow-angel time,” I said. That got their attention. Everyone got off and the children lay on the ground and started to flap their arms and legs.

The four adults and Cassie, now in Jenna’s arms, watched the children laugh and enjoy themselves. They might not be angels all the time, but they were our gifts from above. They were
our
angels. They bound families together. They gave us hope and joy words could never describe.

I turned to my brother standing beside me, looking at his children with love in his eyes. I was so proud of how he had changed for the better. Becky had raised him from the dead and made him a better man. I loved spending time with him and his family. These were the treasured moments; the unexpected moments I would have never imagined possible a few years earlier.

As I shifted my gaze to Jenna, I saw how much we had changed for the better as a couple and as parents. I was so amazed by how we’d grown together through each different stage of our lives up to this point. There would be more challenges ahead, but together we would be strong. Who knew what awaited us in the future? But for now I would enjoy these precious moments and soak them up as much as I could.

Matt and I had made a promise to each other that we would call and visit our parents more often. Now that we’d hired more help, we would delegate our responsibilities so we could have extra time with our family and friends.

Becky clapped her hands to get the children’s attention. “It’s time to go in.”

The children stood up hesitantly. “Awww,” they whined.

“Boooooo,” Matt chimed in.

“No, not awww,” I mimicked the kids. “It’s swimming time. Get your water guns ready. Max Vader is coming to get you.”

“Yay!” They started to run toward the house.

Having an indoor heated pool was the best. Wrapping my arms around Jenna, I kissed both my girls.

“Come to Daddy.” I extended my arms to Cassie, and she jumped right over. With Cassie on my left hip, Jenna wrapped around my right arm, and Becky in Matt’s arms, we strolled together to the front door. The Christmas lights around the house stood out brightly now that it was starting to get dark, but it couldn’t compare to how much my heart was glowing from all the love and happiness. And though this vacation wasn’t over, I was looking forward to our trip to Kauai together, and many more to come.

After we entered, I closed the door, locked it. I changed into my swim trunks, giving the kids enough time to change, and headed for the pool with Connor’s lightsaber. “Max Vader is coming! May the Knight force be with you!” I hollered. I could hear the laughter and the splashing sounds from the children.

After pool time, we had dinner, and read bedtime stories. The children were tucked in bed while the adults went to the family room to enjoy each other’s company by the fireplace. We drank hot teas and ate cookies while we talked about the events of the past year.

“Well, I have to say, this year’s Christmas was definitely something great,” Jenna said, sipping her tea.

“I agree,” Becky said. “It was something wonderful for sure.”

Matthew leaned back into the sofa and took a bite of his chocolate chip cookie. “Those precious memories will be something to treasure forever.”

I swallowed the chunk I’d bitten off and drank my tea. “It will be something amazing to remember when we reminisce about the years passed.”

“Yeah,” Jenna agreed, gazing at me. “Something precious for sure.”

I gave her a smile. With a soft kiss on her lips, I said, “I’ve searched a lifetime for you. I’m lucky to have found my something great.”

Jenna’s eyes lit up and so did her smile. Leaning her head against my shoulder, she snuggled closer. And all was right with the land of the Knights. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night. After all,
‘Twas the Knight before Christmas.