Denise came awake suddenly as she heard loud feet on the stairs. There was no light coming in from the curtains, so she reached over, grabbing her cell phone off the nightstand. She squinted, not being able to believe her kids were up at four am."Liam," she whispered as she leaned into him.He stirred and she wondered if she should really wake him up, but it felt wrong not to. He'd made such a change in their lives. The biggest difference, really, and she wanted him to reap the benefits of seeing the kid's faces as they opened their gifts."Liam," she tried again, this time letting her breath hit his ear."Yeah?" he woke immediately, eyes scanning the dark room, ready to pounce if need be.She put her hand on his chest. "Nothing's wrong. The kids are awake.""Yeah?" he asked, this time a bright smile on his face. "I can't wait until Drew sees what I got him."She couldn't either, although she had been a little less excited when Liam had shown her. She knew though, that h
DALTON & MANDY"They're calling for freezing rain," Amanda Walker groaned as she watched the weather report for the upcoming week.She and her long-time boyfriend were getting married on Christmas Eve. After many years, almost breaking up, a house, and a baby, they were finally tying the knot."Mandy," her fiancé's cool voice took on the soothing tone it always did when she was on the verge of having a major freak-out. "Everything's gonna be okay. Don't get all worked up and worried about it."It was easy for him to say, she'd been waiting for this day most of her life. She had a secret Pinterest board and everything."I keep telling myself that the most important thing is we'll be together and even if no one else can show up, we'll be there," she frowned, jumping when a squawk from the baby monitor let her know their son was awake.At just over fifteen months, he was into everything—running and walking, talking as best he could, and generally being the cutest child any of
"I don't know why he does that," Dalton mumbled as he made his way into the clubhouse. Wondering why his son felt the need to test the brakes of anyone in his path. He hoped like hell they would be able to teach him better than that.Liam had picked up the wayward child and was carrying him as they entered. He glanced at them and had to smile. Grandson and grandfather had a very special relationship. Anyone could sense the bond, just by looking at them. Liam watched the child like he was a piece of fine china and Walker looked at the older man like he hung the moon."He's testing his boundaries, aren't you?" Liam tickled the little boy's stomach, grinning as Walker giggled loudly and fought to be released onto the ground.When he was down, he let loose with a boost of speed and energy that made them all envious.Plopping onto a nearby couch, Dalton sighed. "He's wearing me out," he grumbled good-naturedly. It had taken them almost two hours to get out of their house and down he
Mandy breathed in deeply, loving the smell of the crisp air. As it made its way through her nose and out her mouth, the cool burn of it made her feel alive. Alive in a way she hadn't felt in a long while, longer than she'd realized. For the first time in months, she wasn't thinking about the dinner she'd have to cook, the laundry she'd need to do, or trying to get Walker down for bed. Tonight, she just thought of how good it felt to have her arms wrapped around Dalton's waist.She tightened her arms, and rested her head against his shoulder. She wasn't sure where they were going but she'd go anywhere with him, there was no question. They'd come a long way from where they'd started—these days they didn't hide anything from each other.As Dalton slowed the bike down for a stop light, she tilted her heard up towards his ear so she could speak to him."Where are we going?" she asked, tucking her hands under the leather of his jacket and his cut, there she could feel the thermal mater
Mandy didn't fight back the moan that escaped when his big hands pulled her closer so that their bodies touched. It had been a while since they'd not been on duty as parents, she realized. They hadn't been just Mandy and Dalton, 'the couple' in months. The last time they'd tried to get all sexy with one another, they'd ended up in the ER with Walker because of an ear infection. When his fever had spiked to 103, she'd freaked out. Dalton had put his pants back on and driven them there without ever telling her she was overreacting or doubting her. If anyone deserved this time for just the two of them, it was the man in front of her.She curled her arms around his neck and leaned into his chest, tilting her head up, so she could reach his throat easier. When her lips connected with the saltiness of his skin, she attacked. Nipping, sucking, licking, tasting, and doing everything she could to remind herself of the couple they'd been before. Dalton was a treat she hadn't indulged in for to
Later on that night, they lay in bed, wrapped up in each other. After coming in from the cold, they'd both taken showers, called to check on Walker, and eaten a dinner of frozen pizza and ice cream while watching a stupid reality show on TV. Mandy relaxed against Dalton's chest and he was content to play with the hair spread out against his pectoral muscles."Do you think we should go pick him up?" she worried, as she grabbed Dalton's fingers one by one, tapping them with the tips of her fingers."Walker?" His voice was deep with the relaxation neither one had been able to have in so long, and maybe a little sleepiness as well.She pushed herself up on her elbow, jostling his eyelids from where they had been almost closed. "Yeah, I mean I feel bad that we've just kind of pawned him off."He closed the gap between them, pulling her back down onto his chest. "We didn't pawn him off. He's with his grandparents, where I'm sure he's having the time of his life," he forced her chin u
Dalton did his best to calm the motion of his knee as it jiggled up and down. The heel of his foot wouldn't rest on the floor as he waited for Mandy to make an appearance. Reaching inside his suit pocket, he grabbed out the flask she'd given him as a gift and took a liberal drink of the Pappy Van Winkle she'd filled it with. It burned going down but it did wonders to calm his nerves.They had decided the first time they saw each other would be before anyone else saw them. She'd been worried about being able to control her emotions and truth be told, he'd been kinda worried about his. Now, he sat in the back hallway of the clubhouse, waiting for her to appear.His mind wandered as he tried to wait patiently. Everyone they knew and loved had congregated outside under tents with plenty of heaters inside to keep everyone comfortable. Thankfully there had been no freezing rain, although the temp had dipped down into the thirties. They were going to be able to pull this off; he knew it d
TYLER & MEREDITHTyler Blackfoot paused as his palm made contact with the metal knob of his front door. Sometimes before walking in, he would take a minute to compose himself and prepare for the craziness that often greeted him.If anyone had told him ten years ago this would be his life, he would have laughed in their faces. Not for the first time, he realized how different his life had turned out, compared to how it began. He'd been a John Doe. Hell, the name Tyler Blackfoot didn't mean a whole lot to him as far as history went, but he'd serve the name proudly, no matter what.But that was neither here nor there tonight. Behind the door were two little kids who made his world go 'round. He was used to dealing with chaos in his life but as the father of a four-year-old daughter and almost two-year-old son, he knew that his kids brought chaos to a whole new level. It had been a rough day at work but he knew that as soon as he entered the house, he'd put all that behind him and fo