Christmas Showdown (11 page)

Did it matter?

As the aftershocks of her climax began to
subside, her senses returned. A cloud of steam rose around them,
water pelting their skin. Trey released her legs and she found
herself leaning against the wall just to keep afoot.

Placing his forehead against hers, he smiled.
“You wore me out. Let’s wash up and get out of here.”

As he removed the condom and disposed of it,
she grabbed the bar of soap and rubbed it all over before handing
it to him. In less than five minutes, they were both standing on
the bath mat drying off.

After hanging up her towel, she slipped into
the bedroom to retrieve her toothbrush and paste, returning to find
Trey already brushing his teeth at the sink that clearly was his by
where bottles of cologne and aftershave and a razor sat. As
naturally as if she’d been here before, she moved to the other
sink. Trey waited for her to finish and together they walked into
the bedroom.

Lifting her suitcase off the bed, Trey placed
it on the floor near one of the dressers. “I’ve got a couple of
things in this one, but I’ll move them tomorrow and you can have
all the drawers.”

“Okay.” She knelt, going through the suitcase
until she found her robe. Then she picked up Trey’s on the carpet
where it had dropped when he undressed her, placing both of them at
the foot of the bed just in case TJ needed them during the
night.

Tearing the covers back, Trey held them for
her to climb into bed, and then he followed, pulling the sheet,
blanket and comforter around them. He wrapped his arms around her,
and she snuggled into him.

The last thing she remembered was the kiss he
placed against her lips as he whispered, “Merry Christmas,
Kelly.”

Something jarring bounced on the bed, waking
Trey out of a sound sleep. If he didn’t know better he’d say that
was his son’s giggle he heard at the foot of the bed. Drowsy, he
pried his eyes open to see the dark-haired toddler take another
jump, but this time landing directly on his slumbering mother. The
impact squeezed an “
ooof
” from her, but instead of being
angry, she smiled.

“You little rascal.” Kelly hugged TJ to her.
“How did you find me?” He rattled off a stream of gibberish that
must have made sense to her, because she nodded like she
understood. “That’s what I thought. You’ve been up exploring, which
can’t be good.”

When she turned to look at Trey, his heart
stuttered.

Damn. The woman was even beautiful with her
hair mussed, her eyelids heavy, and her voice deep and throaty.

“Morning,” she said, patting TJ’s back.
“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, darlin’.” He wanted to kiss
her, but the squirming bundle she held stopped him.

“Momma, down,” TJ cried.

Trey stretched, sitting up against his
pillows. “So, no morning quickie or lying around until noon?”

“Not unless you want the entire house torn
up.” Kelly released TJ and he swung around, landing on his belly.
Crawling backwards, he hung over the edge of the bed. With a burst
of laughter he let go and tumbled to the floor on his butt, popping
back up on his little legs to run lickety-split for the door.

Without hesitating, she wiggled from beneath
the covers, grabbing her robe off the bed and pushing her arms into
the worn silk. “I better go see what damage he’s already
wrought.”

Grabbing his robe, he tightened the sash and
followed her.

“Oh my.” She pinched her lips together as if
to hide the laughter that twinkled in her eyes. “It looks like he
already found the presents.”

It was true. Two boxes had half their
wrapping missing and one of them was for Kelly. The train was
knocked off its tracks. On short, stubby legs the little hellcat
ran to the yellow-and-red car, opened the door and fell headfirst
into it. Instead of breaking into tears, he frowned, tugging on the
wheel to right himself. Then his little feet moved, pushing the car
across the railroad tracks.

“He loves the car. Lori has one at her
house,” Kelly said.

Trey set the train back on its tracks and
switched it on. The engine made a chugging sound as it raced around
the course, the horn tooting occasionally. The noise must have
caught TJ’s attention, because he squealed, crawled out of the car
and ran straight for the train. Trey caught him before he barreled
into it, and then placed him in the middle so the train could go
around him. His laughter was infectious. Both Kelly and Trey joined
in.

The boy’s attention span was short-lived,
because in less than a couple of minutes, he was up heading for the
rocking horse. After several bounces, he moved off it. Like a
tornado, he went from one toy to the next, until Kelly sat him down
and gave him one of the packages she had brought from her
condominium. The child made short order of the paper, unwrapping a
fluffy teddy bear. One after another gift was given to him and he
relished tearing the paper and looking inside. As Trey waited to
see what present he liked the best, his son dove into the mound of
paper, twisting and turning and having a helluva time making
noise.

“You mean I could have just bought paper and
the kid would have been happy?” Trey chuckled.

“Pretty much.” As she started to clean up,
she paused when she saw the black leather jacket lying half in and
half out of a box. She picked it up. “I’m sorry. It looks like he’s
torn open one of your sisters’ gifts.”

“No problem. It’s a gift from TJ to his
mother.”

Surprise registered across her face.
“What?”

“Our son whispered in my ear yesterday that
he hadn’t picked anything up for you.”

She pursed her lips. “He did, did he?”

“Yes. And I think he picked you up a couple
more things.” Trey slid his gaze to the other gifts beneath the
tree.

A blush spread up her neck, coloring her
cheeks. “Trey, you shouldn’t have done this. I don’t have anything
for you.”

Trey drew her into his arms. “You gave me my
gift last night. I thought perhaps if you like the gifts, maybe
tonight we could repeat last night.”

Kelly pulled him to her lips and gave him one
of her mind-blowing kisses. His toes curled against the floor as he
held her tighter.

A sudden pop and the sound of glass
shattering jerked them apart.

Their rowdy son had another bulb in his hand
getting ready to chuck it across the room. Judging by where TJ
stood and the distance between him and the broken bulb, his son had
quite an arm on him.

In seconds, Kelly was by TJ’s side, wrenching
the ornament from his clutches. Like before, she firmly shook his
hand, reprimanding him. He blinked at her, moisture filling his
eyes. But when she released him, his tears dried and he was off
like a bat out of hell, flinging himself back into the pile of
wrapping paper.

Trey shook his head. “The kid’s all boy.”

“You’re telling me.”

“I’ll clean up the mess while you keep an eye
on the wild man.” As he headed into the kitchen, he continued to
speak. “I think the sooner we get him to Mom’s and Dad’s the safer
for all of us. They have a lot of open space and their house is
childproof, something we need to do.”

When he returned to the living room, TJ sat
quietly in Kelly’s lap looking at a Christmas book. It was amazing
how a child could go from a hundred miles an hour to zero in a
flash. While TJ remained intrigued by what she read, Trey picked up
the other gifts he had purchased her and set them on the couch
beside her. She set TJ on the other side of her, reached for a box
and tore the paper. As she slipped the lid off she began to laugh
at the lingerie inside.

Confused, Trey did his best not to reveal his
disappointment. “You don’t like it?” The black silky robe that
matched the sheer gown inside was friggin’ sexy. She would look
drop-dead gorgeous in it.

“No. I mean, yes. It’s beautiful.” When he
still didn’t get her point, she lifted the diaphanous gown. “Uhm. I
was a little worried about you when you selected the outfit. I
mean… It isn’t quite what a man would buy his mother or
sister.”

He chuckled then, realizing how it must have
looked to her at the mall. “No. I had another woman in mind who I
wanted to see in that gown.”

“I can see that.” She reached for the next
gift, a much smaller box, and tore it open. “Oh, Trey, it’s
breathtaking.” Kelly held up the gold chain he had purchased when
she was busy with TJ. It had a gold pendant hanging from it with
the word “mom”, a diamond in the middle of the O.

“Let me put it on you.” He moved closer and
she turned so he could fasten the necklace around her neck.

She placed her palm lovingly over the
pendant. “Thank you.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “It looks
wonderful on you.”

The next present was heavy and he hoped she
would like it. When she opened the lid and looked at the boots
inside, she grinned. “I can wear these riding today.”

“That’s what I thought. I hope they fit.”

“They look like they should.”

As she opened the box with the emerald angora
sweater, TJ chirped, “Eat.” He rose to his feet, standing on the
couch, and gave a bounce.

“I know we’re supposed to be at your parents
for brunch, but I really should feed him. I saw oatmeal in the
kitchen, do you mind?”

“Kelly, you don’t have to ask for anything in
this house. I want you to feel like this is your home. Why don’t
you feed the li’l buckaroo and I’ll clean up in here. Then we can
get dressed and get on the road.”

“Do you think the sweater you got me will be
okay to wear with black jeans?”

“I think you’ll be the prettiest woman
there.”

“You say the most charming things.” She got
to her feet and heaved TJ into her arms before heading toward the
kitchen.

As he started to pick up the paper and boxes,
he marveled at how his life had changed in a matter of days. He had
a son, an amazing woman, and a life ahead of him any man would
envy.

***

Kelly wrung her hands for the umpteenth time,
looking out the window as they drove down the street. She had been
so busy with TJ this morning she had barely thought about meeting
Trey’s family, but the time was upon them as they pulled off the
road on to a long driveway leading to a huge two-story ranch house.
The front looked like a sales lot for high-profile four-wheel-drive
pickups. The small red sports car appeared out of place amongst
them.

The nearer to the house they got, the more
her stomach knotted and the faster her heart beat. As they stopped
alongside a black crew cab, Kelly felt like she had become one big
ball of tension.

So what if they didn’t like her. It was what
it was. They would have to deal with it or— Or what? If Trey had to
choose between his family and TJ, which would he choose? Lord. She
had to stop thinking this way.

A boy around eight came running to the truck.
His wide eyes were those crystal blue that both Trey and TJ had,
but instead of black hair his was a dark brunette. As Trey opened
his truck door, the boy started to ramble.

“Uncle T, guess what I got? You gotta see
it.” He jumped up and down, waving his hand for Trey to follow.
“C’mon. Hurry.”

“Easy, Jay. Let us get out before you start
talking my ear off.”

As Kelly stepped out of the vehicle, Trey
opened the back door and got TJ out of his seat, holding their son
on his hip.

Jay’s eyes grew as big as saucers. “Holy
crap, Uncle T. He looks like a mini Sam, and the last thing we need
around here is another one of those monsters.”

“Boy, an apology better be on the tail end of
that comment.” The man who approached looked like an older version
of Trey, but instead of Trey’s lean physique, the man was a little
thick around the middle and graying slightly at the temples. A
small-framed woman, no more than five-foot-two, strolled by his
side. Her long, blonde hair flowed around her shoulders in the
slight breeze that carried upon it the musky odor of livestock
close-by. She offered Kelly a smile before her gaze became glued to
TJ.

“It’s amazing,” the woman said, at the same
Jay said, “Sorry, Uncle T.”

As Kelly hastened around the truck to stand
protectively by TJ, Trey began introductions. “Kelly McMaster, this
is my oldest brother Jason and his wife, Paula.” He bounced TJ
against his hip. “And this is my son, TJ.”

They were shaking hands when TJ cried,
“Down.”

When Trey made a move to set him on his feet,
Kelly stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Maybe you shouldn’t.
Come to Momma, baby.” She held out her arms expectantly.

“Kelly, the boy wants to play,” Trey
insisted.

“But—” Kelly held her tongue when Jason and
Paula started to laugh.

“They sound like an old married couple.” This
said by the next Burstyn to approach. The man walked with a
swagger. The glint in his eyes revealed he knew he was
good-looking. He had the same black hair and eye color as both his
other brothers. But when he took TJ from Trey, the man’s eyes
softened. “Damn, Trey. He’s the spittin’ image of you.”

“And this is Lance. Stay away from him. He’s
trouble,” Trey jested, but she felt there was an ounce of truth
hidden in his warning.

“Daddy?” A little girl around four came
running toward Lance. “Let me see him. Oh my,” she breathed. “He
looks like Sammie.”

“That’s Chastity, Lance’s daughter. It’s his
turn to have her for Christmas this year,” Trey explained.

His and hers. A child split between two
families. Kelly trembled, wondering if that would be TJ some time
in the near future.

Two other girls she guessed ranged from seven
to five came wandering up to them. The oldest one, who had
raven-black hair, looked to the other and groaned, “Another
boy.”