With her hand in mine, we walk toward the clubhouse, and I can’t help but think about how perfect today’s been so far. We woke up with the kids jumping on us in excitement, ready to open Christmas presents. My sister FaceTimed us, and we got to talk to her for a while. She even promised to try to be here next year over the holidays. The kids called me Dad for the first time, something I’ve been waiting for, hoping for, but never wanted to push for. Now we are spending the rest of the day with my brothers.
I don’t know if life could get much better than this.
“Merry Christmas!” Sloane calls out as we walk in.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” I ask, laughing when I see her.
“Don’t knock the onesie, Mac,” she tells me, shooting me a dirty look.
“Are you supposed to be an elf?” I mutter.
“Duh,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“You know, you don’t have room to talk. Just a little bit ago, you were wearing matching Christmas pj’s,” Jane reminds me.
That only makes me smile. Emily wanted to do it, and I can’t tell that girl no.
“Tell me you got pictures,” Sloane begs.
“Pictures of what?” Kelly asks as she walks over to us.
“Family pj’s,” Sloane tells her.
Jane pulls out her phone and shows them the photo that’s now her screensaver.
“Aw,” the girls say in unison.
I roll my eyes as I lean down and kiss the side of Jane’s head. “I’m going to go find the guys. Be good.”
She looks up at me and smiles. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I walk away from her and head to the bar where the guys are congregated.
“What’s up?” I ask as I approach.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Gunner says.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Tank mutters.
“Bullshit,” Smoke says without hesitation.
“What did I miss?” I move so I can see Tank and hiss when I see his face. “What the fuck happened to you?”
He’s got two black eyes, there’s blood crusted around his nose ring, and he’s got a cut on his forehead.
“I got hit while I was tied up,” he says, then mumbles under his breath. “Literally.”
“Did a woman take you out?” Bear asks as he pops some nuts in his mouth.
“No, a woman didn’t get one on me,” Tank says.
“Who is it then? They clearly need to pay,” Smoke says.
Tank shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. I have it handled. Now, can we talk about something else? Anything fucking else.”
“The kids called me Dad this morning,” I tell them quietly, unable to keep my mouth shut for a moment longer.
