“Yo, bro,” she greeted, her handssmoothing back his messy dark blond hair.
He tipped his head back.“It’s Christmas Eve!Santa’scoming!”
“He sure is,” Georgie agreed.
And he sure was, because there was another bag of presents,not only for Wilder, in the truck.Presents Dutch had been forced to promise hewouldn’t bring in that he was going to go back out and get when the time came.
Presents that were from “Santa.”
He’d informed her the adults knew there was no Santa Claus.
She’d replied, “Santa only dies if you let him, and filethis away, bad boy, I amnever, evergonnalet Santa die.”
Since she was so cute saying that, Dutch didn’t push it anyfurther, not even to tease her.
“C’mon.”Wilder grunted as he pulled at her hand.“Daddy andme arewrappin’ Momma’s gift and yougottahelp’causeDaddysucksat it.”
“Boy,” Hound warned from the mouth of the hall.
“You do.You suck at it, Daddy,” Wilder declared.
“You’re right, son, I do,” Hound agreed.“I’m nottalkin’ about that.I’mtalkin’about the words you’reusin’.”
“Well, how do you say someone sucks at something when theyreally,reallysuck at it?”Wilder demanded to know…loudly.
“If you two don’t give me granddaughters…I…will lose…myeffing…mind,” Keely, standing in the door to the kitchen, declaredGeorgie and Dutch’s way.
“Momma saideffing!”Wilder screamed with glee.
His baby brother was his usual hilarious.
But Dutch was thrown.
It wasn’t that Keely had not accepted Georgie.She had.Fromthat first night.
It was that she’d been holding back.
Maybe because of how Carolyn did Jag dirty.
Maybe because she sensed Dutch was going through some shit.
Maybe it was just a Ma Thing.
But this was the first indication she’d given that she wasall in.
“I hate to tell you this, Wilder, but I’m not too hot atwrapping presents either,” Georgie admitted.
“I bet you’re better at it than Daddy,” Wilder shot back.
Probably couldn’t argue that.
And Georgie didn’t.
Giving Dutch a look, she let herself be led away.
And it was not lost on Dutch that Wilder, who used toworship him, hadn’t even looked at him.
So she did that with Dutch saying, “I stole your cat, youstole my brother.This is not even.”
