“Come on, Lauren!” Callie shouted, taking her sister-in-law’s hand and pulling her toward the sleigh.

The rest followed behind and Adam fell into step with Max. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my little girl so excited.”

Max smiled. “I plan to spend the rest of my life making her smile just like she did tonight.”

Adam slapped him on the back and then returned to his wife. They ushered her into the sled while Max slid in beside Callie and Lauren. When everyone was tucked underneath the blankets, the man Max had hired to drive the sleigh urged the horses forward.

They glided over the snow, through the meadow, and higher into the aspens and pines that surrounded the Colter cabin. Max wrapped his arm around Callie and pulled her in close. Lauren sat next to Callie, her eyes aglow with happiness.

Everything that mattered most to Max was right here, in his arms, sitting close to him. Seeing Callie’s and Lauren’s smiles had been worth every bit of planning and money he’d put into having the meadow lit up.

There was nothing more beautiful than the woman resting against his side, and he’d go to hell and back to make her happy. Always. Every damn day for the rest of his life.

CHAPTER 18

CHRISTMAS morning dawned clear and cold. Everyone began to crawl out of bed and make their way downstairs in their pajamas. Ethan had gotten up early to set the fire, and by the time everyone gathered in the living room, flames danced merrily in the hearth.

Snow was coming down harder. Big, fat, fluffy flakes descended, covering the ground in a fresh blanket of white. The windowpanes were frosted over and the women snuggled into the couches with their husbands.

Lauren seemed hesitant to barge in. She paused, feeling a little silly in her pajamas as she stared at the Colter family enjoying cups of hot chocolate while they waited for breakfast to be served.

Then Max looked up, a smile softening his face. He patted the spot beside him and she quickly moved forward, eager and yet afraid all at the same time to find her place in this family Max had married into.

“Hey kiddo,” Seth said, leaning over to give her head an affectionate tousle.

She smiled and murmured a greeting before settling back to grip the cup Ryan Colter handed her.

Christmas with the Colters had instilled a fiery ache so deeply rooted that it seemed to take her over completely. She was filled with longing for what they had. Love. Caring. Deep and abiding loyalty.

These men adored their women. Unapologetically. Unabashedly. They didn’t give a damn who knew it.

She wanted that. She deserved that. It had taken her long enough to believe it, but damn it, she did.

A few minutes later, Adam came in with cinnamon rolls and buttery croissants. Ryan followed with a pitcher of milk as well as juice that he set on the coffee table.

No one was shy about diving right in. It was a free-for-all that nearly developed into a food fight before Adam eyed his offspring sternly and said, “Now, children.”

Lauren found it amusing that even at the Colter children’s ages, they immediately snapped to attention and adopted a meek attitude when their father took them to task.

But the good times and teasing resumed, and after they polished off the light breakfast, Holly announced that it was time to open presents.

“I want to be Santa!” Callie exclaimed.

“You can’t be Santa. That’s the dads’ job,” Dillon protested.

Callie glared at her brother. “Says who? I want to pass out presents this year.”

“Of course you can, baby,” Holly said.

“Mama’s baby,” Dillon mouthed at her.

Callie shot him a smug smile and then scrambled up to start passing out the gifts.

The living room was soon covered in torn wrapping paper, pieces of ribbons, and bows strewn from one end to the other. Everyone oohed and ahhed over each gift, but it was Lily’s gift that stole the show.

After everything had been opened, Dillon and his brothers rose, conspiratorial smiles on their faces.

“We have one last gift for Lily,” Michael said. “We’ll be right back with it.”

Lily watched them go, her brow furrowed in confusion. A moment later, they tromped back into the house from outside, shaking the snow from their boots and pajamas.

They carried a blanket-covered object into the living room and placed it front of Lily, and then Dillon carefully pulled the covering away.

Lily gasped as she stared in wonder at the magnificent handcrafted cradle. She knew immediately that Dillon had done this. Probably with his brothers’ help.

Her fingers slid over the stained finish with reverence, taking in all the intricate lines and designs that had been carved. But when she got to the end, her vision blurred and she swallowed hard to keep the emotion at bay.

There at the head of the cradle, at the top of the curve, was a simple rose. A gentle remembrance. Letting her know that they hadn’t forgotten, that they understood.

She touched it, running her finger over it again and again, so choked up and filled with overwhelming love for her husbands that she couldn’t have spoken if she wanted to.

“Thank you,” she finally managed to whisper. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Everyone beamed at her, though Holly sniffled and Callie hastily dabbed at her eyes. Even the dads’ eyes were suspiciously wet.

“It’s a fine piece,” Adam proclaimed. “You boys did good.”

His declaration lightened the mood and everyone returned to sorting the gifts, collecting the paper, and stacking boxes in a corner.

When all was done, Holly pushed herself up from between Ethan and Adam. “I have an announcement of my own to make.”

She stood before her family, a serene smile sliding across her pretty features. Holly Colter reminded Lauren of an angel. The very best kind of angel.

“I’m cooking Christmas dinner today.”

There was a series of chokes and wheezes. Spasms crossed the faces of the rest of the Colter family as they tried very hard not to react to her announcement.

Lauren watched them all in puzzlement, not understanding why such an announcement was not only odd but greeted by such an arresting array of responses.

There were even groans. Ryan’s face whitened. Ethan looked panicked. The Colter offspring just dissolved into raucous laughter.

Holly glared at them all, hands on her hips.

“You aren’t cooking,” Adam said sternly. “You just got out of the hospital.”

“Not to mention we don’t want her to put us in the hospital,” Ryan muttered.

Holly scowled at her husband. “I heard that.”

“She’s a wonderful cook,” Lily said, rising to throw her glare in with Holly’s.

Holly slid her arm around Lily’s waist and beamed at her daughter-in-law. “Thank you, baby.”

Ethan sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Everyone looked like they were preparing to face their executioner.

“Anyone want to hear the menu or shall I just surprise you all?” Holly asked, her eyes brimming with excitement.

Another series of groans echoed over the room.

She pursed her lips and shook her finger at all her naysayers. “You’ll see. I’ll expect apologies from each and every one of you.”

She turned and marched toward the kitchen but stopped midway there to turn and frown at everyone. “No one better set foot in my kitchen until you’re called for dinner. Is that clear?”

“God help us,” Adam said wearily.

“Her kitchen?” Ethan choked out. “When has it ever been her kitchen?”

Feeling compelled to show support for a woman who’d been nothing short of wonderful to her, Lauren stood and fixed the rest of the room with a disapproving frown. “How could you all be so mean to her?”

For a moment they all stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Then they dissolved into laughter. Callie wiped at her face and attempted to explain through her merriment.

“We aren’t being mean, Lauren. You have to understand. My mom is a disaster in the kitchen.”

Seth grimaced. “That’s one way to put it.”

“She’s … terrible,” Callie went on. “There’s no other way to explain her culinary skills, or lack thereof. In the thirty-plus years she and the dads have been together, she’s never cooked. It’s not that she hasn’t occasionally tried, but in an effort to prevent her from burning down the house or poisoning the offspring, the dads banned her from the kitchen.”

Another round of laughter filled the room.

With a sigh, Lily shot them all reprimanding looks. “I don’t care how awful this meal is, you’ll eat it and you’ll love it,” she said fiercely. “She’s worked hard for the last several weeks learning this menu. All she wants is to make Christmas dinner one time for her family.”

Understanding dawned in Ryan’s eyes. “So that’s what she’s been up to. Hell, we had no idea why she’s been sneaking off to your house all the time and refusing to allow us to drive her.”

Lily nodded. “We’ve spent countless hours in the kitchen while she labors over this meal. It’s actually quite good. If she doesn’t get flustered and can remember everything I taught her, I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Adam turned to fix each of his children with a menacing glare. “You’ll not say a word to your mother no matter how bad it is. I want her happy, and if making us a meal makes her happy, then by God, we’ll sit down and enjoy it even if it kills us.”

Ryan coughed and Adam turned his glare on his brother. “That goes for you and Ethan too.”

Ethan chuckled.

“There’s always leftovers from last night if things go really bad,” Callie said.

“Just everyone sit like your mother said and wait for her to come get us,” Adam said.

It was hard to sit in the living room when the kitchen might indeed be in peril. Every once in a while, someone could be seen sniffing delicately at the air as if trying to discern whether anything was burning. But after an hour, delicious smells floated through the living room.

At the end of two hours, the smells were so wonderful that the rest of the family began to grow restless and check the time as if they were impatient for dinner to be served.

And then Holly appeared in the doorway of the living room, her smile triumphant even if she looked decidedly harried and bedraggled.

“Dinner is served,” she declared, her smile bright enough to rival the meadow the night before.

Everyone scrambled up and jockeyed for position going into the dining room. It was as if they all wanted to be the first to see the results of Holly’s cooking.

When they all crowded into the doorway, exclamations and sounds of surprise rose. The table was set with a red tablecloth and a beautiful poinsettia centerpiece. Each place was set with sterling silver utensils and Holly had dragged out her rarely used fine china for the occasion.

But what everyone focused in on was the mouthwateringly fragrant food.

“Sit, sit,” she urged. “I don’t want it to get cold.”

Neither did anyone else.

They scrambled into their seats and discovered steaming bowls of lobster bisque accompanied by an appetizer of crawfish-stuffed shrimp. Homemade rolls were passed around and then silence descended as everyone glanced around to see who would be the first to try it.

Max didn’t hold back, but then he’d never been a victim of Holly’s attempts at cooking. He spooned a mouthful of the bisque into his mouth and then took a bite of the hot roll.

He looked up when he realized everyone was staring at him. He laughed. “I suppose I could pretend to keel over and die an agonizing death, but that would probably get me banned from any future family meals.”

“Damn right it would,” Holly muttered.

“It’s excellent, Mrs. C.,” Max said. “You outdid yourself.”

The others looked surprised and then suddenly they were all dipping into their bowls and the reactions were comical.

“Oh my God, this is heaven,” Ethan groaned. “My wife made this?”

Holly huffed at him and shot him a quick glare.

No one spoke for a long moment as they all savored the wonderful-tasting bisque. When they all finished, Holly began dishing up the grilled fish fillets. When she opened the covered bowl containing the étouffée, there were looks of amazement all around.

She carefully ladled the étouffée onto the plates, covering the fillets.

“What the hell did you do to our mother?” Dillon demanded as he forked another bite into his mouth.

The entire table cracked up at his irreverence. Even Holly grinned. “You like?”

“Like? I damn well love,” Dillon said around another mouthful. “Did my wife teach you how to make all this?”

Holly shot a proud glance in Lily’s direction. “She sure did.”

Adam, Ethan, and Ryan all looked over at Lily, and Ethan said in mock reverence, “How can we ever thank you? You’ve performed a miracle. We never thought we’d see the day she didn’t burn the house down after two hours in the kitchen.”