After Carlotta hugged both Logan and Tara warmly, his son’s wife handed Lottie some of the drinks they’d brought for the party. The two women immediately went to the kitchen to chill the cans and bottles.
Logan sent him a speculative glance. “Still just looking at Carlotta?”
“Nope.” He grinned widely.
His son laughed. “I kind of got that impression. I wasn’t sure if we were going to have to leave the room quickly because you sure looked like you wanted to undress her right that instant.”
“I did. I still do. But I can wait. At least five minutes.”
“That long?” Logan drawled, then he laughed. “Good for you, Dad. I hope you two will be really happy.”
“I think we will. Time will tell, right?” He shrugged. “What about you? How long is your leave?”
Logan’s smile fell. “A few days. I’ve been promised a longer one in the spring. In the meantime, I’ve talked to Hunter. He’s going to let Tara stay here with Kata while I’m on active duty, and it’s a huge relief to me to know she’ll be with family, just in case.”
“That’s great. It’s perfect.”
“Almost. Yeah…”
Before Caleb could question his son on that comment, Kimber clattered in on a pair of towering black heels, carrying bags of chips and a couple of bowls of dip. Behind her, Deke entered with their son, Cal, balanced on one hip. He held a twelve-pack of beer in his free hand.
Cal lunged out of Deke’s arms to reach Caleb, and he grabbed his growing grandson, tossing him in the air just to hear the little boy giggle.
Kimber kissed his cheek, and Caleb marveled again at how beautiful she’d grown and how happy she looked. Never in a billion years would he have thought she and Deke would be good for one another, but they’d both seemed to flourish, their love almost a tangible thing.
“Good to see you, Dad.”
“You, too, little girl.” He smiled at his only daughter and tickled Cal again.
Deke paused behind his wife. “Kitten, am I icing the beer down in the kitchen?”
“Probably. Let’s go see.”
“Carlotta and Tara are in there, likely organizing everything to perfection.”
“Great. I’ll go join the estrogen party.” Kimber laughed.
Deke shuddered. “I’ll, um…stay out here and admire the Christmas tree. Damn, this place looks great. Much better than the day Tyler and I first walked in.”
Caleb nodded. “It was a lot of hard work, but worth it.”
The door opened again before Deke could reply. Tyler shouldered his way in. His son Seth started wriggling uncontrollably when he spotted Cal.
“Down,” Caleb’s grandson demanded, so he set the boy on his feet.
He skipped over to Seth and the two immediately took up with some stuffed trucks that Tyler handed down to the boys.
Tyler’s wife, Delaney, blew in with a little shiver a moment later, stripping off her coat to reveal her swelling belly under a lovely deep green dress. Seth was not quite two and would have a brother or sister to love shortly after his birthday.
With an indulgent grin, Tyler took her coat and draped it over the back of the sofa, then settled a hand over her belly. “Active tonight?”
“Yeah, our little sweet pea must know there’s a party.” Del laughed.
Logan tripped out from the kitchen and shook both Deke’s and Tyler’s hands, then looked at Del’s coat with a frown. “It’s not that cold.”
“According to you,” she returned. “Remember me? Thin Southern California blood here.”
They all had a laugh, and Delaney kissed Tyler before she drifted to the kitchen to join the other ladies. Her wedding ring winked on her left hand under the gleam of the recessed lighting. Their wedding had been rushed with another baby on the way, but it had been an intimate, joyous event shared by this close-knit bunch a few months ago.
The doorbell sounded a moment later, and Tyler turned to open the door. Jack Cole stepped in and greeted the other man with a hearty handshake. He had a blue diaper bag with soccer balls and teddy bears draped over his shoulder, and Caleb shook his head. He’d never thought he’d see the day when big bad Jack toted baby crap around and doted on a gorgeous redhead. Morgan Cole came in behind her husband, looking as lovely as always in a frilly black dress and showing a lot of cleavage. Their sleeping son, just a few months old, rested on a burp cloth laying over her shoulder.
Jack turned to take the baby from her and glowered at the amount of cleavage the dress showed.
“Jack, it’s not like I can help it. When I’m breastfeeding, boobs happen.”
“And only I’m supposed to see them,” he growled. “Remember that.” He pulled gently at the lavish ruby collar around her neck.
“You’re such a caveman.” She rolled her eyes, but the indulgent smile said that she didn’t mind his possessiveness a bit.
Caleb repressed a smile and headed toward the couple. “Hi, Jack. You look fabulous, Morgan. Really happy.”
“Thank you. Life is perfect today. My brother, Brandon, called me earlier. He and his girlfriend, Emberlin, got engaged last weekend. They’re going to come see us for New Year’s. You’re looking great yourself.”
He smiled. “Motherhood seems to agree with you.”
“Brice is an angel.” She grinned with so much pride at the infant in her husband’s arms. “He’s a great sleeper and a great eater.”
“And really great at wailing for his mom whenever dad thinks he might get lucky.”
Around Jack, most of the men laughed. Caleb nodded. “I remember those days…”
“Tell me they end soon,” Jack nearly begged.
“Sure,” Caleb quipped. “In about eighteen years.”
He covered baby Brice’s ears. “Fuck off, Colonel.”
“Same to you.” He laughed. “Beer’s in the kitchen.
“Thank god!” Jack turned to his wife. “You all right here, mon coeur?”
Morgan smiled fondly. “I’ll come with you. Maybe Del brought some sparkling cider.”
The pair drifted deeper into the house, and Caleb turned to glance into the kitchen at the collection of family and friends, all eating, drinking, laughing, enjoying. Carlotta stood at the center of much of it, pouring beverages, handing out napkins, holding babies… God, she looked perfect in his world.
A loud honking outside signaled the arrival of the food. Caleb jogged outside, as did Tyler, Deke, and Logan, to help Luc and Alyssa in with the incredible smelling dishes that made him want to grab a fork and dig in now. Whatever Luc cooked, Caleb couldn’t wait to eat.
It didn’t take long before they had the banquet tables lined up in the great room with some folding chairs from the back of Luc’s van. Del and Kimber had brought tablecloths and paper plates. Morgan produced plastic flatware from a bag in her purse. Tara rushed back to the car to fetch the table centerpiece while Alyssa set up the food station in the kitchen, her daughter Chloe hanging on her leg.
The gorgeous blonde bent to pick up her daughter and brush some tears from her face. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
Chloe pouted, her big blue eyes expressive. The girl would grow up to break hearts. “Boys.”
Caleb laughed. Seth and Cal were forever fighting for Chloe’s attention, but she sometimes got pushed or insulted when she wanted nothing to do with either of them.
“Here’s a boy who will always treat you right.” Alyssa turned to him with a smile. “Do you mind for a minute? I don’t want her to burn herself.”
Holding out his arms, he took Chloe from Alyssa’s grasp so she could finish setting up the food.
The little minx threw her arms around his neck. “Hi, Unca Caleb.”
“Hi, princess.” He kissed her cheek. “What is Santa going to bring you?”
“Lots of toys. And no boys.”
She’d changed her tune in a dozen years, but for now, he smiled and agreed.
The phone in his pocket vibrated, and Caleb shifted the little girl to one hip as he reached in to find the device and read the text from Hunter. “They’re hitting the edge of town now,” he told everyone. “They’ll be here in less than twenty.”
The party kicked into high gear then. Kimber rushed back to the car and produced a Christmas wreath for the front door. Deke followed with a nail, and they quickly hung it. Tyler and Logan trounced through the front yard, deciding at the last minute that it might be a good idea to string lights in the bushes. Delaney and Tara stood at the window watching them, shaking their heads.
“I’ve reproduced twice with that man,” Del murmured. “I hope the gene pool survives.”
Tara laughed. “I’m hoping we’ll add to it soon, so we’ll shallow it more. Then I’m sure I’ll be second-guessing myself, too.”
Del wished her good luck.
Out the big front window, Logan stopped to welcome someone who came up the walkway. Tyler greeted whoever it was as well. Caleb frowned. Were they expecting anyone else?
Finally, Logan opened the front door, and shouted, “More incoming.” Then he turned behind him. “Glad you came.”
His younger son bounded back outside to argue with Tyler about the lights, and Xander Santiago walked in the door. Caleb rushed forward. Chloe immediately started making starry eyes at the single billionaire playboy.
Xander, who’d walked in with a weary expression, laughed at Chloe. “That one is going to be dangerous.”
Luc strutted past, carting two more platters of food. “Don’t I know it! Anyone got a baseball bat? I’m suddenly feeling the need to start hitting teenage boys. Hey, Xander.”
The other man sniffed. “Hi. Smells good, man.”
“Thanks.” With a nod, Luc continued to the kitchen.
“So how have you been?” Xander asked.
“Doing good. Great in fact.” Caleb’s gaze slipped over to Carlotta, and he felt his smile widening.
“Ah, so that’s the way of things. Do Hunter and Kata know?”
“Yep, but even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t matter.”
“Good for you.” Xander smiled faintly.
He was a genuinely nice guy, usually a bit of a prankster. Today, he looked really damn somber.
“How is your brother?”
Xander shook his head, looking more than a little annoyed. “God, doesn’t Logan keep anything to himself?”
Actually, Tyler had filled him in on the tragic murder of Xander’s sister-in-law and the guilt spiral his brother, Javier, had been on ever since.
Caleb just shrugged, and Xander sighed heavily. “Thanks for asking. He’s not doing well. He’s trying to drink himself to death, and I had to have his stomach pumped about two weeks ago. He’s alive and he’s not terribly happy about it. I don’t know what’s going to make him want to live again.”
“It will be something,” Caleb assured. “I’ve seen guys come back from war and they’re so traumatized…”
Of course not all of them pulled through, but if they had caring friends and families and the will to go on, they often not only functioned again but were damn happy. Even without saying it, Caleb saw that Xander loved his brother. Somehow, he’d pull his sibling out of the dark again.
“It will work out,” he assured.
“I hope you’re right.”
Chloe wiggled out of his grasp and lunged at Xander, who chuckled and grabbed the little girl, mouthing a raspberry on her shoulder. The toddler giggled.
“You’re a little flirt,” Xander accused.
The little girl just batted her lashes.
As the men laughed, Caleb felt his phone vibrate again. He read Hunter’s text with a wide grin.
“Two minutes, gang!” he shouted above the din of the party.
Instantly, everyone crowded into the kitchen, as Tyler and Jack killed the lights in the kitchen. Caleb did the same in the great room. Everyone lowered their voice to a whisper in anticipation of Hunter and Kata’s big entrance. He sidled up behind Carlotta and slipped his hands around her waist, pressing a kiss to her neck.
“Hey, none of that now,” Logan teased beside him.
Tara elbowed her husband.
Luc and Alyssa took advantage of the dark and shared a sweet kiss.
Jack pulled Morgan closer. In the shadows, it seemed baby Brice was asleep.
“Like hell,” Jack groused. “This is the only time I get to touch my wife anymore. Don’t mind us over in the corner,” he told everyone.
Morgan giggled. “Stop that, Jack. Everyone will think I don’t give you any attention.”
“You know me. I can never get too much of you, mon coeur.”
“TMI.” Tyler shuddered.
A pair of headlights flashed through the front window. The car engine cut off. Two doors slammed.
“Where are we? Why are we here, Hunter?” Kata’s voice sounded through the door as Hunter opened it for his wife and ushered her in.