“Of course, but I don’t think you should go out driving in the dark.”
“They’ve been gone three hours. Something’s wrong.” I could call the police, but I don’t think they’d send a car out on Christmas Eve on the basis of “They’ve been gone all afternoon.”
Wes comes in, followed by Serena’s brother, and immediately sizes up the situation. “Beck and I’ll go look for them.”
I nod tightly. “That would be great. You can take my car.”
The door opens just as they’re about to head out. Jax enters, Sophie boosted up on one hip, and a huge wave of relief washes over me.
I didn’t know how worried I was until this second.
“You’re late,” I comment, my chest tightening at the sight of my husband and daughter.
“I know, Hales. Mace’s truck went off the road”—my heart leaps into my throat—“and my phone died. I didn’t have a compatible charger in the truck.”
I take my daughter, hugging her hard. “How did you get back?” I ask over her shoulder.
Tyler’s dark head appears in the doorway. “We would’ve gotten back sooner if Jax wasn’t hell-bent on bringing our cargo with us.”
“It was your idea in the first place,” Jax grumbles.
“What was?” I ask, pulling back to run a harrowed gaze over Sophie, from her head to her shiny black rubber boots. All the important parts seem to be there.
“This.”
They swing the doors wide to reveal the tree. Two men wearing construction vests help Jax and Tyler bring it inside and set it up in the living room. I look out into the driveway and see a tow truck.
“Sweet tree,” Beck declares. “Same kind I got last year.”
“Yeah, well, tree fell out of the truck,” Tyler says wearily after they set the tree in the corner. “We went off the road. Fortunately didn’t hit anything. Some people offered us a ride, but we had to wait for not one tow but two—one for Mace’s truck and one for the tree.”
“Everyone’s good?”
My question is for my daughter, and Sophie nods, eyes wide. “The truck was going this way and that way”—she motions with her hands in a way that makes my stomach lurch—“but Daddy saved us. Tyler walked down the road and got these guys to help us out. They saved the tree.”
I force my attention to the prize in question. “It’s growing.”
“Damn right it is,” Jax responds, tossing me a cocky look that somehow softens the edge of my concern.
Sophie jumps down from my arms and dances around the tree in delight.
“We can decorate,” Serena suggests. “What do you say, Sophie?”
She’s already diving into the box of ornaments in the corner of the room.
I make my way into the dining room, where the huge table is set for everyone. My husband finds me there.
“I’m glad Sophie didn’t bludgeon you and Tyler into the ground on her tree hunt,” I manage to say.
“Yeah. It worked out all right—the guys took a selfie with Tyler and me. Apparently they’re fans, so the kid promised to send them tickets to his next tour.” Despite everything that’s happened, he grins. “Nights like this are the best.”
I shake my head. “You don’t miss being on the road for the holidays?”
“Never. It’s perfect, Hales.” Jax brushes a kiss over my cheek. His gaze lands Tyler, who’s talking with Beck but discreetly searching for Annie. “Where is she?”
“Outside. I should go tell her he’s okay. That you all are.”
Jax catches my arm. “Let him.”
I sigh. “They’re having a tough time.”
“They’re figuring things out,” he corrects. “Like we did.”
I tilt my head up at him. “Exactly like we did? I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
Jax steps between my legs, his size and hard body and closeness affecting me instantly.
“It was worth it,” he murmurs in that voice every woman on the planet dreams of having in her ear.
“This is what’s it’s all about,” I say. “Family. Connection. Belonging.”
He nods. “We all chose each other. No matter where we celebrate, or how we celebrate or when, we’re unbreakable.”
I questioned it once. I don’t anymore.
The crew is all here. Jax’s guitarist, Ryan, known as Mace to the rest of the world, is who Mason was named after. Their bassist, Brick, is with his wife, Nina, and drummer Kyle with his new girlfriend. Plus Serena and Wes. Everyone has drinks and mingles around the living room, catching up or helping Sophie decorate the new tree.
“It’s not Christmas until we play The Song,” Mace declares.
“What song?” Serena asks.
But Jax is already trying to grab the phone out of his guitarist’s hand. His former drummer, Kyle, steps in and takes it, hitting Play. My husband growls.
But his voice—younger but as charming as ever—streams out of the speaker.
“Dude. ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’?” Beck says in disbelief.
“I was twenty and bowing to pressure from the label,” Jax gripes. “They wanted a holiday EP to capitalize on my platinum album.”
“I try to get him to repeat for us every year,” I weigh in. “So far, nothing.”
The look Jax shoots me would have lesser women falling to their knees. “I’m never performing Christmas songs again, Hales.”
“Not even for your family?” I cock my head. “That’s cold. And speaking of cold, I need to reheat dinner. Excuse me.”
I head to the kitchen and put things in the double oven. I’m instantly on alert before Jax ambushes me, tickling lightly until I screech.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about our legacy,” he says.
I cock a brow. “Three kids isn’t enough?”
Annie might not be mine biologically, but she is in every other way.
“It’s everything.” The earnestness in his voice makes me melt. “But some of the people out there—Tyler, the band—are family we chose. They’re able to live extraordinary lives in part because we helped. I think of how many more people we could help.”
“Aside from our charity?” He nods, and my brows pull together in suspicion. “It sounds as if you might have an idea.”
“I just might. Tell me you’re with me.”
“You going to tell me what it is?”
A wicked grin splits his face. “There’s no fun in that.”
Before I can press him, he pulls me close, and I kiss him. He’s still gorgeous, the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met.
I spent my life trying to be independent, to survive because I had to. But since meeting this man, clashing with him head to head in a way few people have dared, we’ve both changed.
I knew him before I met him, and I never could’ve predicted the wild ride our lives would take us on.
His tongue parts my lips, and I open on a moan, hungry for him.
“Hales, help me with some math.”
“Only since it is one of my zones of genius,” I agree, breathless.