Wrapping Up (Mitchell Family #4.5)(28)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“She told him that she wasn’t going to drive home with him after he’d been drinkin’. Since I was sittin’ there, he stayed calm and agreed that it was best she stay until he sobered up. Amy gave him the number to the house phone and he seemed to calm down a bit once he knew where she was. Although, he has no idea that she’s back there with my brother.” Miranda got comfortable on her side, so she was facing me and the boys.

I kept sitting the twins up and laughing when they fell back on the pillows. They were getting a kick out of it happening too and made it a game. “You know, we’re going to have a great Christmas.”

She smiled and looked me in the eye. “As long as my brother doesn’t go to jail for killin’ someone.”

I started to laugh. “Yeah, that could be a real buzzkill.” I reached over and grabbed her hand. “As long as I get to see you in that little outfit and be the one to take it off, it will be the Best. Christmas. Ever.”

Chapter 9

Miranda

After finally coming to the realization that whatever was going on between my brother and my best friend was out of my hands, things got better that evening. Conner and Amy came out of his room and we sat by the fire and played cards. None of us brought up her situation and although they were sitting close to each other, they weren’t acting like they were together.

Colt and Van didn’t make it to our house until noon the next day. It was fine by us since we’d stayed up way too late playing cards and then got up two more times with the boys. We ended up letting them sleep in our bed with us, in order to be able to sleep longer.

When I woke up I found both of them cuddled up against their father. Sweat was in all three of their hair, but it never woke them. I snapped a quick picture, before climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

Ty and the boys slept until ten and when they woke up, my quiet house seemed like it was already filled. Once Colt and Van arrived, the chaos began. We carried in all of the gifts and hid them from Noah and Bella. Colt and Van looked at Amy and Conner with curious eyes, but never asked a single question. I knew at some point the guys would go out to the barn to shoot pool and they could ask Conner anything they wanted out there.

Christian had started walking and Van and I spent the first hour trying to remove everything she could get her hands on. She liked to pick things up and taste them, even if it was an electrical cord, or a Christmas decoration. Poor Van couldn’t take her eyes away from her for even a second.

Van’s parents had volunteered to pick up my aunt and Lucy from the airport, since they finally were able to get a flight in. The roads were still a mess, but the main highways were clear enough for safe travel.

Ty’s mother had made a huge spread and we all bundled up and headed next door for an early Christmas Eve dinner. We had to pull Amy’s arm, but she finally agreed to tag along. Of course, my mother eyed her up and kept pulling me to the side asking me a million questions. Since I really knew little, it was easy to dodge my mother.

With the whole family at my in-laws for the evening, Ty and I were able to relax for a change. Christian was walking around finding all types of new things she could fit into her mouth, while the boys were being passed all around from family member to family member, and of course, Noah and Bella were occupied with each other. John had brought them gingerbread house kits and they were sitting at the table with John and their Pop pop trying to assemble them.

After we all ate so much that we could barely move us women helped clean up, while the guys were watching some kind of sports event in the family room. The twins were down for a nap and Colt was on Christian duty. If my boys were half as curious as that little girl, then this time next year was going to be interesting, to say the least.

Van and I tried to include Amy in everything we did. I think it was hard for her to feel comfortable when everyone there knew she was my boss and that she was married. They’d all met her at my baby shower and a few times since then, so she had to feel awkward. It didn’t make it any easier for the family when Conner snuck out to feed Scotch and Amy went with him. All eyes were on them as they walked out of the house, and even more so when Conner put his arm around her as they walked away.

Since it was getting dark and the weather was getting even colder, none of us could go to midnight mass at the church in town. It was too icy to take the chance, so we opted for a night of wine with some extremely spiked eggnog and enough of Ty’s crude jokes to occupy an Irish pub for a month.

John sat with all the kids and read The Night Before Christmas, before we took them all over to go to sleep. Van’s parents had gone home right at dark, before the roads got any worse and she and Colt were sleeping on our pull out sofa.

Once we all headed over to our house, we found Conner and Amy watching Christmas movies on the couch. We carried the sleeping kids to their beds and started playing Santa.

Conner jumped up and got Ty’s attention. “You know what we forgot?”

Ty got a smile on his face. “Baby, in ten minutes wake up Iz and Noah and tell them to look out the window in her room.”

I wasn’t sure what they were up to, but I agreed to it anyway. We watched the two men get bundled up and head outside. After waiting the ten minutes, we went into her room and had them look out the window. Behind Ty’s parent’s house was a bright flash and then this red box with something sitting inside of it went flying off the roof. Noah and Bella looked at each other with wide eyes.

I leaned down and tried my best not to laugh. “I think that was Santa.”

Noah smiled from ear to ear. “It was Santa. I just know it!”

“Mommy, can we go open our presents now?” Poor Bella thought it would be fine to open them since she’d seen Santa leaving.

“No, honey, you have to go back to sleep. Santa hasn’t come here yet because you were both awake.”

They jumped down from the window and climbed back into the bed. Colt and Van stood at the door, trying not to laugh as I tucked them back in and followed my cousins out of the room.

When the guys came back in, they were so excited. “So, did it look real?” Ty asked.

Colt started laughing. “Real enough for them to believe it.”

“That’s awesome.” Ty rubbed his hands together. “So Van, you ready to do adult pictures?”

She cocked her eyebrow. “It’s late. Why can’t we wait until the morning?”

I shook my head and watched my husband run back in our room and grab the bag full of red velvet. When he came out, he emptied the bag on her lap. She looked up at him. “I know you are joking right now.”