Page 38 of His Eighth Ride

“That’s because he always gets exactly what he wants,” Tag quipped.

Opal giggled and buried her face in his chest, making him feel strong and desired. “Thank you, Tag.”

“For what?”

“For making me slow down.”

“It’s not going to be perfect, honeybee,” he said. “But it’s going to be completely perfect at the same time.”

“I’m not going to kiss you,” she said. “Because I just caught a flash of movement outside, and that means they’re here.”

“Then you better go say hello,” Tag said.

Opal squealed and headed for the front door in her sexy, shiny black heels. She pulled open the door and flowed right out onto the front porch. “You’re here, you’re here!”

Tag shook his head good-naturedly and made to follow her. Easton and Allison had a little girl named Violet, and he figured he could be useful in bringing in some suitcases. Mike and Gerty and Easton and Allison had gotten out of the truck, and the four of them clustered with Opal at the bottom of the steps. They all laughed and talked over one another, and for a breath, a mere slip, time stopped.

A hole opened up for him in the group. He could be the sixth person there, and when Wes and Bree exited the house and went down the steps, the group expanded for them too. They had room for him in their family, and Tag hadn’t seen it until now.

“Opal’s wrong,” he whispered to himself. She wasn’t an outlier in her family. She didn’t sit on the outside of anything.

She was the glue that held them all together. She bridged the gap from the oldest brother to the youngest, from her parents to her siblings, and she did it with grace, power, and beauty.

Tag felt himself falling in love with her, and with that came the terrifying sense of freefalling into an abyss. Of jumping out of an airplane without a parachute to save him. Of letting go of the past and stepping into an unknown future.

“Tag,” someone called, and he pulled himself back to earth and anchored himself there. He hurried down the steps and to the back of the truck to get suitcases, but Opal intercepted him.

“Here he is,” she said, hooking her arm through his. “Tag, this is my baby brother, Easton, and his wife, Allison. My momma just took Vi inside.”

“So great to meet you,” Tag said kindly. He shook Easton’s hand, noting the khakis the man wore, with the pale yellow collared shirt. He wasn’t cut from any of the same cloth as Tag, but he had a good smile.

Allison was likewise proper, with her flowered maxi dress. She had dirty blonde hair that parted right down the middle, and when he shook her hand too, she had a firm touch.

“Great to meet you,” Easton said. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Is that so?” Tag asked.

“Opal texts about you all the time,” Gerty said. “Spoiler alert.”

“Just about Boots and Rooster and the fact that I converted you to candy canes in your hot chocolate.” She grinned at him. “Why are we standing outside in the cold?” She looked up into the blue, blue sky, which should’ve made them all feel warm.

But when it was this clear in the winter, that only brought sub-zero temperatures to go with the blinding light. Oh, and it meant a storm was rapidly approaching.

Tag did move to get the suitcases then, and he followed everyone into the house—where he found West looking at Violet like she was an alien invader in his house, and Easton had put his backpack on the corner of the table.

“At least he missed the plate,” Tag murmured as he grabbed it and set it beside the door. Then he took the bags over to the kitchen door and set them out of the way. He’d take them with him when he went to his cabin, as Easton’s family would be staying out in the trio of cabins this holiday season. Steele had taken the one next to Tag, which left one more on the end for them.

Tag had helped Opal get it aired out and heated for her brother, and he’d carry the bags out there for them too.

Behind him, West squealed in a less-than-delighted way, and that caused no less than all four Hammond women to lurch toward him as he ripped a toy away from his cousin. Tag wanted to burst out laughing, but he didn’t want Bree, Opal, Gerty, or Allison to see him.

Thankfully, the door opened, and a metal tray started to enter ahead of Carrie. Tag lunged in that direction to help her, as he’d already spotted the beautifully decorated Christmas cookies. Sleds, stockings, snowflakes, and more.

“I got these,” he said, taking the tray from her.

“Oh, Tag,” Carrie said as she released the tray. She wore an earnest expression as her eyes darted around the kitchen and living room. “Kyle needs a hand getting out of the truck. He sprained his ankle this morning, and….”

“I’m on the way,” he said. He slid the cookies onto the counter beside the fridge and then bustled outside to help Kyle. Their generational house didn’t sit as far from the main farmhouse as the trio of cabins did, but they’d driven over tonight.

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