Page 16 of A Crossroads Christmas

She sat beside Zara at the kitchen table and sipped from an empty pink teacup. The tea party Zara organized consisted of Cam, all the stuffed animals Zara could fit into the bag she brought with her, the plastic bubblegum pink Barbie tea set, and imaginary treats. Every chair at the table had been occupied.

“Can I have more tea?” Cam wiped her mouth. “Oops. I spilled some.”

Zara shrugged. “It’s okay. Take a napkin and clean it up.”

Cam’s lips twitched. “Of course.” She wiped up an imaginary spill and wadded the napkin up, tossing it in the trash. “Will you pour me another cup?”

“Sure.”

I smiled at the two of them, especially my beautiful ol’ lady, and hoped I could give her kids someday because I knew how badly she wanted them.

A crash from down the hall alerted me to the fact that I’d left Jakey, Gavin, and Gage alone for too long. Shit.

I rushed down the hall, stopping as I spotted the boys gathered in the bathroom together. That never went well. Boysdid stupid shit with toilet paper, water, and whatever else they could find. It was common knowledge.

As I peeked inside, hoping no one had broken anything, I found Gavin and Gage sitting on the edge of the tub. Jakey kneeled in front of them, applying the last bit of black makeup with his fingers. “Whatcha doin’?”

He peered at me over his shoulder. “Makin’ them Reapers.”

A rumble in my chest proved that my Reaper approved.

“I didn’t think you’d mind. Gavin and Gage wanna learn how to do it right so they can be like Rael.”

Made sense to me. “Can I watch?” My gaze slid over the boys and the bottle of body wash that had been knocked over into the empty tub. No biggie. It didn’t even spill.

“Sure.”

The twins were little, not quite two, but those boys already had an otherworldly wisdom and maturity. Freaked Rael out a bit, but he also found them fascinating. I did, too. Maybe it was because they were getting the chance to grow up together the way we never did. It had been ripped away from us, and we fought hard to get where we were. The twins would never know the heartache we did.

Jakey washed his hands and then went for the white paint, adding “bones” to Gavin and Gage’s faces, enhancing the features, especially skeletal lips.

I had to admit they looked badass when he finished.

“Uncle Chrome?”

“Yeah?” I loved being an uncle. A gift that kept giving every single day.

Not all of us were related by blood, but that didn’t stop the kids from adopting most of the adults as uncles or aunts. The club was one giant family; not one among us would change that.

“We need to reap some souls.”

A grin widened my lips. “Come on. I’ll show you how to hunt.”

It was never too early to learn.

“Can we hunt reindeer?”

“We sure can.”

Chapter 5 Chaos

December 8th—

Skyla groaned as I rubbed her back, leaning backward into my chest as she wiped her mouth. “Pregnancy sucks.”

“Aww, I think that’s just the morning sickness part.”

“It’s not just mornings, Babe. I can’t keep anything down.” She sighed as I helped her to her feet and picked up her toothbrush, swiping toothpaste over the bristles. “It doesn’t matter what time of day or night.”

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