Page 30 of A Crossroads Christmas

Mammoth and his son must be headin’ our way. I bet Miles saw them from his bedroom window.

“I want to build a snowman!”

Last night, we received several inches of snow, and it stuck. Nevada could be weird this time of year, but there was just enough white powder to roll around and create a big snowman.

Bodie cleared his throat. “I’ll get Maverick. He’ll want to build a snowman, too.”

“Great idea. We’ll give everyone a call and see who’s in.”

“I can handle that,” Bodie replied. “See ya in a few.”

I nodded to him before he left and turned to my son. At five, he was already tall and favored me. “Sure, Miles. Let me ask your mom if she wants to build one with us.” I reached for his hand, and he led me into the kitchen, where Abby placed the lid on a large crockpot of chili. It was a perfect meal on a wintery day. After being outside, it would warm us right up.

“Well, if isn’t my favorite two men.”

Miles made a silly face. “I’m a boy, Mama. Dad is a man.”

“Is that so?” She pretended to think about it. “I guess you’re so big and strong like your dad that it confuses me.” She winked as I caught her eye.

Miles grinned at her response and puffed his chest. “I’m almost as big. We’re the rulers of the house.”

She arched a brow. “I think we’ll have to talk about that.”

I lowered to a crouch, whispering loud enough that Abby could hear. “We’re the men so that we can protect your Mama and the house, but we aren’t the rulers. Wanna know a secret?”

Miles nodded.

“I think your mama is the ruler.”

She giggled as I flashed her a grin. No lie, my sweet Abby could be fucking fierce. I tried to keep her happy and gave her my dick every chance I got. Of course, it helped that we’d been in love with one another for as long as we could remember. I sure fought it hard in the beginning, but Abby never wavered. She knew she loved me and didn’t stop fighting for us.

Miles seemed to think about it, but his mind was on a different path. “We wanna build a snowman!”

“Oh, that sounds fun.”

“Come with us, Mama!”

Abby couldn’t resist. “As long as you bundle up and wear your boots and gloves.”

Miles ran toward his room as I reached for Abby’s hand. She took it, and I gently pulled her toward me, tilting her chin so I could capture her sweet, soft, pillow-like lips.

“Dad! Mama! It’s snowing!”

I glanced out the window and caught the fat flakes that slowly drifted downward before adding to the layers of snow we already had. With any luck, they would pack down, and the snowmen we built would last for days before they melted.

Scooping up Miles, I headed outside as he laughed and found our front yard full. Bodie, Sasha, and Maverick. Mammoth, Rowen, and Jakey. Papa and Noah. Chaos and Zara. And finally, us.

Despite the soft snowfall, it wasn’t too chilly.

With everyone pitching in and building the snowmen, it didn’t take long before we had a yard full of snow people. Rowen and Sasha built a woman. Miles helped me build a big grandpa like Papa. His words, not mine. It sure made me chuckle. Papa? He scowled. Too soon after all Rael’s teasing? Probably.

I glanced his way, noting that he used a dark dye to cover a lot of the white color on his beard and hair. He looked younger than usual, so I guess it worked for him.

“Don’t,” he warned when he saw me glance his way. “I’m fucking serious.”

Shrugging, I left it alone.

Miles tugged on the sleeve of my coat. “Dad? Are reindeers real?”

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