Page 4 of A Very Montgomery Christmas

“Things are about to get a bit louder here,” Arden said dryly.

“Things were too quiet before the two of us met, don’t you think?”

Arden met my gaze and smiled. “You’re right. I was locked in my home, and I didn’t have a way out. Jasper was my only real connection to the outside world except for my brothers, who were constantly trying to bug me.”

“Because they love you.”

“That may be true. But I had closed everyone else out of my life. Then you came along and bulldozed your way into my world. You and your massive family.”

“It’s what we do,” I said with a laugh.

“Thank you for being my first favorite Montgomery,” she whispered.

“You know, you’re my first favorite, too.”

“I love you, Liam.”

“And I love you. Now, let’s go bring the family to my mom and dad, and tell them the good news. Because I don’t think my mom’s going to be able to handle us if we’re late.”

“We would never be late. Not when it comes to your mom. She’s already a fantastic grandma.”

“And with the way that my siblings are producing, she’s going to get a lot of practice.”

“I honestly don’t think she’s going to complain.”

I kissed Arden again and helped her stand up before we straightened up Lake’s dress, made sure Jasper was all brushed and ready to go, and then the four of us were out of the door, heading towards my mother’s house, and the start of our family dinner. And I had a feeling even with a dog, a babbling Lake, and Arden and I laughing along, we might be the quietest of the bunch.

And that was saying something.

Chapter 2

Ethan

Istumbled into the living room searching for my shoes. Why my shoes would be in there and not in the closet where they should be, I didn’t know. Well, I did. It was the new addition to the house that was approximately three months old, the love of my life, and currently screaming his little lungs off.

“It’s okay, little Kingston,” Holland cooed, holding the baby up to her chest. She does a little swinging motion around the living room, bouncing him to try to calm him down. Colic was no fun, and he had decided that he didn’t want to breastfeed anymore, but also missed breastfeeding at the same time. So we were dealing with bottle feeding, pumping, lack of sleep, and a crying baby.

And I’ve never been happier in my life.

“It’s okay, we’re going to go see Grandma,” Holland whispered. “And Grandpa, of course.”

That made me snort. I went down to my knees and spotted my shoes under the couch. I rolled my eyes and pulled them out. “Grandpa knows that Grandma is the one that we’re going to see. She’s in baby fever at the moment.”

“You know your father is in just as big a baby fever as his wife is.”

“True, but he lets us believe that it’s only Mom.”

“They’re just so good at being grandparents.” She cuddled Kingston to her chest.

I leaned down, brushed a soft kiss over his downy head, and then kissed my wife on the lips. “Hi,” I whispered.

“Hi. I don’t remember what sleep is, Ethan. I mean, I vaguely remember lying down and waking up after a few hours feeling refreshed, but I don’t think that exists anymore.”

I felt the same, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. She needed me to be the strong one, even if it was a lie. “It’s fine. People can work on thirty minutes of sleep. There have been papers on it.”

“Papers written by liars,” she whispered fiercely, still swinging Kingston in her arms. He quieted down some but kept chirping little chirps of dismay.

And we all knew what he wanted and why he wasn’t getting it.

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