Page 22 of Oh Holy Knight

I grab the Sambuca from the shelf, rip the pourer from the top and take a shot straight from the bottle.

“Um…aren’t you supposed to put that in the coffee?” Enzo asks.

“Did you fellas know Maria kicked your old man out of the house last night?” Parrish chimes in.

“Come on, that’s the fourth one!” Nico cries. “It’s getting expensive buying all your ex-wives Christmas presents.”

Tell me about it.

That reminds me, I still have to buy Sophie something.

Fuck my life.

I take another swig before lowering the bottle. Diverting my eyes to Enzo, I stare at him for a beat.

“If you’re here to deliver bad news—”

“Well, it ain’t good.”

“Of course it isn’t,” I mutter, dragging out a heavy sigh. “What is it this time?”

He eyes the bottle for a second.

“Maybe you should have another.”

“For fucks sake just tell me,” I hiss.

“Fine,” he says, bracing his hands against the bar. “There is no way the house will be done in time for Christmas. When we blew out the wall for the extension, I noticed the wiring was faulty and I figured I’d replace it, but it’s not that easy. I have to run a new line…”

He continues to explain all the problems, but I tune him out. For the first time since I decided this was going be the year we celebrated Christmas the proper way, I’m doubting myself. How the hell am I supposed to pull this off when everything keeps going against me? Maybe canceling Christmas is the right move. If I call it quits now I’m still giving everyone time to make other plans. We won’t all be together, but it is what it is.

I tried and that’s all a man can do.

I’m about to announce Christmas is off when the front door opens again, this time it’s Blackie and Lacey. They’ve got their girls with them and their arms are full of presents.

“Grandpa!” Jacqueline, who is a little older than my Anna, runs straight for Parrish. He lifts her in his arms and spins her around the bar—a big ol’ grin on his face.

Good.

With his pride and joy here to soak up all his attention, he’ll get off my back.

I tear my eyes away from him and Jacqueline to look at Blackie who is wearing one of those baby carriers under his kutte and has Dominique tucked safely against his chest. Lacey fixes the enormous headband on her head and I find myself smiling at the two of them.

I don’t know why—Lord knows I should be crying—but, there’s something about seeing them happy that just makes me happy. Perhaps it’s knowing how hard they fought for what they have now. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s them.

“Earth to Dad,” Enzo calls.

“What?” I say, bringing my gaze back to him.

“Do you want to tell Maria or should I?”

“Tell Maria what?” Riggs asks.

“Christmas is canceled,” Nico supplies.

“What?!” Riggs exclaims. “Dude, I’ve been chasing a fucking turkey for three days. You can’t cancel Christmas.”

“Who is canceling Christmas?” Lacey asks, making her way toward us. She inches up on her tip toes and presses a kiss to my cheek. “We got the presents for the clubs Toys For Tots donation. We also picked up some things for the toy run. Bishop gave us a list of things the kids asked for, I think we got everything and a little more. Blackie can’t be controlled in a toy store.” She glances over her shoulder and winks at her husband who just smiles at her.

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