Page 61 of Trust Me
“Let’s go see. I want to give her a kiss,” he says as he walks me into the family room. The sight before us is amazing and completely hysterical. My dad is reclined in his easy chair, Nate is sitting in Mom’s chair, and Travis, Will, and Brooklyn are curled up on the couch; all still watching the princess movie. I can’t help but laugh.
“This is the funniest football game I’ve ever seen.”
“We tried to turn it,” Travis says.
“But she threatened to make Jake her favorite uncle,” Nate chimed in. Maddox and I laugh hard as he walks over to the couch to Brooklyn.
“Maddox!” Brooklyn stands up on the couch and throws herself at him. The excitement has her coughing a little, but Maddox rubs a soothing hand up and down her back to calm her.
The boys take the distraction as an opportunity to turn on the pregame show fortonight’s Thanksgiving game.
“I’ve missed you today. Were you a good girl?”
“Yep! Uncle Will bwought me pwesents for being good!”
“He did? Well, that was nice of him.”
Jake comes down the stairs at that moment. “Shower’s yours,” he says to Maddox as he takes Brooklyn from him. “Give your favorite uncle a big kiss.”
“She already gave me one,” Travis says as Brooklyn plants a big kiss on Jake’s cheek.
Maddox heads up the stairs to shower. The boys are all engrossed in the football game, and Brooklyn is playing on the couch with her new doll and doll clothes, so I head into the kitchen to help Mom with final dinner preparations.
“It’s almost ready, honey. Will you set the table?”
“Absolutely.” I gather up the plates, silverware, and napkins and head into the dining room.
When the table is all set and the food is brought to the table, Mom goes into the family room to gather the troops. As I’m pouring glassesof water, Maddox comes down the stairs, hair still damp from his shower. He slides up behind me and presses his lips against my neck.
“I can’t wait to dig into this food. I’m starving.” He trails slow kisses from my neck down to my collarbone, hands wrapped around my waist. “But do you know what I’m looking forward to the most?”
“What’s that?” I ask a little breathless.
“Dessert.”
“Oh, there’s going to be dessert,” I inform him. “Remember that black lace corset we saw in the window at the mall?” His eyebrows shoot sky-high; a look of excitement crosses his face. “Well, itmightbe hanging in my closet as we speak.”
His pupils dilate and his smile turns wolfish. “I can’t fucking wait for dessert,” he says as he gives me a long, lingering kiss.
“Knock that shit off,” Jake thunders as he enters the dining room. “Just because I gave my blessing doesn’t mean you can get all grabby with my sister when I’m present.” He walks over and pulls out his chair. “In fact, you’re never allowed to talk about as much as a kiss with her. Let’s just go with the assumption that you two never touch.”
“Oh, we touch…a lot,” Maddox throws him a big grin, earning a loud growl from Jake.
Will brings Brooklyn into the dining room, and I help get her settled in the booster seat between me and Maddox. After everyone is seated, Dad says grace before standing to carve the turkey. Mom is a genius in the kitchen. Not only can she bake, but she can cook anything. Besides turkey, we feast on mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, scalloped corn, green bean casserole, Jell-O salad, and of course, Mom’s famous homemade yeast rolls.
Conversations flow and bowls are passed. My family puts a big dent in the amount of food sitting around the table, but there is still plenty of food left for leftovers. Mom and I start on dishes as Nate and Travis set out to clear the table and divide up the leftover food.
“Did you think I didn’t notice all the rolls going into your bag, Travis?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Avery. I would never just keep all the delicious rolls for myself. Mom told me I could have them all since I was her favorite.”
“Bullshit,” Nate coughs as he walks by with a stack of plates in his hands. I reach my hand in and remove a few rolls and throw them in my bag, giving him a look to let him know I’mwatching him.
After the table is cleared, dishes are washed or in the dishwasher, and the desserts are set out on the counter, we all head into the family room to watch the end of the football game. Jake gets up so Mom can sit in her chair and sits on the love seat next to Nate. Travis, Will, and Maddox are sitting on the couch with Brooklyn on Maddox’s lap. I head over to the couch with the intention of sitting on the floor, but Maddox has other ideas. He moves Brooklyn over so she’s sitting on one leg and slaps his other leg, indicating he wants me to sit. There’s no place I’d rather be than snuggled up on Maddox’s lap with my daughter at my side. This is my home.
After the desserts have been consumed and a couple of card games have been played, Maddox and I gather up our belongings to head toward home. He has to work tomorrow since he traded a shift from earlier in the week when Brooklyn was in the hospital, and Brooklyn is still weak from her pneumonia.
As we make our way to Maddox’s truck, my family joins us in the driveway to see us off. It’s kind of our own little tradition.
