Page 44 of Puck the Halls
“Michael, you can stay with the kids if you’re fine with that,” Nathan tells me. “Maybe your parents will want to come up for the weekend.”
“That would be great.” I squeeze Dani’s knee. “Should we open our gifts now?”
She nods and stands up. “Let me pass them out.”
Excitement is on her face as she gathers the gifts we put under the tree and passes one to each of us. God, I love this woman. She glows when she gets to take care of the three of us in any way, and it’s beautiful to watch.
“Who goes first?” she asks.
“Age before beauty,” Crew says, leaning back casually on the couch, his gift seated next to him. “That means you’re up, Nate.”
Nathan rolls his eyes. “This better be a muzzle for Crew. That’s my idea of a perfect gift for me.”
“Hush,” Dani tells him. “No teasing, please. This is important to me. I’m nervous about these gifts.”
“I’m sorry,” Nathan immediately says.
Even Crew looks contrite. “I’ll love anything you give me.”
“Michael, you go first,” Dani says, giving me a smile.
I take off the wrapping paper and uncover a sterling silver frame with a picture of me with Isabel and Oliver. It’s from the hospital when Dani delivered Oliver and I’m introducing Isabel to her baby brother. There’s awe and joy on my face.
Instantly, my chest tightens and I feel tears forming. “I’ve never seen this picture. I absolutely love it.”
“It was buried in the nine thousand pictures Nathan took that day,” Crew says. “My eyes are still tired from scanning through all of them to find one Dani liked.”
“I thought you could put it on your desk at work,” she tells me.
“That’s perfect.” I kiss her softly. “Thank you.”
“I’m next,” Crew declares, already ripping open his package. “Oh, sweet! It’s a Daddy and Me class for me and Oliver.”
“I know you feel like you’re missing out when you’re on the road all season,” Dani says. “We thought this would give you some nice one on one time with Oli. It goes all summer.”
“I love it.” Crew stands up and comes over to cup Dani’s cheeks with both hands. “I love you.” He kisses her.
“Now Nathan,” Dani says when Crew eases back and returns to his seat.
When Nathan pulls out the sweatshirt, he studies it for a minute, holding it up in the air. He doesn’t say anything.
“Do you like it?” Dani asks.
I know that it says, “Dad, est. 2023” on it.
His nostrils are flaring and he nods tightly at Dani’s question. It’s clear he’s too emotional to even speak. Instead, he simply pulls it on over his long sleeve shirt he was wearing while skiing and smooths down the front.
“You were right about the simple gifts,” he manages to choke out with tears in his eyes.
This time Dani stands up and goes to him. She pulls his head against her belly and strokes his hair for a few seconds. He takes her hand and kisses the back of it.
“Your turn,” he tells her, turning her and giving her ass a pat. “The three of us picked it out together.”
Dani obeys and carefully unwraps her gift. It’s a long jewelry box. She lifts the lid and gasps when she sees the bracelet. “Oh, my. It’s beautiful.” She immediately tears up. “These are Isabel and Oliver’s birthstones.”
“You deserve something special for all you’ve given us,” Crew tells her. “And for being the best mother our children could ever have.”
Now she’s crying in earnest and she hands me the box. “Put it on me.”
