Page 82 of Milkshakes and Mistletoe

“I’m not going to spoil it for you. I just didn’t want you to have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to drop you off there first?” Grady asked Hannah as he pulled away from the gate. “It won’t take me a minute to go back and get Scooter.”

“Can we?” Ava asked from the back seat. “I want cookies!”

“Okay, let’s do that. I want to know what this surprise is.”

He drove around the back of the house and brought the car to a stop. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

Hannah leaned across and kissed him. “Thanks for this. Just come straight in this way when you get back. We’ll save you some cookies.”

“And some mistletoes!” Ava leaned forward between their seats and held a sprig of mistletoe over her head. “Does anyone want to kiss me?”

Grady’s gaze locked with Hannah’s as they leaned in and each kissed one of Ava’s cheeks. He knew he’d always remember that moment. He knew it was a process, but that was the moment he’d look back on as the one when their family began.

“Where did you get that from?” he asked when they sat back.

“I kept it from our big bunch.” She grinned. “I like it.”

He loved that she was happy to tell him; not so long ago she would have gotten nervous, wondering if she was going to get in trouble. She was growing more confident by the day, and he knew they owed a lot of that to Hannah.

She was staring up at all the lights on the back of the house now. “I love that Uncle Jacob did all of those for me. This is the best Christmas ever.”

“You should tell him that again when you go in there,” Grady said.

“I will; I’m going to use my mistletoes on him, too.”

Hannah laughed. “Come on, let’s go and do that.”

Grady watched them run up the steps to the kitchen door with a big smile on his face. This was his best Christmas too. It wasn’t even here yet, but he’d already been given the best gift of his life – his little family.

When he got back to the cottage, he let Scooter out in the yard to take care of business. When he was done, he came to Grady and put his paws up on his legs. Grady scratched his ears. “We’re a pair of lucky pups, you and me. Do you know this? You were a shelter pup and I thought I was good on my own.” He chuckled. “And now look at us.”

Scooter barked as if he understood – and agreed. He jumped into the car when Grady opened the door and they headed up to the house.

Grady let himself in through the kitchen door and followed the sound of voices. He hadn’t checked out the driveway in front of the house for cars, but it sounded like there were quite a few people here.

He stopped just outside the door to the family room. It wasn’t what he thought of as a family room, but compared to all the big formal spaces he’d glimpsed in this house, it was the most homely room.

It was dark out in the hall and the light and laughter spilled out and washed over him. He felt like he was getting a peek at someone else’s Christmas. The room was full of people. Ava was sitting on Jacob’s knee, telling him what looked to be a very detailed story. To his credit, Jacob was listening intently and only shot the occasional glance at Becca.

Becca was standing with Hannah and another guy who … Grady studied him. He had to be Xander, her other brother. He had the same look about him. Not just that he looked like he came from money – even as he thought that Grady wondered what it was that made that distinction, whether there was something concrete to be observed, or whether it was just his own assumptions. It didn’t matter. He knew this had to be Xander because he had the same eyes as Hannah and the same strong square jawline as Jacob.

He was happy to see that the other voices he’d heard were coming from Chelsea and Grant, Cameron and Piper, and Antonio and Mary Ellen. Hannah had asked if they wanted to come back here. He loved hanging out with them all, and he was glad for Becca’s sake that this was more like a party than going back to a guy’s house with him.

Ava spotted him and waved. “Uncle Grady! Where’s Scooter?”

“Is he okay?” Hannah looked worried. “Didn’t you bring him?”

“I did, but I thought I’d better check about bringing him in first.”

The guy who he assumed was Xander nodded. “It’s fine. I’ll come with you to get him.”

Hannah put her hand on his shoulder. “How about I introduce you two first?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah, right. Sorry, man. I feel like I already know you.” He held his hand out to shake. “I’m Xander. It’s good to meet you.”

Grady laughed. “You, too.”

---