Page 195 of Mad Love

We’d all packed up—again—and went back up north and prayed for Cori to accept this new change. Thankfully Ryan had found a terrific therapist who could meet with her daily, and that seemed to be helping,

It also didn’t hurt that, by the time we got back to Brookfield, the staff had worked a miracle and converted the entire house into a winter wonderland, from the twinkle lights on the trees lining the long drive to the house, to the house itself, which was covered in lights and decorations, including a bunch of giant blowup things that Cori went nuts over.

Inside, the house was full of cheer and Christmas, and while Grandpa’s absence was still felt, Cori was able to focus on the impending holiday. Another thing that seemed to help was Mrs. Beechum and Ryan agreeing that the puppy Cori had picked out—Delilah—could move into the house to keep her company. As soon as the therapist had said that a dog might be a good form of emotional support for her, Ryan had walked down to the stables and brought back the eight-week-old ball of fluff.

The last few days had been like a dream. Yeah, there had been a lot of shit to deal with since the Cain house had burned down and Beckett had tried to kill us. The fire department had officially ruled the case as arson. Apparently Beckett had splashed gasoline from the garage across both sets of stairs and throughout the downstairs to trap Corinne and I.

Beckett was arguing his innocence, but since he’d already fled the country once, he was being held without bail. Ryan told me that he had some friends looking out for his father, and I backed away, not wanting to hear any of the details when Court started laughing and Ryan smirked.

Somehow I doubted they were helping Beckett learn the ropes of the Los Angeles county prison system.

But we’d baked cookies with Ms. Flounders, decorated more of the house with Mrs. Beechum, and watched Royal try to help Cori train her puppy. Ryan had again handed me his credit card, and I’d gone a little nuts buying gifts for Cori and the guys. The best part had been when Ash gave me access to my own accounts and I was able to buy my own presents.

Ryan and I had stayed up with Ash, Royal, and Bishop to wrap presents. Linc, Court, and Knight had passed out after seeing who could drink the most eggnog.

We’d probably gotten only three hours of sleep, but no one had complained as they’d wrapped yet another gift for Cori. Still, Cori jumping on us first thing in the morning was a helluva wake up call.

At least Ryan and I’d had the forethought to put on clothes after he fucked me into oblivion last night. We’d kinda figured Cori would wake us up like a tiny blonde tornado of energy.

“There’s presents everywhere,” Cori cried, dancing around the room.

That caught Ryan’s attention as he sat up. “I thought we had a deal you wouldn’t go downstairs until everyone was up.”

She gave him her best smile. “I’m sorry?”

He growled playfully and jumped out of bed to pick her up. Her high-pitched shrieks and giggles were the best sort of soundtrack to get out of bed to.

“Could you guys make any more noise?” Royal grumbled from the doorway.

“Here,” Ryan said, practically tossing Cori at him. “Take her, and don’t let her touch any presents until we’re downstairs.”

Royal threw Cori over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “On it.”

“Wait!” Cori squealed, twisting to look up at her brother. “When are you coming down?”

“Couple hours,” he replied, looking dead serious.

“Ryan!” she wailed.

“We’ll be down as soon as we can get dressed,” I assured Cori, shooting her brother a look.

She cheered as Royal carried her from the room, asking if she’d remembered to take Delilah outside for her morning potty break.

Grabbing my phone off the dresser, I grinned when I saw a message from Bex waiting for me with a selfie of her in front of her Christmas tree in Paris and wishing us all a Merry Christmas. We texted every day, and I’d been bummed when she’d decided to spend the rest of our winter break in France with her mom.

Video chats just weren’t the same as spending time with her, and at this rate, I wouldn’t see her until a few days before classes started toward the middle of January.

I shot her back a quick text and pulled some clothes from my dresser. I was halfway through changing when Ryan’s arms wound around my waist and pulled me back against his chest.

“What are you doing?” I queried, turning my head to face him.

He grinned at me. “I figure Cori will be opening presents for at least two hours,” he reasoned, a hand gliding up my rib cage to cup my breast. “We could make her wait twenty minutes while we—”

I turned in his arms and silenced him with a kiss. “No.”

His face fell. “It could be your Christmas present for me.”

I arched a brow. “And what was last night?”

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