Chapter 9 Jigsaw

D ecember 22 nd —

“He fucking knows,” Bodie spat as he stood in my living room, pacing the floor. “His Reaper is pissed.”

“And Rael?” I asked, wondering what his reaction had been.

“Don’t know. He seemed less hostile than I thought he would be.”

I snorted. “Right. That only means one thing, then.”

“He’s cookin’ something up and gettin’ ready to retaliate,” Bodie guessed.

“Rael won’t let it slide.”

“But he doesn’t know how many of us are in on it. We’ve got to strike first.”

Bodie wasn’t joking.

I shrugged. “He’s a pain in the ass, but it’s the holidays. I bet he’s just done being fucked with, that’s all.”

Bodie looked doubtful. “He’s the most vindictive brother in the club.”

Yeah, he had a point. “What you want to do?”

“Don’t know, but something.”

My Reaper seemed unsettled in response, but I didn’t get a chance to think about it further before Miles rushed into the room. He ran up to me, tugging on my shirt. “Dad! Jakey wants to play!”

Mammoth and his son must be headin’ our way. I bet Miles saw them from his bedroom window.

“I want to build a snowman!”

Last night, we received several inches of snow, and it stuck. Nevada could be weird this time of year, but there was just enough white powder to roll around and create a big snowman.

Bodie cleared his throat. “I’ll get Maverick. He’ll want to build a snowman, too.”

“Great idea. We’ll give everyone a call and see who’s in.”

“I can handle that,” Bodie replied. “See ya in a few.”

I nodded to him before he left and turned to my son. At five, he was already tall and favored me. “Sure, Miles. Let me ask your mom if she wants to build one with us.” I reached for his hand, and he led me into the kitchen, where Abby placed the lid on a large crockpot of chili. It was a perfect meal on a wintery day. After being outside, it would warm us right up.

“Well, if isn’t my favorite two men.”

Miles made a silly face. “I’m a boy, Mama. Dad is a man.”

“Is that so?” She pretended to think about it. “I guess you’re so big and strong like your dad that it confuses me.” She winked as I caught her eye.

Miles grinned at her response and puffed his chest. “I’m almost as big. We’re the rulers of the house.”

She arched a brow. “I think we’ll have to talk about that.”

I lowered to a crouch, whispering loud enough that Abby could hear. “We’re the men so that we can protect your Mama and the house, but we aren’t the rulers. Wanna know a secret?”

Miles nodded.

“I think your mama is the ruler.”

She giggled as I flashed her a grin. No lie, my sweet Abby could be fucking fierce. I tried to keep her happy and gave her my dick every chance I got. Of course, it helped that we’d been in love with one another for as long as we could remember. I sure fought it hard in the beginning, but Abby never wavered. She knew she loved me and didn’t stop fighting for us.

Miles seemed to think about it, but his mind was on a different path. “We wanna build a snowman!”

“Oh, that sounds fun.”

“Come with us, Mama!”

Abby couldn’t resist. “As long as you bundle up and wear your boots and gloves.”

Miles ran toward his room as I reached for Abby’s hand. She took it, and I gently pulled her toward me, tilting her chin so I could capture her sweet, soft, pillow-like lips.

“Dad! Mama! It’s snowing!”

I glanced out the window and caught the fat flakes that slowly drifted downward before adding to the layers of snow we already had. With any luck, they would pack down, and the snowmen we built would last for days before they melted.

Scooping up Miles, I headed outside as he laughed and found our front yard full. Bodie, Sasha, and Maverick. Mammoth, Rowen, and Jakey. Papa and Noah. Chaos and Zara. And finally, us.

Despite the soft snowfall, it wasn’t too chilly.

With everyone pitching in and building the snowmen, it didn’t take long before we had a yard full of snow people. Rowen and Sasha built a woman. Miles helped me build a big grandpa like Papa. His words, not mine. It sure made me chuckle. Papa? He scowled. Too soon after all Rael’s teasing? Probably.

I glanced his way, noting that he used a dark dye to cover a lot of the white color on his beard and hair. He looked younger than usual, so I guess it worked for him.

“Don’t,” he warned when he saw me glance his way. “I’m fucking serious.”

Shrugging, I left it alone.

Miles tugged on the sleeve of my coat. “Dad? Are reindeers real?”

“Of course,” I answered without delay. “How else does Santa drive his sleigh?”

Miles blinked, thinking it over. “And Rudolph leads because of his big red nose.”

“That’s right.”

Miles hollered at Noah. “I told you it’s true!”

Noah seemed amused. “Yeah. I told you to ask your dad.”

“My dad knows everything.”

“Thanks, Bud.” I lifted my fist, and he bumped into it.

Parenting had been a lot easier than I first thought. When I found out Abby had gotten pregnant with Miles right before we separated, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make it right after she’d spent a few years as a single mom. I nearly lost out on having Miles in my life. It made me realize that Abby and Miles were all I wanted or needed, and since that day, I’d spent every day making it up to them. The three of us were a family despite a rocky past. Luckily, Miles didn’t seem to remember or focus on the time we were apart.

“Who wants chili?” Abby asked as she headed toward the porch and up the steps. “We’ve got plenty.”

As everyone followed her inside, I couldn’t help but think my life was fucking perfect, and there wasn’t a thing I would change. Well, one thing. I wanted another kid.

“I KNOW WHERE THE REINDEER are, Noah,” Jakey revealed. “It’s that barn with Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and all the animals.”

Noah shook his head. “None of them are real. It’s just a holiday display.”

“No,” Jakey insisted. “There’s a live one. It’s by that old church where Tommy goes on Sundays.”

“Who’s Tommy?”

“He’s in my class,” Jakey explained.

“Well, I don’t know where that is. If we’re gonna steal that reindeer, I want a real one. It’s a lot to risk for a prop,” Noah reminded him.

Steal one of Santa’s reindeer? That was naughty!

Would Santa bring them coal now?

“Hi, Miles.”

I turned my head, hoping Zara didn’t give away my hiding place. This was the best spot in the house for secrets. I could wait all night for Santa, and he’d never know.

“Shhh, Zara. You can’t come in here.”

This was my spot. Zara could find one at her house.

“I wanna sit with you.” Her voice rose, and I shook my head. She stomped her foot. “Now!”

“Fine. Get in here and be quiet,” I ordered.

Mama’s big closet had enough room inside for me to hide even with all her clothes. Zara was so small she didn’t take up much space. Once I closed her in and left the closet door cracked, I warned her not to talk.

“Are we spying?”

How did she know what that was? She was tiny, only three. I was two years bigger.

“No. Shhh.”

I focused on the words Noah and Jakey were saying. Neither one saw Zara or me in the closet, so I kept listening about the reindeer. I wanted to find the one they planned to steal and bring it home for Santa so nobody would get in trouble—no naughty lists.

“Are they gonna take Santa’s reindeers?” Zara sounded upset.

I reached for her hand and held it so she wouldn’t be sad. “I won’t let that happen.”

“Should I tell my Daddy?”

“If you think he won’t get mad.”

Zara scrunched up her nose. “He’s been sad.”

“Then maybe not tell him until we find the reindeer,” I suggested.

“Should we go look for it?”

“It’s snowing, Zara.”

“All the flakes stopped falling down.”

Huh? I peeked out of the closet. All the snow left. No more flakes coming down.

“See? No snow.”

“It’s cold out,” I warned her. “It’s too much for a girl.”

She squeezed my hand. Hard. “So? I’m a strong girl.”

I sighed. “Yeah. Okay, you’re strong.”

Zara yanked on my arm as I dropped her hand. Her grip made my fingers tingle. “I wanna go.”

“It’s getting dark out.”

Her lower lip stuck out as she pouted. “But the reindeers.”

“After breakfast in the morning.”

Her smile was too bright as I looked at her. “I love you bunches, Miles.”

Ugh. Girls were gross.