7. Eddy

“ A ll of the lights, all of the fun, all of us here, all of us one.” I couldn’t help singing when I entered the shop. After all, it was the morning of Christmas Eve.

And I shouldn’t have been surprised when my mom belted out the next line of Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas song. “Only a gift, only a toy, only for a good girl and boy.”

Then we sang the next line together and danced through the center of the store. “The greatest party you ever did see…”

“What is that?” Brock unlocked the back door to meet Percy.

“Dude. Kelly Clarkson. Come on.”

Brock muttered something under his breath and stepped outside. Percy was there with the buns as usual.

“Hey, Percy. Bring Ben by later! It’s a party all day.”

He waved from the doorway. “Sure will. Thanks, Eddy.”

He made me wish we had presents for everyone in town, but that was a tall order. Small or not, we knew a lot of people. In fact, not ten minutes after opening, Haven dashed in. “Brock! I need coffee and buns to go. And did you get that book I ordered? Oh, hi, Eddy.”

“Hi. I’ll grab the book while Brock gets your buns.” I winked just to see him blush at the double entendre. He was good friends with Brock, and since he’d found his honey in Maddox, he’d opened up a lot. It was obvious he was happy, but still, he was a reserved man.

“Leave him alone, Eddy.” Brock swiped a hand through the air. He wasn’t mad, though.

I laughed as I danced into the back office to grab the book. I heard Brock introducing Mom. I had never been happier, and I was thrilled she was here to see that. “Here you go.” I handed him the book.

“Thanks. I’ll settle up this afternoon.”

“No worries, Haven.” Brock wouldn’t care a bit about the money. Especially since Haven let him use the garage at Twisted Chassis to work on the bike all the time. “Consider it a Christmas present. Tell Maddox hello.”

“Thanks, Brock. Yeah. I have to run.” He held the Styrofoam box of sticky buns up. “This is for him.” He smiled as he dashed through the store.

“That was nice.” I sidled up to Brock. His heart was gigantic. “It was almost like you read my mind.”

“Read what mind?”

“Har-har, big guy. Leave the funny to the comedians, will ya?” I smacked his chest. “Seriously, I was just thinking how nice it would be to have gifts for everyone.”

“Not everyone. That’s too much. But the closest friends, I think we have a thing or two. Jackie and my cousin…”

“But I meant something small.”

Mom set her coffee down and cleared her throat. “Why don’t you give out free coffee today?”

“And buns!” I jumped up and down.

“Perfect.” Brock caught me and cuddled me in, kissing the side of my face. “Now go put on some real Christmas music. Enough of your singing.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, but I also obliged, turning on the music we’d had playing when we decorated.

Mom followed me into the office and leaned against the desk. “This is nice, Eddy.”

“What is?”

“Your life.”

I circled around and hugged her. “I found where I belong.”

“That you did.”

The conversation was interrupted by a group of people coming in the front. “Come on.” We went to the front to greet everyone. Sharon had brought in a bunch of the guys from the Sheriff’s Office, including the sheriff, Clay West, and Officer Duarte, who everyone knew was with Andrew Star, who owned the Blue Star Diner. They really made a dreamy couple. “Andrew, is the diner open tonight? I want to take my mom.” It was the best food in town.

“We’re open.” He patted my shoulder. “We’re always open. Tonight. Tomorrow. Prime rib and baked ham on the menu.”

“Great. We’ll be in. Mom will love your ham for sure.”

The rest of the officers and Sharon got coffee and buns, and most of them left afterward, but Sharon stuck around. “Paige will be over later. She kicked me out of the house.” She winked knowingly.

“Ah…she’s up to something. Right?” I sat next to her at the coffee bar.

“Oh, I bet she is. Hey, when everyone finds out these are free today, they’ll be by. Whole town.”

“Right. That’s the idea.”

“You might want to call Percy and ask for another order. They’re going to go fast. Hell, free sticky buns from Percy? Sign me up any day.”

Brock slapped the counter. “You’re not wrong. I’ll go call him now. I don’t want to put extra work on him. I’ll take whatever he has.”

“Oh, maybe he has Christmas cookies or cake!” That got me excited. Percy was really the best. So talented. My taste buds were happy he was in Foggy Basin.

“I’ll call him.” He headed into the office.

Sharon wasn’t kidding, though. And it didn’t take long for the shop to fill with people wanting Percy’s treats. We bought a ton of Christmas cookies. Percy was totally going to sell out between what we had and what folks could get at his store. We saw half the town before noon, and we sent more than a few over to Don’t Go Baking My Heart to get other goodies for their holidays.

I hugged Nate, the big bear from Pints and Pool, when he came in. He’d helped me out when I first came to town and put up half our wedding party, not there were a lot of people who came from out of town when we got married. But he was a good guy, and so was his man, Kit.

Evelyn showed up. Of course. She gabbed her way through the store, chatting with everyone. She came by a lot, but hardly bought anything but sticky buns. It didn’t matter to us. Books Beans and Buns was a staple business for our community that always welcomed everyone. And taking after Nuts and Bolts a bit, Brock didn’t hesitate to give out free coffee or cocoa if someone needed it. More often than not, the kids who came to the store to game were cocoa recipients.

And all those teens showed up, making it even more of a party. Mom made another pot of cocoa for them and hooked them up with treats, then they all took turns on the gaming consuls. I spent some time chatting with them. I loved getting their input on what they liked and didn’t like about the games they played. As a game designer, it helped a lot to hear it right from the best customers.

Eventually, Greg showed up. I raced through the store and hugged him tight. “So glad to see you.”

“You too, little bro.” He chuckled as he peeled me off of him. “I talk to you all the time, though.”

“Yeah, I know. But, actually having you in the same room is different.”

“Whatever.” He winked at me so I knew he was playing. “Where’s Mom?”

“Uh…” I looked around. “Oh, there.” I pointed across the shop to the Body, Mind & Spirit section. She was looking at books with Evelyn and Paige, who had shown up at some point.

“I’ll go say hello.”

Jackie bounced over to me. “Hey. I saw Greg come in. Is, uh, Al coming, too?”

“I don’t think so.” I lifted an eyebrow, questioning why he was asking about Alfred, but Jackie smiled, held up his hands, and walked away. Brock was right. Something was going on with them. I’d have to give Alfred a call and let him know I didn’t care if he dated Jackie. Maybe that would help.

Brock, wearing the Santa hat I bought him, handed me a coffee. “I like this on you, baby.” I adjusted it a bit. He was sexy in anything, really, but I loved that he was getting in the Christmas spirit.

“Good, but you did not dress up like an elf. And you promised.”

“I didn’t have enough time. But there’s always next year.”

He looked up at the ceiling then and pointed. “You know you’re under the mistletoe?”

“Oh shit. When did that get put up there?”

“Jackie did it.”

“The stinker.”

“I’ll thank him later.” Then Brock pulled me close and kissed me. A few people hooted and cheered, and I smiled into the kiss. This was the best Christmas ever.

Greg woke up early Christmas morning, hooting like a child as he tore through the house. He banged on our door. “Get your asses up! It’s Christmas.” Then he took off, yelling, “Mom! Get up!”

Brock groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. “Really?”

“He’s always been like that.”

“I thought you were the excitable one.” Brock wasn’t wrong. Most of the time, it was me pinging off the walls.

“Not at Christmas.” I couldn’t hold back my chuckle. We’d had so many great Christmases over the years. Mom always made them wonderful, even when she didn’t have much money for presents. It wasn’t about that for us. The excitement was about being together as a family. Enjoying the morning, the tree, the lights, and mostly the company. “Let’s go, big guy.”

Brock sat up and grabbed me. “Not so fast, Spaghetti-Eddy.”

“What the hell? Spaghetti-Eddy? I’m vetoing that shit right now.”

“That’s what I call you in my head when you get squirmy, especially when you’re squirming away.”

I snuggled into his arms, loving the feel of them—my big hunky man. “I’m not squirming anywhere. Yet. And seriously, don’t call me that.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Okay. I, uh, have something for you, but I don’t want to do it in front of everyone. I want this for just us. Okay?”

“Uh…sure, Brock. Whatever you want.”

He pulled away and pilfered through his drawer, pulling out something very small that fit in his hand. “It’s not wrapped. I don’t even have a box, but I don’t think that matters.”

“Okay.” I sat up, serious now. What was it?

“You know my bio-mom was here.”

“Don’t sound so grumpy about it. Chella was nice and the visit was relatively painless, if overdue.”

“Very overdue, but I’m not getting on that now.” He cleared his throat and shook his hand that hid the gift. “She gave me this to share with you.” He turned his hand over and opened his fingers, revealing a gold band. “This was her mother’s. My grandmother. She said she thought I should give it to you.”

“Oh, Brock.” I picked it up out of his palm. “I love it.” After examining it, I slid it on my finger, snug to my wedding band. He got a huge, messy kiss after that—morning breath and all. “Turns out. I have something for you, too. Hang on.” I jumped out of bed and dug into the pocket of one of my jackets where I’d hidden Mom’s ring. “I have a box, but…” I handed it to him.

Brock opened it and smiled brightly. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Yep. My mom gave it to me to give to you. I’ll tell you all of it later, but it was hers. And her dad’s before that. It has their names in it, and I thought we could add ours.”

“I love it. This is kind of funny.”

“It is. And special. Oh, shit! Time. Get up. Get dressed. Let’s go.” I had something else for him that was going to be at our back door any minute.

Brock was not a rusher by nature, but I danced around him, pulling on clothes and throwing his at him, pushing him to get them on, out the door, and down the stairs. Just in time. “Hello!” Evelyn called from the door.

“Already?” Brock grumbled. He complained about her, but I could tell, secretly, he loved having her around. She was a living, breathing reminder of Pops and his youth. “Merry Christmas, Evelyn. Want coffee?”

“Not today, Brock. I’m playing Santa.” She pulled up the furry bundle of joy and handed it over the bottom half of the Dutch door. She’d even attached a red bow to his collar. “Merry Christmas, my friend.”

“What? What is this?”

I sidled up behind him, giving him a tight hug. “Merry Christmas, baby. I got you a puppy.”

“Holy shit.” Brock took the dog while everyone crammed into the kitchen nook. “What’s his name? Is it a him?”

“It is a her , and you get to do the naming.”

Evelyn chuckled. “I’ve been calling her dog .”

“Oh, that won’t do.” Brock cuddled her up to him, fitting her under his chin. Score! “I’ve already got a better name. Eve. For Christmas Eve.”

“That’s perfect.” Evelyn shivered and looked around. “Oh, it’s starting to snow. I better go.”

“Merry Christmas, Evelyn. And thank you.” I waved as she scampered carefully back to her house. It was indeed snowing. “Look, Brock! I knew it.”

“You called that one. But we have other Christmas gifts to open. You ready, Eddy?” I couldn’t even be mad at the rhyme with my name while watching his bright eyes as he cuddled the pooch—Eve.

“You know, we’re going to have to make an appointment to get her to the vet.”

“I’ll call Alex in the next day or two.” Brock meant the town’s new veterinarian, though he wasn’t so new anymore. He fit right in with this town, kind of like me.

“Good. Come on.” I led him, Mom, and Greg into the living room by the tree and handed out gifts. Most were little things, and I didn’t care at all what was there for me. Well, not after receiving his grandmother’s ring. But there was an old book, which shouldn’t have surprised me coming from Brock. It was actually gorgeous and a rare edition.

“That book reminds me of how we met.” He cuddled next to me as I examined it. I saw his reasoning a little, but…

“I never read it. Believe it or not.”

“I think you’ll like it. It’s an adventure. Just be careful with the pages. It is valuable. Well, a little anyway.”

“It’s priceless to me.” I grabbed his neck, pulling him down to give him a kiss. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Oh, open this.” He handed me another package.

Turns out, they were coffee mugs with little cartoon monsters on them. I loved them immediately. Perfect!

Then he gave me the best gift of all. “Mom,” he said.

“Yes, dear?”

“I want to throw this idea out. It’s been driving Eddy crazy that you’re so far away. There are a few wonderful places in Miller’s Point and Hartsville. Would you be open to at least checking them out?”

“What? To move here?”

“Well, closer to here. A lot closer.”

My eyes grew wide and wider still when she didn’t immediately shoot it down. “What? What are you saying, Brock? I swear, I did not put him up to this.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’ve been thinking about it.” My family meant everything to me, aside from Brock and his small town, that I was beginning to love so much.

Greg huffed. “I want to move closer too, but I don’t think I can.”

Well, that was giving me all kinds of ideas. “Why not? Why not move HQ here? It would be great for the town as well as us.”

I was surprised to see Greg smile at that. “There are actually a lot of nice men in this town.” He waggled his eyebrows. He hadn’t started dating again since he-who-won’t-be-named was locked-the-fuck-up where he belonged.

Mom agreed to go look at the assisted living places in our neighboring towns, and we tabled the rest of the conversation for later. But I was really liking the whole idea. Employees that didn’t want to move could still work remotely. I wouldn’t let anyone go, but it would bring new people to this wonderful town. I’d have to figure out the logistics and make sure we had a place and get approvals from the town government, but Brock could help with that.

Yep. This was turning out to be a fantastic Christmas.

That night, I was content as we snuggled in bed. I ran a hand down Brock’s thick, muscular back and to his waist. He was getting love handles, but I did not mind. He was still a big hunk. I squeezed his butt.

“You feeling frisky, baby?”

“Maybe. A little. I’m enjoying the feel of your skin against mine.”

Brock shifted around so we were face to face on our sides and then scooched closer. “How about this skin on skin?” He reached between us and squeezed our cocks together. Mine had started growing the minute he said the word frisky, so I was nice and hard and so was he.

I thrust my hips, humping into his hand, my cock rubbing against his. “Brock…” The moan that slipped from me was only to be expected. Brock turned me on like no one else ever had. He kept me calm and inspired me. He was the most loving man, giving me more than I could ever return.

I flipped him over to his back. Of course, he went willingly, or I wouldn’t have been able to move him. I straddled him so we still lined up. He grabbed hold of our dicks as I leaned forward and braced myself on his shoulders. Shoulders that supported me in more ways than this. “You mean so much to me, Brock.”

“You mean everything to me, Eddy. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.” I gasped out as he stroked us. He slowed only long enough to squirt lube in his hand from the bottle he kept on the side table. Then he jacked us, slow at first, then building until he was working us both over like he was in a race.

I shifted and humped into every stroke. The feeling built until I exploded, and I swear I saw the North Star behind my eyes.

Brock moaned and squeezed his fingers tighter, then joined me, shooting out and adding to the mess.

“I’ll get a washcloth as soon as I can move again.” I flopped over on my back and closed my eyes. My life was amazing in this little town, and Brock was working to make it even better for me. I couldn’t ask for more. “Merry Christmas, Foggy Basin.”