A Brac Pack Crazy Family Christmas 24 (10 page)

“Daddy, no!” Tangee shouted as he ran for his father, but Sky was out of the diner before Tangee could reach him. He scanned the streets, seeing no one in the cold early evening. He held both hands to his mouth as he cried for a father he had never known, for a father he had barely been able to talk to.

“What’s wrong?” Loco asked as he slammed his truck door closed and rushed to Tangee’s side. Tangee glanced around and then wiped his eyes as he stared up at his mate.

“My father!” Tangee shouted and fell apart right there on the street. Loco grabbed him, carrying him inside and up the back steps.

He pushed the apartment door open and sat on the couch, cuddling Tangee to his chest.

“Talk to me, babe.”

Tangee began to slowly calm down, wiping his eyes as he sniffled. “My father came to see me.” Loco pulled Tangee closer, tucking Tangee’s head under his chin.

“Baby, your father died before you were born.” Tangee knew this. But it was his father who came to see him. He didn’t know how, but that was Sky who had been in the diner talking to him. Tangee had no doubt about that. “It was him,” he whispered.

“What did he say?” Loco asked as he skated his hands over Tangee’s legs.

Tangee smiled, feeling the Christmas spirit enter him, a feeling he hadn’t felt in a very long time. “He said he was proud of the man that I’ve become.”

Loco tilted Tangee’s head back, smiling as he leaned forward and kissed Tangee. “You are one hell of a man, Tangee. I’m very proud to call you my mate.”

Tangee beamed inside. Not only had his father found a way to come see him, letting him know how he felt about his son, but his mate had just praised him as well. Tangee felt like he could take on the world right now.

He slid a leg over Loco’s hip, situating himself on his mate’s lap.

“How proud of me are you?” Tangee wasn’t sure if he had hallucinated the whole thing, but whatever it was, he felt like new life had been breathed into his Scrooge body.

Loco pulled Tangee’s head forward, devouring his lips like a hungry man. The tension drained from Tangee as Loco massaged his shoulders as he slid his tongue over every tooth in Tangee’s mouth.

Tangee groaned as his cock hardened. He panted for more, much, much more. Tangee wiggled his ass over Loco’s growing erection.

His mate broke the kiss, laying smaller ones on his cheeks and chin. “Do we have time?”

Tangee nodded. He was going to make the time. He worked hard and wanted a reprieve to show his mate just how much he loved him.

Loco had been in his corner from day one, and Tangee loved him so much for that. There wasn’t a day that went by that Tangee wasn’t grateful for the family and life that he had, but he was especially grateful for the wolf gazing up at him.

“We always have time.”

Loco growled as he pulled his cock free and then unbuttoned Tangee’s jeans. He enveloped both cocks in his hands, stroking them as he nibbled his way down Tangee’s neck.

Tangee tossed his head back as waves of ecstasy throbbed through him, robbing his mind of any coherent thought as Loco’s skillful hand took him closer to the edge.

Tangee’s eyes blazed as he saw Loco’s eyes shift. His mate was spectacular when in the throes of passion. Tangee would never get enough of seeing Loco like this.

Loco pressed his hand into Tangee’s back, bringing him closer as his hand drew up, catching the pre-cum on Tangee’s cock and using it as lube, bringing his hand down and twisting it slightly.

Tangee watched his mate’s hand as his heart started beating faster.

His spine tingled as his balls grew tight. He placed his hands on Loco’s shoulders just as he threw his head back and cried out, his cock pulsing as his seed shot out.

“Fuck,” Loco shouted and then his cum mixed with Tangee’s.

Tangee leaned forward, kissing Loco gently, and then rested his forehead on his mate’s. He wasn’t sure if today was a dream or not, but he knew that he wouldn’t be half the man that he was today without the wolf who took his breath away.

* * * *

The elf stood on the sidewalk scratching his head. He wasn’t sure what just happened. He had meant for Tangee to meet with the ghost of Christmas past. How the hell did his dad show up?

“
I know what you are up to, Ruttford. I’m going to counteract
anything you try to do to those mates
.” Ruttford looked over his shoulder, but didn’t see Nick anywhere.

“Oh, goody, a game.” He entwined his fingers together and pushed them out, hearing the loud cracks as he danced in place. “I love a good game.”

“Just so you know, when you get back, you’re mucking out the
reindeer stalls for this.”

Well, then, he was going to make sure it was well worth it, now wasn’t he?

Lewis and Evan

Lewis walked out of the police station, getting into his car. He sat there for a moment, his knuckles curling around the steering wheel as he felt a cold sweat break out all over his body.

He was an alcoholic. He could admit that. He could also admit that most of the time he didn’t even think about the craving, but there were some days, very few, that had him barely hanging on.

This was one of those days.

The holidays were the worst for him, although he never told anyone that, not even his mate, Evan. It was the time of year when he remembered his mother barely getting out of bed because she was so wasted and his father was gone most of the time, cheating on her, not wanting to be bothered with a drunk.

Christmas sucked for him back then, and no matter how many good ones he had with his new family, the triggers were always there.

Lewis laid his head back against the headrest, taking a deep breath as he stared at the building he had worked in for many years now. He blew out a long breath as he tried to rein in his craving.

Should he call someone? Yes. Was he even attempting to? No.

The Den was in full holiday swing, with everyone in good spirits.

There was no way Lewis was going to bring anyone down with his weakness.

Lewis reached his hand up, starting the car, and then put it in reverse. The only thing he wanted to do right now was go to sleep and escape the craving that was building into a monster on his back.

“Hey!”

Lewis looked over at the car next to him to see one of the detectives smiling at him. He rolled his window down, feeling the cold bite of air smacking him in the face.

“Some of us are heading over to the bar. You with?” Lewis inwardly groaned. Just what he didn’t need. He had never told any of his coworkers about his alcoholism. Only the chief knew, and he liked it that way. Not even his new partner knew about it. It wasn’t something Lewis wanted advertised.

“Maybe some other time,” he said as he began to roll his window back up. He stopped when the detective placed his hand on the glass.

“Everyone knows you’re gay. It’s no big deal. Come on, have some fun with us. Some of us are starting to think you don’t like us.

Too good to hang out with fellow cops?” Lewis bit his bottom lip, unsure of what to do. It wasn’t like he was in high school with peer pressure, but when he depended on these guys to watch his back and worked with them daily, it was a hard choice to make on a moment’s notice.

The sad thing was, Lewis didn’t even know what the detective’s damn name was. He was a new guy who just started there a few weeks ago, and Lewis hadn’t taken the time to even learn it.

“Sure, I’ll meet you there.”

One drink.

It couldn’t hurt.

He would have one drink and then be on his way.

Lewis closed the window all the way and then finished reversing, heading over to the local bar. He parked his car in the back, not wanting anyone he knew to see it.

As he walked into the bar, the smell of alcohol hit his nose like an iron fist. Lewis felt his mouth watering as his knees begin to shake the further he walked into the place.

“You made it!” one of the detectives shouted and then threw his head back, swallowing down a shot of liquor. Lewis ran a hand over his face and then looked at the rest of the cops whooping loudly and laughing joyously.

“Here you go,” the newbie said as he shoved a shot glass into Lewis’s hand. It began to tremble, the shot spilling onto the web of skin between his thumb and index finger. Lewis stared at the wet spot, his tongue aching to lick it off.

He reached his free hand in his pocket, feeling the token that he had carried for over a decade now. He pulled it out, staring at the number thirty etched into the plastic. He curled his fingers around the worn edges as he gritted his teeth.

One drink.

He could take one drink and then leave the men to their merriment. Lewis lifted the glass, ready to down the shot when a hand landed on his arm.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Lewis looked to his side to see the bartender standing next to him.

The grip on his arm was tight, preventing him from taking his shot of dark liquor. Lewis looked down at the small glass in his hand, his stomach knotting to get a taste of it, and then his head turned to see the bartender staring at him intently.

“Yeah,” he said as he followed behind the man. He wasn’t sure what the bartender wanted and he prayed it wasn’t something the guy needed a detective for, because right now Lewis wasn’t in the frame of mind to help anyone out.

He couldn’t help his self out right now.

He was fighting his own demons at that very moment. He didn’t need to deal with anyone else’s problems. Lewis walked into the bartender’s office, turning to look at the guy and then down at his still-full shot glass.

The smell was inviting, calling out to him like a long lost friend.

But Lewis knew the truth. It wasn’t his friend, but his destruction.

And even knowing this, Lewis was still puckering his lips to swallow the drink down.

He was craving the burn badly.

“I need to show you something,” the bartender said, and then everything went black.

* * * *

Lewis blinked a few times as he looked around.
Holy fuck!
He was standing in an all-too-familiar kitchen. Lewis wasn’t sure what was going on, but he didn’t like the feeling coming over him.

“Watch,” the bartender said as Lewis’s mother stumbled into the kitchen, smacked her hip into the counter, and then made a grab for the coffee pot. She missed, stared at the carafe, and then stumbled back out.

Lewis took a step, and then another, following behind her. It had been too long since he had set his eyes on her, and an intense feeling of remorse and regret washed over him. He loved his mother with every breath he took, but he had become ashamed of her in his later teenage years.

His footsteps stopped when he saw a younger version of himself sitting on a milk crate, balancing his schoolbooks on his leg, trying his best to ignore his mother as he did his homework.

“Have you seen your father?” his mother asked as she swayed where she stood.

The younger Lewis glanced up from his books, a disgusted look on his face as he shook his head. “He’s probably with someone sober.”

Lewis’s jaw dropped as he listened to the younger him. Had he actually said that to her? He racked his brain trying to remember, but came up blank. Lewis saw the devastation in his mother’s eyes as she turned away.

He had an urge to go over to his younger self and cuff him on the back of the head. Instead, he followed his mother into her bedroom where she bumped into the dresser, everything sitting on the worn wood rattling.

She picked up a picture frame and ran her fingers over the glass.

Lewis stepped closer, looking over her shoulder. He remembered that picture. It was of a happier time. The family photo showed his father standing there proudly with his arm around his wife and Lewis sitting in front of them, smiling just as proudly.

His mother was beautiful in the picture. She had a dazzling smile as she stared up at Lewis’s father with nothing but love and devotion in her eyes.

“I want my family back,” his mother said as a sob escaped her lips. “I miss my men so much.”

“I don’t want to see any more,” Lewis said as he smashed his eyes closed and looked away. Tears prickled his eyes as he walked out of his mother’s bedroom. He had never stopped to consider what his mother must have gone through, the pain she carried, or the reason behind her drinking.

“I was a teenager!” he shouted. “How was I supposed to know?” The bartender touched Lewis’s shoulder as the blackness started to fade the scene before him. Lewis wanted to get the hell out of there, but another part of him wanted to run back to his mother and pull her into his arms and hold on to her forever.

Lewis jumped when the babies ran past him, peals of laughter floating past him. He smiled at the boys that were running around the den. They always made him smile. Lewis loved kids. He never wanted any of his own, but he loved what he considered were his nephews.

“Have you seen Lewis?” Evan asked as he walked into the den.

“He was supposed to be back hours ago.” Guilt swamped Lewis as he looked down at the shot glass still clutched in his hand. He could actually hear the worry in his mate’s voice. He wanted to throw his arms around Evan and beg his forgiveness for his weakness.

“Sorry. I haven’t seen him come through the door yet,” Gabby said as he bounced Skyler on his hip. Lewis smiled at his niece. She was growing up so fast. He wanted to grab her from Gabby and toss her in the air just to hear her squeal in delight.

“Would you let me know when he gets here? We’re supposed to head out to our special place as soon as he gets home.” Lewis’s chest tightened. He had totally forgotten about that. How could he forget about the pond that Evan had shared with him so long ago? It was Evan’s favorite place in the world, and now Lewis’s.

Evan walked toward the foyer, glancing out of the glass on the side of the door. Lewis reached out to run his hands through Evan’s hair, but his hands went through his mate like a ghost.

“I want to go home,” Lewis said as he saw the worry lines marring his mate’s gorgeous face. He had caused those, and he was ready to run home and erase every last one. Evan had been his rock for so many years that Lewis wouldn’t know what he would do without his warrior.