Silent Night (2 page)

Laughing, I nudged his shoulder and put the
lid back on the box. “Well, maybe I’ll put it on tonight.”

His eyebrows lifted in hope. “Yeah?”

I nodded, biting my
lip
, and his
eyes darkened. As much as I was looking forward to a big, family
Christmas I was also very much looking forward to getting my
husband naked.

Groaning, he said, “We have hours. You
shouldn’t have said anything.”

“You’re terrible,” I said, reaching over and
dragging his main present towards us. “Now this one.”

Cole didn’t take much down time
for himself, always making sure we were looked after and
the kids were
entertained, so I’d bought him something that I knew he’d want, but
would never buy himself.

“Oakley…” he said, his bright blue eyes
visibly lighting up as he stared at the PlayStation 4 box. He’d not
played video games for years.

“No arguments!” I raised my eyebrow.

Laughing, he lent over and
kissed me. His lips were perfectly soft
, and I wanted to deepen the kiss but
we both knew we had to keep it reserved and not scare Everleigh for
life.

“I love you. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“There might be one more for you,” he said.
“Everleigh, can you pass me that present in the tree, please?”

“What present in the tree?” she asked, not
even looking up.

“Well, if you’ll glance over there you’ll see
it.”

Sighing because she would have to leave the
Frozen characters that she’d been role-playing with, she got up.
“Where, Daddy?”

“Near the bottom. Red paper.”

“Oh! Here it is,” she said, pulling it out.
“Who’s it for?”

“Mummy,” he replied.

Everleigh negotiated the maze made by
wrapping paper and handed me the present. “Thank you.”

With a fleeting
smile
, she
went back to her game.

I shook it, narrowing my eyes at Cole. It
rattled quietly. “Hey, no cheating, just open,” he said, tucking my
hair behind my ear.

I tore into the paper and found a black
velvet box. Glancing up briefly to see him smile, I opened the lid
and gasped.

He’d bought me a white gold necklace and
earring set. The stones were blue topaz and matched the ones in my
engagement and wedding rings. Apparently they also reminded him of
my eyes. They reminded me of our children’s, too.

“Cole…It’s beautiful.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

“
Thank you.” I lent in and
kissed him, lingering for a little longer than we usually did in
front of the kids. My heart beat wildly and my body heated in all
the right places.
Now is so not the time!

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered against his
lips.

Bentley started fussing, ending
our moment. One of them usually did
, but neither of us ever minded. Cole
reached over and picked him up while I put my jewellery on. My
rings sparkled with the twinkling lights on the tree.

“We should eat breakfast and get ready to
go.”

“Nanna’s!” Everleigh shouted, hopping up.
“Let’s go now. Will Leona be there yet? Will Uncle Jasper be there
yet?”

I held my hands up. “Whoa, calm down. Nanna
and Grandad will probably still be asleep. Leona will be opening
her presents with Mia and Jasper… Well, he’ll be playing with
Sophia’s toys but at his house.”

Cole took them upstairs to get
dressed in the clothes I’d already picked out
, or nothing would match. While
they were getting ready, I packed the presents for everyone into
large gift bags and went to brush my teeth.

***

Everleigh’s excitement was infectious. I
never wanted that to end for her, and I couldn’t wait for it to
start for Bentley, too. I could remember before the abuse started
where I was as vocal about Christmas as her but after I was locked
in a prison of silence. It made me work extra hard to give my
children the most magical childhood I could.

She bounced up and down on my mum’s
doorstep. “Uncle Jasper! Uncle Jasper!” My brother
wa
s probably her
favourite person; he had a lot of time for her and they got along
so well – probably because they both had the same mental
age.

Mum opened the door and bent straight down
to give Everleigh a hug. A chorus of ‘Merry Christmas’ flowed
through the house as
we
made our way to the kitchen where everyone was.

My mum and her husband, Cole's
parents, sister and niece, my
brother, his girlfriend and their daughter were drinking, playing
and chatting. Everleigh ran off to tackle
her
Jasper.

The people in this room were the only ones
I trusted my
children
with, and they all meant so much to me.

We were welcomed with drinks and soon
settled in the living room to exchange presents while the turkey
cooked. Mum’s husband, Miles, was lighting a fire.
The hosue looked like a Santa’s
grotto, it was beautifully decorated.

There were plenty of seats for us
all
, but we still sat on
the floor. I lost Bentley to my mum and Cole’s, and Sophia was also
taken from Holly’s arms as they cooed over the littlest
ones.

When we were here
, I could relax with Cole because we knew
Everleigh would be off with her cousin, Leona, and Bentley would be
passed around to be cuddled. I sat right up against my husband’s
side while we passed presents around.

“No one can open mine until the girls are in
bed,” Jasper announced, smirking.

His girlfriend, Holly, s
lapped his arm playfully. “I have real
presents for everyone. I don’t even know what he’s bought, so
please don’t blame me,” she said.

“Oh, no one would blame you,” I replied,
glaring at my brother.

His idea of a present was a sex toy. The more
outrageous the better. Last year he gave Mum and Miles a strap-on.
She couldn’t look him in the eye for a week after, bless her. I
didn’t even want to open mine and Cole’s.

“Oh, Jasper!” Mum chastised. “I don’t know
why you feel the need to buy things like that.”

His response was a huge, cheesy smile that
made him look like a naughty schoolboy.

“Well, I think Jasper’s presents are funny,”
Mia, Cole’s older sister, said.

Jasper bowed his head. “Don’t worry, love,
I’ve sorted you out with the latest rabbit.”

“A bunny!” Leona said, suddenly stopping her
unwrapping to look at her mum with pure hope in her innocent
eyes.

Mia glared at Jasper. “Yes, looks like we’re
getting a bunny rabbit, sweetie.”

“Jasper will buy you one, Leona,” Holly said,
shaking her head at him. Holly really had her work cut out for her
taking my brother on.

“Let’s make a pact,” Cole whispered in my
ear. “Whatever it is, we use it.”

“Sure. If we use it on you.”

His eyebrows shot up and he tipped his head
to the side. “Come on now...”

“So it’s good enough for me but not you?”

“I don’t have certain places where things can
go in,” he replied in my ear. Even though the conversation was not
a turn on his low, seductive voice and breath on my neck was.

“You have one place where things can go
in…”

“So that’s settled, we’re throwing the
present out,” he said and sat back.

“Thought you might say that.”

When the presents had been opened, leaving
behind a mountain of wrapping paper in the middle
of the room that Everleigh had
to jump in between playing with her new toys, Cole and Jasper were
entertaining Bentley and Sophia, Holly and I followed Mum into the
kitchen.

“Are you having a good day?” she asked us,
peering into the oven to see how the turkey was doing.

Holly nodded, leaning on the worktop.
Later tonight
, they were
all heading to her parents and having another Christmas day
tomorrow.

“
Yeah, Everleigh
loves it and Bentley is, well, loving the lights.
It’s really nice to be together.”

“I know,” she replied, “I’m glad Jenna,
David, Mia and Leona could come.”

Of course
, they came. Cole’s family were our family, too,
and had been since we were all young. I grew up with Cole and Mia
as well as Jasper. We’d always been close, and not even four years
and thousands of miles could get in the way of our bond.

“Can I do anything?” Jenna asked, setting her
glass of wine on the granite worktop. Mia followed her, looking
back over her shoulder and laughing at something going on in the
living room.

“
We need to get the roast potatoes and
stuffing on soon,” Mum said. “There are jobs for everyone but
first…” She reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of
wine. Thank goodness there were plenty of snacks and chocolate
out
, or everyone would
be drunk.

I sat at the large island beside Mia and
looked at the garlands, fairy lights and other Christmas
decorations in the
kitchen. Mum always made the house shine and sparkle at
Christmas and since Everleigh was born she went that extra
mile.

While we worked on dinner, I glanced out
of the window. Cole thought the PlayStation was his big surprise
this year
, but I had
something that topped that in store for him.

Mum handed me the alcohol-free wine. “Next
year when you’re not still breastfeeding,” she said, doing her best
to look sad for me.

“
Thanks. It’s fine. S
omeone has to remain sober to look after
the little ones.” I poured a glass and took a sip. It was okay,
actually, and at least I didn’t feel like a child with a coke when
everyone else was enjoying a proper drink.

The noise level in the house was high.
Everleigh and Leona couldn’t stick to one room and flitted between
them all, running, shouting and laughing everywhere they went. The
babies gave the odd cry between food, bottles and short naps.

It was chaotic but perfect. The colourful
light danced above our heads, wrapped around and stuck to every
possible surface.

“New Years resolutions!” Jenna said, stirring
the gravy. “Mine is to find Mia a decent man.”

“Hey!” Mia said, then thought about it and
shrugged. “Yeah, alright. That’s mine, too.”

“Mine is to get a big, fat rock on my
finger,” Holly said, laughing when Mum’s eyes lit up.

That big rock was coming sooner than the New
Year…

“He does need to pull his finger out, doesn’t
he,” Mum said.

“Why do I get the feeling this is about me?”
Jasper asked as he past the doorway holding Sophia’s little hands
so she could walk.

“
Because it is! When are you going to marry
this girl? Mum demanded. Most people would be
embarrassed
, but Holly
laughed and blew him a kiss.

Jasper took hold of Sophia, stood up, turned
on his heel and walked away, leaving a room full of cackling women.
I joined in, pretending to laugh at his ‘discomfort’. He really
only left because he didn’t want to give anything away.

I was so excited for them both I almost
squealed. If anyone looked at me now
, I’d probably give it away.

“Mum, what’s your resolution?” I asked,
trying to steer the conversation away from proposals.

“Mine is to spend one day a week taking my
grandchildren somewhere. Doesn’t have to be anywhere special, even
just the park or the soft play centre.”

“
That’s a nice one,” I said. “And, yes, you
can steal them
for a day
every week.” Since I had Bentley, I’d lowered my days to two a week
but if Mum wanted to take them I could always go up to three. It’d
give me a chance to build the business even more.

“Yours, honey?” she asked.

“Mine is probably to focus on Everleigh’s
gymnastics.” She was better than me when I was younger and since
her love of throwing herself about has only grown it was probably
time to get a bit more serious about it.

“She’ll love that,” Jenna said.

“
Yeah, I think so.” I’d always been
cautious not to push her
, but she loved her classes and wanted to do more. It had
to be her decision, and I was following what she wanted to do. Part
of me was really happy though; my passion for the sport had never
died.

“Oooh, I can’t wait to watch her in the
Olympics!” Mum squealed.

“I was thinking of starting with some small
contests and seeing how she likes it but at least you’re dreaming
big for her. Now, what can I do?”

I was sent with Holly to lay the table,
setting crackers out and serving dishes that were piled high with
food. She had definitely cooked too much. “She trying to fatten us
all up?” Holly joked.

“
Looks that way.” I still had a few extra
pounds from my pregnancy with Bentley that was going to be
impossible to shift now. “Think Jasper will want a Disney cracker
or
a normal
one?”

“I heard that!” he shouted from the living
room making me and Holly laugh.

Mum, Jenna and Mia came into the room each
holding two
more dishes
in their hands. The dining room filled with the smells of Christmas
and my stomach begged for the roasties.

“Dinner, everyone,” Mum called.

The men and kids footsteps sounded like a
stampede as they made their way into the room, gazing longingly at
the food.

“
Take
a seat anywhere, but before you take a bite I want to see
hats on,” she added.