“LOGAN? COULD YOU get the door?” Tate called out as he located the large pot he’d been looking for. Grabbing a hold of it, he wrestled it free from the rest of the cookware in one of the cabinets under the kitchen counter.

It had just turned ten, and if he had to lay bets, he’d guess that one of the mini Madisons was having a field day with their new doorbell.

As it continued to ding and dong throughout the house, Tate called out, “Logan!”

“I got it,” he finally heard in response, followed by the sound of feet jogging down the stairs.

As Tate placed the pot on the counter, his hands shook slightly, and he pressed his fingers against the marble to steady them. After their shower this morning, the nerves over what they were going to do today had begun to set in. It was crazy, he knew that. He’d been telling Logan for an entire week that there was no reason to be nervous about this. But as Tate heard him greet Cole and then Rachel, his palms began to sweat because, yeah, I’m totally nervous.

Nervous about their reactions. Nervous because they all knew he had been the one who’d screwed things up the first go around. Nervous because, shit, this was the most important thing he’d ever done in his life.

Would they be happy? Would they be skeptical? Would they—

“Unca Tate!” Lila Madison pulled him out of his crazed headspace and had an automatic smile lighting his face as she marched into the kitchen, dragging a shopping bag almost as big as she was behind her.

She was cute as a button in her little boots that matched her brown and white striped leggings and polka-dot tutu. And her ruffled shirt had a pumpkin that had Thankful written over the top of it. It seemed Rachel was passing along her flair for dramatic clothing even at this early age.

When she noticed where Tate stood behind the counter, Lila let go of her bag and raced around to him, and Tate bent down to scoop her up in a hug.

“Hello, little miss,” he said as Lila wrapped her arms around his neck and Tate pressed a big kiss to her cheek, making her giggle.

She patted the other side of his face and beamed at him. “’Appy Tanksgiving.”

Her attempt at pronunciation was so sweet that it had Tate chuckling even as he told her, “Happy Thanksgiving to you. Where’s your brother?”

“He’s right here,” Cole said, as the rest of the Madison clan walked through to the kitchen.

Thomas was in front of his dad, who had one hand on his shoulder and several bags in his other, and Rachel was beside them with a few more grocery bags slung over her arm. Trailing behind them, holding a baking dish with aluminum foil over the top of it, was Logan with what Tate assumed was one rather large turkey.

As everyone dumped the bags on the counter, Logan slid the baking dish down and turned to Rachel. “What did you stuff that thing with? It’s heavy as hell.”

Rachel laughed as she came around the kitchen toward Tate. “Stop complaining. You’re going to thank me later when it melts in your mouth.” When she stopped in front of Tate, she placed a hand on his arm and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Happy Thanksgiving. We were just admiring the place now that everything’s in order.”

“Well, for the most part. And happy Thanksgiving to you guys,” Tate said, and then looked at the many bags now littering the kitchen. “Is that everything?”

“Actually,” Rachel said, “I have the pies out in the car—if you’ll come help me?”

Tate leaned down to put Lila back on her feet. “No problem. What temperature do you need the oven on?”

“Three-fifty for the turkey,” Rachel said as she walked back around to where Cole, Thomas, and Logan stood. “How about you guys start working on the potatoes while we go and get the pies?”

Tate came around to stop behind Logan, and kissed him on the temple. “They’re over on the kitchen table there. Be back in a second.”

As Tate followed Rachel past the dining table they had set up the night before, she stopped to run a finger along one of the orange napkins on the center of each plate, and then looked over her shoulder at him.

“Logan?”

Tate nodded. “How’d you guess?”

“The napkins are perfectly folded. Did he iron them, too?”

Tate laughed, because while they weren’t ironed, he could most definitely see Logan wanting to do that. “No, he didn’t. But if you see a crease, don’t tell him, for God’s sake.”

After everyone had agreed to come to their place for Thanksgiving, the two of them had done some last-minute shopping to make the place look a little more festive, and considering the time constraints they’d had, they were rather pleased with how the table had turned out.

There was a gold runner up the center of it, littered with candles and decorations made up of acorns and leaves that they’d seen on display at one of the stores. It’d looked good enough there that Tate had figured they could make it work here—and surprisingly, they had. Each place setting had a dinner plate, a bread and butter plate, and under the bowls that sat in the center of each setting were Logan’s napkins.

“It looks beautiful. You guys did good.”

“Thanks,” Tate said as he placed a hand on the back of one of the chairs. “It feels homey.”

“It does. This place is gorgeous. The fire going over there. These hardwood floors. Seriously, I might be a little jealous there aren’t any toys scattered all over the place.”

Tate walked around to where Rachel stood staring at the fire and bay window of their home, and slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. “You wouldn’t know what to do with a quiet house now.”

Rachel looked up at him and grinned. “True. But I imagine it must be wonderful.”

“You can run away and come visit here whenever you like. Come on,” Tate said as he led her to the front door, and just as he opened it, his father came to a stop on the landing with a pretty woman by his side. “Oh, hey, Dad.”

“Tate,” his father said as Tate let go of Rachel to hug him. “Happy Thanksgiving, son.”

“Yeah, to you too,” Tate said as he clapped his father on the back and then moved once again to stand beside Rachel. “I don’t think you two have officially met, have you? Dad, this is Rachel. Cole’s wife.”

“I’ve heard so much about you,” Will said as a wide smile lit his face and he moved forward to automatically take Rachel in a warm embrace. “My boy thinks the world of you.”

As he let go of her, Rachel looked over at Tate and said, “As I do him.”

His father then turned to the woman beside him, taking her hand in his as he drew her forward. When she came to a stop, close by his side, Tate aimed a friendly look her way as Will said, “This lovely lady with me today is Jackie.”

As he smiled at the silver-haired woman wrapped in a beautiful cream coat, she held her hand out to Tate and grinned. “Hello. Thank you for having me today. I can’t tell you how nice it is to finally meet you.”

Tate took her hand in his and gave it a gentle shake. “Likewise, and it’s our pleasure.” He then looked to his father and gestured over his shoulder with his chin. “If you want to head inside, you’ll find Logan and the rest of the group in the kitchen. We were just getting the pies from Rachel’s car.”

“Do you need any help?” Will asked, and Rachel shook her head.

“Oh no, the two of us will manage just fine.”

“Okay, we’ll see you in a second, then,” Will said, and headed inside along with Jackie.

As the door shut behind them, Rachel walked down the stairs and along the path to the road. “Well, he’s a looker. Now I know what Logan was talking about.”

Tate pushed open the gate, and as she headed through it, he said, “What do you mean?”

“Logan said the first time he met your dad—really met him—he felt as though he was looking at you thirty years in the future. You look just like him.”

Tate chuckled as they came to a stop behind Rachel’s SUV. “I guess we do look similar.”

Rachel opened the trunk and reached for the cooler in the back. “Similar?” she said. “I’d love to see a photo of him at your age. I bet you could pass as twins. It’s almost uncanny. I mean, except the curls. His hair is so short you can’t tell if he has them or not.”

“He does,” Tate said.

“See? That’s crazy.”

“Not really.” Tate grabbed the cooler from her as she locked up the car. “Lila looks just like you, and Thomas is the spitting image of Cole.”

Rachel cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. “Well, in coloring, yes. But they each have something of the other. You? You’re all that man. Trust me.”

As they walked back to the gate and Rachel held it open for him, Tate couldn’t stop himself from asking, “What about Cole and Logan?”

“You mean do they look like their dad?”

“Yeah. I mean, have you ever seen photos? They’re both so different in ways, but in others…”

“So similar? I know what you mean. Their build, for one. They’re both so tall and broad-shouldered,” Rachel said. “I’ve seen photos of him with Cole and his mother, and he was tall, probably more Cole’s height than Logan’s, and fair-headed, like Cole is.”

“So Logan’s coloring is all from Evelyn, then?”

“Yes. But not the eyes,” Rachel said as she stopped at the front door and looked up at him. “Logan’s blue eyes are just like his father’s. Piercing. Cole got the hazel from his mom.”

Tate had always suspected as much, but hearing it out loud was so…strange. Strange because one of the things that was so striking about Logan was his eyes, and yet he’d gotten them from a man who’d all but thrown him away.

“You ready to head inside?” Rachel asked when Tate just stood there on the porch, lost in his thoughts.

“Oh, yeah. You better get in there and direct the chaos if we want to eat sometime this year.”

And with that, he shoved aside thoughts of unworthy parents and followed one of the worthiest inside to the kitchen.

* * *

A COUPLE OF HOURS later, the house smelled delicious, the kitchen was a disaster zone, and the kids had won over the latest adults to meet them. Will and Jackie, who Logan had decided should stay together forever because Jackie was a total sweetheart, had moved into the living room with the kiddos so the rest of them could finish up with the final preparations of food.

“Okay,” Rachel said, wiping her hands down the front of her apron. “The turkey is in; the casseroles are ready to go in the oven in about thirty minutes. Potatoes are cut and washed, ready to be cooked and mashed. What am I missing, what am I missing?”

“Peace and serenity?” Logan suggested as he snagged a couple of marshmallows that were left over from making the sweet potato casserole and tossed them in his mouth.

“Oh, I lost that four years ago when Thomas was born.”

Cole laughed as Tate slid a cold Corona across the marble countertop and said, “I think you’ve earned that this morning. We all have.”

Cole snagged the bottle and took a swig right as a high-pitched squeal echoed around the house and Lila came barreling through the doorway with Thomas tight on her heels.

“Give it back, Lila,” Thomas said as she clutched a Nerf ball to her front and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. When she got to Logan, she skidded around behind him just as Cole stepped in front of Thomas and put a hand out to stop him.

“What have we told you two about running in Uncle Logan and Uncle Tate’s house?” Cole said.

Thomas came to a standstill and looked up at his father with a serious frown. “That we should walk, because if we break something, Uncle Logan will get mad and go grey early.”

Tate burst out laughing as Logan glared over at Cole.

“Really? That’s what you’re teaching your son? At least get your facts straight,” Logan said to his brother before directing his attention to Thomas. “I would be mad about going grey, not you breaking something. So let’s not scare me so early in the day, okay?”

Thomas nodded. “Okay. But she took my ball.”

Logan looked behind to where Lila stood clutching the bright yellow offender in her hands.

“You shouldn’t have been playing with it inside anyway,” Cole said. “I told you to come and get me if you wanted to go out the back. There’s a nice, big yard out there.”

Thomas tugged on his father’s hand. “Can we go out there and play? Can we? Can we?”

Cole looked over to Rachel and asked, “Do you need any more help in here?”

Rachel untied her apron and tossed it on the counter. “Not right now,” she said as she smiled. “But once I’m done, I volunteer you three to come and clean up.”

“You got it. You guys coming?” he asked Logan and Tate as he directed Thomas into Logan’s office, where they’d stashed everyone’s bags and coats.

“Actually, I’m going to go in and make sure Dad and Jackie are doing okay before we all settle in for dinner,” Tate said as he went to walk by Logan. But before he got too far, Logan reached out and snagged Tate’s wrist, pulling him in for a slow, sweet kiss.

“Okay, you two,” Cole said as he came back out with coats in hand. “There are children present.”

“Again!” Lila proclaimed at the top of her lungs as she stared up at him and Tate, and they all turned to look down at her.

“Yes. I can see she’s clearly traumatized. You’re going to have to watch this one when she grows up,” Logan said, and then looked back to Tate. “I’ll see you soon.”

Tate gave him a smile that was so charming that Logan’s breath caught and he couldn’t stop himself from kissing him again. The clapping had him chuckling when he lifted his mouth and whispered against Tate’s, “That was for Lila.”

“Sure it was. See you soon, Mr. Mitchell.” And when Tate winked, Logan grinned at the reminder of their surprise as Tate turned and headed off into the living room.

As he disappeared, Logan’s eyes found Rachel, and she had a look on her face that was a mix of curiosity and happiness.

“What?” Logan asked, and she shook her head.

“Nothing.”

Logan narrowed his eyes on her, wondering if Tate had said something earlier when they’d gone out to get the pies, but when she remained silent, he decided to let it go.

“Right,” he said, and rubbed his hands together, looking at the bundled-up kids and their father. “Are you guys ready to go outside and play?”

TEN MINUTES LATER, Thomas and Lila were running around the backyard kicking the ball and shouting at the top of their lungs. Every now and then, Lila forgot why she was there and stopped to play in the leaves, picking them up and tossing them above her as she stumbled around in a wonky circle, laughing.

Cole had settled down on the back porch, his arms draped over the lower railing and his legs swinging over the edge of the landing, as Logan stood beside him watching the kids run about below.

“You think we would’ve been like that if we grew up together?” Logan asked, as Thomas picked up a huge handful of leaves and threw them at his sister.

“Probably,” Cole said. “I mean, I would’ve been for sure. You probably would’ve run and told on me for getting your clothes dirty.”

Logan bumped his boot against Cole’s ass but laughed as he sat down beside him. “I think I would’ve liked that. Growing up with you.”

Cole cocked his head to the side and contemplated Logan with a pensive look. “Why’s that?”

Logan shrugged but thought about his and Cole’s relationship over the years, and how even from the beginning, whenever Logan needed him, Cole had always been there. “You’re a good brother, that’s all. You always have been.”

“Getting sentimental on me?”

“No. I just don’t think I’ve ever told you that.”

Cole smiled and brought his beer to his lips. “You’re not too bad yourself, you know.”

Logan chuckled. “I know.”

“Arrogant.”

“Tate called me that just the other day. I’m starting to develop a complex.”

“No, you’re not.”

“No. I’m not.” Logan smirked as he looked back down to the kids, and before he knew he was going to, he said, “I hate that that bastard took that away from us.”

Cole nodded. “So do I. And even though I don’t like Evelyn, you were right. They’re the ones we have to thank for each other, aren’t they?”

Logan shrugged. “I guess. But I don’t think you have to worry about her today. Once again, it looks like Evelyn’s found something better to do than be with her son on the holidays. Oh well, at least she’s holding up the family tradition.”

“She’s unbelievable,” Cole said, shaking his head. “You know why she does this to you, right?”

“Because I’m an idiot and I let her?”

“No,” Cole said, and then looked back to the kids. “It’s because you remind her of him.”

“Huh?”

“The bastard,” Cole said. “Rachel was talking about how much Tate looks like his dad earlier, and it never really occurred to me just how much you look like ours.”

Logan frowned, Cole’s words hitting a little too close to a suspicion he’d had most of his life about Evelyn but had always shoved aside. “And here I thought we were having a nice bonding moment. Why’d you have to go and ruin it?”

“Sorry,” Cole said, and took another sip of his beer. “But it’s true. Every now and then, you look at me a certain way and I see him as clear as if he’s standing in front of me. I’m sure Evelyn sees it too. I think that’s one of the reasons I was so…difficult when you first tracked me down.”

Logan turned to stare at Cole’s profile and ran his eyes over the blond hair, the shape of his nose, and the distinct angle of his jaw line. Cole was the very image of their…father, not him. “Wow. You never told me that before.”

“I know. I guess I never really thought about it until Rachel pointed it out. But she’s right: it’s your eyes when you concentrate or get annoyed at something. Kind of like now.”

“Fantastic. So, his repellent nature lives on through me as well as his pissed-off expression,” Logan said as he got to his feet. “That’s just awesome.”

“Logan,” Cole said, and stood also. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I mean, do you really think I like the fact that I resemble him as much as I do? Trust me, I don’t. But if it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t be in my life. So I try not to hate him so much. I actually pity him because he missed out on knowing you, and that’s his loss.”

Logan let out a shaky breath and shook his head. He didn’t often think about his and Cole’s father, but something about the holidays always made him wonder what things could’ve been like…if only.

But no, he refused to let that no-good asshole ruin this day for him—or Evelyn, for that matter. Today he was surrounded by the people he loved the most, and that was all that really mattered in the end. They were the ones he wanted with him and Tate for their announcement.

“It’s a miracle we turned out okay after all they put us through, isn’t it?” Logan said. “You, Rachel, and those crazy kids.”

Cole smiled as he looked down to where Lila was now rolling around in the leaves with Thomas. Both of them staring up at the clear sky with huge grins on their faces. “Yeah. And you and Tate.”

Yes, Logan thought, as he tipped his face up to the sun, all his worries leaving him. Me with Tate.

“Logan?”

“Hmm?”

“You okay?”

Logan nodded, realizing that, despite all the odds, he was. “I’ve never been better. But I think I’m going to head inside and find Tate. Don’t be too long out here.”

“Will you take this in for me?” Cole asked, handing Logan the empty bottle. “I think I’m going to head down there and rustle those two up.”

“No problem. Why do I feel like if I come back in five minutes I’m going to find you down there rolling around in the leaves with them?”

Cole dusted his jeans off and then headed down the stairs, and when he was halfway across the backyard, he called over his shoulder, “Because you know me better than anyone else. That’s a brother’s role, Logan. Don’t you know that by now?”

As Cole waved, Logan left so he could go and track Tate down and begin the role he was about to play for the rest of his life—husband.

Tate’s husband.