Janey Cantrell stood in the window and watched the snow come down in a total whiteout. She wanted to scream at the weather gods—not today! Not on Christmas! She looked forward to this day all year, and the snow was scuttling her plans. This would be the first Christmas of her life that she didn’t spend with her parents and siblings. The thought of missing out on the McCarthy family madness made her want to cry.

Right away she felt silly for being sad. What did she have to be sad about? She had her wonderful husband, Joe, as well as their children, P.J. and Vivienne, who would celebrate her first Christmas. She had what she needed.

Except…

Evan and Grace were home, and Stephanie and Grant were back from a few weeks on the west coast…

Janey hadn’t gotten the chance to see any of them yet. Plus, her brother Mac’s baby son Malcolm the third—another Mac McCarthy, God help them all—would celebrate his first Christmas today, too. Janey wanted photos of him with Viv to commemorate the day.

She shook her fist at Mother Nature. As New Englanders, they hoped every year for a white Christmas, but no one asked for a blizzard on Christmas!

“What’s the matter, babe?” Joe asked as he joined her at the window, taking a good look at the snow that had shut down the ferries for the day. “It sure is pretty.”

“No, it isn’t!”

“Um, yes, it is, and I thought you loved snow.”

“I do love snow, but not when it ruins my Christmas.”

“Aww, is my baby sad that she can’t be with her mommy and daddy and her new sister and big mean brothers today?”

“Yes! I’ve never had a Christmas without them, and I don’t want to start now.”

“So what you’re saying is that your wonderful husband and the two beautiful children he’s blessed you with aren’t enough for you?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Joe laughed. “You could at least try to spare my feelings.”

“Oh stop. You’re as bummed as I am that we won’t get to see the family today.”

“You’re right. I am, but we’ll still have a nice day together.” He put his arms around her. “The kids are down for naps. We can snuggle in front of the fire. It’ll be great.”

“No, it won’t,” she said, trying not to sound as whiney as she felt.

“Now, you’re officially hurting my feelings. I’m very good at snuggling, as you well know.”

“Yes, you are, but today I want my family. It’s Christmas, Joseph. It’s wrong that we’re so close to them but can’t see them.”

“As much as I’d love for you to have everything you want for Christmas, there’s no way I’m taking babies out in this. It’s not safe to drive, Janey.”

“I know!”

“Are you going to pout all day?”

“Not all day, but for a little while longer.”

“I’ll allow that.” He tugged on her hand to lead her from the window. “But while you pout, I want my Christmas snuggle with my wife.”

Janey followed him to the sofa and sat while he added wood to the fire. Outside the wind howled and the snow pinged against the windows. “It’s only two miles.”

“What if we get stuck? Then what?” He stood and came to sit next to her on the sofa. “You’ll survive one Christmas without your family.”

Evan and Grace, Adam and Abby and Grant and Steph would probably brave the roads because they didn’t have babies to worry about. It would be so much fun! She wondered if Mac and Luke were as bummed as she was to be stuck at home with babies while everyone else got to go home for Christmas.

“Did you hear from your mom?” she asked Joe. “Did they make it to Ireland?”

“Safe and sound.”

“Did the boys love the flight? They were so excited for their first plane ride.”

“They did love it. Mom said they didn’t want to sleep on the plane because they didn’t want to miss anything.”

“Caro and Seamus must be exhausted.”

“She said they’re hoping they can convince the boys to sleep for a while when they get to Seamus’s mom’s house.”

“I hope so.” Janey texted her brother Mac. This weather sucks!

I know, he replied.

Whose big idea was it to have babies?

Not mine, that’s for sure.

Janey replied with laughing emojis. Her brother’s aversion to babies being born on the island was well-known—and he had good reason with one chaotic delivery after another. She’d had Viv on the ferry, for crying out loud. Nothing ever went according to plan when it came to babies on Gansett Island.

What are you guys up to? Mac asked.

Joe wants to snuggle. Janey awaited his predictable reply.

Ewww. Gross.

Nothing gross about it...

Everything about that is gross.

What r u doing?

Walking the floor with Mac. He’s cranky.

That’s going around today.

Thomas is so excited to play in the snow. We told him he has to wait until it stops blizzarding.

That’s not a word.

Did you get what I meant? If so, it’s a word.

I’m going to snuggle now.

Barf.

“What’s he barfing about?” Joe asked when he joined her on the sofa.

“Me snuggling with you.”

“Nothing barfy about it.”

“That’s what I told him.”

“Thank you for defending me, babe.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Let’s make out while we can.”

“Don’t you want your Christmas present?”

“Making out with you is all the present I need. Now kiss me.”

“But I got you something cool.”

Joe sighed. “Will it still be cool after you kiss me?”

Janey giggled at the pathetic face he made. “Yes, I suppose it will be.”

“Then…”

“Oh, all right. If I must.” Smiling, she laid her hand on his handsome face, which was even more so thanks to the stubble on his jaw, and kissed him.

“Mmm, more of that, please.”

While her babies slept and the wind howled outside, Janey decided since she couldn’t fight Mother Nature, she may as well enjoy the stolen interlude with her sexy husband. There were worst things that could happen on Christmas than having nothing better to do than make out with Joe Cantrell.

---

Red hair splayed out on a white pillow was one of Luke Harris’s favorite sights, especially on Christmas morning with the wind howling outside and baby Lily back to sleep after an early-morning feeding.

“Luke,” Sydney said, gasping. “Do something.”

“I am doing something. I’m doing you.”

She laughed, which made her internal muscles clamp down on his cock.

He saw stars. There was nothing in this world he loved more than making love to his gorgeous, sexy wife.

“So we’re just going to stay like this all day?”

“You got somewhere else to be?” God, he loved her. He loved their life and their little girl and the home they’d made together. When he thought of all the Christmases he’d spent alone, wishing for the things he had now… That seemed like another lifetime.

“No, but…” She squirmed, seeking relief he wasn’t in the mood to give her. Not yet anyway.

“Relax, sweetheart.”

“How am I supposed to relax when you’re doing that?”

“What am I doing?”

“Nothing!”

He flexed his hips. “Feels like something to me.”

Sydney’s fingers dug into his back as her legs encircled his hips. “She’s going to wake up, and won’t you be sad then that you didn’t take care of business while you could.”

“Is that what this is? Business?”

“Luke!”

He laughed. How could he not? She was so damned cute and sexy and all his. The only girl he’d ever wanted. “Maybe we’ll make a little brother or sister for Lily. Wouldn’t that be a Christmas miracle?” They’d been having sex without protection for months, but so far, they hadn’t succeeded in conceiving again. But they’d had a hell of a time trying.

“Can’t talk right now. My husband is torturing me.”

He nuzzled her neck, making sure his chest hair brushed against her breasts, which were extra sensitive from feeding Lily. “You love when your husband tortures you.” Christmas was a tough day for her, a reminder of the husband and children she’d lost. His goal today was to keep her too busy to let the past intrude to make her sad. Plus, they were celebrating their anniversary, too.

She gasped. “Luke… please…”

He raised himself up on his arms and began to move. “Is this what my baby wants?”

“Yes,” she said, eyes closed, lips parted. “Yes, yes, yes.”

Feeling her body tighten with impending release, he let himself go, losing himself in her and the magic they created together. He’d never experienced anything remotely like the way she made him feel, especially when she wrapped her arms around him and held him through the aftermath.

“That was mean,” she said after a long silence.

He grunted out a laugh. “How do you figure? Didn’t it end well?”

She poked his side. “How can you still be surprising me after all this time?”

“Baby, I have only begun to surprise you.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Now you’ve done it. I’m completely exhausted, and all I want to do is sleep.”

“So sleep.” He kissed her, lingering over the sweet taste of her lips. “I’ve got Lily.”

“Mmm, I might take you up on that.”

“We’ve got nowhere to go and nothing to do but relax.”

“Are you sad to be missing Christmas with the McCarthy’s?”

“Nah, it’s okay. I had Christmas with them for years. Now I want to spend Christmas with my two best girls.” He slid her hair through his fingers. “Are you missing your folks?”

“A little, but they’re having fun in Wisconsin, and they’ll be back tomorrow.”

“If they can get here.”

“True.”

“So it’s just you and me and Lily.” He kissed her. “Best. Christmas. Ever.”

---

The day began for Mac McCarthy at five a.m. when baby Mac decided he’d had enough sleep. Unfortunately, his parents did not agree, and were trying to keep their two older children asleep for another hour or two so their day wouldn’t be a complete disaster.

Mac picked up the baby from the bassinette next to the bed he shared with Maddie and walked him to the window to check the weather.

As predicted, the blizzard had arrived overnight, and the wind was blowing so hard the snow came down sideways.

Trapped.

No grandparents to take turns with the baby.

No cousins to entertain Thomas and Hailey.

No one to cook them a delicious dinner.

No opportunity for him and his brothers to gang up on Janey.

Worst. Christmas. Ever.

As if he could read his father’s thoughts, baby Mac patted his daddy’s face with a chubby hand.

Mac nibbled on the baby’s fist and got the deep belly laugh he loved so much. He went to enormous lengths to make his son laugh as frequently as possible just so he could hear that joyful sound.

“Are you trying to remind me to count my blessings, buddy?”

“Is he answering you?” Maddie asked.

“We have our own language, don’t we, pal?” Mac asked the baby, who looked at him like he was crazy. “We don’t understand why people are so excited about a white Christmas that ruins everyone’s plans.”

“You’ll survive one Christmas without your mommy.”

“I don’t know if I will,” Mac said, sitting on the bed.

“You’re a grown up now, Mac. You have your own family. If we have to spend the holiday just the five of us, then so be it.”

“Why do you have to be so mean to me?”

Maddie laughed, rolled her eyes at him and reached for baby Mac, bringing him to her breast to feed him.

Mac loved to watch her feed their babies. She was an amazing mother and wife, and he felt lucky every day to be taking this journey with her.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while?” she asked.

“I’m awake now. That ship has sailed.”

“It’s gonna be a long-ass day around here.”

“Yep, and no grandparents to help. It’s us versus them.”

“And there’re more of them than there are of us.”

“Whose big idea was it to let them outnumber us?”

Maddie laughed and shook her head. “Not the best idea we ever had.”

“I don’t know about that.” Mac smoothed his fingertip over the baby’s foot. “This guy may turn out to be the best idea we ever had. How can we go wrong with another Mac McCarthy?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“Come on, admit it. The world needs more Mac McCarthys.”

“You’re delusional.”

Mac laughed. “You love me.”

“For some reason, I really do.”

“Will you take good care of me today, so I don’t miss my mom too much?”

“Don’t I take good care of you every day?”

“I’ll need extra care today, especially at nap time.”

“I see where this is going. You do realize that’s how we ended up outnumbered around here, don’t you?”

Mac nuzzled her neck and then kissed her. “It was so, so worth it.”

---

Big Mac McCarthy stood at the big sliding doors that looked out over the deck and the Salt Pond below. Through the driving snow, he could just barely make out the marina that was boarded up for the off-season, and the hotel that was closed for the holiday. They had some bookings coming in later in the week, but for now, all was quiet in their waterfront fiefdom.

He drank from his mug of coffee and tried to shake off the morose mood that had descended upon him since waking to the raging blizzard that would keep the kids from coming home for the day. That was particularly vexing since all of them were close by, but the snow would leave them stranded.

Usually Big Mac loved snow. Today, not so much.

The thought of Christmas without his kids and grandkids made him sad and put a serious damper on his holiday spirit.

“Ugh,” Linda said when she joined him downstairs and took a look at the weather. “What the heck am I going to do with all the food I bought for today?”

The lights flickered.

They held their breath while they waited to see if the power would go out.

It didn’t, not yet anyway.

“Please tell me we have gas for the generator,” she said.

“All set.”

“I suppose we can postpone Christmas dinner to tomorrow or the next day.”

Storms tended to settle in over Gansett Island, lasting for days sometimes. “Won’t be the same without the kids underfoot.” He still missed having little ones at home on Christmas morning. They’d grown up shockingly fast, and Christmas wasn’t the same without them waking up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa had brought.

Those had been the best years, but these years, with their kids settled into happy relationships and five grandchildren—and counting—to spoil were pretty great, too. On days like today, his mind wandered back in time to when he and his brothers, Frank and Kevin, still lived at home with their parents.

His folks had been gone a long time now, but holidays always brought back fond memories of precious time with family.

The phone rang and Linda went to grab it. He heard her talking to his best buddy, Ned, about the weather.

“We’ll miss you guys today,” she said. “You, too. Here he is.” She handed the phone to Big Mac.

“Hey,” he said. “Merry Christmas.”

“Ya don’t sound too merry.”

“Not gonna get to see my kids today. Bums me out.”

“I hear ya. Not a holiday without the little ones.”

“What’re you guys doing?” Big Mac asked.

“Same as you. Poutin’ about not gettin’ ta see our babies.”

“Damn snow.”

“Thought ya loved it?”

“I do til it messes with my plans.”

Ned laughed and then went silent for a few seconds. “What if…”

“What?”

“Nothin. Just an idea I had.”

“What idea is that?”

“Let me think on it a little more, and I’ll let ya know if I can make it happen,” Ned said.

“What’re you talking about, old man?”

“Gotta run. I’ll call ya back later.”

The line went dead, and Big Mac stared at the phone. “What the heck?”

“What’s Ned up to?” Linda asked as she made a pot of coffee.

“Hell if I know. He’s up to something, though.”

Linda’s cell phone made a sound he hadn’t heard before. She picked it up to check it. “It’s an alert from Blaine,” she said of the Gansett Island police chief. “Asking people to stay off the roads today.”

Big Mac sighed. If the police were asking people to stay home, that meant the roads were bad.

Then the lights flickered again, and this time the power went out.

“Christmas is doomed.”

“Don’t be silly,” Linda said. “We have each other, a fridge full of good food and a generator. We’ll be fine.”

They would be fine, but the holiday wouldn’t be the same without the kids.

---

“What do you think you’re doing?” Francine asked, following Ned to the mudroom where he donned his heaviest parka and pushed his feet into boots.

“I gots an idea.”

“What kind of idea?”

He kissed her cheek. “The kind that’s gonna save Christmas.”

“You’re not going out in this.”

“I ain’t goin’ far, so don’t worry.”

“Ned, seriously, it’s a blizzard. You have no business being out there.”

“This ain’t nothing. I been out in much worse over the years.”

“That was before you had a wife at home who will worry about you.”

That gave him pause. Until the last couple of years, he’d never had anyone at home to worry about him. Now he had his dream girl, and knowing she would worry made him question the sanity of this mission. But then he thought about how depressed Big Mac had sounded. It had reminded Ned of how his best friend had been after he suffered a head injury a few years back.

Ned couldn’t bear to hear him so down, and if there was something he could do to fix it for everyone, then that’s what he’d do.

“Ned…”

“I’ll be back before you miss me,” he said. “Promise.”

“What’ll I do if you don’t come back?”

“Call Blaine. But that won’t be necessary. I’ll be back.”

She sighed. “You’re a crazy old fool.”

“Ya knew that when ya married me.” He kissed her again. “Pack up yer stuff to go to Linda’s.”

“We’re not going to Linda’s. We’re staying home like our son-in-law the police chief told us to.”

“We’re going to Linda’s. Get yerself ready and pack us a bag just in case we get stuck there. I’ll be back to getcha soon.” This idea got better with every passing minute.

“Ned—”

“Get ready,” he called over his shoulder as he went out into the howling wind and snow to fire up the woody station wagon he used as a cab. After pulling out of his driveway, he discovered the roads were bad. Worse than bad, in fact. But he knew this island better than anyone and took it nice and slow. He made his way past the Southeast Light, which was barely visible through the snow.

Ned wondered if Slim and Erin had made it back to the island ahead of the storm or if they’d hunkered down in Florida to wait it out. Big Mac would know. He kept tabs on their pilot friend Slim.

He crept along at five miles an hour, the station wagon fishtailing here and there. Francine might’ve been right about this being a fool’s errand, but if he could pull it off…

He went by the entrance to Martinez Lawn and Garden. Alex and Paul were no doubt hunkered down with their families, their houses walkable to each other even in the blizzard.

Half an hour after he left home, what should’ve been a five-minute ride landed Ned at the home of Gansett Island Town Councilman Royal Atkinson. Ned parked the car but left it running as he dashed through the snow to ring the doorbell.

The rotund councilman pulled open the door. “Ned? What the heck are you doing out in this?”

“I need a favor.”

---

Adam McCarthy woke up cold and realized the power had gone out while he and Abby were sleeping. “Crap.”

“What?” Abby asked, her voice sleepy and sexy.

He curled up to her. “We’re going to have to share body heat. We lost power.”

“I love sharing body heat with you.”

“We’ll have no choice but to stay in bed all day so we don’t freeze.”

She laughed at his shameless ploy. “There are worse ways to spend Christmas than snuggled up to you in bed.”

“Far worse ways.”

“It won’t be the same without naked boy, naked girl,” Abby said, referring to last Christmas when Adam’s nephew Thomas and his cousin Ashleigh had coined a new term when they ran through the family gathering completely naked.

“We can play naked boy, naked girl all by ourselves. It’s my favorite game.” He worked his hand under her T-shirt.

She screamed. “Adam! Your hand is freezing!”

“Warm me up.”

She shivered. “It’s too cold.”

“I’ll go downstairs, build a fire and then come back for you.”

“Hurry. I’ll freeze without you.”

“I’ll be quick.” He got out of bed and grimaced at the smack of cold air that greeted him. “Damn, this house gets cold quick.”

“Gonna be a long day without heat. I told you we should’ve gotten a generator when they had them at the hardware store.”

“Yes, dear, you did.” Adam jammed his feet into fleece-lined slippers and pulled on a thick sweater over a long-sleeved T-shirt. At this rate, he’d need a parka inside the house before much longer.

“You can also say that from now on I’ll act immediately on all my wife’s good ideas.”

“Nice try. Going downstairs now.” He darted down the stairs and went directly to the fireplace, thankful that he’d heeded Abby’s suggestion to bring in firewood last night, just in case they needed it. He built the fire and had it going strong within a few minutes.

Then he went back upstairs to get Abby.

“All set, sweetheart. Let’s go.” He held up a down blanket that he wrapped around her when she got out of bed.

Downstairs, Adam pulled cushions off the sofa and set them up with a bed by the fire.

“My hero,” Abby said, when they were snuggled up in front of the fireplace.

“Your hero should’ve bought the generator when he could.”

She patted the hand he had on her belly. “My hero can’t be perfect all the time.”

Adam laughed. “I promise to do better in the future.”

Linking their fingers, Abby held on tight to his hand. “Do you think someday we’ll have little people waking us up way too early on Christmas?”

“I do. I really, really do. I see that for us.”

“You’re so sure.”

“I am sure. It’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of when.”

“Sometimes I think I should move on and let it go.”

“Don’t do that yet. I’ll let you know when it’s time for that—but it’s not going to happen.”

“I wish I had your confidence.”

“You don’t need it. I’ll be confident for both of us.”

“It’s too bad we won’t get to see the kids today,” she said, sighing.

“We’ll see them tomorrow. Go back to sleep for a little while. We’ve got nothing to do and nowhere to be. There’s no one I’d rather be marooned with on Christmas than you.”

“Me, too.”

Adam was on his way back to sleep when the phone rang. Groaning, he untangled himself from Abby and grabbed the phone off the coffee table where he’d left it the night before. What the heck did Ned want so early? “Hey, Ned, what’s up?”

“Merry Christmas,” Ned said, speaking loudly over a whirl of noise in the background. “Pack yerselves up. I’m comin’ to getcha.”

“Huh?”

“Just get ready. I’ll be there soon to take ya to yer mama’s. Pack a bag. Just in case I can’t getcha home tonight.”

“Uhh, okay...”

The line went dead.

“What did he want?”

“He’s coming to get us to take us to my mom’s.”

“Coming to get us in a blizzard? Seriously?”

“That’s what he said.” Wondering what Ned was up to, Adam said, “Looks like we’ll get to see the kids after all.”

---

While on the phone with Big Mac earlier, Ned had recalled the estate sale Mrs. Chesterfield’s heirs had held right before they put her home on the market. Ned had scooped up her old Cadillac. Royal had bought the oversized sleigh that Ned now navigated over snow-covered roads. The one thing he hadn’t anticipated was the wind that made it difficult to see where he was going.

Royal had made two of his sturdiest workhorses available to Ned, saying they could handle anything, including a blizzard. He’d also sent Ned with oats to feed them and filled the sleigh with red plaid blankets to keep Ned’s precious cargo warm. He was giddy with excitement as he turned the sleigh with the jingling bells toward his home to pick up his first passenger. There was nothing he wanted more than to make the ones he loved happy on Christmas.

Approaching his house, he saw Francine looking out the window, her eyes wide with what he hoped was delight. He brought the sleigh to a stop and jumped down into snow that came up to his knees.

Inside the door, he knocked the snow off his boots. “Doll! Getcher coat on! We’re goin’ for a ride.”

“You have lost what’s left of your mind,” she said.

“Aww come on! It’ll be fun. Doncha want to see yer babies on Christmas?”

“Of course I do, but—”

“No buts. Get yer coat on, grab yer bag of presents and let’s go. I gotta lotta stops ta make.” He helped her into her coat and kissed her before wrapping a scarf around her neck and face. Gathering up her bags of gifts, the picnic basket full of food and the bag he’d told her to pack—just in case they couldn’t get home later—he hustled her out of the house.

He helped her into the sleigh, tucked a blanket around her and stashed her things in the back compartment, covering them with another blanket.

“This is the craziest thing you’ve ever done!” She had to yell so he’d hear her over the wind.

Ned directed the sleigh back to the road and headed for Adam’s house. “Tisn’t it fun though?”

“Oh yeah. Lots of fun.”

“Ya mean that?”

“You’re still crazy, but it is fun. Leave it to you to figure out a way to save Christmas.”

A few minutes later, he guided the horses for a right-hand turn into Adam’s driveway.

“Are you kidding me?” Adam called from the doorway.

“Let’s go!” Ned said. “We’re on a schedule!”

Adam and Abby came running through the snow, bags in hand and got in behind Ned and Francine.

“This is awesome!” Adam said.

“Glad ya think so. Ready?”

“Ready!”

“Bundle up and hold on.”

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to the McCarthy’s White House, and Ned helped Francine down from the sleigh. He carried her bags and opened the gate to the white picket fence that was crusted with snow. Adam and Abby followed them up the walk.

Big Mac threw open the door and the euphoric expression on his face made Ned’s day complete. “You gotta be kidding me!”

“I ain’t kidding ya.” Ned handed over Francine’s bags to Linda. “I gotta go to town. Call Tiffany, Mallory, Grant and Evan. Tell ‘em all to get ready.”

“I want to go with you,” Big Mac said. “Give me one minute.” He ran to grab his boots, parka, hat and gloves and kissed Linda.

“Crazy old fools,” Linda said, but she couldn’t hide her delight.

“Get dinner in the oven, doll,” Ned said. “The kids are comin’ home!”

“We’re on it,” Linda said, glancing at Francine, who nodded.

“Don’t get your fool selves killed out there,” Francine said. “That’d put a damper on the day.”

Ned laughed and kissed her. “Doncha worry ‘bout us. We may be fools, but we’re hardy fools. Ya ready?” he asked Big Mac.

“Ready. Let’s do it.”

The two men ran out into the storm and climbed aboard the sleigh for the ride to town to collect the kids.

“This is awesome,” Big Mac declared when they were underway.

“Tisnt it? These horses are fearless.” He guided the horses through a huge drift. “What’d ya hear from Slim?”

“They stayed in Florida for the holiday with Erin’s folks, but they’ll be up for a visit in the next few days. He said they were waiting out the storm.”

They plowed through the snow, undeterred by the drifts, the wind or the cold, arriving in town about half an hour after they set out. First stop was the pharmacy where Evan and Grace lived in the loft upstairs. “Go get ‘em,” Ned said to Big Mac.

Big Mac was halfway up the stairs when Evan and Grace came out, bundled up and carrying bags of presents.

Evan had his guitar slung over his back. “You guys are crazy,” he said, laughing at the sight of the sleigh.

“Ned’s the crazy one,” Big Mac said, relieving Grace of the duffel bag she carried. “I’m just along for the ride.”

“Bundle up, kiddos!” Ned said. “Let’s go get yer sister.”

They stopped to pick up Mallory and Quinn as well as Grant and Stephanie before heading to Tiffany’s place.

She sent Ashleigh out first, and Ned snuggled her in next to him.

“You can help me drive,” he told her. The little girl who looked just like her mama had him wrapped so tightly around her little finger it wasn’t even funny.

Big Mac helped Tiffany with her bags and carried baby Adeline, bundled into a snow suit.

“Am I really taking my babies out in a blizzard?” Tiffany asked when she climbed in next to Grant, who helped to tuck blankets around her and the baby.

“We can’t let a little bit ‘o snow ruin our Christmas,” Ned said, turning the sleigh to head back to the White House.

“Did you tell Blaine where to find you?” Big Mac asked Tiffany.

“He’s working, so I texted him. Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased to hear we were going somewhere.”

“He’ll catch up to ya later. No sense you girls bein’ home alone if ya don’t hafta be.”

“I’ll let you tell him that,” Tiffany said.

“Mommy,” Ashleigh said. “I’m driving!”

“Oh dear God,” Tiffany said while everyone else lost it laughing.

---

Ned delivered the group from town to the White House with instructions for them to call Mac, Janey and Luke to put them on notice that they were coming for them.

They went first to Mac’s house.

“If I forget to tell you later,” Big Mac said as they headed down Sweet Meadow Farm Road, “thank you for this.”

“We couldn’t have Christmas without our babies,” Ned said.

“Wouldn’t have been the same.”

Ned brought the sleigh to a stop in Mac’s driveway. “Go get ‘em!”

Big Mac bounded up the stairs to Mac’s deck. His son met him at the sliding door. “What’re you two up to now?”

“We’re saving Christmas. You guys ready?”

“We aren’t really taking a baby out in a blizzard, are we?” Maddie asked, eyeing the storm with trepidation.

“It’s only a mile,” Big Mac reminded her. “We’ll have you bundled up so tight you won’t even know you’re out in a blizzard.”

“Right,” Maddie said skeptically. “If you say so.”

“Have you ever known my dad not to be right?” Mac asked.

“Not once, ever,” Maddie said with a warm smile for her father-in-law.”

“Mommy!” Thomas said. “There’s horseys out there! Can we go? Can we?”

“Let’s go,” Maddie said, seeming to realize when she was outnumbered.

Mac held Hailey, Maddie carried baby Mac and Thomas took care of himself while Big Mac juggled bags of gifts, a suitcase and a diaper bag.

“Off to the Cantrells,” Ned said, directing the team with the assistance of Ashleigh and now Thomas, too. He tried not to notice that the storm seemed to be intensifying. They were so close. He couldn’t quit now. Fifteen arduous minutes later, they pulled into Janey’s driveway. “Hurry,” Ned said to Big Mac. “It’s getting worse.”

“I’m hurrying.”

Janey let out a scream of delight when she saw the sleigh. “Joe! Look! Oh my God! This is fabulous!” She carried baby Vivienne while Joe brought P.J. They wore backpacks and had bags of gifts hanging from their arms.

“Cantrells get the prize for most ready to roll,” Ned said when they were loaded up.

“Janey was so excited to hear you were coming, I practically had to sit on her to keep her inside until you got here,” Joe said. “She even got Mr. Davis next door to agree to come over and check on the menagerie a couple of times. Oh, and Luke called to say thanks for the offer, but they’re staying home.”

“Good thing cuz I don’t think we coulda gotten there.” Ned directed the sleigh toward the White House. “Off we go!”

“This might be the craziest thing we’ve ever done,” Maddie said.

“If this is the craziest thing you’ve ever done,” Big Mac said, “you kids need to get out more.”

“No shit,” Ned muttered.

“Don’t encourage her Dad,” Mac said. “She’s wild enough for me as she is.”

It took twenty minutes, but they finally pulled up to the open gate at Big Mac’s house. With two babies on board, Ned had become more anxious with every passing minute, but they’d done it. They’d gotten them all.

He and Big Mac helped everyone inside and went back with Mac and Joe to grab the bags.

“Can we stow the team in the barn?” Ned asked Big Mac.

“Yep. Let’s do it.”

They went back out into the storm to detach the horses from their harnesses and put them up in the barn-shaped garage that also doubled as a workshop. They filled buckets with oats and water, rubbed down the horses and covered them with dry blankets.

“Will they be okay out here?” Big Mac asked.

“Royal says they’re low maintenance and will be fine as long as they’re outta the elements and have food and water.” Ned petted their long snouts. “Ya boys did good work. Ya saved Christmas.”

“With a little help from our good friend Ned,” Big Mac added.

“They did the hard part.” Ned spotted the camping supplies piled in the corner of the garage. “We oughta grab the air mattresses and sleeping bags. I have a feeling we’re gonna need ‘em tonight.”

“Good thinking.”

Carrying sleeping bags and deflated air mattresses, the two men made their way through waist-high drifts to the back door. Inside, they stashed their cargo, kicked off their boots and shed layers of heavy wet outerwear.

Big Mac opened the door to the kitchen, and the roar of voices, laughter, screaming babies and Christmas music greeted them. “Now that,” he said, grinning at his best friend, “is more like it.”

“Merry Christmas, good buddy.” Ned raised his hand for a high five.

Big Mac returned the high five and then hugged him. “Best Christmas present anyone ever got me.”

---

“Can you tell me what the hell we’re doing in this madhouse?” Quinn asked Mallory, amused by the antics of Thomas, Ashleigh and Hailey, whose excitement bordered on mania.

“We’re enjoying my second Christmas with my new family.”

“Is that what we’re doing?” His eyes went wide when Ashleigh jumped on Thomas’s back and took him down into a heap.

They landed with a thump and promptly cracked up laughing.

Quinn released a deep breath. “I keep thinking I should’ve brought my medical bag.”

Mallory laughed at him. “Didn’t you grow up in a big family?”

“I did, but my big family is nowhere near as crazy as yours.”

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Mallory had been devastated to realize Christmas would be canceled due to the weather and elated to get the call about Ned coming with the sleigh.

“Wonderful. Hmmm, okay. If you say so.”

“We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“I’m just teasing you, sweetheart. I know how badly you wanted to be right here in the middle of this madness.”

“I really did. I know we were having a nice quiet day, but I had so many of those before I knew my family.”

“It’s fine. I promise.”

“So you’ll be okay if I go help Linda in the kitchen?”

“I’ll be fine. The guys are watching football in the den. I’ll go in there where it’s safe.”

Mallory kissed him. “This is the best Christmas of my life.”

“Because you have your family. I get it.”

“Not just because of them, but because I have you, too.”

“Every day is like Christmas since I met you.”

“That’s very sweet of you to say, but thankfully not every day is as loud as Christmas with the McCarthys.”

“Very true. Not sure I could handle that.”

“At least they have a doctor and a nurse in residence, just in case.”

“Let’s hope they don’t need our professional expertise today.”

He’d no sooner said the words, when Ashleigh and Thomas rolled across the floor, taking out Hailey, who bumped her forehead on the coffee table.

“Spoke too soon.” Mallory scooped up her niece and held her tight as she howled. “Get some ice,” she told Maddie who came running when she heard her daughter crying.

“Mac!” Maddie called. “Talk to your son about roughhousing.”

Mac, who had baby Mac in his arms, said, “I love how he’s my son when he’s misbehaving and her son when he’s charming.”

“Move it,” Maddie said to her husband, taking Hailey from Mallory. “My poor baby. Did your brother knock you down?”

Hailey, who had a knot forming on her forehead and a quivering chin, nodded.

“A little ice will make that boo-boo go away,” Mallory told her, kissing her cheek.

“Auntie Mallory knows these things,” Maddie told Hailey. “She’s a nurse.”

Maddie went to sit with Hailey and the ice pack while Mallory joined Linda, Stephanie, Abby, Grace and Francine in the kitchen.

“What can I do to help?”

“How are you with a potato peeler?” Steph asked.

“That’s my holiday specialty,” Mallory replied. She took the potato peeler from Steph and eyed the ten-pound bag. “Where’s Janey?”

“Upstairs nursing Viv,” Grace said.

“I can’t believe we’re all here and carrying on as if there’s not a huge storm going on outside,” Abby said. “Our house was freezing!”

“Ours, too,” Mallory said. “We were bundled under ten blankets, and I was still cold.”

“Good old Ned,” Linda said. “Leave it to him to find a way to save Christmas.”

“Crazy old fool,” Francine muttered, eyes brimming with affection for her husband.

“Your crazy old fool saved the day,” Linda said.

“Yes, he did,” Francine said, shaking her head. “He never ceases to surprise me.”

“He’s the best of us all,” Linda declared.

“He sure is,” Steph said. “Did anyone hear from Laura and the others?”

“Frank, Betsy, Shane, Katie, Sarah, Charlie, Kevin, Chelsea and the boys all stayed at the Surf last night with Laura and Owen and the kids,” Linda said. “Big Mac talked to them earlier, and they’re hunkered down with a generator.”

“I’m glad they can all be together,” Grace said. “Did you talk to Charlie?” she asked Stephanie.

“We had Christmas Eve with him and Sarah,” Steph said of her stepfather. “After so many years apart on Christmas, we’ll take what we can get.”

Tiffany came into the kitchen holding Adeline. “I got a text from Blaine in all capital letters with multiple exclamation points that said, ‘ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!!!!,’ when I told him where we are and how we got here. I said it was all Ned’s fault.”

The others laughed at that.

“Poor Blaine out serving the community, thinking his family is safe at home,” Linda said. “And you’re actually cavorting in the snow with babies.”

“He was worried about us being home alone in the storm,” Tiffany said, “so at least we’re not home alone anymore.”

“There is that,” Maddie said, smiling at her sister’s reasoning.

Tiffany was an expert at manipulating her alpha husband who was slavishly devoted to her.

“How late does he have to work?” Francine asked.

“Not too much longer. He’s mostly making sure people heeded his advice to stay home.”

“Everyone did except his wife and her family,” Grace said, giggling.

“I’m going to hear about this,” Tiffany said.

“Ya think?” Francine asked, laughing.

“Ohhh, maybe he’ll spank me for disobeying him,” Tiffany said, shivering.

“Good lord,” Francine said as the others howled with laughter. “I have no idea where she came from.”

---

They opened presents, drank eggnog, sang Christmas songs and took turns going out into the cold for more firewood. Babies were passed from one set of arms to another, and the volume remained just below deafening.

Big Mac couldn’t remember a better Christmas.

Dinner for twenty-five—counting Blaine, if he made it—took some doing, but under Linda and Francine’s oversight, they had a ten-pound beef tenderloin with all the fixings on the table by two o’clock.

Big Mac sat at the head of the table and took in the faces that surrounded him—Linda, who made it all happen. Mac, Maddie, Thomas, Hailey and baby Mac. Mallory and Quinn. Grant and Stephanie. Adam and Abby. Evan and Grace. Janey, Joe, P.J. and baby Vivienne. Ned, Francine, Tiffany, Ashleigh and Adeline.

When he thought back to his wedding day, now forty-one years ago, Big Mac never could’ve imagined what would come of his life with Linda.

She reached for his hand under the table and they shared a smile. “Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“Best Christmas ever. Look at them—everyone has the one they love most by their side.”

“Except Tiffany, but hopefully he’ll be here soon.”

“He’ll be here the minute he can get free,” Big Mac said. “Wild horses couldn’t keep him away from his wife and girls.”

“Wild horses brought his wife and girls through the snow to grandmother’s house,” Linda said in a sing-song voice.

“That they did. Ned to the rescue.”

“Best friend we ever had.”

“He sure is.”

Ned sat at the other end of the table, holding hands with Francine like the newlyweds they still were.

“We need a toast,” Linda said.

“I’m on it.” Big Mac stood, cleared his throat.

“Oh no,” Mac said, groaning. “Here we go.”

“Hush,” Big Mac said to his oldest son. “I’d like to propose a toast to family—the best gift any of us can get on Christmas.”

The others raised their glasses in support of that.

“And to Ned, our cab driver extraordinaire, who made it possible for us to be together today.”

“To Ned!” everyone said.

Ned’s face turned bright red. “Aww shucks,” he said, waving off the praise. “Twas no big deal.”

“Twas the biggest of big deals,” Big Mac said. “To all of us. Thank you again for coming up with a way to save Christmas.”

“My pleasure,” Ned said, smiling widely.

The front door slammed shut and boots landed on the floor with a loud thump. In came Gansett Island Police Chief Blaine Taylor, hands on hips, hair standing on end. “What in the name of god is wrong with you people?”

“So many things,” Quinn said, earning an elbow to the ribs from his beloved.

“What part of ‘stay off the roads’ wasn’t clear to you?”

Tiffany got up to greet her husband with a kiss. “You’re just in time for dinner, honey.”

“Don’t try to kiss your way out of this, Mrs. Taylor. You took our babies out in a blizzard!”

“They were perfectly safe. Ned knows these roads better than anyone, even you.”

Blaine glowered at her.

“Maddie, can you please watch Addie for a minute while I have a word with my husband?” Tiffany asked.

“I’ve got her,” Maddie said.

Tiffany took Blaine by the hand and dragged him along behind her, pushing him into the half bath in the hallway.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Blaine asked.

“This,” Tiffany said, pinning him against the sink to kiss him, “is a much better use of your mouth than scolding everyone.”

His fingers dug into her hips. “Everyone heeded my instructions except my own family. What does that say for my authority?”

“If you drop it for now, I’ll let you spank me when we get home.” She rubbed against him shamelessly. “If you want to, that is.”

The low, tense growl that came from deep inside him nearly made her laugh.

“Do we have a deal?”

“How soon can we leave to go home?”

“My husband, the police chief, said no one should be on the roads tonight, so we might have to stay here.”

“If you’re offering a spanking, we’re going home.”

“We’ll see about that. If it’s not safe, I’m not taking my babies out in the storm.”

His eyes bugged. “But you were fine with taking them out earlier in a freaking sleigh?”

“In a sleigh during the daylight with Ned, the most qualified driver on Gansett? Yes, I was fine with that.”

The scowl that overtook his handsome face made her laugh. “You don’t scare me.”

“Good,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “Even when you’re working me shamelessly, I’d never want you to be afraid of me.”

“I’m so happy you’re here. Wasn’t the same without you.”

“I couldn’t believe it when I got your text that you were here. Leave it to Ned.”

“We’ve been saying that all day. Ashleigh loved the sleigh ride.”

“I’ll bet she did. What did my little Addie think of it?”

“She slept right through it.”

“I need to see my girls, but I can’t go out there in this condition.” He looked down at his hard cock, which stood out in prominent detail under his jeans.

“I could take care of that for you,” she said, tugging his button and unzipping him. Before he could form a reply, she had her hand wrapped around the steely length of his erection and was stroking him.

“Fucking hell, Tiff,” he said, gasping.

She stopped the movement of her hand. “Are you saying no?”

“Fuck no, I’m not saying no.”

She smiled. So predictable. And she loved him madly.

His hands framed her face, and he kissed her senseless as she stroked him. He broke the kiss to suck in a deep breath before he came in her hand. While he continued to breathe hard, she reached around him to wash her hands. Then she tucked him back into his pants and patted his chest.

“You should be nice and relaxed now.”

“I have no idea what I ever did to deserve a wife like you,” he said, kissing her softly.

“You loved me—and my daughter—like no one else ever has. That’s what you did.”

“Loving you two and Addie is as easy for me as breathing.”

“That makes us very, very lucky.” She kissed him again. “Merry Christmas, love.”

“Merry Christmas, my disobedient sweetheart.”

---

After the guys handled kitchen cleanup, Mac got out the Twister game and taught the kids how to play with Adam and Evan’s assistance. As often happened on holidays at the McCarthy’s house, the game descended into a wrestling match that pitted Adam against Evan with Thomas and Ashleigh “helping” by jumping on top of them.

“If they knock my tree down, I’ll kill them,” Linda said, as she always did.

“Boys, if you knock your mother’s tree over, she’ll kill you,” Big Mac said.

“How old are they again?” Quinn asked.

“Old enough to know better,” Janey said. “But that’s never stopped them.”

“Get him, Thomas!” Mac said to his son, who had Evan in a headlock.

“No fair,” Evan gasped. “I’m being double-teamed.”

“Throw an elbow,” Grace said.

“Hey,” Abby said, laughing. “Don’t hurt my husband. I need him.” Just as she said that, Ashleigh’s foot connected with Adam’s groin, and he went down in a boneless pile, moaning.

The others howled with laughter, especially after Abby offered to kiss it better.

“Taken down by a widdle, widdle girl,” Evan said, rubbing his eyes dramatically. “Poor baby.”

“We beat him, Uncle Evan,” Thomas said.

“With Ashleigh’s help.” Evan high-fived Ashleigh.

“That’s the only way you can win,” Adam croaked. “With the help of toddlers.”

“We aren’t toddlers,” Thomas said. “Hailey is a toddler.”

“My apologies,” Adam said.

“When can we play naked boy, naked girl?” Mac asked.

His wife let out a scream. “Mac!”

“We’re not allowed to play that anymore,” Thomas said solemnly. “But Mommy still gets to play it with Daddy cuz they’re married.”

“My mommy plays naked boy, naked girl with Blaine all the time,” Ashleigh said.

After a heartbeat of complete silence, Grace snorted with laughter that took down everyone in the room.

---

As darkness fell over the salt pond, Ned wandered to the big windows to check the weather. The snow continued to fall unabated, with easily two feet accumulated on Big Mac’s deck.

Linda joined him, curling her hands around his arm and resting her head on his shoulder. “I can’t thank you enough for organizing us today. You gave us all a priceless gift.”

“Ahh, doll, think about all the years I had no one but you and yer family and how welcome ya made me here. Twas the least I could do fer ya.”

“We love you.”

“Love ya, too, gal, but I hope ya still love me when I tell ya yer gonna be puttin’ up twenty-five of us tonight.”

“We’ve got plenty of room, and if it means having everyone home for Christmas, then so be it.” She turned to face the gathering. “Listen up, everyone! You’re all staying put tonight, so here’s what we’re going to do. Mac, Janey, Tiffany and Mallory—you get the four bedrooms upstairs.”

“Why do they get bedrooms?” Evan asked, pouting.

“Because three of them have babies and the other has a fiancé who is still new to this family. Since we’d like to keep him around until the wedding, they get a bedroom.” Linda ensured her tone left no room for negotiation.

“Thank you, Jesus,” Quinn said, grinning.

Mallory stuck her tongue out at Evan.

Linda loved to see her fitting right in with the siblings she’d discovered later in life.

“Thomas, Ashleigh and Hailey can have the kid’s room,” she said, referring to the bedroom she’d turned into a room for her grandchildren. “Ned and Francine, you get the pull-out sofa in the den. The rest of you get air mattresses and sleeping bags down here.”

“We’re being discriminated against for not having kids,” Grant said.

“Yeah,” Adam said. “No fair.”

“That means no naked boy, naked girl for us,” Grant said.

“Shut up, Grant,” Stephanie said, putting her hand over his mouth.

“Honestly,” Linda said. “When are you all going to grow up?”

“Not today,” Evan said, accepting a high five from Grant.

They got busy settling little ones, blowing up air mattresses and making beds.

“We can use dresser drawers for the babies,” Linda said.

“That’s freaking brilliant,” Tiffany said.

“No kidding,” Maddie said. “She must be an expert on babies or something.”

“Believe it or not, this is not my first circus,” Linda said.

“That’s a good word to describe this day,” Quinn said, making everyone laugh.

It took an hour, but they got Thomas, Ashleigh, Hailey and P.J. bathed and into pajamas. They were tucked into Linda and Big Mac’s bed for a story read to them by Big Mac before their moms came to collect them and put the sleepy kids to bed.

Babies were deposited into towel-lined dresser drawers in the rooms assigned to their parents who snuck downstairs for a nightcap before calling it a night.

“Spiked eggnog for everyone,” Janey declared.

“You’re breastfeeding,” Joe said.

“Oh my God,” Evan said, making retching noises. “Do not talk about her breasts in front of us.”

“Seriously,” Grant said. “So gross.”

“Nothing gross about it, boys,” Joe said, grinning. “Your sister has one hell of a rack.”

“Joseph!” Big Mac’s bellow rang across the living room from his perch in front of the fireplace where he added more wood.

“Oh shit. Didn’t see you there. Sir.”

Mac and his brothers lost it laughing.

Smiling, Janey stood so Joe could sit and then climbed into his lap.

He wrapped his arms around her.

“Thank you for defending my ta-tas,” she said, laying a hot kiss on him while her brothers groaned and threw pillows at them.

“Your ta-tas are well worth defending, babe.”

“Mom!” Grant said on a long whine. “Make her stop.”

“Jane Elizabeth, stop disgusting your brothers.”

“Why would I stop now when I’m so good at it?”

“Let’s go to bed,” Joe said, waggling his brows suggestively.

“You’re at mom’s house,” Mac said disdainfully. “This is a no-sex zone tonight.”

“Is it?” Maddie asked, raising a brow.

“Oh, um, well…”

That set off more laughter.

“My sides hurt from laughing,” Mallory said, hands on her ribs.

“Mine, too,” Stephanie said. “I had no idea holidays could be like this until I met this family. Thank you, guys.”

“We couldn’t be happier to have you as one of us,” Big Mac said.

“Totally agree with the old man,” Grant said, kissing his wife.

“Who you calling old, boy?” his father asked.

“Evan,” Linda said, “will you play for us?”

“Sure.”

“Quietly,” Maddie said.

“You got it.” Evan tuned his guitar while the others snuggled up to their loved ones.

Grant slung one arm around Stephanie and the other around Grace, so she wouldn’t feel left out.

“Don’t get too comfortable with my brother, Mrs. McCarthy,” Evan said, glowering playfully at Grant.

“Shut up and play,” Grace told her husband as she leaned her head on Grant’s shoulder.

“No respect,” Evan said, strumming the guitar and listening intently until he was satisfied with the sound. He sang a lovely, moody take on “Joy to the World” that brought tears to his mother’s eyes.

“I loved that,” she said. “You should record it.”

“You think so?”

“Oh yes,” she said. “It’ll be a huge hit.”

“Mother knows best,” Big Mac said, “but I agree with her. That was fantastic, son. What else you got?”

He played for an hour, running through the old familiar Christmas songs and putting his own spin on each of them.

“Time to record a Christmas album, bro,” Grant said. “Amazing.”

“I’ll give that some thought the next time I’m here long enough to record.”

“When will that be?” Linda asked.

“March. We’ll be home for a couple of months before the summer tour.”

“I could never stand to miss summer on Gansett,” Big Mac said. “Glad I don’t have to go on tour.”

“We’re all glad about that, Dad,” Evan said.

Big Mac was known for many things. Singing wasn’t one of them. “On that note,” Big Mac said, after tossing a few more logs on the fire, “I’m taking my lovely wife up to bed and keeping her there until sometime tomorrow after the day she’s put in today.”

“Thank you, Linda,” Stephanie said, starting a round of quiet applause.

“You are most welcome,” Linda said, taking a bow. “My day was made by having you all here.” She blew air kisses to everyone as she left the room.

“No sex in the living room, boys,” Big Mac said over his shoulder as he followed her.

“Said the guy who has private accommodations,” Grant mumbled.

“You’ll survive one night without,” Stephanie said, crawling in next to him on one of the narrow air mattresses.

“One night without.” Evan snorted. “Whatever.”

“What can I say?” Stephanie smirked. “My husband is a stud.”

Evan and Adam made gagging noises.

“That’s right, baby.” Grant pulled the sleeping bag over them and put his arm around her. “Turn over,” he whispered.

---

---

Stephanie turned to face her husband. “What?” she whispered.

“I wanted to see you.”

“You saw me all day.”

“Not enough.” He slid his hand down her back and tucked her in tighter against him, arranging them so her leg was between his. “That’s better. Now kiss me.”

She gave him a chaste kiss.

He squeezed her ass. “Not good enough.”

“That’s all you’re getting tonight. Go to sleep.”

“How am I supposed to sleep in this condition?” he asked, pushing his erection against her belly.

“Tell him to stand down.”

“He doesn’t listen to me.”

Stephanie began to laugh and couldn’t stop.

“Are you two having sex over there?” Evan asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Grant said.

“If he’s doing it, I want to do it, too,” Evan said.

“Not happening,” Grace replied.

“Everyone’s having sex but us,” Adam said. “It’s not fair.”

“This is like the sleepover straight from hell,” Abby said, laughing.

“You guys,” Stephanie said softly. “I just want you to know that being part of this family is… Well, it’s the best thing. The very best thing.”

Grant hugged her tightly and kissed her softly. “You make us better.”

“I don’t know about that…”

“I do.”

“I agree with him,” Evan said. “And you know how rare that is.”

“Same,” Adam said. “You certainly make him better.”

“Whatever,” Grant said. “I was pretty good to begin with.”

“She definitely makes you better,” Abby said, sparking a wave of laughter. As his ex-girlfriend, she ought to know.

“Well played, my love,” Adam said, laughing.

“Gracie, you could make me better if you just—” Evan’s words were muffled by his wife kissing him. “Yes, just like that only more.”

“Mom!” Grant said. “Evan’s having sex!”

“Shut up,” Stephanie said. “No one is having sex.”

“I am,” Adam said.

“No, you’re not,” Abby replied.

“I hate this sleepover,” Adam said. “It’s no fun. If we were home, we could have sex.”

“No, we couldn’t because it’s freezing at home, and there’s no way I’m getting naked when it’s freezing.”

“I could get you naked.”

“No, you couldn’t.”

“Could.”

“Couldn’t.”

“Oh my God,” Evan said. “Shut the fuck up, will you?”

“Did someone say fuck?” Grant asked.

Grace began to laugh. She laughed so hard she went silent.

“Your laughter is highly inappropriate,” Evan said indignantly. “My boner doesn’t find any of this funny.”

Grace snorted. “I can’t,” she said, gasping for air. “I can’t take any more. Just shut up. All of you.”

Meanwhile upstairs…

---

“Not in your father’s house,” Quinn said as Mallory kissed his chest, moving lower.

“He won’t know.”

“Yes, he will. He’s incredibly perceptive.”

Mallory laughed softly. “He’s at the other end of the hall.”

“He’s under the same roof, and he’s a big dude.”

“You’re a big dude.” She wrapped her hand around his hard cock to make her point.

Groaning, he said “Mallory…”

“Yes, dear?”

“Don’t.”

She stared at him, hoping her shock registered. He never said no to her. Ever. “You’re serious. You really don’t want to?”

“I believe you’re holding ample proof that I want to.”

She giggled at his use of the word ample. “So what’s the problem?”

“It’s disrespectful for me to fuck you in your father’s house.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“I’d like to ask him to be sure.”

“Stop it. You’re not going to ask him. And P.S. I’m almost forty years old. I can fuck my fiancé, as you so elegantly put it, anytime I want to.”

“Under normal circumstances, your fiancé would completely agree, but with your six-foot-something father down the hall and in possession of two working legs, I’m going to take a pass.”

Mallory positioned herself—naked—on top of him, sliding back and forth over his cock until he whimpered. That’s when she knew she had him.

“If he guts me with that big fishing knife of his, you’ll have only yourself to blame.”

“I’ll take the risk.” She sunk down on him, and shivered from the impact the way she always did. “There we go.”

Quinn put his hands behind his head and gazed up at her with amusement. “Go ahead and have your fun.”

“Thank you, I will. I’m feeling rather fertile today. Must be all the little ones. Maybe this will be the night. Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Yeah, babe. It would be. Hopefully, the father of this child you want will live to raise him or her with you.”

“Stop it. My dad loves you as much as I do. He wants me to be happy.”

“Are you? Happy that is?”

Mallory stopped moving and stared down at him. “How can you ask me that? You know how happy I am with you.”

“Just making sure.”

Mallory leaned in to kiss him. “Living and working with you is the most fun I’ve ever had.”

“Me, too. I love everything about it—and you.”

“Good, then prove it.” She swiveled her hips, drawing a sharp gasp of pleasure from him.

He moved so quickly, she never saw it coming. One minute she was on top of him and the next she was pinned to the bed with him on top and in charge.

Gotcha, she thought, smiling as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, thrilled to let him take the lead.

---

“Are you happy now that you got to have Christmas with your family?” Joe whispered to Janey. He had her spread out under him, her body soft and pliant as he throbbed inside her.

“So happy. But this is the best part of the day—time alone with you at the end of it.”

“Couldn’t agree more.”

They were in the room that’d been hers growing up. “I’ve never had sex in this bed.”

“Never?”

“Nope.”

“I can’t believe you and what’s his name never snuck up here, not that I want to think about you doing this with him.” Joe gave an extra push of his hips to make his point.

“I had parents and four older brothers. There was no way we could pull that off.”

“Well, I’m glad to be first for something.”

“You may as well have been first for everything. I barely remember what it was like to be with him. You’re the only one who matters.”

“Good answer, babe.”

Vivienne let out a squeak from her makeshift crib next to them.

Joe froze even as he throbbed with desire for his sexy wife. He dropped his head to Janey’s chest and took a deep breath, fighting for control.

She ran her fingers through his hair.

He thought she was soothing him until she clamped down on his cock, nearly making him come.

“Stop,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t wanna,” she whispered, her lips brushing against his ear giving him goose bumps.

“You’re going to wake her up before we get to finish.” That had happened far too often lately.

“Then you’d better get moving.” She pinched his butt to make her point.

She made him crazy, especially when they had to be quiet. Well, she made him crazy much of the time, if he was being honest.

He moved with her until they both gasped with satisfaction that ripped through him the way it always did when he made love to his wife. How was it possible that it just got better all the time? He’d waited so long for a chance to love her, and now every day with her made that long wait worth it.

“Love you love you, Janey Cantrell,” he whispered, recalling when he’d told her he wanted her to love him love him—and not as an extra brother.

“Love you love you, too, Joseph. Merry Christmas.”

“And a very happy New Year.”

---

Blaine had his hands full of Tiffany’s spectacular ass, but she’d forbidden him to collect on the spanking she owed him until they were in the privacy of their own home and couldn’t be overheard.

“This ass is so mine when we get home tomorrow.”

“Yes, dear,” she said, smiling up at him.

“Do I need to be concerned about how much pleasure you take in disobeying me?”

“You take just as much pleasure from setting me straight.”

“Yes, I do,” he said, nuzzling her neck.

“Did you stop by your mother’s earlier?”

“Yep, everyone was there.”

“We’ll see them tomorrow.”

“Your ass might be too sore to go out.”

“Haha, no way. I’m not afraid of you.”

“Good,” he said kissing her. “Earlier, I was remembering that long awful winter I spent thinking about you and wishing I could be with you. I don’t care what we’re doing as long as we’re doing it together.”

“Speaking of doing it…” She raised her hips suggestively. “You wanna?”

“Um, yeah, I wanna, but we’re not gonna.”

“Why not?”

“Because, you were very, very naughty today, defying your police chief husband, and you need to be made to pay the price.”

“I thought the price was the spanking.”

“Hell no, that’s not the price. You enjoy that too much.”

Tiffany laughed. “Yes, I do. But may I point out that you enjoy this,” she said, rubbing her belly against his hard cock, “so maybe you could make a little exception since it’s Christmas.”

“I suppose I could allow it this one time.”

“You are just too good to me.”

---

After feeding baby Mac, Maddie conked out while the baby remained wide awake. Mac sat up in bed, holding the little guy who had brought them so much joy since his arrival.

He grasped handfuls of Mac’s chest hair and pulled so hard his daddy winced.

“Ouch, buddy.” Mac no sooner disentangled the little fists than they had grabbed another handful.

Taking the baby with him, he got up to find the T-shirt he’d discarded earlier and put it on. “Much better.”

Baby Mac reached for the hair on Mac’s head and pulled. “Yep, you’re a McCarthy boy. We start the hair pulling at a young age around here.” He could remember wild wrestling matches with his brothers that included hair pulling and various other dirty tricks.

“Let me tell you a bedtime story about a guy who thought he had his life set up just the way he wanted it until he knocked a gorgeous woman off her bike—totally by accident, of course. And that accident turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to him. You know who was on that bike, buddy? That’s right. Your mommy. She had terrible boo-boos, and Daddy moved in to take care of her and your brother and he never left. Well, except for a short time after Daddy did something stupid and Mommy got mad at him. Luckily for him—and for you—she decided to forgive him for that and many other stupid things he’s done since then.”

Mac stood the baby up on his chubby legs and let him bounce around, hoping to tire him out.

“Your mommy is the best mommy ever. She loves you and me and Thomas and Hailey and she takes such good care of us. When you grow up, I hope you find someone just like your mommy. Watch for gorgeous girls on bikes. They’re the best.”

“What’re you telling him?” Maddie mumbled.

“The best bedtime story ever.”

“Is it working?”

“Um, nope. He’s wide awake.”

“You want me to take a turn with him so you can sleep?”

“Nah. We’re good. Right, buddy?”

“Mmmmaaammmm.”

“You hear that? He almost said mama! Remember how I taught Thomas? Time to start your training, buddy. You should always say mama first. Happy mom, happy life.”

“It’s supposed to be happy wife, happy life,” Maddie said.

“I’ll teach him that one later. I’ve got so much to teach you, pal.”

“Oh dear God,” Maddie muttered.

Mac laughed at her predictable comment. “Let me tell you the rest of the best bedtime story ever… So your mommy, she fell madly in love with me…”

---

“Best Christmas yet,” Big Mac said to Linda, who was cuddled up to him in bed. He’d left the door open so he could hear the goings on downstairs, which had been highly entertaining.

“By far. Having everyone sleeping under our roof again is like old times.”

“There were a lot fewer of them back then.”

“When we bought this hunk of junk house, you said you wanted to fill it with kids. I’d say you more than succeeded.”

“We succeeded. What a family.”

“And how about Ned? Has there ever been a better friend?”

“Not that I’ve ever had.”

“Me either. Maybe we should make the blizzard party an annual tradition.”

“I like that idea.”

“I wonder how many more people we’ll have next year.”

“What do you know Voodoo Mama?”

“I predict Grace, Stephanie and Mallory will have babies in the next year, and maybe Adam and Abby will get their miracle, too.”

“God, I hope so. They’d be such great parents.”

“They’ll get there. One way or another.”

“So we may be looking at close to thirty for next year’s blizzard party?”

“Could be. Who knows if Mac and Maddie are done.”

“At least Janey and Joe are, thank goodness.” He couldn’t bear to think of Janey giving birth to Vivienne on the ferry. What a day that had been.

“Yes, thank goodness indeed.”

“Here’s to another year on Gansett Island,” he said, kissing her.

“I can’t wait to see what happens.”

---

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