"Nice to meet you, Chase." Jaimi's voice was hoarse, and she cleared her throat, trying to stay in control. "Thanks so much for being willing to watch Emily for a little bit."

Chase nodded, his gaze going right to the little girl. "Hey Emily," he said. "My name's Chase. How old are you?"

Emily silently held up six fingers.

"That's fantastic," Chase said. "My brother Maddox has a daughter named Ava who's going to be six in a couple months. She heard you're coming, and she's super excited to hang out with you. She claims she has too many boy cousins, and they're all going to be here tonight."

Emily leaned her head on Dane's shoulder, and watched Chase silently. Jaimi's heart tightened, and she elbowed Dane. "Maybe we shouldn't leave her here."

When she spoke, Chase looked over at her. He smiled gently, his blue eyes twinkling. "Don't worry," he said. "We're experts on kids over here. She'll have a great time."

Jaimi grimaced. She knew Emily's reluctance had nothing to do with being shy, and everything to do with the fact that these people were her freaking family. "I don't think—"

"Hey, Jaimi." Another Stockton walked up and rested his forearm on Chase's shoulder. She recognized him immediately as one of the elves from earlier. He was the one with the earring, and now that he was out of his elf outfit, she could see that he did indeed match the biker persona. He was wearing a leather jacket, motorcycle boots, and jeans. He looked tough, and rough, and his eyes were assessing as he studied her. "Nice to see you again."

He was the one that had seen Chase's photo in her hand, with all the brothers' names on the back. It was clear from the expression on his face that he hadn't forgotten it, and he glanced at Dane with raised eyebrows, clearly asking what the situation was.

Dane squeezed her shoulders again, doing it with enough force to make it visible to the others that he was claiming her. Both brothers noticed, and they exchanged glances. "Jaimi," Dane said. "You remember Zane."

Zane. Another brother. She managed a smile. "Hi."

"Hey." He grinned at Emily as Chase turned away, giving a quick "I'll be right back," to Dane. "There's the little minx who tried to climb into the reindeer pen. You been causing more trouble since I saw you last?"

Emily giggled. "I'm trying."

Zane nodded approvingly. "That's my girl." He held up his hand. "High-five?"

Emily giggled again, and she let go of Dane with one hand so she could smack her little palm against Zane's.

"I hear you're going to hang out with us during the Travis Turner concert," he asked. "Is that right?"

Emily nodded again, smiling widely.

"What if I told you that we were about to head backstage to meet him? You want to come?"

Emily's jaw dropped open. "Really?" she gasped.

"Cowboy's honor." He held out his arms. "Maddox is already back there with Ava. She's stoked to hang out with you. You want me to take you back there?"

"Yes!" Emily grinned. "Mom! I'm going to meet Travis Turner."

Jaimi swallowed. "That's amazing."

Zane held up his arms. "You like shoulder rides?"

"Yes! My mom never gives them to me anymore because I'm too big!" Emily nearly flung herself out of Dane's arm, but Zane caught her easily and swung her up on his shoulders. She patted his cowboy hat excitedly. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Yes, ma'am." Zane shot Jaimi and Dane one more curious look, then turned and strode back toward the stage. As he walked, two boys joined him, both of them with skin about the same shade as Jaimi's, maybe a little lighter than hers, but close enough that she felt another tug of belonging. They were a mixed race extended family, one that she would fit into. Both boys were looking up at Zane as if he were the greatest thing ever.

"Those are his boys," Dane said. "He and his wife adopted them out of foster care last year. He's an incredible dad."

More cousins for Emily.

More nephews for her.

God, she felt like her head was going to explode, and she wasn't sure if it was in a good way or not, assuming that head explosions ever had a "good" way… "How many kids total?" she asked, her voice raw.

"Travis and Lissa have a daughter, plus Ava. So, six kids between all the Stocktons."

Six. Six.

Nine brothers. Six nieces and nephews. Plus sisters-in-law. "How many are married?"

"Chase is married to Mira." Dane pointed at a woman sitting next to Chase, laughing as she bounced the toddler on her knee. "Maddox and his wife, Hannah are in back with Ava. That's Zane's wife, Taylor, sitting with Chase and Mira, in the red parka. Travis's wife, Lissa, is the one in the gray parka and red boots. Her daughter is probably backstage hanging with Travis as well. She still thinks it's super cool that her stepdad is Travis Turner—"

"What?" Jaimi gawked at Dane. "Travis Turner is Travis Stockton?"

He raised his brows in surprise. "You didn't know?"

"No, I…" She didn't know what to say. "I don't know anything about them," she said quietly.

"Well, let me finish intros, then." He pointed to another couple, who were setting up a space to eat on the thick blankets. "That's Steen, who you met, and his wife, Erin. They just announced that she's pregnant, so there will be at least one more Stockton by next summer." Steen looked up and saw Dane pointing. He nodded at them both, and then Erin looked up. She grinned at Dane and waved him over, but he shook his head. "Later," he called out. "We'll be back later!"

Dear God. "I have nine brothers, five sisters-in-law, six nieces and nephews, and one on the way." God, to say it aloud was overwhelming. She looked at Dane. "Two weeks ago, it was just me, my mom, and Em. Today…" She held out her hands, unable to find the words. Her throat ached with emotion, and she felt like she was going to cry.

He frowned and brushed her hair back from her face. "Let's get out of here, okay? Give you a break?"

She nodded, her chest so tight she felt like she couldn't get enough oxygen. "Yeah, okay."

He kissed her forehead, and then turned to Chase, who was walking back toward them, after dropping J.J. off with his wife. "Chase, we'll be back in a couple hours. I've got my phone. Let me know if Emily has any issues, okay?"

"Sure thing." Chase gave Jaimi another curious glance, then smiled at her, a kind, beautiful smile that made her heart tighten. "Dane's a great guy," he said to her. "He's like my brother. Be good to him."

His words weren't a warning. They were more like an offering of a gift, and they made her throat tighten yet again. Silently, she nodded, unable to come up with words.

"See? I told you I was a great guy." Dane winked at Chase. "I keep trying to tell her, but she's tough to convince. Thanks for the backup."

"No problem." One of the women behind him called his name, and Chase grinned at Jaimi. "Mira thinks I'm a great guy, and I need to keep up the illusion. It was great to meet you. Emily will have a fantastic time. Don't worry about her. Just go have fun." He turned away before she could answer, striding across the snow toward a woman sitting on a beach chair.

For a long moment, Jaimi just stood there, unable to tear herself away.

"You want to go with them?" Dane asked.

Longing coursed through her, desperate, almost painful longing. She wanted to say yes. God, she wanted to say yes…but at the same time, she wanted to run away, fast, and never look back. She took a deep breath. "No."

"You sure?"

She looked at him, wanting to change the subject. "I'm going to go back to Boston tomorrow, so you have two hours to grill me to find out what you want to know."

His brows shot up. "Tomorrow? I thought you were here all week."

"I changed my mind."

"When?"

"About a millisecond ago."

He laughed, a deep rumble that seemed to wrap around her. He didn't look concerned by her deadline announcement. Instead, he turned her toward him and slid his arms around her waist, in a move that was decidedly intimate and not at all in alignment with a sheriff interrogating her. And, she wasn't going to lie, she absolutely loved how it felt to be in his arms. He eyed her, amusement twinkling in his brown eyes. "Well, if I have only a couple hours, I better get on it. I can't afford to waste a minute."

She swallowed, all her emotions completely in an uproar, between seeing all the Stocktons, and Dane manhandling her waist so deliciously. "No, definitely not. What do you want to know?"

"Mmm… I'm sort of curious whether your lips are cold. It's pretty chilly out."

She swallowed again. "My lips?"

"Yeah. Are they cold?"

"I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it—"

"You don't know? I'll check. Fact-finding is an addiction of mine. It's another one of those cop things." He cocked his brow, and leaned in until his lips were only an inch from hers. "You mind?"

Oh, God. There was no Emily around to stop them this time. "I don't date," she whispered, her voice slightly breathless. "I already told you."

"And I told you that was okay. I'm an expert dater." He grinned. "You know, asking if your lips were cold was actually a ploy to get you to let me kiss you. I'm not really on some mission to investigate skin temperature, you know. See? That's what happens when you're courted by a guy who's an expert on dating. You get kissed without even having to acknowledge it, and so you avoid all the emotional pitfalls. I'm like a boy scout, I'm so damned helpful."

She started laughing. "You're insane."

"And kissable, right? Because you're super kissable, and I know I'm super kissable, so that means if you put us together, we might spontaneously explode from kissability, and that is definitely the way I want to go." He tightened his grip around her waist. "So, I'll ask again." He gave her a completely serious look that made her start laughing again. "Jaimi Hamilton, would you please allow me to conduct research on skin temperatures in Rogue Valley, Wyoming three days before Christmas? Purely scientific, with absolutely nothing to do with how damn much I've been wanting to kiss you ever since you threw yourself onto my lap when the tractor drove harmlessly past."

She burst out laughing. "I threw myself onto your lap?"

"Yes." He slid one hand behind the back of her neck, his fingers nestling in the nape of her neck. "It was how I knew you were interested in me. My expertise in dating has taught me that unless a woman throws herself into my lap in front of a speeding tractor, she is not the least bit attracted to me. If she does, however, it means she's green-lighting me to unleash my devastatingly charming personality onto her." He grinned. "So let's stop messing around, let's just make out for a couple seconds, before we head out and grab some dinner. Sound good?"

"I'm not the type of girl to make out," she said firmly. At his comically crestfallen expression, she started laughing, completely unable to resist how happy he made her feel. "But as a teacher, I'm a big fan of doing research and fact-finding before drawing conclusions."

Dane's face brightened. "Hot damn. That's the best news I've heard in at least thirty seconds. I am all in for research." He got a decidedly nefarious expression on his face as he locked his arm tighter around her waist, and buried his other hand deeper in her hair at the nape of her neck. "I love research."

Then he pulled her against him, angled his head, and kissed her.