Christmas Day and the Chases’ home was filled to the absolute rafters and Polly was in her element. Tate bustled around the kitchen along with Maggie, Matt’s aunt and both his grandmothers.
The backyard held a makeshift touch football game with players from one to ninety-five. Fourteen Murphys plus Royal, Anne’s boyfriend, twenty various Chases and Cassie’s brother visiting from California wandered around laughing, talking, snacking and laying out plates and preparation for breakfast.
Tate had made a turkey and a ham at their house, Maggie also made a roast beef and another turkey and Liv brought a ham as well. Add to that the three turkeys and two hams Polly had baking and the side dishes nestled in Tate’s, Maggie’s, Liv’s and Cassie’s kitchens and they were good to go for dinner. But for the moment, they needed to finish up breakfast so they could get the presents as the kids were begging every three minutes.
After dishing up the scrambled eggs and putting a lid on the large bowl, Tate grabbed Lise from Liv, who laughed at Polly’s snort.
“Y’all never let me hold those babies. Stingy, every last one.”
Tate snickered. She’d had to race to get to Lise first because Polly hogged every baby and child in sight. Her own nieces and nephews included. She glanced at Liv over the baby’s head. “I think she looks more like you every day. Her hair is so dark but she does have green eyes like her daddy.”
Liv grinned. “She’s so amazing. I never imagined it would be like this, you know? Marc’s so good with her too. Gets up with her in the middle of the night, rocks her.”
Tate nodded. “You’re very fortunate to have such wonderful parents and grandparents, Lise,” she crooned to Lise before kissing her forehead.
“And such wonderful aunties too.” Maggie picked up Nicholas who’d run in with Kyle on his heels.
Everyone else filed in and sat at the long tables. Edward at the very head, Polly on his right. Matt put an arm around the back of Tate’s chair, his nearness bringing the reality of the moment home. How fortunate was she? Despite the blight of her parentage, she had amazing brothers and sisters and a new extended family with the Chases. Her life was very good.
Edward rose. “Welcome and Merry Christmas one and all. I’m not one to talk a whole lot. Because Polly doesn’t let me get a word in edgewise.” Everyone laughed, including Polly. “But today I have to tell you all how truly thankful I am. My goodness look at you all. My boys grown into men. It was just yesterday wasn’t it, that I had to yell at you to get your cleats off the front porch? You wanted to borrow the car for a date? You lost your first tooth?” He had to pause a moment, pressing a hand to his stomach.
“And today you’re here, two of you with children of your own and finer babies I’ve yet to see. Polly and I have been gifted with four new ready-made grandchildren in Belle, Sally, Shaye and Danny. I admit to my share of worries at first with the bird-brained women you used to squire around but you never brought anyone home who wasn’t perfect. Maggie, girl, I just adore you. You came into our lives and you brighten them every day. Your fire and caring, the way you mother my grandson, I’m proud to have you in this family.”
Maggie gave him a wobbly smile and blew him a kiss.
“And you, Cassie. When Shane brought you here that first time I was simply bowled over by your beauty. Truly, there are few women walking this earth who are as physically stunning as you are. And yet, what sticks with me every day when I think of you is how strong you are. How much you give to Shane, how much courage and tenacity you have. You’re every inch a match for my oldest.”
Cassie leaned into Shane and blinked back tears.
“Livvie. Oh, girl, you knocked my Marc out, you know that? I remember him coming over here and telling me about his feelings for you. Smart. Blunt. I love that. You say what you feel and you decided what you wanted and went for it. That’s the kind of girl my boy needed. You’re a good woman, Olivia. A beautiful mother and a fine wife and you keep Marc out of trouble. You two were made for each other. Happy first anniversary.”
“Thank you, Edward. If it weren’t for Marc and Polly, I’d have snapped you up already.”
He winked at her and chuckled before his eyes settled on Tate.
“And Tate. Well, your path here, like my other daughters, hasn’t been an easy one. When I watched you stand up in court and tell the judge about your father, I realized something about you. You’re small but your heart, your courage is large. Even with extortion threats, you cared about the man who’d harmed you. And you let Matt in, and you let him help and you let him love you. Each time I wondered if you’d run away from the ugliness some in this town have hurled your way, you stood up and you stuck it out.
“Matt is a good man but you don’t let him coast. You appreciate the outside of my boy, but you love the inside. Polly told me about how you told her why you loved Matt earlier this year. And then you and I had lunch. I came over to your house on a Sunday and you made me a very lovely meal and we sat and talked. Your eyes, when you talked about Matt, your eyes practically glowed. No one has known my boy as well as you. Thank you, beautiful girl, for loving my son. Welcome to our family.”
Tate put her hands over her face. These people were so wonderful and they were real. They meant it.
Edward came over and hugged her. “Hey, sweetness, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said softly.
She hugged him back. “Thank you for making Matt.”
Polly shook her head. “Y’all are too good to be true. I’m a lucky mother-in-law.”
Matt looked around the table as his father went to sit back down but before he could speak, there was a pounding on the front door.
Tim stood and put a hand out. “Tate, you sit your butt down.” He craned his neck. “If you will all excuse me a moment. It’s for me.”
William perked up and moved to follow.
“It’s my father,” Beth whispered.
“Everyone, please sit.” Shane stood and put his napkin down.
Matt got up. “Don’t move,” he admonished before he and the rest of the men at the table got up and left.
“Oh for goodness’ sake!” Tate stood. “This is ridiculous.”
“Tate, let them handle this,” Polly spoke. “Let Matt do this. He needs to. You exorcised that demon with the protection order. Let him feel like he’s protecting you. It seems silly but that’s what men like to do.”
“I’ve ruined yet another gathering with my drama.”
“You sit your butt down, Tate Murphy! I will not have you making this about you. It’s not. It’s about your father, who is a bad man. You all deserve better. Now you let those boys kick some tail and we’ll crack the windows here to hear what’s happening.” Polly raised an eyebrow, daring her to disobey, and moved to open the windows.
Matt felt nothing but the ice of resolve to end this bullshit once and for all. The oily fucker had come to the firehouse to try and work him for money a few weeks before and he’d sent him packing.
Tim was standing on the porch, menacing Bill Murphy when Matt came out. Shane stood in the doorway, letting Matt handle things.
“I don’t know what you’re doing here but as Tate is inside, you’re violating the protection order even being this close.” Matt stood next to Tim with William on one side and Nathan on the other.
“I been hearing around town how my girl is using you for money. I figure if you want me to keep quiet about it, you need to provide incentive.”
“You’re aware that this kind of thing is illegal. It’s called extortion, might be considered blackmail but I’d go with extortion. You’ll do more jail time that way,” Edward spoke lazily from his place on the porch but Matt heard the steel in it.
“You’ve been warned to remove your carcass from this property and that you’re in violation of the protection order. Get your sorry ass away from here. I’m not going to let you hurt Tate ever again, you got me? This has gone on long enough with your pathetic abuse of your daughter.” Matt stepped forward, pleased to see Bill step back, his bravado failing.
“Why doesn’t Tate tell me herself?”
“We’re all telling you. You’ve threatened my children, you’ve threatened my wife, you’ve hurt my brothers and sisters and it’s not happening ever again. I beat your ass fifteen years ago, you want another helping?” Tim asked.
“You’re a weak, pathetic excuse for a human being. If the only thing that makes you feel like a man is abusing a woman a foot smaller than you who’s never done a damned thing to hurt you, no wonder your wife doesn’t stay at home.”
Tim gave him a sideways glance that held a cringe. Matt knew he pushed hard but damn it, his woman had been terrorized for most of her life by this piece of shit, he was done trying to reason with him.
Bill lunged at him but Matt was ready and his fist was cocked back to deliver a very satisfying punch to the nose. The other man howled in pain and stumbled back. “You hit me! I’m going to sue you for assault!”
“You’re on my property, you’ve been advised to leave and you attacked him. It was self-defense and there are plenty of witnesses to say so.” Edward chuckled. “Now get your drunken ass off my lawn. If you so much as look at my daughter-in-law-to-be again, or any of these children you were gifted with but threw away, I’ll come up with ways to sue you until the end of time.”
“I don’t have anything for you to take, Chase!” Bill moved back to the sidewalk.
“Certainly not pride. But it’d amuse me to mess with you for a good long time. My grandchildren are in the house, we’re having Christmas breakfast. You get on out of here.”
“Go on now, Bill. You’re in violation of the order and if Tate wishes it, I’ll arrest you right now.” Shane moved his hands to his waist.
“No, I’m just fine, Shane, thank you.” Tate came onto the porch and leaned into Matt, who put an arm around her. “If he leaves now. If not, arrest him.” She looked at her brothers, the Chase men and finally Matt and smiled. “Thank you. Now, food is getting cold and there are some children who want to open presents, oh and me too, so let’s eat.”
“I love you,” Matt murmured as they walked into the house after watching Bill stalk away.
“Me too. Matt?”
He stopped and looked down into her face. “Yes, Venus?”
“You’re really going to get some tonight. You’re very sexy when you’re tough.”
He laughed, leaning down to kiss her quickly. “Thank you for letting me handle that.”
“Come on already!” Liv called out from the doorway and Matt sighed, dragging Tate into the dining room.
* * *
As they ate breakfast, Polly watched the children, her grandbabies as well as her new, ready-made ones, play and laugh. Children should grow up safe and knowing they were loved.
She looked at Tate who held three-year-old Shaye, kissing the top of her hair as she buttered a pancake one-handed. Polly realized the sins of the parents hadn’t damaged those children. They’d pulled together and held tight against all odds. Tate Murphy was extraordinary. Polly couldn’t remember the last time Matt actually got worked up enough to get into a fist fight with anyone. Even with his brothers it was more of a wrestling thing and they’d get tired and do something else.
Shane had his share of fights, even Kyle. But Matthew had been her lazy boy, nothing got him passionate enough. Until Tate. She knew she should be frowning on two fights in a few months but in truth, it made her happy to know he’d found something worth fighting for.
“I vote we leave the dishes until after presents and then the men can clean up,” Polly announced to a cheer.
Everyone adjourned into the large formal living room where the tree took up most of the front windows.
Pop, Edward’s father, put on his Santa hat and began to hand out presents. The process, which in the past had taken multiple hours, lengthened as more members had been added to the family and Gramps, Polly’s father, stepped in and they double-teamed the effort.
At the end, nearly four hours later, after several pots of coffee and snacks throughout, Matt stood, helping Tate to her feet.
“We’ve got a few things to tell everyone.”
Polly beamed at them and Matt slid a ring on Tate’s finger.
“Finally! When’s the date?” Cassie asked.
“Yesterday as a matter of fact. Tate and I got married yesterday at the justice of the peace in Riverton. Obviously if we’d gotten married here at city hall, you’d have all heard about it in two minutes.”
“You did not! You eloped? Why? Matthew Sebastian Chase, you should have let us plan a big wedding for you. What’s Tate going to think when we threw weddings for the other girls and not for her?”
“Aren’t you happy for us, Polly?” Tate asked.
Polly jumped up and hugged them both tight, followed by forty others. So many Tate was dizzy with all the love they showed her.
“We wanted to keep it simple and quiet and it was sort of a surprise. We’d planned to announce the engagement officially today and get married in March.
“But I’ll be showing by then and I’m already embarrassed enough.”
Polly blinked rapidly and burst into tears, hugging Tate as she hopped up and down excitedly.
“So you’re happy then? You’re not mad that I, um, got her pregnant before I married her?” Matt laughed.
“Mad? Oh, Matthew, Tate, you’ve both made this day even better! A new daughter-in-law, a new grandbaby, it’s all fabulous. When are you due?”
Tate took a deep breath. “August thirteenth they think. I’m afraid to even announce it this early, we just found out for sure three days ago.” She winked at him and he kissed her hard and fast. “An accident but not so much.” She shrugged. “More like throwing caution to the wind one too many times. And this isn’t something I want to go into more detail over with all these grandparents and children in the room.
“So you can’t throw us a wedding but you can throw me a shower if you like.” Tate hugged Polly and her sisters all hopped around squealing with delight.
“Well, you can throw a double shower.” Shane stood and pulled Cassie up with him. “We’re expecting in late July, right around Nicky’s birthday.”
Polly had to grab Edward, who laughed delightedly.
“Always have to beat me don’t you?” Matt asked Shane, grinning. “We just signed a contract to have a second story built onto the house and a back sun porch put on too. We’ll live in an apartment for a few months. They should be done by May.”
“An apartment? No, you’ll live with us!” three different people exclaimed.
Tate looked around the room. “My heart is so full. You have no idea what you all mean to me. I used to wake up in a panic when Matt and I first started dating because I was terrified it would all disappear. And then I worried my father would ruin it. But through it all, he’s been there. And you’ve all been there. All my brothers and sisters, my new family in you all. Thank you for believing in me and for believing in me and Matt. This baby couldn’t ask for more.”
Cassie hugged her and they started talking about baby stuff.
Polly stood back with Edward and looked over the room. Paper everywhere, children pushing trains and trucks, dancing around with dolls. So much love and she was so lucky to see it all, to have it all in her life.
“Each year, lamb, each year things just get better. First it was just me and you in that tiny apartment on Oak, you remember? And we had our own announcement at Christmas with Shane. And each time we brought a new baby home, our lives got bigger and better. And they grew and moved out and then Kyle brought home Maggie and so on.” He kissed Polly because he couldn’t do anything else. Smart, small, sexy and all his, Polly Chase had been the center of his world since he clapped eyes on her when he was just nineteen years old.
“I love you something fierce, Edward Chase.”
“Ditto, lamb. We’re gonna be grandparents again. I can’t wait to keep on getting older and better with you.”
“I can’t wait until everyone leaves so we can get better when we’re naked.”
Edward laughed, heart racing and thoughts wandering, just what she’d intended.
Keep reading for an excerpt from by Shannon Stacey.