“Daniel. Good grief. What in the hell is that kid doing now?”

“What are you doing, Kid?!” Cody yelled.

“Danny, you’re gonna break your damn neck!” Jon snorted and laughed as he shook his head.

“Boy, getcha ass down from there!” Pops all but growled.

I turned to see what in the world everyone was yelling at Danny for this time. The kid was a daredevil, so there was no telling. He was up on the windmill. I hopped off the back of the truck and moved over to where everyone was standing.

“What in the hell is he doing up there?” I asked, chuckling slightly as I put my hand out over my eyes to block the sun.

“Putting lights on it... It’s Georgie’s fault,” Jon said as he pushed at my shoulder. I cut him a glance and saw he was grinning.

“And this is her fault how?” I asked.

“She and Ma are in full decorating mode. Lights are going up everywhere. You’ll be able to see this place from space before long.”

I shrugged at his comment and smirked as Pops grumbled.

“You know, it takes all I have in me to control your mother. Now there are two of them.” He let those thoughts trail off and we all chuckled.

“Sorry, Pops, but I’m not gonna tell either of them no, so you’re on your own.” I chuckled and moved to the ladder on the windmill and started climbing up. I saw Danny had himself tied off so at least he was being safe. Maybe the boy had some common sense after all. After a moment Jon was on the other side. We helped Danny get the strings all tethered off and hanging from the top of the windmill. Hopefully this was what Ma and/or Georgie wanted him to do. We would see tonight. I had a feeling we would be back up here though. I knew Ma and her OCD moments… they were killer this time of year.

“What else have they assigned you to do, kid? Need help? I don’t want you breaking your neck,” Pops asked as we came down. Danny grinned at him and pointed to the front porch.

“They want the house done, like always. I can get the railings and whatnot done by myself. I’ll need help plugging in the roof lights. I kinda never took them down, just have to cross our fingers that they all work… or we’ll be back up there.” He said, his cheeks a little red.

“How did your mother not notice that?” Pops asked. Danny stood a little straighter and smiled.

“White corded lights. Can’t see them once they are up against the white paint or the frigging snow.” He made a face and we all looked around and nodded. This was gonna be a long and tricky task since mother nature had already decided to dump an assload of snow on the ground. I tugged my hat a little lower.

“Damn, kid. I’m impressed,” Jon said patting him on the back. We all chuckled and made our way back to the trucks. We had to get them unloaded still. So much to do and a lot had just been added to the list, thanks to the holidays.

A couple hours later we all made our way inside for lunch. I heard Abbie crying, shrieking really, and Tango was barking like a crazed dog. What the hell? I moved through the house and found Georgie in the living room, Abbie in her arms. They sat on the floor, Ma hunched down before them. Tango was bouncing around and barking.

“Tango, that’s enough. Sit!” Ma barked out the order to the big dog and he stopped mid bark, his ass hitting the floor so fast I chuckled. That was cut off when I got a look at Georgie’s face. The tears there and Abbie’s cries tugged at my heart.

“What happened?” I said, moving into the room and dropping to my knees before them. Ma was holding a bag of peas to Abbie’s hand and Georgie was in tears again.

“She- I'm so sorry. I-”

“Hush child, this was not your fault.” Ma’s tone was sharp but I knew she didn’t mean it in an ugly way. She didn’t want Georgie taking blame for whatever had happened. “Abbie smashed her fingers in the cabinet there.” Ma used her chin to the entertainment center. “She’s okay, only a little pinch looks like, just scared the mess out of her.”

I frowned and shook my head.

“I was watching her. I bent down to pick up a box… then she was screaming…” Georgie stuttered out her words. I took a deep breath and leaned in to kiss her forehead. I took Abbie from her and bounced her slightly.

“Come on princess, it's okay. Daddy’s got ya. Can Daddy see your boo boo?” I kept Abbie close to me as I kissed her little fingers. “You’re okay. My little monster is a tough cookie, huh?” I used my free hand to brush a tear from Georgie’s cheek. “Hey. None of that. It's okay, baby, not your fault. It's what happens when kids are around. It's not the first time she's done something like that.”

“Amen. That's kids like a danger magnet. I think she spends too much time with Danny.” Jon laughed and bent down to scoop my daughter up and out of my arms. Asshole. “Is that right, princess?” he continued, “Is your Uncle Danny corrupting your sense of danger?” I scowled at him and shook my head as he bounced her a little more.

“Enough, boys. She’s fine.” Ma said as she stood. “Come on, lunch is ready. We have to go get our tree today. So y'all gotta call it an early night. We’ll go before supper.”

“Already?” Pops asked. The scowl on his brow made me chuckle as I pulled Georgie to her feet and wrapped my arms around her. I brushed a gentle kiss against her lips and rubbed at her back. She was shaking. Damn.

“Joseph, tomorrow is December first. You know the deal. Our tree will be up by then,” Ma said, fussing with the apron she wore. That tone said it was a done deal, and there was no reason to argue, ‘cause he was gonna lose.

We all sat down for lunch as we did everyday. Talking, eating and enjoying the time together. Georgie was quiet, but I knew she was just upset that Abbie was hurt on her watch. She’d have to get used to the bumps and pinches the kid was gonna get. I had completely had a melt down the first time she rolled off the couch. That was before Georgie though, no need to open that can of man tears now. We all went through the same things as kids, and we turned out just fine. Well, mostly. Jon was a special snowflake, as Phoebe would call him. I laughed at my thoughts and drew the eyes of everyone around me. I shook it off as I took another bite of food. We had so much to do still.. and now a trip to the big ass tree lot in town was added to it.

Once everyone was finished eating we got up and put our coats and gloves back on. I pulled Georgie back against me before I stepped outside. I kissed her softly before pulling back.

“Stop stressing. Abbie is fine. She is a toddler… these things will happen,” I said, my voice low as I pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“I know. But I don’t fucking like it,” she growled and I swear I felt my pants getting tighter. To hear her curse like that. The urges she had to keep my daughter safe… it was almost my undoing. I leaned down and kissed her hard. She moaned as my tongue slipped into her mouth and swept across hers. Ego boost.. Check.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Get a room,” Jon growled out as he stalked by, making sure he scowled at me but I saw the wink he gave her. Asshat. I ignored him and kissed her again. When I pulled back her cheeks were flushed and I couldn't help but to grin.

“Get your butt out that door before I get my broom,” I heard Ma call out. I chuckled.

“Yes, ma’am. I'm going.” I kissed Georgie again and scooted around her. My hand swatted her ass playfully. She gasped and gave me a dirty look as I pushed out the back door. My Georgie girl wasn't a touchy-feely kind of person, and hated to have her ass touched but I was slowly breaking her of that. I loved her perfect ass. There was no way to stop the pats and swats.

---

---

He was gonna pay for that ass slap. Ugh, I loved that silly man. I truly did. He’d stolen my heart, even with us not knowing each other long, I can't imagine life without him in it now. And Abbie, the sweet little angel that was just like her daddy had stolen my heart the first time I'd held her.

Speaking of my little cherub, I scooped her up out of her high chair and kissed her cheek.

“You want to help me and your nana decorate some more? But no sticking your fingers in anything this time. Seriously, princess, my heart can't take that. Not for another thirty years. Kay?”

I chuckled at myself as Abbie bounced in my arms and babbled. Tango’s collar jingled now from where Abigail and I had put a jingle bell on it. At least the shit couldn't sneak up on me right now. We’d untie it later, for now that scarf was too cute and kingly to take off.

“Where should we start?” I said, spinning us around in a little circle. I kept Abbie tucked against me so she didn't get jostled. A jostled baby became a spewing baby. No puking baby today. This kid had looked like that Regan chick from the exorcist the other night. Ugh, no thank you. I moved to turn the stereo back on, letting the soft seasonal songs fill the room before I moved Abbie to her playpen. Let's play it safe this time.

I moved to the clear totes and boxes of decorations and pulled them out one by one. Abigail and I had a lot to get done before we left to find a tree.

Four and a half hours moved by so fast it wasn't until the family had come in to freshen up that I realized the time. That was two hours ago. Now we were back at the house, and the boys were fighting to get the tree inside and in the corner where Abigail wanted it. It was a massive tree. Nine foot tall and I swear it had to be six foot wide. It was perfect, though. There would be room for Abigail's angel on the top. That seemed to be her only concern.

As the boys worked on cutting the netting and letting the tree fluff itself out, I moved to the radio. I swear they have all rubbed off on me with this thing. There wasn't a lot of TV watched but that stereo seemed to never turn off.

A couple of songs had passed, we sang along and clapped as the tree fell open in all of its beautiful glory. My heart squeezed a little. My PaPa, God, I missed him so much. This would’ve been my first Christmas alone if not for this family. God truly knew what I needed that day as I climbed into my truck.

The next song that came on brought tears to my eyes. It flooded my mind and heart with the happy moments I'd had with my Papa. I kissed Abbie’s cheek as I spun her a little and started singing along.

---

---

By the time I really got into it I noticed everyone was watching me. I grinned as I danced a little across to Tate and kissed his cheek before dancing back to the tree with Abbie. This song and the movie that accompanied it had been at a critical time in my life. I was twelve, in the hospital with appendicitis and waiting to go under the knife. Yep, Thanksgiving night I was in the hospital. The movie Secret of Giving with Reba McEntire debuted and was on in the hospital. PaPa and I laid in bed, me curled into him as we watched it. He’d explained what the song meant to him. What giving was about. And that year for Christmas we’d started donating toys and gifts to the local children's hospital. It's the season of giving he’d said, and it was. This season I was giving my all to my new family.