In the end, he and Sandy hit it off. The woman was a lot more laid-back than he’d ever imagined. And she doted over her grandchildren, which won her a gold star. And with the help of a nanny and a housekeeper, they were one big, happy family—unless of course the twins were hungry or teething.
“I can do it, Mom,” Holly insisted, hanging on to the baby.
“Nonsense. I wasn’t doing anything important.” Sandy glanced over at the tree. “And from the looks of things in here, your husband could use some help.”
Holly smiled. “I think you’re right.” She handed over the fussing baby. “Thanks. I’ll be in shortly.”
“Don’t hurry. I’ve got this.” Sandy started toward the kitchen. “Isn’t that right, Maggie? We’re buddies.”
Holly stepped up beside Finn. “Are you sure you bought enough lights to cover all of the tree?”
“Yes. I’ll show you.” He bent over and plugged them in.
His wife arched a brow at him as though she knew something that he didn’t. This was never a good sign.
“You should have tested them before putting them on the tree.”
“What?” He turned around to find the top and middle of the tree all lit up, but the bottom section was dark. But how could that be? “I swear I tested them before I strung them.”
Holly moved up next to him and handed over Derek. “Maybe it’s just payback.”
He glanced at his wife, trying to figure out what payback she was referring to. And then he recalled that last Christmas he’d shared the story of how he and his brother had swiped a strand of lights from the Christmas tree in order to light up their blanket fort.
A smile pulled at Finn’s lips at the memory. It was the first time he’d been able to look back on his past and smile. That was all thanks to Holly. Her gift to him last year was giving his life back to him. Instead of walking around a shell of a man, he was taking advantage of every breath he had on this earth.
“Perhaps you’re right. Maybe Derek’s playing tricks on me.”
“Did you hear that?” Holly leaned forward and tickled their son’s tummy, making him giggle and coo. “Are you playing tricks on your daddy?”
Finn knew she was adding a bit of levity to the moment to keep things from getting too serious. Finn liked the thought that his brother might be looking down over them and smiling. Right here and now the past and the present came together, making Finn feel complete.
“Would you do that?” Finn placed his finger in his son’s hand. “Would you steal the lights from the Christmas tree to make a fort?”
“Don’t give him ideas,” Holly lightly scolded. “I have a feeling your son will get into enough trouble of his own without any help from you.”
“I think you might be right.”
“And if he has a little brother, we’ll really have our hands full.”
This was the first time Holly had ever mentioned having another baby. It was usually him going on about expanding their family because to his surprise and delight, he loved being a dad. He’d even considered quitting the day job to be a full-time parent until Holly put her foot down and told him that someone had to keep the family business going to hand down to their children. But he no longer worked from morning till late at night. He took vacations and weekends. He had other priorities now.
“I think it’d be great to have another baby. Just let me know when you want my assistance. I’m all yours.”
“Oh, you’ve done plenty already.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Derek wiggled in his arms. “Oh, you mean the twins? What can I say? When I do something I go all out.”
“Well, let’s just hope this time around I’m not carrying twins or you might just be staying home to take care of all of them while I run the office.”
Surely he’d misunderstood her. She couldn’t be—could she? “Are...are you pregnant?”
She turned to him and with tears of joy in her eyes, she nodded. “Merry Christmas.”
Finn whooped with joy before leaning forward and planting a kiss on his wife’s lips. He’d never been so happy in his life. In fact, he never knew it was possible to be this happy.