“Is something wrong?” Caro asked.

“The lights are on. They shouldn’t be on until we do the tree lighting.” His voice dripped with disappointment and anger. I blinked a few times, not expecting such hostility and still recovering from raging lust.

Having more experience, Caro recovered faster and rushed forward. “Oh, honey, sorry, we were testing them. I’ll turn them off until we do the official tree lighting tonight.” Before she had a chance to unplug the lights, Heath stomped from the room. A second later, his door slammed shut. Hard.

Caro, Junie, and I exchanged glances. What had just happened? I was missing some big piece of Christmas past. Hailey ignored Heath’s outburst and rummaged through the decorations.

“I apologize for his behavior. Things have been going so well, he was due for a meltdown. His dad used to make a big ceremony out of lighting our tree every year. He’s struggling with change.”

I nodded. My heart pinched when Caro referred to Mark as Heath’s dad. I wanted to be his dad, and I’d assume that role as soon as feasibly possible. I’d tread lightly and be sensitive to the loss of the only dad they’d known. While he might not have been the best husband to Caro, by all accounts, he’d been a great father and tough act to follow.

I hoped I was up to the task, in more ways than one.

Chapter Twenty

In Motion

~~Easton~~

Tail tucked between my legs and my dick aching from dissatisfaction, I trudged back to my condo. I had lots to do, considering it was Christmas Eve, and I’d procrastinated as usual. Pushing thoughts of Caro and the kids from my mind, I started on my list.

I’d intended to tell my family about the twins in person, but there never seemed to be a time that worked out for all of us to be together. My two brothers played for hockey teams in different parts of the country. My hardworking mother, our rock, had decided to go on a European cruise with her single female friends for the holidays.

Since my entire team knew, it was only a matter of time before the word spread and my family found out from people other than myself. I had to tell them now, before that happened. Mom was in port and was calling at one p.m. I waited for her call, anxious to reveal my secret, pacing the floor as I played over and over in my mind exactly how I’d break my news to her.

Typical of Mom, the phone rang exactly at one.

“Hi, Merry Christmas, Mom,” I said huskily, unable to cover up my nervousness.

“Merry Christmas, honey. Are you okay?” Her voice was laced with concern, and I cringed. She’d picked up on my tone immediately. I’d never been able to fake her out. She always knew when something was up with me or one of my brothers.

“I’m good, Mom. Really good.”

“Then what’s wrong?”