AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Home.
That might be the best word of all.
FORTY-THREE
DALLAS
I hearfeet pounding down the hallway and whispered voices. I fumble for my phone and check the time.
Just past five thirty, and right on schedule.
I smile as I scrub a hand over my face and try to wake myself up before the start of the busiest day of the year. I’m fucking exhausted and running on three hours of sleep, but I’m so damn excited for today. Nothing beats watching your kid’s face light up when they open the presents they’ve been waiting for.
The footsteps stop just outside my door, and I hear more whispering. A soft giggle slips under the crack of the frame. I pull the covers over my head and pretend to hide just as the door flies open.
“Oh no,” Maven says. “Where the heck did Daddy go?”
I shouldn’t love that she calls me that, butfuckdoes it do something to me when she does.
“He’s hiding!” June squeals.
“Should we check the closet?”
I listen to them and grin like an idiot under the white duvet.
Maven stayed in my room until two, her head on my chest and my hand between her legs. We fucked under the stars—twice—then stayed wrapped around each other for hours after, talking about anything and everything and nothing in between.
I would’ve kept her here longer, but with June eager to open Christmas gifts and an internal alarm clock that barely lets her sleep past six on a good day, I knew she’d be up earlier than usual. I didn’t want to lock the door to keep her out, but I also didn’t want her to barge in and find us in a compromising position.
Thinking about that conversation makes me want to die.
“Daddy?” June calls out. “Where are you?”
“Wait a minute, JB. I think I know where he might be.”
I know it’s coming, but I still groan when something solid lands on my stomach. I pull back the sheets and wrestle with the wiggling four year old in my arms. “Christ, you’re getting big, kid. I guess the broccoli is working.”
“Daddy!” she screeches, and she kisses my cheeks. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, baby girl.” I snuggle her against my chest and look up at Maven. “Hey, Mae.”
“Hey, lone star.”
I pat the spot next to me, wanting her close, and she climbs onto the mattress. She’s wearing a ridiculous onesie with reindeer and candy canes all over it, but it’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. Her hair is a mess and her eyes are bloodshot. There’s a mark on her neck, just above her collarbone, where I sucked on her skin last night until she was panting my name.
Beautiful.
So goddamn beautiful.
“Can we do presents?” June asks, and she plays with my necklace.
“You know the rules,” I say. “Food, then presents, then the soup kitchen. You have to eat your eggs before you can play with your new toys.”
“Soup kitchen?” Maven asks. She leans on the stack of pillows behind her and brings her legs to her chest. “I thought the Titans were finished with all their community engagement events for the year.”
I forgot that she hasn’t spent the holidays with us before and doesn’t know our traditions. Time flies with her, and it feels like she’s been around forever.
“This is something I do on my own,” I explain. “It’s the soup kitchen downtown near the homeless shelter. I go every year. They serve a free meal three times a week, but on Christmas Day they do a huge feast. It’s open to anyone, no questions asked, and I donate all the food for it. June came with me last year and loved it, so I’m bringing her with me again.”
