Christmas With the Reeds

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  For Tasha

  Dear Readers,

  Copyright © 2015 by Tammy Falkner

  Henry

  Pete

  Paul

  Sam

  Logan

  Matt

  Emily

  Reagan

  Sky

  Josh

  Peck

  Friday

  More from Tammy Falkner

  Christmas with the Reeds

  by Tammy Falkner

  Night Shift Publishing

  For Tasha

  Dear Readers,

  I took a little bit of artistic license in this book, and went back in time to before Sam and Peck’s baby was born at the end of Zip, Zero, Zilch. So many of you wanted to know all about Matt’s new baby, and about Pete’s baby too, so I felt like going back a few days was the right thing to do. I also wanted to get to know Josh a little, since I’m writing Good Girl Gone and don’t know enough about him.

  So please forgive me if I mess up the time lines in your heads. Sorry about that!

  Thank you all so much for your support while I’ve been writing the Reeds. When I started Tall, Tatted, and Tempting, I had no idea that the Reed family would resonate with so many readers. It has turned into an adventure for me, and I have enjoyed every word.

  From my family to yours, I wish you absolute best holiday season. Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy New Year!

  Best regards,

  Tammy

  Copyright © 2015 by Tammy Falkner

  Christmas with the Reeds

  First Edition

  Night Shift Publishing

  Cover design by Tammy Falkner

  Cover photo by © Val Bakhtin | Dreamstime.com

  ISBN-10:1634550129

  ISBN-13:978-1-63455-012-3

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Henry

  When my Nan died, I thought my heart was going to go with her. We had been together for so many years and shared so much together that I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like when I couldn’t talk to her. When I couldn’t see her. When I couldn’t breathe the same air as her.

  Her perfume still lingers on my pillow, and I hope it never fades.

  She would be really proud of what the Reed boys have planned, and I’m proud just to know them. And I’m even prouder that they’re willing to let me help.

  I put on the red suit and pull the suspenders up over my white shirt. Years ago when I wore this suit for my grandkids, it was too big. I guess I’ve grown. But my Nan, she never did mind my girth. And the kids don’t seem to mind either.

  Tonight is going to be a fun night. I get to help the Reeds make some dreams come true. I get to see the smiles on little faces that have lost all hope. And some adults, too, if things go as the boys have planned them.

  I pull the red hat over my head and adjust the tassel so that it hangs out of my face. There. All ready. I pat my belly and Faith, my granddaughter, smiles at me from across the room. She has one baby on her hip and her son has his arms wrapped around her knees. She’s going to leave them with a sitter for the evening, and we’ll drop them off on the way.

  “You look really great, Grandpa,” she says.

  I smile at her. “Where’s that husband of yours?”

  She rolls her eyes. “He’s getting dressed at the Reeds’. He’s going to meet us there.”

  “Getting dressed?” I ask. “As what?” Certainly, they’re not planning to have more than one Santa. I don’t want to be out-done.

  She laughs. “You’ll see.”

  Pete

  I stand outside the prison, and jam my hands in my pockets. I was kind of hoping that someone else would show up for Josh, but no one has. I’ve been watching to be sure no family or friends come to pick him up.

  I never wanted to be here again. I spent two years inside this facility. But looking back, I wouldn’t change the direction my life took, because if it did, I never would have found Reagan.

  My phone dings in my pocket and I pull it out.

  Reagan: Where are you?

  Me: Waiting for Josh.

  Reagan: Oh. Okay. I have Josh’s suit.

  Me: Oh, good. Bring it to Paul’s.

  Reagan: He might not want to hang with the family tonight, Pete. He might want to go home.

  Me: He doesn’t have a home, princess.

  I can almost hear her sigh through the airwaves.

  Reagan: Yes, he does.

  Me: How’s Kennedy?

  Reagan: Hungry, as usual. I put her in a green dress and she had a red felt bow in her hair.

  Me: Had?

  Reagan: As in past tense. I think she ate it.

  Me: Can babies eat felt?

  Reagan: I guess we’ll find out.

  I can’t help it. I laugh.

  The door to the prison opens and I see a wheelchair roll out onto the sidewalk.

  Me: See you in a few. Josh just came out.

  Reagan: Love you.

  Me: Love you more.

  Josh rolls himself down the ramp and stops right in front of me.

  “Josh,” I say with a nod.

  “Pete.” He nods back. “Fancy meeting you here,” he says, his eyes narrowing.

  I shrug. “I was in the neighborhood.”

  “Sure you were.”

  I stand silently until Josh opens his mouth to speak, and I suddenly feel like I need to cut him off. “You have plans tonight?” I ask.

  He jerks a thumb toward the prison. “Well, I was going to hang out here and see if they’ll let me back in. Three squares and a cot ain’t that bad, you know?” He shivers. “It’s cold out.”

  “There’s a convenience store on the corner you could rob. I bet they’d let you right back in.”

  He finally grins. Then he sobers. “Why are you here, Pete?”

  “You’re family, Josh. This is what family does.”

  He shakes his head. “I am not a Reed.”

  “You might as well be.”

  “But I’m not.”

  I throw up my hands. “Look,” I say, “you might not want us, but you’ve got us. All of us. You went back to jail for us.”

  “No, I didn’t,” he says quietly.

  “Yes, you did,” I argue.

  His voice is loud and sure when he speaks. “I went to see Bone so I could get revenge. You just happened to be there. I just happened to shoot him between the eyes. Revenge, Pete. Not sacrifice. Not a good deed. I killed someone. And I meant to do it.”

  “Thank God you were there,” I bite out. I remember that day. The crack of Bone’s gun. The reverb from Josh’s. The way we all fell to the floor. The silence while we waited to see who was dead. The deafening roar of the quiet while we counted our heartbeats.

  “God didn’t have anything to do with that day,” he tells me.

  “You see it one way. I see it another.” I throw up my hands again. “Either way, we’re all alive and you’re out of jail, and we need a favor.”

  “What kind of favor?”

  I laugh. “Don’t worry. All you have to do is wear tights and look pretty.”

  “Tights?”

  I nod. “Yep. You in?”

  “Hell, I don’t
have anywhere to go anyway,” he says. My heart lurches. He does have a place to go. He just doesn’t know it yet.

  Paul

  Friday has had way too much fun putting together the costumes for tonight. “What the fuck, Friday?” I ask as she tosses me a pair of red and green striped tights.

  “Daddy said f—,” Hayley sings out, but Friday covers her mouth really quickly. She scowls at me.

  “I thought she was in her room,” I say, trying to defend myself. I look down at the tights. “I am not wearing these.” I toss them onto the coffee table.

  “You’re all wearing them. And the elf shorts. And the pointy hat.”

  The door opens and my four brothers walk into the room together, and they have Josh and Daniel with them. My heart stalls a little. I knew Pete was going to get Josh, to try to get him to come home with him. I just wasn’t sure if it would work or not.

  “Josh,” I say as I get to my feet. I shake hands with him, and he smiles at me. “So glad you could make it.”

  Josh looks around, his eyes wary. “So, what are we doing?”

  “We’re going down to the homeless shelter and taking toys for all the kids. And Henry is going to be Santa.” I jerk a thumb toward Friday. “My wife decided that all of us men have to be elves.”

  Friday holds up a pair of tights. “You’re going to look so handsome.”

  Sam reaches for a pair. “Oh, I love it when Peck lets me wear her tights. Those things are warm.” He starts to unroll them, and he actually looks excited about it. “I’m totally serious,” he says. “Even better than thermals.” Suddenly, he starts to laugh. He turns to Friday. “I am not wearing these things.”

  The door opens and Peck, who is eight months pregnant, walks in, along with Reagan and Kennedy, Emily and Kit, and Sky and her brood. Sky has Seth, who is technically not a kid anymore. He’s in college. And she has Joey and Mellie, along with Hoppy and Matty, and their new baby girl Gracie. Gracie is screaming at the top of her lungs. Sky passes her to Matt and she immediately shuts up. Sky looks like she wants to punch him.

  “Great,” she murmurs. “Now, she’s quiet.”

  Matt talks to Gracie and she giggles and coos.

  “You should just put her in a pouch and take her everywhere,” Sky says.

  “Okay.” Matt shrugs. He would be just fine doing that.

  Now that all my brothers and their families live in one single building, the same one Friday and I live in, it’s easier for all of us to share babysitters and spend time together. We found ourselves shuffling from one house to another on opposite sides of town, so we just bought the building we’ve lived in all our lives. We renovated all the apartments and made them look like new. Some people who already had apartments kept them. Some left. We rearranged ourselves so it all worked out.

  The elevator never worked in our lifetime, so we had that fixed first thing, mainly because we were hoping our plan for Josh would work out. And now he’s here.

  I nudge Josh’s shoulder. “You got a minute to take a walk with me?” I ask.

  He looks down at his legs and grins. “Well, that might be difficult.”

  Heat creeps up my cheeks. But I motion him toward the door. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

  I never know if I’m supposed to offer to push Josh or if he’s supposed to do it all himself, so I just walk. He comes with me.

  “Where are we going?” he asks.

  We step into the elevator and the doors close. I push the button for the eighth floor. It’s the same floor Pete and Reagan are on.

  The elevator doors open and we walk down the hallway, and I can feel Josh’s eyes searching my face.

  We stop at a door and I let myself in using a key. I hope he likes it. We walk into the room.

  Josh turns in a circle. “Nice digs,” he says. “Whose is it?”

  I lay the key on top of my thumb and flick it toward him. He catches it in the air. “If you want it, it’s yours.”

  He stops and looks around.

  “It’s three bedrooms, which is probably more than you need. But we’re using the smaller apartments downstairs for another project, and this one is perfect for you.”

  We had our architect widen the doorways, lower the counters, and make it handicapped accessible.

  I walk to the bathroom and flip on the light. There is a huge shower stall he can roll his wheelchair into, and the separate tub has been fitted with a bench. The whole room has been converted so Josh can roll in and out.

  “If there’s anything we didn’t think of, just let me know. We’ll get it done.”

  “You did this for me?” Josh asks, his voice quiet and wistful.

  “Yeah.” I suddenly have a lump in my throat and it’s hard to talk past it.

  He shakes his head. “I can’t accept this.”

  I lean against the doorjamb in the bathroom. “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t have a pot to piss in. They gave me clothes from the rag bag when I left the prison, dude. I don’t have a penny to my name. I can’t afford this place.”

  I shrug. “Well, I know where you work.”

  Josh’s eyes get bigger. “You mean I can come back to the tattoo shop?”

  I shake my head and his face falls. “No, wait,” I say. “You can come back, but not as a janitor. I want you doing tats. Every day, all day. If that’s what you want to do.”

  “Seriously?”

  “And Sam could use someone dependable at the restaurant when it opens. He could use you too, if you’re interested in that kind of work.”

  “I’m a felon.”

  “I know. So is Pete.”

  Suddenly, a tear flows over Josh’s lashes and I have to turn and look away. He swipes at his face.

  “Why are you doing this?” he asks, his voice rough.

  “Sometimes a man just needs a chance.”

  “I’m going to pay rent,” he insists.

  “Okay.”

  “And I’ll pay you back for the improvements.”

  I shrug. “Okay.”

  “And I’ll work really hard for you.”

  I nod. “I know you will.”

  “My last name isn’t Reed.”

  “I know.” I squat down so I can look into his face. “Dude, don’t you know by now that names mean nothing? Some family you’re born with, and some you grow into. You’ve grown into ours, and we’re keeping you.”

  He swallows so hard I can hear it. “You’re sure?”

  I nod. I’ve been sure about it for a long time. “You have to wear the tights, though.”

  “Tights?”

  I pat his shoulder and stand up. “It’s required.” I look around the apartment. “What do you think of the place?”

  “I think it’s more than I could have dreamed for. And that I don’t deserve it.”

  I wince. “I have one rule.”

  “What is it?”

  “If you don’t want to be here, tell me. Don’t make me have to kick you out because you did something stupid, okay? Our kids and our wives live in this building, and their safety is important to us.”

  “It’s important to me too,” he says.

  “I know.” I start toward the door. “There are clothes in the closet, and I think Friday put some food in the fridge to start you out. If you need an advance on your paycheck, you’ll find it in the top drawer in the kitchen.”

  I open the door and hold it wide so he can roll through. He doesn’t come toward me, so I step farther into the hallway to get out of his way, holding the door with my foot.

  “Paul,” he calls.

  I turn back. “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?” I ask, like it’s every day that I give someone an apartment.

  “For trusting me,” he says as the elevator doors close.

  It’s a long moment before I can breathe again.

  “Let’s go put on some fucking tights,” he grumbles.

  I grin. The things I’ll do for my
brothers.

  Sam

  Fucking tights. I cannot believe Friday is making me wear tights. Daniel, Pete, Logan, Seth, and I are in Paul and Friday’s bedroom struggling into our elf costumes.

  Pete holds his pair up and looks at them like they’re a puzzle in a Cracker Jack box. “What the heck am I supposed to do with them?” he asks.

  Logan strips down to his boxers and sits on the edge of the bed. He starts to roll a pair of tights up, scrunching them up in his fingers until he gets to the toes. Then he shoves his hairy leg into one side, and repeats it on the other.

  “Dude, you are too good at that,” Daniel says.

  Logan shrugs. “I have a daughter,” he replies.

  Logan didn’t look up, or have to read Daniel’s lips. I still can’t get used to that. He heard what Daniel said. Sometimes, I just want to sit back and watch as all the sounds hit Logan’s ears. I want to watch his reactions and see him take in noise. I know it sounds stupid, but it’s important.

  Seth is doing the same thing Logan just did with the tights. “Dude,” I say.

  “Little sisters,” he grunts. “They wear tights.”

  “I’ve taken plenty of women out of tights, but I’ve never put one back in a pair,” Pete says. He hikes the waist of his tights up toward his nipples. “Are they supposed to squeeze your balls?”

  “If you didn’t have them pulled up to your earlobes, I think you’d like them more,” Logan teases.

  I open the door and stick my head out. “Cupcake!” I call. Peck comes down the hallway. “Were you planning to have another kid? Like, ever?”

  She laughs. “Maybe. Why?”

  “Because I think these tights are going to cut off my sperm-ability.”

  She laughs again and I stick my head out the door to kiss her. Pete walks up behind me. “Is this how they go?” he asks.

  He pulls the door open wide and Peck shrieks and spins to face the wall. He’s wearing boxers under the tights, but his nuts are squished into a big ball.

  “Well, there’s an image I’ll never be able to get out of my head.” Peck stands there with her face covered.

  I shove Pete’s shoulder. “What the fuck, Pete?” I say. “My wife is going to have your squashed nuts in her head now.”