Holidays With the Walker Brothers
Read Holidays With the Walker Brothers Online
Authors: Nicole Edwards
Holidays
with the
Walker
Brothers
An
Alluring Indulgence
Novel
#4, Special
Holiday Edition
Nicole Edwards
Copyright
© 2013 by Nicole Edwards
Publisher:
SL Independent Publishing, LLC
Kindle
Version
All
rights reserved
. Except as permitted under the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a
database or retrieval system, without prior permission of the publisher.
Holidays
with the Walker Brothers
–
An
Alluring Indulgence Novel
is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of
the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover
Image by: © blinkblink1 123rf.com
Cover
Design by: Nicole Edwards Limited
This one is for
you, the reader.
If it weren’t
for you, I wouldn’t be blessed with the ability to do what I love. I can never
truly express how much your love and unwavering support means to me.
Holidays with
the Walker Brothers started out as a novella and quickly morphed into a full length
novel. It always seems like the Walker family has more to say and they didn’t
hold back.
I hope you enjoy
this special holiday edition.
Love,
~Nic~
Table of
Contents
♂♂♂♂♂♂♂
Zane
Thanksgiving
Day
“Are
you serious right now?” Zane exclaimed as his eardrums were assaulted with
tunes that didn’t quite fit the celebration.
“
What?
”
Brendon asked defensively, a devilish grin on his face.
“Christmas
music?” he prompted, although the question wasn’t necessary now that the room
had erupted in a chorus about white Christmas.
“Yup,
time to get in the spirit,” Braydon chimed in as he jogged down the stairs
carrying a large cardboard box, that same exasperating smirk on his face as his
twin.
“Spirit
of
what
? We just finished
Thanksgiving
dinner. Can’t we make it
through one holiday before you move on to the next?”
Zane
waited for one of them to respond, but the twins were obviously enjoying his
reaction. Note to self:
keep your mouth shut.
His
attention turned to Ethan as he sauntered into the room from the kitchen, a
handful of cookies in one hand. With his ball cap turned backward on his head
and a glum expression on his face, Ethan looked pretty much the same as he did
every day. With the exception that he obviously decided to dress up for the
occasion. Well, dressed up as far as Ethan’s standards went. A navy t-shirt and
a pair of faded Levi’s seemed to be his version of holiday casual versus the
usual grunge they were used to him being decked out in.
But
that was about as good as it got for Ethan. The guy seriously needed to shave.
Zane knew the whole scruffy thing was a fashion statement, but someone needed
to tell Ethan that the mountain man look wasn’t all that popular. “Mom wants us
to put up the tree.”
Tossing
his hands in the air, Zane feigned aggravation. He knew this was the next part
of the traditional Thanksgiving get-together, but what fun would it be if he
couldn’t harass his brothers even just a little bit.
“What
are you waiting for then?” he asked Ethan, watching his brother closely. If
Zane wasn’t mistaken, Ethan didn’t sound at all enthused about the idea either.
Then again, Ethan didn’t spend much time smiling these days, Zane noticed.
With
a mouth full of cookie, Ethan glared at him. “When you start working, I will.”
Ethan
always was the one who wouldn’t up with his antics. Didn’t stop Zane from
making the effort to get his brothers riled up.
Glaring
at three of his six brothers, Zane shook his head in mock exasperation before
sneaking a peek through the wide opening that led to the kitchen. There she
was, the most beautiful woman in the world, and she was looking right at him.
Ever since they finished cleaning up the Thanksgiving meal about half an hour
ago, V had been sitting with the other women, chatting it up over coffee. And
Zane had been making faces at her from the living room, trying to make her
laugh.
It
seemed to be working.
Zane
inconspicuously glanced down at his watch, checking to see if he had any chance
of sneaking out early. Six-thirty. Ok, so maybe he was jumping the gun a
little. They’d only been at his parents’ house for an hour and a half, and
appropriate social etiquette had them visiting at least two hours, especially
after the spectacular spread his mother had just spent the day preparing.
And
it seemed as though V was having a fantastic time, so it wasn’t like he could
just swoop in and pull her out of the conversation to take her home and ravish
her. Although, he had to give himself credit because that was the best idea
he’d come up with all day. Then again, if she happened to take a bathroom break
any time in the near future, he might just corner her then. Yep, unquestionably
a better idea.
Maybe
he should get her some more coffee.
Remembering
where he was, Zane tore his gaze off of V and looked around the room. He was
stuck for the time being, so he had better make the best of it. Putting the
tree up on Thanksgiving was a family tradition, but Zane just wanted to go
home, get V naked and observe all that he was thankful for in an entirely
different way.
Obviously,
that wasn’t going to happen.
Travis,
Gage, and Beau chose that moment to come banging down the stairs, boots
thudding on hardwood, boxes scraping down the wall as all three of them carried
their weight in boxes labeled “Christmas”.
Great.
No
getting out of it now. They were apparently going to be putting up the tree.
“Wanna
give us a hand?” Travis barked from halfway down the stairs.
“No,
not really,” Zane joked, purposely keeping his expression stern. “From the
looks of it, you could use a little exercise. You gettin’ a little soft around
the middle there?”
His
comment earned him a glare from his oldest brother and a chuckle from Gage who
was just two steps behind Travis.
“Where’s
Sawyer?” Zane asked when he realized his brother was missing. Actually, now
that he thought about it, two of them were MIA. “And where’s Kaleb? Why don’t
they have to help?”
“Oh,
trust me, they’re already working,” Ethan said with a huge grin. “Sawyer
grabbed Dad and Kaleb to help with decorations outside. Said he wanted to get
this over with.”
Well,
that made sense. Not that Zane actually cared where they were, but he was going
to ensure they had to work if he did. After all, that’s what brothers were for.
Once
the boxes were settled in the middle of the living room floor, Zane knew there
was no getting out of this. If he didn’t contribute, his brothers would ensure
he felt their pain, one way or another, so as he grabbed one of the boxes out
of Travis’ hand, he smiled. The sooner he got to work, the sooner he could get
his lovely fiancé home and naked.
Then
again… If he had to guess, V was going to want to put up their Christmas tree
when they got back home. Only they didn’t have one yet. Which meant she was
going to want to go get one. And that would lead to more and more time spent
doing something other than ravishing her sinfully delicious body.
Who
came up with these holidays anyway?
There
had to be an easier way to do this. Why hadn’t someone come up with Christmas
in a box already? Complete with a pop-up tree and a turkey dinner. Seemed
simple enough.
As
for Zane’s parents, they might not subscribe to the quick and easy version Zane
was hoping for, but they had thankfully opted for an artificial tree years ago,
and last year they had picked up a new one on clearance after the holidays. Or
at least that’s what he assumed they had done considering the box the tree came
in was brand new and had a clearance sticker plastered on the front. Didn’t
take a rocket scientist…
“You
feeling all right?” Beau asked Zane from across the room.
“Me?
Sure. Why?”
“Then
get your ass over here and help out,” Brendon instructed, never looking up from
the box he was opening.
With
an over-exaggerated huff, Zane resigned himself to helping out. Didn’t mean he
had to stop pretending that he wasn’t actually enjoying himself.
♀♀♀♀♀
Vanessa
V
sat at the kitchen table with Zoey, Jessie, Kylie and Lorrie, chatting about
plans for Christmas shopping, gifts, who was going where for Christmas dinner,
and a multitude of other holiday topics. So, naturally, V should be a little
surprised that, although they had just finished an incredible Thanksgiving feast
that Lorrie had put her heart and soul into, they had since moved on to
planning Christmas.
Glancing
into the living room, trying to avoid eye contact with her naughty fiancé who
was trying to get his brothers riled up, she noticed that the guys had moved on
to the next holiday as well.
Somehow
V had commandeered the most coveted seat in the kitchen. From her perch at the
table, she had an unobstructed view of the guys moving around the living room.
Along with the constant movement that was distracting in its own right, V had
tried her best not to ogle all of that glorious cowboy muscle. Didn’t seem to
matter that she was head over heels in love with Zane, she still wasn’t dead.
But what woman wouldn’t feel like she had died and gone to heaven as she watched
them work?
Not
only that, but she had been listening to them teasing each other, grumbling and
laughing as they sorted through box after box of holiday stuff. Despite their
feigned disinterest in the task of putting up the Christmas decorations, they were
all smiling. Well, all of the brothers except Sawyer and Kaleb, because they
had dragged their father outside a short while ago. For what, V had no idea.
“What
do you think, V? Would your mother come?” Lorrie’s soft voice pulled V back to
where she was supposed to be, and she glanced up at her future mother-in-law.
“I’m
sorry, what?”
Way to go, Vanessa.
Ignoring the future mother-in-law
because you’re eyeing her boys probably wouldn’t earn you kudos.
Lorrie
laughed sweetly, and V smiled in return, thankful that Lorrie was such a warm,
forgiving person.
“Do
you think Regina would join us for Christmas dinner?”
“Oh,
I’m sure she’d be honored,” V answered, glancing around the table at her
friends. For months, her mother had been walking the straight and narrow. And
honestly, V was proud to say that the relationship she had been denied with her
mother during her childhood was finally strengthening to a point where V didn’t
feel like she was an afterthought. And though Regina had declined the Walker’s
invitation for Thanksgiving, V didn’t see her mother doing it again at
Christmas. She hoped.
For
the first time, V noticed that Lorrie was actually making a list, but she
couldn’t see exactly what she was putting on the page. Guests for Christmas,
maybe?
“Wonderful.
And what about your parents, Kylie? Do you think Joe and Melissa would join
us?”
V
watched Kylie as she nodded her head in agreement, also sneaking a glimpse into
the living room over V’s shoulder. The woman had barely let Travis and Gage out
of her sight, and that dreamy expression on her face was one V recognized all
too well. She’d seen it in the mirror a lot in the past year.
“I’m
sure they’d be thrilled. We don’t have much of a Christmas tradition, so I
doubt it would take much to convince them to come down.”
“And
Zoey, you can let your dad know he doesn’t have a choice,” Lorrie said with a
chuckle.
“Will
do,” Zoey responded quickly, her eyes alight with the same glow that was on her
face. “I’m sure he’ll grumble, but I’ll make sure he’s here.”
Sitting
here with the ladies she’d come to think of as family, V felt a strange
sensation that buzzed in her veins. Something akin to the intoxicating effect
of alcohol, although she certainly wasn’t drunk.
It
was crazy what a year could bring. At this time last year, V was suffering from
panic attacks and worrying whether Zane was actually going to live or die after
he’d been nearly beaten to death right in her front yard. And now, she was
filled to overflowing with the love of family. So not only was she enjoying the
spirit of the holidays and eternally grateful for all of the blessings in her
life, but for V, this was also going to be the first year that Christmas
wouldn’t equate to a turkey and mashed potatoes TV dinner.
It
wasn’t that she disliked the holidays, but her mother never had been big on the
tradition which meant V would normally fend for herself. Since she moved out on
her own many years ago, she never bothered her mother during the holidays,
preferring not to get involved in whatever short term relationship Regina had
going at the time. Without any other family, that usually meant a quiet night
at home with her microwave and her television as her only company.
Then
again, that was her way of wallowing in her own self-pity because Zoey was usually
insisting that she join her.
But
this year… this year was different. Her life had changed in significant ways
and spending the holidays with her family and friends was actually on the top
of her priority list.
Peeking
into the living room, she noticed Zane piecing together the artificial tree,
mouthing off at his brothers as was usual these days. He was bending over at
the waist, and V took a second to admire his sexy ass encased in those
well-worn jeans he favored. She made a mental note to have him lose the shirt
when he put up their tree. Mmmm…
A
few feet away from Zane, Travis and Gage were pulling out strands and strands
of Christmas lights while they appeared to be having a serious conversation.
Their brief glances into the kitchen told V they were probably talking about
Kylie.
On
the far side of the room, closest to the fireplace, Beau and Ethan were taking
ornaments housed in large plastic bins out of another box, and the twins were
sorting other boxes, presumably those that contained outdoor decorations,
maybe?