Merry Mitchell (Mitchell/Healy Family #3.5) (2 page)

Chapter 3

Shalan

While the large family packed onto the ranch like sardines, I was left to think about the family that I left behind. My dad was a drunk, we haven't spoken in years. That didn’t mean that I wouldn’t think about him, his health, and what he’d been up to. I often wondered if he thought about me, or maybe  had seen my success in the newspapers or on television. I wondered if he ever regretted not being a better parent to me, especially after the death of my mother.

When she lost her battle to cancer my whole world pretty much ended. My father turned his love for her to a bottle of booze. I was forced to fend for myself and not just money, but food and a place to rest my head. He’d gotten drunk and assumed I was my mother one night. After that I knew I had to get out of there. That was when I gave up on him.

Then there was my brother. We'd never been close. He probably didn't even care if I was dead, but it was surprising that he hadn't come looking for a handout when I became successful.
The rest of my family consisted of my uncle and his wife. He'd been kind enough to take me in when I moved away from home, and had given me a job, but his wife hated me so much it was impossible for me to be happy there. Noah took me away from all of them and I’d forever be grateful.  He showed me what a real family was like, and  no matter what happened they'd always stick by your side.


With more  people showing up on the ranch by the minute, I found myself lingering around the new house wanting to finish decorating before they all came over. I was excited for them to see everything we'd done and all of the hard work Noah put into it. I was even a little stressed that I wouldn’t have time to finish before they arrived.
I wasn’t worried about his cousins arriving early, because I knew they’d help out. There was just so much left on my list to finish.

After Bells and Rusty had put their things up in the guest room Noah had taken the three of them over to his parents house so they could say hello. His mother was dying to be a grandparent. She wanted Noah and I to start trying as soon as we were married. We had other plans though. When January hit I’d be on the road again, and that was no place for a pregnant woman to be. Our plan was that we’d wait until this tour was over, and then start trying, while I took some time for R&R and to enjoy my new marriage. It wasn’t how I saw our first year going, but it was my career, and he was willing to ride it out with me. This lifestyle was still surprising to me. I’d wanted to be  famous  my whole life, but now my priorities had changed. I could see myself sitting on the front porch with my husband, watching our children playing in the yard. I wanted to grow old with him back in our little wooden patch of heaven, where there were no cameras, and tabloids.

I wanted peaceful, and knowing that I could have it at any time made my life complicated. Noah was willing to let me go out and sing to the world. He was my rock, and biggest fan, but a part of me wanted to throw that career away. I wanted to trade it in for a more fulfilling life; one without drama, one that was filled with family, church, and serenity.

I wasn’t saying that I was a saint, or that I was ready to throw in the towel when it came to my singing career; but there was a part of me that wouldn’t have been upset if I had to give it up, because I knew how perfect my life could be without it.

After decorating the mantle with burlap and garland, I stood back looking at the finished product. It felt like a country Christmas, which was what I’d been going for. Seeing it complete made me light up with a smile. Van, Noah’s mom, was going to love it, since it had been her idea. I couldn’t wait for her to come see it.

After such a overwhelming feeling of satisfaction, I continued on my decorating spree, wrapping more garland on the stair railing, and placing candles in all of the lower windows. I knew we were in the woods, and only family and visitors would see it lit up, but that didn’t matter to me. It was the idea of it being ours that had me so excited.

I supposed I hadn’t noticed how long I’d been at it, because when Noah came walking inside of the house he startled me. “Shew. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”

He looked at the big grandfather clock that sat in the foyer. “Darlin’, I’ve been gone near two hours. I figured you’d be huntin’ me down.”

I giggled and then was reminded of something else I was looking forward to. “Speaking of that. Are you sure you want me to go hunting with you? I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Are you kiddin’? Bells and my aunt Miranda are goin’. Now, if you want to stay behind you’re more than welcome to, but I’ve got some ideas to pass the time while we’re waitin’ for that trophy buck to pass by our stand.”

He wrapped his arms tightly around me, kissing me with his rough whiskers. “I see you’ve been busy. It’s lookin’ great in here.”

I didn’t back away from his hold. “Thanks. You’re just in time to put the candles in the top windows. Be careful though, I would hate for you to fall to your death before we got married.”

He slapped my ass for being silly. “Don’t talk like that. It ain’t like you’d miss me anyway. My mom would adopt you, and hook you up with the pastor’s son. You’d forget all about what I used to do to you in the bedroom.”

“And out,” I added to the pun. “I happen to like all the other places we’ve ended up.”

Noah already started climbing up to the first window, since he’d gotten the little ladder out before he’d left. “Like the stream? That sure was a nice day.”

I sat down on the sofa while I watched him work, imagining being back to that day. We’d taken the horses out, and ended up naked in the mud. Even though we were all alone, there was something about being out in the open like that. It was so hot. In fact, every time we were together it was explosive. Noah was an amazing lover, and he always came up with new ideas to keep our spark ignited.

After staring at his ass while he applied the first candle on the window frame, I grabbed my iPod and turned on some Christmas music. Sure, it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet, but it didn’t matter. I was in the spirit and nothing could be more entertaining than seeing my sexy man from behind on a ladder.

Unfortunately Noah got this brilliant idea to dance around, and started shaking his ass. I watched as if it were slow motion; the ladder falling off to one side, sending my six-foot-four fiancé to the hardwood floor beneath him.

He lay flat on the floor, and just as I lunged over to reach for him I heard laughing. He leaned up on one elbow and began chuckling, while pulling me down on top of him. “That’ll serve me right for messin’ around.”

“I saw our future flash before my eyes,” I teased.

I wouldn’t have joked at all had I not known he was okay. “I tried to be graceful about it. I know how much you love this floor.”

I smacked his chest. “I don’t care about this floor. I care about your head.” I climbed to my feet and put my hands up for him to take. “Come on. I need to make sure you’re alright.”

He got up and stretched. “I’m fine, now watch out so I can do the next window.”

“Maybe we should wait and have someone else do it, possibly your cousins Jake or Jax. Didn’t you say you needed to pay them back for something?” It never failed. Whenever the cousins got together someone was planning pranks. Noah always tried to be a step ahead, but he failed almost always. At any rate, it was all in fun. By the end of the evening they’d all be friends again, laughing at who’d done the best job. It took me a while to get used to their humor, since some involved practical jokes that inflicted bodily harm. Over the summer they came to visit and almost burned Noah’s eyebrows off when they added a whole can of lighter fluid to the charcoal grill without telling him. He added more and threw in the match, coming inside the house with no hair left on his arms. What was even more disturbing was  they said they got the idea from something their father, Tyler had done to Colt, Noah’s dad. Most of the time I just shook my head and stayed out of it, because I knew at some point I’d be involved, and probably on the receiving end.

Noah began to move the ladder to the next high window. “I’d rather do this myself. They’re liable to break the damn windows. Now, how about you come hold the ladder this time, instead of makin’ me do all the hard work,” he teased.

I was glad to help, especially after the little scare he’d given me.

While he was on the ladder, I watched him, making sure he was secure. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do to get them back?”

He talked while he situated the little candle with the suction cup. “I’m hopin’ they bring another bottle of rum or vodka. I found a gallon of white vinegar at my Gram’s house this mornin’. She said I could have it. I’m plannin’ on replacin’ their bottle with one half filled with vinegar.” He started laughing at himself. “Can you see them takin’ a swig of that?”

I began to giggle. “That’s horrible.”

“All’s fair in love and Mitchell’s, darlin’.”

I’d been hearing that since he’d asked me to move in. It was his way of reminding me that their antics were never going to cease.

A knock at the door caught our attention. We knew it was family when they came right in. Christian and her boyfriend Ethan sauntered in. She had a bag in her hand, while he carried a box. “Mom said you might want some of this old stuff she found.”

She sat it down on the table, but I waited for Noah to come down off the ladder before stepping away. “What is it?”

She flipped through the bag. “Apparently it’s all kinds of crap he made as a kid.” She held up a few ornaments. One was made out of macaroni, and another was made out of cotton balls. “I’m sure you can’t wait to hang these on your tree,” she teased.

“Oh my goodness, they’re adorable.” I rummaged through the bag, pulling out all sorts of Christmas themed decorations, handmade by my sweet husband-to-be.

“Mom said she kept a few of her favorites. By a few she means like another whole bag full. She’s got one from all three of us kids, so don’t worry about our tree bein’ bare. Apparently she’s makin’ room for grandkids, which is why I volunteered to bring these over. Are you two keepin’ a secret from us?”

I looked at Noah. He smiled, while I seemed utterly confused. We’d talked about our plans. “No. There’s no baby.”

“Not yet anyway,” he added.

“Oh, well that sucks. I was all excited about it. I told Ethan we were goin’ baby shoppin’ if you were.” She seemed like it would be the best news she’d heard in a long time. I appreciated seeing her smile again. After being violently assaulted a few months back we wondered how she’d do being around the whole family. Ethan had been the biggest help. His support was helping her heal, and we all appreciated him for loving her.

“Sorry, no bun in the oven for me,” I reiterated.

“Oh yeah, this box is full of lights. Mom said you needed a few more for outside.”

Noah was already shaking his head. “This ain’t goin’ to be a Griswold house, Shalan. I’m tellin’ you right now, I ain’t stapling lights to the whole roof.”

“Oh, shut up! I would never decorate like they did in that movie. I’d be classier than that, with a little redneck style for you of course.”

I watched Ethan put his arms around Christian. It was still weird seeing them affectionate with each other. They’d been best friends since they were children according to Noah, but recently things had changed. Now they were hot and heavy, and weren’t hiding it at all.

“Did dad invite Ethan’s parents to Thanksgiving dinner?” Noah asked his sister.

“Yeah. They said they’d come. It’ll be like six of them, so we won’t even notice. Gram told me you’re thinking about havin’ it in the carriage house again.”

“We’ve outgrown every other space. Instead of packin’ in like sardines we figured we’d use a larger area. She arranged a party truck to deliver tables and chairs like last year. Dad put that old woodstove out there, so it’ll be nice and warm.”

“I’m excited,” I added. “I might just hang out at the dessert table all night. My mouth waters every time I think about how much goodness is waiting to be eaten.”

Noah squeezed my butt. “Don’t eat too much, or else I might have to use this as a bench next year, not that I’d be complainin’. Benches are useful, especially the portable ones.”

I slapped him and laughed. “Don’t listen to your brother. He’s full of it today.”

Ethan took Christian by the hand. “We better get goin’. You’ve got an appointment in an hour.”

“How’s that goin’?” Noah inquired.

She put on a subtle smile. “This will be my last weekly visit. The doctor thinks we are good to meet once a month instead.”

“Your sister’s a strong girl, Noah.”

“Yeah, well I think it might have to do somethin’ with all the support she’s gotten. At any rate, it’s good to see her smile again. I’m glad they finally nailed that asshole. He deserves whatever he gets in jail. I hope he’s sentenced to ten years of bein’ fucked up the ass by his cellmate.”

The three of us just stared at Noah. He threw his arms in the air. “Don’t even tell me none of y’all have thought about it. He deserves worse than that. He’s just lucky dad and I didn’t run into him first.”

“So on that note we’re just goin’ to head out. We’ll see you later at dinner.”

Once they’d gone, I turned to face Noah. “What was that about?”