"My parents are probably already down in the kitchen." I thrum my fingers up and down her soft back. "They"re early risers."
"You all are," she replies.
"It"s habit. In fact . . ." I kiss her again and then slide out from under her. "I"m going to grab Josh and run out to the barn to feed the animals and get a few things done before we open presents."
"I guess ranchers don"t get holidays, huh?" She"s pulled the sheet around her and is resting her head on her hand, watching me pull my jeans and shirt on.
"Nope."
"While you do that, I"ll get breakfast started."
"Do you honestly think Seth will let us all eat breakfast before diving into his presents?"
"He can open his stocking while we eat and then he can open the rest," she decides. "And we"ll make it a quick breakfast. If I move fast enough, I can get most of it done before he wakes up."
"Good luck with that."
She slides out of bed and stretches her arms high above her head, and I can"t help myself. I walk to her and bend my head to take one perfectly puckered nipple between my lips and suck it softly. Jill gasps, as if in pain.
"Does that hurt?"
"I"m a little tender."
"I"m sorry, sugar." I kiss up her chest to her neck.
"This isn"t getting stuff done, Zack." She giggles and brushes her fingers through my hair.
"Your fault," I murmur and back away. "You"re naked."
"Go feed your horses," she says with a laugh. "Then you"re mine."
I kiss her quickly then leave the master suite and jog down the steps to the bedroom Josh and Cara are using. I knock softly, but Josh pulls it open, already dressed.
"Headed to the barn?" he asks.
"Yeah. Let"s get it done so we can enjoy the rest of the day."
"My thoughts exactly."
Mom and Dad are sitting in the kitchen, reading a newspaper and munching on bacon.
"Merry Christmas, boys." Mom wraps an arm around each of our necks as we bend down to kiss her cheeks.
"Merry Christmas," we murmur back to her.
"Heading out to the barn?" Dad asks.
"Yes, sir." Josh nods.
"I"ll join you."
"The girls and Ty are still in bed," I say to Mom and grin when I hear Jill"s footsteps on the stairs. "Jill"s coming down to help make breakfast."
"Oh good." Mom grins and hugs Jill as she comes into the room. "Shoo, guys, we have work to do."
"We"ll be back soon."
"Thank G.o.d you"re back!" Seth exclaims as Josh, Dad, and I walk through the back door. "We"ve been waiting forever."
"You"ve been up for ten minutes," Jill reminds him dryly.
"That"s forever on Christmas morning," Dad says with a laugh. "It smells great in here."
"We saved breakfast for you guys, and already put the turkey in the oven." Cara looks proud as she wraps her arms around my brother"s waist and hugs him tight.
"You guys could have woken me up. I would have been happy to help," Ty says with a frown.
"We weren"t out that long," I reply.
"Can we do presents now? Pleeeeeease?" Seth asks me with hopeful hazel eyes.
"I suppose so," I say and hang my coat up. "But don"t go tearing into everything!"
"I won"t! I"m just gonna get ready. Come on, Thor!"
"He"s been very patient," Mom says with a smile. "When are you going to take him outside?"
"That"ll be last," I say and rub my hands together. I"m almost as excited as my boy.
"Let"s go!" Jill bounces into the family room behind Seth, and we all join her. Seth is already separating presents.
"Here"s one for you, Jill!"
"Just divvy them up, and then we"ll all open them," I murmur to him, sitting in my big recliner and tugging Jill onto my lap.
"Um, how am I supposed to help from here?" she asks.
"There"s nothing for you to help with, sugar. Sit back and watch."
She settles against me and a small pile of presents for each of us grows in her lap as Seth hands out the gifts under the tree. When they"re all pa.s.sed out, Mom says, "Seth, go get one of those chew bones that Thor loves, so he has something to enjoy too."
"Okay!" He runs into the kitchen and retrieves the bone for Thor, who curls up happily before the fire.
"Go ahead and dig in, Seth."
The adults all set their gifts aside, excited to watch Seth tear into his loot. For the next twenty minutes he opens everything from new clothes from Josh to a Kindle Fire from Jilly and video games from Mom and Dad.
"Holy c.r.a.p!" Seth exclaims. "A rifle?"
"That," Dad says with a stern voice, "is only to be used when you"re with your dad. But yes, you"re old enough to start learning."
"Thank you!"
He continues through his pile, coming away with the binoculars he told Jill he wanted and a whole slew of c.r.a.p that he didn"t need, but that every twelve-year-old loves.
"This is so cool," he whispers as he sits back on his feet and takes in all the loot before him. He looks up at me with wide eyes, and his lip quivers. I stand with Jill in my arms, then lower her into the chair and turn to my boy.
"Come here, bud." Seth throws his arms around me and hugs me close. "You okay?"
"Yeah." He nods against my chest. "Just . . . I didn"t expect all this."
"You deserve it," Cara says with a grin. "You"ve worked your b.u.t.t off this year."
"Definitely," Josh says.
"No one deserves it more," Ty agrees as Lo nods.
"We love you, sweet boy," Mom tells him with tears in her eyes.
Seth sniffs and pulls away from me with a watery smile. "Thanks, everyone."
"I think maybe we forgot to do something outside," I say with a sudden frown.
"What"s that?" Dad asks.
"I think Seth should go check."
"I have to go outside? I thought you said I didn"t have to do any ch.o.r.es on Christmas."
"It"s not a ch.o.r.e."
"I"ll go with you," Jill offers.
Seth looks at us all with a frown. "You"re all weird. You haven"t opened your presents."
"We will in a minute," Josh a.s.sures him.
"Okay." Seth shrugs and stuffs his feet in his boots, throws his jacket on, and stomps outside. We all hurriedly shove our feet in shoes and clamber outside after him, and just as we round the house, we hear, "No freaking way!"
I have Jill"s hand in mine as we join Seth, who is standing next to a black-and-yellow snowmobile with a bright red bow stuck to the hood.
"Are you serious right now?" he asks me. He has the biggest smile I"ve ever seen on his face, and his whole body is vibrating in excitement.
"I"m completely serious."
"Holy c.r.a.p!" He jumps up and down and throws himself in my arms to hug me tight. "I love it! It"s so supercool!"
"I got you a new helmet too, and you will be careful."
"I promise," he says. "Can we take it out now?"
"Let"s finish up with presents and while we cook dinner, maybe your dad and your uncles can take you out for a ride," Mom suggests.
"Okay!" Seth hugs me hard again. "Thanks, Dad. It"s the best present ever."
"You"re welcome, buddy." I kiss his head and we all file back into the house. After shedding boots and coats, we settle back in the family room to open the rest of the gifts. I pull Jilly back in my lap and settle in to watch her.
"Open this," she murmurs softly. Everyone else is opening gifts from each other, gasping and laughing and hugging. "This is from me."
"You didn"t have to get me anything, sugar."
"Of course I did," she argues with a frown. "It"s Christmas."
I chuckle and open the large box, and then my heart stills when I see what"s inside. It"s a picture frame with a two-photo mat.
On the left is a photo of me and Seth when Seth was just a tiny baby, maybe a week old. I"m holding him against my chest and my lips are planted on his tiny head.
"G.o.d, I look young in this photo," I murmur.
"You were young in that photo," Jill says.
The photo on the right is of Seth and me and Thor, playing and laughing in the snow. Jill was standing over us and we were all smiling up at the camera. Even Thor looks like he has a big grin on his dopey face.
"I took that the day we went snowmobiling," she says.
I nod and look into her eyes. "Thank you. It"s perfect."
"Your mom helped," she says shyly and smiles over at my mom, who is, of course, watching us raptly.
"I love it." I kiss her lips chastely then reach down at the side of the chair and lift her gift into her lap. "This is for you."
She smiles in excitement and tears the paper away then pauses with her jaw dropped as her eyes take in every inch of the framed photo before her.
"He"s a local artist," I begin. "This was taken in Glacier National Park last year."
The photo is of the mountains during winter, with a lake cradled between them, and lighting up the sky are the northern lights, spreading across the sky in streaks of green and blue, just like the ones we saw a few weeks ago out in the pasture.
"It"s so beautiful." Her eyes fill with tears and she turns her face into my chest.
"Hey, it"s okay, sugar. It"s just a photo."
"I"m hormonal," she mutters, but leans up to whisper in my ear, "but this was the moment, Zack. Our special moment. And I"ll treasure this forever."
I hug her tight and kiss her temple, and I want to tell her how much I love her. It"s Christmas, and G.o.d knows I"m so in love with her I can barely breathe. But just as I"m about to whisper in her ear, Cara comes running over to us with a squeal to hug Jill and thank her for the earrings Jill gave her.
"You"re welcome," Jill says brightly. "They reminded me of you."
"You went nuts this year, girl," Cara says as she rejoins Josh.