Darius grunted through a breathless chuckle and snaked his arms around Gray. “Did I kill you?”
“Almost.” If it weren’t for the worry about a certain injured leg, Gray would’ve stayed right where he was. Alas… He groaned and rolled off Darius and landed on his back. “Goddamn, baby.”
“Yeah,” Darius yawned. “C’mere. I want another hour before the morning chores.”
Gray wanted two.
Eight
November was a strange month. Aside from celebrating Thanksgiving and Gray’s twenty-second birthday, it was a month dedicated to returning to an everyday life they’d never really had before.
The boys went to day care and school.
Darius returned to work full time at the restaurant, Niko shadowing him most days.
Gray upped his hours at the inn and worked a 75%-time schedule.
Just in time for Black Friday, he got his first permit for his own handgun. It felt strange and left a smile on his face.
He didn’t tell Mom about it, though.
Overnight, Christmas decorations appeared around town.
It got colder and colder. And…wetter.
The weekends became holy because it was the only time they had together without interruptions from work. It was possible they’d gotten spoiled when they’d worked less and had to focus on revenge operations.
By December 6, Gray had a better idea of what his loved ones wanted for Christmas—because he’d been pestering them about it for over two weeks—so he set aside the next Saturday to go shopping. Conveniently, he would start today with a gift for himself, he noticed as he checked his phone.
“Hon, I got a text from Ralph. They have the Streamlight I’ve been looking at in stock again.” He went into the entryway and grabbed his jacket. He and Darius had both had early shifts today, so it would be nice to have a Friday night where they weren’t competing to see who yawned the most.
“Oh, fun. We’ll all go,” Darius said and turned off the TV.
“How come you never say that when I’m going to Target?”
“I’m not even gonna respond to that.” Darius stopped near the stairs and hollered for the boys. “Jayden! Justin! We’re going shopping in paradise!”
Gray let out a laugh and stuck his feet into his boots.
Five minutes later, everyone was dressed and heading out the door.
Gray glanced back at the others on the way down to the car, and sometimes he couldn’t believe it. It was such a sight. His family of mountain men. Even he had adopted Darius’s lumberjack style when they were just around the house or running errands. Jeans were unbeatable, flannels were comfortable as hell, boots were a must, and his latest purchase was a black-and-red plaid jacket. Warm enough for the winter cold, thin enough to be able to use underneath a raincoat.
It didn’t hurt Darius had a bit of silver in his beard.
Everyone piled into the truck, which was more reliable when the roads were muddy slip ’n slides, and Gray turned the key in the ignition.
“Should we get dinner in town?” he asked.
“I was just thinking,” Darius replied with a chuckle. “I saw they had some family special at Applebee’s.”
“Applebee’s!” the boys cheered.
Family special, it was.
It was abundantly clear why Darius thought this was paradise. The store had everything hunters, fishermen, and hikers could want. Today, all Gray wanted was a flashlight mount for his first, very own Glock.
It’d been a special birthday last month. He’d received a gun and a microwave from Dare. Like any normal person.
“Can we go over there?” Jayden pointed to a wall of survival accessories. It reminded Gray of Target’s travel-size section, with the exception that the colors ranged from desert sand to army green instead of pinks and blues, and there were mini flashlights and compasses instead of lip balm and soap.
“You go. I’ll join you later,” Gray said.
Darius nodded in response.
“I wanna go with Daddy!” Justin declared and grabbed Gray’s hand.
It was decided, and the four split up. Gray and Justin trailed down the aisles toward the far end of the store, and Justin oohed and aahed at the campers’ cookware section. He had a weird fascination with sporks.
“We have this one!” Justin touched a baby-blue plastic spork. “And that one.”
“Yes, we do, buddy.”
Ralph was waiting for them behind the counter, and he smiled as soon as he spotted Gray. “That was fast, kid.”
“I remember how quickly you sold out when Darius wanted that Olight with the strobe,” Gray chuckled.
“Oh yeah, he wasn’t happy.” Ralph reached under the counter and retrieved a little box. The top of the case was all glass and showcased a lineup of various handguns. The wall behind him was packed with rifles, and the shelves below with ammo. “You wanna have a look around, or do you want me to ring you up back here?”
“Darius and our eldest will probably fill a basket, so I might as well bring it over.”
“No problem.” Ralph scribbled something quickly on a note and attached it to the box. “Just show this to Dana at the register.”