A Barker Family Christmas (The Barker Triplets 3.50)

“Did I ever tell you about the time Shane and I had sex in the basement of the church?”

“Bobbi, you’re on speaker.”

“Oh, shit.”

Billie glanced up at the security guard and offered a small smile.

“Carson,” Bobbi said. “I’m calling your radio right now.”

His device lit up and less than a minute later Billie was parking her vehicle. She waved to Matt and ran inside, anxious to see her son. She pushed open the door and yelled.

“Abel! Mommy’s here!”

She heard her son before she saw him and was just slipping out of her boots when he came out of the library, chubby legs moving as fast as they could go. Billie scooped him up into her arms and kissed him all over, loving the sound of his giggles.

When she had her fill, she let him squirm out of her grasp, aware that she wasn’t alone any longer. A tall man with dark, closely cropped hair and equally dark eyes leaned against the doorframe, watching the two of them. Dressed casually in faded jeans, his T-shirt looked as if it had been washed many times over. Green Day was the insignia across his chest and Billie thought it suited him.

The guy looked like a rebel and more than a little dangerous.

“Hi,” she said. “I’m Billie.”

“So,” he replied, shoving away from his perch and taking a step toward her. “There really are three.”

She smiled. That was a line she’d been hearing her whole life.

“It would appear so.”

He offered his hand and Billie took it. “Nice to meet you. I’m Beau’s cousin, Maverick. But you can call me Rick.”

Maverick. That rang a bell. Partly because he’d written a hit song with Donovan James and they’d performed it at the CMA’s, but mostly because he was dating Elle Mason, a Hollywood wild child who was always in the tabloids.

“You look different,” she said, studying him carefully. Geez, were all the Simon men this hot in person?

“It’s the hair,” he said with a grin. “Lost a bet and most of it came off a few weeks ago.”

“Oh. That sucks.” Shit, Billie. Stop talking.

“Nah. I lost the girlfriend at about the same time and the truth is, I don’t miss either one.”

“There you are.”

They both turned as Betty Jo walked into the foyer, and to say that Billie was shocked was a bit of an understatement. First off, she hadn’t been expecting her sister until later in the afternoon. And secondly, well, there wasn’t any other way to put it.

“Jesus, Betty. You look like shit.”

“Nice to see you too,” Betty replied.

Billie frowned. “When did you guys get here? Did you sneak into town early?”

Betty Jo opened her mouth to answer and then held up her hand. “Shit,” she managed to say, before turning to the table beside her, and tossed her cookies all over the large red poinsettia.

Wow, thought Billie. Shit is right.

Chapter Eleven

Beau Simon stared out at the cars that lined the driveway and filled the temporary parking lot behind the converted barn. In about an hour, he was going to make Betty Jo Barker his wife and damn, but he was going crazy with the need to see her. A smile crept over his features as he slicked his blond hair back. Who knew she’d be such a stickler and insist that they not see each other twelve hours before the big event?

“It’s snowing again,” his cousin Cooper said, joining him at the window.