The Snuggle is Real (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

Mason

“Take a break, sweetheart.” Ford came up behind me, where I was just tucking in the corner of a new duvet I’d bought for the guest bed that Sawyer and Ash would use, and pressed a kiss to the back of my neck.

“You did the hard part of setting up the bed.”

“Mm-hmm, and you swept and mopped and dusted every inch of this house while I did.”

This had been an empty room twenty-four hours ago. Now, it had a decent queen-size bed with a forest green comforter and matching curtains. The room wasn’t quite so nice. There hadn’t been time to take down the pink floral wallpaper and paint in here.

Ford had focused on refinishing the living and dining room floors, painting my mom’s guest room, fixing the broken toilet in my second bathroom, and replacing my showerhead—that one was simply his choice after experiencing the crappy water pressure in my shower.

“To be fair, the house was very dusty after all that sanding.”

I turned into Ford’s arms, snuggling in against his amazing chest. It was basically my favorite place to be at this point.

“The downside of refinishing floors,” Ford agreed. “You can take every precaution to cover things, and dust still finds a way.”

I chuckled. “I’ve never had to vacuum my walls before.”

“We’re just broadening your horizons. Seems only fair, since you’ve broadened mine.”

I glanced up. “Your horizons are more fun.”

Ford kissed me. “Yes, they are.”

“Where’s Charlie?”

“She’s picking out a movie. We’re going to snuggle on the couch and watch with popcorn. Charlie’s orders.”

“Oh, well if it’s Charlie’s orders…” I moved to step out of his arms. He tightened his hold.

“Is that how it’s going to be?” he challenged. “You fight me but she gets whatever she wants?”

“Pretty much.”

He laughed and released me, swatting my ass as I passed by. “Brat.”

I peeked over my shoulder, smirking. “As if you’re not wrapped around her little finger.”

“Yeah, fair.”

I headed down the stairs, admiring my glossy floors waiting below. Ford had really done a beautiful job with the old oak planks, applying a new finish that brought out a red-hued glow. The clear coat on top to protect the floors also made them appear shiny.

Peppermint Bark was less impressed as he went slipping and sliding even more when he tried to chase Charlie around. Once, he’d caught the edge of a throw blanket in his mouth as she was spinning in a circle. My poor dog had let go—and slid halfway across the room, straight into the wall.

He’d missed the Christmas tree by one inch.

“Finally!” Charlie exclaimed when she saw us. “What were you doing up there?”

My face heated, even though our time spent upstairs was totally innocent. Tonight, anyway.

“Just cleaning and setting up rooms for my mom and brother and my brother’s boyfriend.”

“Your brother is dating a boy?” Charlie asked, sounding intrigued.

I glanced toward Ford, unsure how much he’d want me to share with his daughter. I hoped he wouldn’t be weird about it, since he was entering a relationship with a man, but Charlie wasn’t my daughter and I didn’t want to overstep.

“Some men date men,” Ford said. “Some women date women. There are no rules, other than what your heart decides is right for you.”

I smiled at Ford. Yeah, I’d picked a good one.

“Your dad is right,” I said, taking a seat on the sofa beside Charlie. “I only date men, but my brother Sawyer likes boys and girls both. He used to have girlfriends. Now, he has a boyfriend.”

Charlie looked thoughtful. “So are you dating my dad, then? Because you two seem to really like each other, and I saw him touch your butt while you were doing the dinner dishes.”

“Uh…” I looked at Ford for help.

“Oh, geez.” He rubbed a hand over his beard, and my stomach flip-flopped. I wanted to rush in and handle the conversation for him, but I also knew he had to be the one to decide what to tell Charlie. “Yeah, Charlie. We just started dating. Is that…um, is that okay with you?”

Her eyes went wide. “You’re asking me for permission? Mama never did that when she had boyfriends.”

“Well, I want you to be happy, too,” Ford said. “So, for at least as long as you’re here, you have a say in how our family works. So if you want it to just be me and you until you leave, that’s fine. I’d probably ask Mason out again after Christmas because I do really like him.” He shot me an apologetic look. “And I hope he’d understand putting your wishes first.”

“Of course I would,” I said softly. “Your love for Charlie is part of why—” I bit my lip to keep any sneaky words like love inside. “It just makes you who you are, and I like who you are.”

“Well, that would be dumb,” Charlie said. “I like Mason, and he comes with Peppermint Bark.” She patted Pepper’s head where he lay on the sofa beside her.

I laughed. “You just want me for my dog.”

“Not just that,” she said earnestly. “You make my dad smile a lot. I noticed, but I just thought you were good friends. Grown-ups always get weird with wanting to kiss though, so I guess that’s cool.”

“Thanks, Charlie.”

She shrugged. “Are we going to watch a movie now?”

Kids. They took everything so easily. No need to deep dive into a lengthy conversation. No overthinking.

“Yeah,” I said. “What movie do you want?”

“Ooh, can we watch Elf again? I love that one.”

I picked up the remote from the side table and navigated through the television menus. “ Elf , coming right up.”

While Will Farrell danced around in yellow tights looking alarmingly similar to Gus when he dressed up to drive the reindeer-drawn sleigh around town, Charlie cuddled with Pepper, and Ford wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling my head onto his shoulder.

All the stress of the day melted out of my body, and hours of frantic shopping and cleaning caught up with me. My eyelids grew heavy, then heavier, until I was half dozing on his shoulder.

“Mason,” he whispered, nudging me.

“Hmm.”

“Let’s go to bed.”

I blinked my eyes open. “’m awake. You don’t need to go.”

“Charlie’s crashed out, sweetheart. And so are you. Come on, I’ll put you to bed.”

He pulled me to my feet, and I caught sight of Charlie curled up under a quilt, Pepper snuggled up against her.

Ford followed me upstairs to my bedroom.

“You don’t have to tuck me in,” I said.

“Maybe I want to.” He stepped in close and kissed me thoroughly. “Maybe I want to have you to myself for a little while.”

Suddenly, I was wide awake. I slid my hands under his flannel. Sadly, the ugly Christmas sweater had been retired, but Ford looked good in anything he chose to wear.

Or not wear.

I raked my fingers through the hair on his chest. “You think we can…”

“Yeah.” He kissed me again, tugging my bottom lip with his teeth, sending a flare of lust singing through my veins. “Charlie sleeps like a rock. No worries there.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and melted against him.

“Put me to bed, then, Ford. I’ve had a very long day.”

He grinned and ran his hands through my hair. “With pleasure.”

The sound of loud, mangled Christmas carols woke me with a jolt the next morning.

“What the— Has a deranged caroler broken into my house?”

Ford laughed beside me. “That’s Charlie’s morning ritual.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” He rolled out of bed and pulled a pair of sweats from my dresser, then tossed them my way. “Better get dressed. She could be in here any minute.”

“Really? Shit.” I scrambled into the gray sweats and found a Mizzou hoodie in my second drawer to tug on while Ford redressed in his clothes from the day before.

“Doing the walk of shame again,” he murmured. “I really need to start packing an overnight bag just in case. You’re just too hard to leave.”

“Is it going to be weird for Charlie?”

“Well, I didn’t plan to stay, but judging by her singing, she’s just fine with it. She knows we’re boyfriends.”

“Boyfriends, huh?” I drew closer, leaning in to kiss him. “I like the sound of that.”

He lowered his hands to my ass, then dropped them quickly when the door banged open.

“Pepper wants to go out and play, and I’m hungry!”

“Oh, well, why don’t you play with Pepper in the backyard and I’ll get started on making some breakfast.”

“Okay!”

“What should I do?” Ford asked.

Charlie wrinkled her nose. “You should take a shower.” She whirled back into the hall. “Come on, Pepper!”

Ford sniffed at his pits. “Do I smell that bad?”

I laughed. “No worse than me. Maybe she doesn’t feel she can tell me I stink?”

Ford came close and lowered his nose to my neck, inhaling deeply. “Mm, no. You smell like…shampoo.” He eyed me. “You showered after I fell asleep, didn’t you?”

“Maybe? I reeked of cleaning supplies!”

He shook his head. “Traitor.”

“I tried to wake you,” I said. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to stay over, but you just mumbled something about never leaving my bed and rolled over.”

He chuckled. “Well, that sounds about right. I guess I’ll go shower. Want to join me?”

“Then we’d never get breakfast.” I brushed a quick kiss over his lips. “Go. I’ll have coffee and sausage waiting.”

“Mm, I love your sausage.”

“You’ve never had it!” I blushed at the leer he sent me and slapped his arm. “Behave!”

He grinned. “If I must.”

I went downstairs before Ford could tempt me any further. I knew he was mostly kidding. He wouldn’t really want to fuck me in the shower with Charlie running around. It was fun to flirt though, to see him open about just how much he wanted me.

We’d done little more than share hand jobs in bed last night, wanting to keep quiet, but it had still been explosive. Ford kissed like a man who wanted to savor me, every part of me, just drink me down and make me his. His tongue pushed in boldly, sweeping through my mouth, advancing and retreating, possessing.

I could surrender to those kisses, let him take everything he wanted, while his rough hands slid over my body, caressing and stroking, raising goosebumps, and finally reaching for my dick.

I shivered, just remembering it as I pulled eggs and sausage from the refrigerator. I’d stocked up for my family’s visit, so there was no shortage of supplies. I pulled out a tin of biscuits, as well.

Charlie came in, stomping snow from her boots, and grabbed the towel I kept by the door. “Wait, Pepper,” she ordered. “We have to wipe your feet.”

Pepper stood patiently, letting her lift and rub each paw, before trotting forward.

“You’ve got him well-trained,” I said.

She beamed proudly. “He always listens to me.”

“He’s a good boy.”

Pepper’s ears perked up, and he came over to me, looking up at the pan where I’d just started the sausage.

“A good boy and a beggar.” I dropped a piece to the floor, which he quickly gobbled.

He looked back up eagerly.

“Don’t be greedy,” I told him, but dropped one more piece.

The doorbell rang just as I was about to start the eggs. I moved the sausage off the burner and flicked off the stove.

Before I could get the door, Charlie had already dashed through the living room, Pepper on her heels.

“Oh, Charlie, you should—” I called.

She flung open the door. “Hi!”

“Wait,” I said to an empty room. Crap.

“Well, hello,” my mother said from the porch, sounding charmed. “I’m looking for my son Mason, but maybe we have the wrong house.”

“Nope. Mason is my dad’s boyfriend! He’s in the kitchen making breakfast while my dad showers because he always stinks in the morning.”

Oh my god.

I rushed forward, laughing. “Charlie, you shouldn’t just open the door. You never know who might be there.”

“Oops.” She shrugged. “It’s just your mom and brother and his boyfriend.”

“Well, you certainly know your business,” Mom said admiringly. “And you’re adorable too.”

Charlie grinned. “I know.”

Sawyer, loaded with suitcases, said, “Can we come in already? My arms are about to fall off.”

“Sorry, come on.”

Charlie dragged Pepper back enough for my family to troop in.

Ford came down the stairs just as they did, his flannel shirt still unbuttoned and his hair damp.

“Well, damn, your brother knows how to pick them,” Ash said.

Sawyer elbowed him. “Standing right here.”

“And you have eyes,” Ash said. “Just check out the lumberjack boyfriend Mason’s been hiding.”

“I haven’t been hiding anything,” I said quickly. “Ford, meet my family, who has arrived hours early without warning. Family, meet Ford, my very new boyfriend who you should not scare away by leering at his chest.” I lowered my voice. “Only I get to do that.”

Sawyer snickered. “Good for you, Mase. Mom was all worried you’d be lonely. We got up at the butt crack of dawn to get here early.”

“Hi,” Ford said with an awkward smile, doing up the buttons of his shirt as he came down the rest of the stairs. “Nice to meet you all.”

“And you,” Mom said, eyes bright as she swept in to hug him. Ford embraced her, looking like a giant, then shook hands with Sawyer and fist bumped with Ash.

“Sorry to barge in on your morning.” Mom sniffed the air. “Did we miss breakfast? I was going to cook.”

“Oh, I’ve got biscuits in the oven, but the eggs aren’t done yet.”

Mom instantly headed for the kitchen where she was most comfortable. “Well, come on. We can put away our things later. I’ll finish cooking. I’m sure you haven’t had a decent meal in ages.”

“Can I help?” Charlie asked.

“Oh, you sure can.” Mom took hold of her hand. “I need a sous chef.”

“I’m dying for a coffee,” Ash said. “Can I leave the bags here for now?”

“Sure.”

Ash and Sawyer dumped their bags at the foot of the stairs and headed for the kitchen.

“Well, I guess we’d better join them,” Ford said.

I winced. “I’m so sorry for the ambush.”

He slung an arm over my shoulders. “Well, it had to happen eventually, right? This way it’s out of the way quick and easy. Besides, Charlie’s in heaven. Just look.”

We paused in the kitchen doorway while Mom showed Charlie how to crack eggs into a bowl.

Charlie was drinking in every word she said and chattering up a storm in between the instructions.

“My Grandma Dottie let me help make cookies, and Dad let me put chocolate chips in pancakes. I think cooking is fun!”

Mom laughed. “Oh, you’re after my heart, aren’t you? I think cooking is the best. It’s why I made it my job.”

Charlie looked impressed. “You cook in a restaurant?”

“Mom cooks for a whole resort,” Sawyer said, sounding proud.

“That’s a big hotel,” I explained for Charlie when she looked confused.

“Wow,” she said. “You must be really good.”

“And my boyfriend cooks on a boat,” Sawyer said. “Can you imagine? Right out on a big lake.”

“Whoa,” Charlie said. “That sounds so cool!”

Ash chuckled. “Well, it’s actually very hot because I do it during the summer.”

“But you can just jump in the lake and swim to cool off,” she said excitedly.

Sawyer grinned evilly. “See, Ash? I was being nice when I threw you into the lake.”

Ash shot him a pointed look. “I guess there were worse outcomes to that particular moment of… overheating. ”

“They used to hate each other,” I murmured in a soft voice just for Ford.

“Really?”

“Well, I think it was mostly Sawyer hating Ash, to be honest. They were best friends growing up, but they had a big fight and Sawyer swore their friendship was over.”

“What was the fight about?”

I grinned up at him. “A girl.”

He laughed. “No way.”

“Yep.” I paused. “I think it went a lot deeper though. Our parents had just lost their business, and Sawyer had to move across the lake and change schools, and our dad bailed. It was a hard time for him.”

“Yeah,” Ford said softly. “I can relate. When you’re drowning and you’re relying on someone to be your lifeline and they’re not what you need…”

“LuAnne?”

“Yeah.” He kissed my cheek. “But at the end of the day, we have to learn to rescue ourselves. LuAnne and I weren’t meant to be.” He nodded toward Sawyer and Ash. “It looks like they were.”

I smiled. “And what about you and me?”

He squeezed me close. “I’ve got a good feeling about us.”

“Me too.”

Mom looked over from the pan where she’d started a sausage gravy for the biscuits, because she could never do anything halfway. “Get in here, you two. Tell me all about how you met.”

I wasn’t sure what Ford would want them to know, but he surprised me.

“Well, I needed help getting ready for Christmas in this crazy town. Charlie came to stay unexpectedly, and Mason was there for us. Right, kiddo?”

“Mason’s the best,” she said simply.

“Yeah, he is,” Ford said, his voice warm. “He’s got such a huge heart. How could I resist?”

“So sweet,” Mom said, pressing a hand to her chest. “I’m so happy. This is just the best Christmas gift ever. Both my boys are happy and settled.”

“Well, it’s still new. Don’t be planning any weddings yet.”

Sawyer snorted. “Ash and I are gonna elope when she’s not looking.”

“Don’t you dare!” Mom exclaimed, turning a glare their way. “Ash, if you let him pull that crap, I won’t ever share my recipe for the cranberry-apple pie that my boys both love.”

Ash gasped and held a hand to his chest. “You think I can’t figure it out?”

“You’ll never guess the secret ingredient that makes it special,” she said with a smug smile.

“If you say love, I’m gonna roll my eyes so hard,” Sawyer said.

Mom scoffed. “I use real ingredients, but of course my love does sweeten the pot.”

“Well,” I said brightly, “there’s a bakery here that makes a great pie that’s really close to yours. Ash could probably get their recipe.”

Mom glared my way. “Hush, you, or you’ll be disowned!”

I laughed at Charlie’s expression. “That’s just how she says I love you.”

“Her food is her love language,” Sawyer agreed.

“Well, I like food,” Charlie said.

“Smart girl,” Mom said, pinching her side and making her giggle.

The last time I’d had a cranberry-apple pie, I’d been aching with loneliness in an empty house. Now, my kitchen was full of love and laughter and family. When the holidays ended, Mom and Sawyer and Ash would go, but I wouldn’t be alone.

Not with Ford at my side.

I only wished Charlie could be there too. Because she’d captured my heart just as much as he had.