Uniting the Souls (Souls of Chicago #6)(74)

“I think we have everything we need,” I answered.

“Good, then we have time for this.” Rick spun me around in his arms and dipped me low, making me gasp in surprise before he gave me a long, passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and let myself get lost in the feel of his body pressed against mine.

“Oh my God! They’re at it again,” I heard Michelle complain.

“You guys, not over the food!” Caleb scolded.

Rick chuckled against my lips and then stood me upright. We turned and faced our children who were wearing smirks on their faces. They liked to pretend that we horrified them, but I knew that seeing their parents so in love made them happy.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” I called out, going to them with my arms open.

I hugged them around the food in their hands, planting kisses on their cheeks and then helped them carry everything into the kitchen. Michelle’s husband walked in then, carrying even more food and set it on the island counter. He gave me a hug before telling his wife that he was going to run out and get the last load from the car.

“You better not be referring to my grandbaby as a load,” I teased.

Jason laughed. “No, Dad already snatched little Ricky out of the car seat. He said he needed to get some snuggles in before Gram got her hands on him and hogged him for the rest of the day.”

“He’s a smart man,” I admitted. There was no use denying it, since it was the truth. Whenever my grandbabies were around, I made sure to soak up as much time with them as I could. “And where’s my sweet Sarah?” I asked, turning to Caleb.

“Right here,” I heard Giovanni say from the doorway. I smiled brightly when I saw the little girl in his arms.

“Gram!” Sarah exclaimed when she saw me. She wiggled in her father’s arms as she reached for me and Giovanni laughed as he set her down. She ran towards me and I knelt down and held my arms open, pulling her in for a big hug.

“There’s my girl,” I cooed at her. “Look at what a beautiful dress you have on,” I told her and she smiled as she twirled around to show off her dress. Rick walked in then, with his namesake and pride and joy, Ricky, in his arms, smiling smugly and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You’ve got about two minutes while I talk to Sarah and then you’ve got to give him up,” I informed him, pointing a finger his way.

Rick laughed and then retreated into the living room, telling Ricky that if Gram couldn’t find them then she couldn’t take him away. Everyone laughed at that, including me, and then I asked Sarah if she wanted to help me put the name cards on the table.

“Yes!” she answered happily, running to the drawer where she remembered I had put them.

The weekend before she’d come to my house and the two of us made handprint turkeys that we could use as name cards for each person in our family. Sarah had done a fine job of telling me each person that would be at Thanksgiving while I wrote them on the cards. I followed her into the dining room and handed her the cards as she decided where each person should sit.

“Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!” I heard my oldest son say. I looked up and saw Landon and Micah in the doorway and my heart warmed at the sight of them. They were both so handsome and the looks on their faces showed how happy they were.

“Hey, Mom!” Landon called out as he walked into the dining room.

He set the platter of food he was holding down on the table and then gave me a kiss before kneeling down to talk to Sarah, praising her on the beautiful turkeys she’d made. He’s going to make such an amazing father someday. I looked up at Micah who was staring down at his husband and I could tell by the soft look in his eyes that he was having similar thoughts to mine. He caught me staring and grinned at me sheepishly.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Mom,” he said softly as he bent down to kiss my cheek.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I told him, wrapping my arm around his waist. He put his arm around my shoulders and smiled down at me.

Micah had been the most withdrawn of my sons-in-law. He’d been through so much in his lifetime and had only had a brief glimpse of what a loving family behaved like when he’d lived with Giovanni and his parents in high school, so it took him longer to get used to the constant affection our family showed each other. I knew Micah loved us and he showed how much he cared by being protective of all of us, but the fact that he was beginning to hug or kiss us on his own, made me unbelievably happy and I had to fight back my tears so I wouldn’t embarrass him.

Carter and Ryan showed up next, looking tired, but happy. They’d been in Europe with the band, but had flown home with Rylie and Lachlan on Lachlan’s company jet in order to spend Thanksgiving with us. The tour would be ending soon and I couldn’t wait to have my baby back home for longer than a few days.

“Hi, boys! I’ve missed you both so much,” I cried as I hugged them both.

“It’s good to be home. I missed you too, Mom,” Carter said.

They squeezed me back and then I let them go so everyone else could have a turn. My eyes were watery as I watched Carter and Caleb hug. We were a very tight-knit family, but there was a special bond between the twins that the rest of us didn’t share and I knew it had been particularly hard for them to be apart from each other.

My nephew, Morgan, and his husband, Akio, were the next to arrive, followed closely by the newlyweds, Hudson, Matt, and Isaac. They thanked us for inviting them, but I brushed it off, reminding them that they were family now too.