Gone Country (Rough Riders #14)(83)

Since Carter and Macie lived out of town, they combined forces with Carolyn and Carson at their place for a cookie decorating party. Kade and Skylar opted to hold their shindig at the Sky Blue plant, along with Kane and Ginger, and Colt and India. While the adults gorged on appetizers, Keely spearheaded a Christmas ornament craft session for the kids. She’d enlisted Sierra’s help, and Gavin was delighted to see his daughter having fun with glitter, glue and pinecones and the ten billion McKay offspring.


Brandt and Jessie, Tell and Georgia and Dalton hosted a Rocky Mountain oyster feed at the fire pit in Brandt and Jessie’s backyard. At Colby and Channing’s place, Colby hitched up the team of Morgans to a hay wagon. Carson, Cal and Charlie loaded up the kids for a redneck sleigh ride across snow covered pastures. Gavin wondered if Sierra would think it was lame and refuse to go, since she was the oldest kid by several years, but she’d surprised him once again. In fact, Charlie had told him that Sierra was the one who’d started the Christmas carol sing-along and handed out hot chocolate.


Vi and Charlie assisted Quinn and Libby with their annual fruitcake throwing contest. Which was such a weird tradition Gavin had to ask Ben about it. Evidently the first year Quinn and Libby had Adam, Libby had tried out a new fruitcake recipe that was so bad Quinn wouldn’t eat it. They had a big fight and in a rare fit of anger, Libby had thrown the fruitcake at her husband. He’d taunted her, saying she had terrible aim, so she challenged him to see how far he could throw the dense fruitcake. The story spread through the McKay family and the following year everyone brought fruitcake and joined in the contest.


Ben and Ainsley had an adults only cocktail party. No one was surprised that Keely volunteered her babysitting services for all the McKay offspring that night. But everyone was shocked when Jack announced her pregnancy.


As much fun as Gavin had at the festivities the past few weeks, getting to know his family a little better, something was missing.


Rielle.


He’d invited her to the first McKay family event since everyone in the gossipy McKay family knew they were in a relationship. But Rielle had demurred. Her reasons were sound; she’d be an intrusion in Gavin and Sierra’s family time. It made sense, but he still missed her.


Sometimes he felt theirs was a relationship borne out of their odd living arrangement. Rielle kept that dividing line in place, doing her own thing. She’d decorated her part of the house by herself. He and Sierra put up an enormous Christmas tree and added decorations from years past, plus new ones they’d found at the community bazaar.


But other times, when he and Rielle were alone, there was no her space or his space, just their space.


“Dad, come taste this,” Sierra yelled from the kitchen.


Vi had come over to make candy with Sierra. His relationship with Vi had returned to how it’d been before their fight. But now Vi cleared every purchase and activity with him before she mentioned it to Sierra, which wasn’t a snarky way to poke at him, but it gave Vi an excuse to call him up and chat whenever she wanted. Strange that he didn’t mind.


Upon entering the kitchen, he saw globs of brown on wax paper, a pan of peanut brittle and chocolate balls topped with fancy red and green icing. “What am I trying?”


“Gram’s caramels. They’re the best thing ever.” Sierra held a square up to his lips. “Try it.”


He opened his mouth. Buttery vanilla goodness melted on his tongue. “Okay. Wow. Those are incredible.” He shook his finger at Vi. “And you’re taking them all home because I will sit down in front of the game and eat the entire batch.”


“I’ll save some for Christmas dinner.” She wiped a section of the counter. “You’re still planning on coming over?”


“Of course. I wish you’d let us bring something.”


Vi looked him in the eye. “Having you both there with us and the rest of our family is more than enough.”



Our family. She didn’t push, but she clearly stated, at every opportunity, that they were family.


“You haven’t said what you and Sierra are doing on Christmas Eve.”


“We haven’t decided. Although I’ll bet Little Miss will try and convince me to open presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning.”


Vi frowned. “You don’t have a tradition?”


“No. Sierra’s been with her mom the last five Christmases. She spends part of Christmas Eve with me. Then I drop her off at Ellen’s that night.”


“Dad, we’re doing the same thing we always do. Drinking eggnog, cooking a batch of chili and watching Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Sierra grinned. “Then maybe we’ll open up a present or ten.”


“Don’t you have plans with Rielle and Rory?” Vi asked.


Gavin shook his head.


She paused. “I’m sorry. I find that strange.”


Me too.


“Speaking of Rielle…let’s get this mess cleaned up so she won’t have a fit that we destroyed her kitchen,” Vi said.


That rubbed Gavin the wrong way. “Maybe it seems like Rielle’s kitchen, but I do own this house. So technically it’s my kitchen.”