O Come, All Ye Kellys (Love & Luck #7) - Isla Olsen Page 0,3

hear that, Dec? You can finally wear the leather chaps I bought you!”

“What do you mean ‘finally’? I’ve worn them before.”

“Yeah, but not in public,” Heath says.

My brows shoot up. “And you think an elementary school Holiday concert is the right place for a public debut?”

“This is a little more than I needed to know,” Brendan mutters.

“What’s ‘chaps’?” Baxter asks, his blue eyes wide with curiosity.

Heath chuckles. “They’re pants that cowboys wear.”

“But Uncle Dec’s not a cowboy…”

Heath nods thoughtfully. “You’re right. Usually I’m the one riding cowboy.”

“OKAY! That’s quite enough of that!” Brendan cries, holding his arms up as If that will somehow shield Baxter from Heath’s not-exactly-PG statements.

Deciding it might be better to just extract us from the situation before Baxter’s curiosity gets my husband in further trouble, I grab Heath’s hand and start tugging him away. “Hey, babe, why don’t we get some more eggnog?”

“Oh, sure, lower his inhibitions further—that’ll help!” Brendan calls after us.

* * *

Moving the party to my parents’ place is a bit of a logistical nightmare. I know Mom meant well by having us all come here to surprise Brendan and Wade when they came home, but honestly it would have just made more sense to stick to the original plan and have them stop by Mom and Da’s for a bit so everyone could meet the baby. By the time we’re all ready to make a move—or in other words, by the time Brendan and Wade are getting sick of us and dropping hints they want to at least try to get some sleep—most of us are already pretty full up on eggnog, Da’s wine, or whatever other alcohol was at hand when the evening started.

Fortunately, my parents’ place is in the same neighborhood as Brendan and Wade’s so we can easily walk there. Definitely a good thing, considering none of us are in any condition to be driving.

It’s not until Heath and I are most of the way down the drive that I realize I have a little shadow following me. Frowning down at Baxter, I ask, “Shouldn’t you be inside? Your dads will worry if they can’t find you.”

He shakes his head, grinning broadly. “I’m staying at Grandma and Pops’ tonight because Daddy and BeeBee need space.”

I chuckle at the way he annunciates the last word; it’s clear this is something he’s overheard a grown up—probably my mom—say. “Okay, well, come on—you can walk with Heath and me.” I quickly crouch down so I can zip up his coat and adjust his hat before standing and taking his small hand in mine.

We continue down the drive and are at the sidewalk when I feel Baxter tug at my hand. “Wait! I needa say ‘bye to Wyatt!”

I turn as Baxter tears free of my grip and trots back up the drive to where Liam has just emerged from the house, carrying his five-year-old son in his arms.

“Wyatt!” Baxter calls, waving his arms and bouncing on his tip toes.

Wyatt, who looked as though he’d been dozing against Liam’s shoulder, seems to perk up at the sound of Baxter’s voice and starts to wriggle out of Liam’s hold. Once he’s on the ground, he steps toward Baxter and the two little boys hug.

“Oh my god, that’s so freakin’ adorable,” Heath says, and I turn to see him holding a hand to his chest as he watches Baxter and Wyatt with a fond smile.

“Bye, Wyatt.”

“Bye, Baxter.”

They break apart and Baxter trots back toward Heath and me while Wyatt takes Liam’s hand.

“You’re not coming to Mom and Da’s?” I ask him, a little surprised considering how much he and his wife, Melinda, love a good karaoke night, which is apparently the plan for when we get back to my parents’ and can turn up the volume.

Liam shakes his head. “We’ve got to get this one to bed.”

“Just bring him,” Heath suggests. “He can fall asleep at Aileen and Michael’s and you can carry him home later.”

Liam lets out a bark of laughter. “Spoken like someone without any kids. Trust me, man, once yours gets here, you’ll start to see it’s not that easy. Besides, Logan and Eden went home a little while ago—we should probably go check they haven’t burned the place down.”

I chuckle. Liam’s two older kids are in middle school and are usually given a lot of freedom, but I can see how leaving them home on their own all night might be a bit of a stretch.

Once we get back to Mom and