Christmas Showdown by MacKenzie McKade Page A

the
wheel to right himself. Then his little feet moved, pushing the car
across the railroad tracks.
    “He loves the car. Lori has one at her
house,” Kelly said.
    Trey set the train back on its tracks and
switched it on. The engine made a chugging sound as it raced around
the course, the horn tooting occasionally. The noise must have
caught TJ’s attention, because he squealed, crawled out of the car
and ran straight for the train. Trey caught him before he barreled
into it, and then placed him in the middle so the train could go
around him. His laughter was infectious. Both Kelly and Trey joined
in.
    The boy’s attention span was short-lived,
because in less than a couple of minutes, he was up heading for the
rocking horse. After several bounces, he moved off it. Like a
tornado, he went from one toy to the next, until Kelly sat him down
and gave him one of the packages she had brought from her
condominium. The child made short order of the paper, unwrapping a
fluffy teddy bear. One after another gift was given to him and he
relished tearing the paper and looking inside. As Trey waited to
see what present he liked the best, his son dove into the mound of
paper, twisting and turning and having a helluva time making
noise.
    “You mean I could have just bought paper and
the kid would have been happy?” Trey chuckled.
    “Pretty much.” As she started to clean up,
she paused when she saw the black leather jacket lying half in and
half out of a box. She picked it up. “I’m sorry. It looks like he’s
torn open one of your sisters’ gifts.”
    “No problem. It’s a gift from TJ to his
mother.”
    Surprise registered across her face.
“What?”
    “Our son whispered in my ear yesterday that
he hadn’t picked anything up for you.”
    She pursed her lips. “He did, did he?”
    “Yes. And I think he picked you up a couple
more things.” Trey slid his gaze to the other gifts beneath the
tree.
    A blush spread up her neck, coloring her
cheeks. “Trey, you shouldn’t have done this. I don’t have anything
for you.”
    Trey drew her into his arms. “You gave me my
gift last night. I thought perhaps if you like the gifts, maybe
tonight we could repeat last night.”
    Kelly pulled him to her lips and gave him one
of her mind-blowing kisses. His toes curled against the floor as he
held her tighter.
    A sudden pop and the sound of glass
shattering jerked them apart.
    Their rowdy son had another bulb in his hand
getting ready to chuck it across the room. Judging by where TJ
stood and the distance between him and the broken bulb, his son had
quite an arm on him.
    In seconds, Kelly was by TJ’s side, wrenching
the ornament from his clutches. Like before, she firmly shook his
hand, reprimanding him. He blinked at her, moisture filling his
eyes. But when she released him, his tears dried and he was off
like a bat out of hell, flinging himself back into the pile of
wrapping paper.
    Trey shook his head. “The kid’s all boy.”
    “You’re telling me.”
    “I’ll clean up the mess while you keep an eye
on the wild man.” As he headed into the kitchen, he continued to
speak. “I think the sooner we get him to Mom’s and Dad’s the safer
for all of us. They have a lot of open space and their house is
childproof, something we need to do.”
    When he returned to the living room, TJ sat
quietly in Kelly’s lap looking at a Christmas book. It was amazing
how a child could go from a hundred miles an hour to zero in a
flash. While TJ remained intrigued by what she read, Trey picked up
the other gifts he had purchased her and set them on the couch
beside her. She set TJ on the other side of her, reached for a box
and tore the paper. As she slipped the lid off she began to laugh
at the lingerie inside.
    Confused, Trey did his best not to reveal his
disappointment. “You don’t like it?” The black silky robe that
matched the sheer gown inside was friggin’ sexy. She would look
drop-dead gorgeous in it.
    “No. I mean, yes.