Christmas Showdown by MacKenzie McKade Page B

It’s beautiful.” When he
still didn’t get her point, she lifted the diaphanous gown. “Uhm. I
was a little worried about you when you selected the outfit. I
mean… It isn’t quite what a man would buy his mother or
sister.”
    He chuckled then, realizing how it must have
looked to her at the mall. “No. I had another woman in mind who I
wanted to see in that gown.”
    “I can see that.” She reached for the next
gift, a much smaller box, and tore it open. “Oh, Trey, it’s
breathtaking.” Kelly held up the gold chain he had purchased when
she was busy with TJ. It had a gold pendant hanging from it with
the word “mom”, a diamond in the middle of the O.
    “Let me put it on you.” He moved closer and
she turned so he could fasten the necklace around her neck.
    She placed her palm lovingly over the
pendant. “Thank you.”
    He leaned in and kissed her. “It looks
wonderful on you.”
    The next present was heavy and he hoped she
would like it. When she opened the lid and looked at the boots
inside, she grinned. “I can wear these riding today.”
    “That’s what I thought. I hope they fit.”
    “They look like they should.”
    As she opened the box with the emerald angora
sweater, TJ chirped, “Eat.” He rose to his feet, standing on the
couch, and gave a bounce.
    “I know we’re supposed to be at your parents
for brunch, but I really should feed him. I saw oatmeal in the
kitchen, do you mind?”
    “Kelly, you don’t have to ask for anything in
this house. I want you to feel like this is your home. Why don’t
you feed the li’l buckaroo and I’ll clean up in here. Then we can
get dressed and get on the road.”
    “Do you think the sweater you got me will be
okay to wear with black jeans?”
    “I think you’ll be the prettiest woman
there.”
    “You say the most charming things.” She got
to her feet and heaved TJ into her arms before heading toward the
kitchen.
    As he started to pick up the paper and boxes,
he marveled at how his life had changed in a matter of days. He had
a son, an amazing woman, and a life ahead of him any man would
envy.
     
    ***
     
    Kelly wrung her hands for the umpteenth time,
looking out the window as they drove down the street. She had been
so busy with TJ this morning she had barely thought about meeting
Trey’s family, but the time was upon them as they pulled off the
road on to a long driveway leading to a huge two-story ranch house.
The front looked like a sales lot for high-profile four-wheel-drive
pickups. The small red sports car appeared out of place amongst
them.
    The nearer to the house they got, the more
her stomach knotted and the faster her heart beat. As they stopped
alongside a black crew cab, Kelly felt like she had become one big
ball of tension.
    So what if they didn’t like her. It was what
it was. They would have to deal with it or— Or what? If Trey had to
choose between his family and TJ, which would he choose? Lord. She
had to stop thinking this way.
    A boy around eight came running to the truck.
His wide eyes were those crystal blue that both Trey and TJ had,
but instead of black hair his was a dark brunette. As Trey opened
his truck door, the boy started to ramble.
    “Uncle T, guess what I got? You gotta see
it.” He jumped up and down, waving his hand for Trey to follow.
“C’mon. Hurry.”
    “Easy, Jay. Let us get out before you start
talking my ear off.”
    As Kelly stepped out of the vehicle, Trey
opened the back door and got TJ out of his seat, holding their son
on his hip.
    Jay’s eyes grew as big as saucers. “Holy
crap, Uncle T. He looks like a mini Sam, and the last thing we need
around here is another one of those monsters.”
    “Boy, an apology better be on the tail end of
that comment.” The man who approached looked like an older version
of Trey, but instead of Trey’s lean physique, the man was a little
thick around the middle and graying slightly at the temples. A
small-framed woman, no more than five-foot-two,