Page 6 of Daddies’ Holiday Toy (Kissmass Daddies #1)

LIAM

The sound of Reece’s laughter fills the truck cab loud enough to cut through the rattling heater and the steady swipe of the wipers against the windshield.

Jack’s in the passenger seat, retelling some half-disastrous story about Carson’s last boys’ trip that I had to bail on last minute that apparently involved too much whiskey, a broken canoe, and someone —likely Reece—ending up pants-less in a snowbank.

“You’re an idiot,” I say without looking over, but there’s no heat to it.

There never is.

My hands are loose on the wheel, though my shoulders aren’t nearly as relaxed as I want them to be.

The road’s starting to narrow the farther we climb up the mountain, the tires crunching over packed snow as the truck winds around another sharp corner before it flattens out again.

In town, it had been all clear skies, but apparently whatever storm was supposed to sweep over us is hitting up here first.

It wasn’t supposed to snow at all today according to the forecast.

But the second we started up the winding road, the soft, quarter-sized flakes decided to descend from the sky.

Figures.

It wouldn’t be a boys’ trip without a little bit of weather drama.

“You sure we’re not gonna get stuck in this crap?” I ask, my eyes flicking to the rearview where Reece’s grin is still plastered across his face.

His breath fogs up the glass behind him as he leans forward on the bench, his tall body practically getting crushed between the front seats.

“Relax,” Jack says, giving me a sidelong glance from the passenger seat. “You’re not getting cold feet, are you? Thought you were ready to unplug and unwind for the weekend.”

I am, I nearly bite back.

Instead, I grunt, shifting my hands slightly on the wheel to get a better hold of it.

My knuckles are stiff from both the cold and keeping the wheels on the road.

“Having a nice, relaxing weekend with friends is one thing…sliding off the side of a mountain is another. I’m not really interested in playing Andes Flight Disaster simulator, thanks.”

I can practically feel Jack’s smirk as he’s already halfway through composing whatever sarcastic comeback is about to come spilling out of his mouth for that little gem.

But before he can, his phone chimes from where it is on the dashboard.

He glances at the caller ID after grabbing it, brows lifting. “It’s Carson.”

“Put him on speaker,” I say.

Jack swipes to answer and taps the screen.

“Hey, man. We’re about halfway up. You already there?”

Carson’s voice crackles through the speaker, signal coming in and out for a second before settling.

“Yeah, about that…I’m gonna be late.”

“Late?” Reece pipes up from the back. “How late? Don’t say you’re already planning on ditching us.”

“Something in town came up. I’ve got some business to settle before I get up there. But it shouldn’t take me too long. I’ll be there before you know it, so no getting drunk without me.”

I bite back a curse, tightening my grip on the wheel.

Honestly, I don’t know why I’m even surprised.

Carson’s a flake on good days and a total ghost on bad ones. Ditching us on the boys’ trip he put together is right in his wheelhouse.

“Don’t tell me we’re hauling up a mountain in a snowstorm and you’re blowing us off for a booty call.”

“It’s not like that,” Carson says quickly, but I can hear the defensive edge in his tone. Again, classic Carson. “I told you I’ll be up there. Don’t give me shit.”

Jack leans an elbow on the door, shaking his head while muttering something I don’t catch under his breath.

“Sounds exactly like that. What’s her name this time? Or are we doing the whole ‘mysterious man of business’ routine again?”

“Jack,” I mutter in warning. There’s no sense in riling Carson up, despite him deserving us ribbing him.

The blow out is never worth it in the long run.

Carson lets out a sigh like he’s trying to sound bored instead of downright caught.

“It’s not a girl. It’s something else. Look, I’ll explain when I get up there. Just keep the beers cold.”

“Beer will be gone by the time you drag your ass up here,” Reece shoots back.

“You guys are so dramatic.”

“Whatever,” I say flatly. “We’ll see you when you get up here. But hurry because the snow is already starting to fall and stick to the ground. You’ll get stuck coming up if you wait too long.”

“Yeah. I got it. I’ll see you guys soon.” With that, he hangs up.

I sigh as Jack tosses the phone down onto the bench between us. “Wanna bet he doesn’t show up until tomorrow?”

Reece snorts, settling back in his seat. “Probably. Either that or he got in trouble with whatever poor girl he’s stringing along now.”

Probably.

Not that I want to jinx it, but even if he does manage to “fix” whatever he’s got going on in the next hour, I have a sneaking suspicion he’s going to call us to bitch about trying to get up the mountain while the storm is really starting to pick up.

In hindsight, we should’ve picked him up on our way out of town, leaving him with no excuses to fuck around doing whatever it is he’s so busy “dealing with.”

Jack had the suggestion earlier, but Reece and I figured it would be more hassle to try and cram us all into my truck than to take two separate rides.

Even with just the three of us, Reece is struggling not to lose circulation in his legs back there.

The rest of the drive is quiet, save for the low murmur of the radio and the occasional tapping of fingers against the glass from Jack.

Outside, the snow’s falling harder, swirling in thick white sheets that practically pelt across the windshield.

The tires crunch and slide slightly as I guide us carefully up the last steep incline.

When we finally turn onto the narrow drive leading to the cabin, the visibility’s down to maybe ten feet.

It has me leaning forward, squinting through the whiteout just to make sure I don’t ram the front end into the staircase.

“Wait,” Jack says suddenly, his voice sharp. “Who’s car is that?”

Sure enough, there’s a small hatchback parked at an awkward angle near the cabin, already half-buried in snow.

I don’t recognize it, but then again it’s too covered in snow to tell what the license plate says.

“Carson didn’t say anyone else besides us was coming up,” Reece mutters.

“Could be one of the neighbors? Come to turn the water on for us,” Jack suggests, though he doesn’t sound convinced.

I pull up beside it, killing the engine.

“Guess we’ll find out. Cross your fingers we’re not about to get murdered and robbed for all our worldly possessions.”

We grab our bags and step into the biting wind.

The cabin looms ahead and up a steep row of steps, dark against the swirling white.

When I push open the door once we get up to it, a wave of warmth greets us along with the faint smell of wood polish and something sweet lingering in the air.

The place is immaculate. Not just clean but damn near spotless.

Like it’s been prepped for a magazine photoshoot.

“Damn,” I whistle.

“What the hell?” Reece mutters under his breath.

That’s when I see her.

Curled up on the couch under a throw blanket is a woman sleeping soundly, her head resting on a cushion, chest rising and falling in slow, even breaths.

There’s a half-empty mug of tea on the coffee table closest to her and a pair of boots drying by the door.

Jack moves first, crossing the living room and crouching down beside her.

He places a careful hand on her shoulder, using it to shake her awake. “Hey. You okay?”

She startles with a gasp, her eyes going wide as she scrambles upright.

Her hair’s slightly mussed from the weird angle she’d been sleeping in, cheeks flushed from her dreams.

Her voice wavers between confusion and panic. “Who…who are you?”

Reece steps in quickly, hands raised like he’s trying to calm a spooked animal.

“Whoa, easy. We’re friends of Carson’s. He invited us up here for the weekend. We didn’t know anyone else was supposed to be here.”

“Oh god,” she murmurs, already tugging the blanket off and gathering her mug like she’s ready to bolt. “Sorry. I’ll get out of your way. I didn’t mean to stay so long. I just came up to clean.”

She’s halfway to the kitchen before I step in front of her.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Her head snaps up, eyes flashing with fear. “Excuse me?”

Oh, shit. That came out completely wrong.

“Have you looked outside?” I jerk my chin toward the window. “There’s no way you can drive in that storm. You wouldn’t make it a mile before crashing. Not that we’d let you leave in the first place.”

Jack folds his arms over his chest, nodding in agreement.

His expression leaves no room for arguments with how set his frown is. “We barely made it up here. You’ll have to stay until it’s safe to drive again.”

She hesitates, her gaze flicking between the three of us like she’s weighing her options on whether or not it’ll be worth fighting us on.

I can see the conflict in her eyes, the pride warring against practicality with maybe a dash of stubbornness thrown in.

Finally, with a sharp exhale, she scrubs a hand over her face.

“Fine. I can stay out of your way while you guys get settled in. I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to stay so long.”

Reece chuckles. “Hey, don’t make yourself scarce on our account. You have a name?”

That earns a small huff from her. “Yes. I’m Holly. Like I said, I came to clean this place for you guys. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Holly. I’m Liam. This is Jack and Reece. We’re friends with Carson,” I reply.

She glances at me, a slight blush coloring her already flushed cheeks. “Oh. Yeah, I know.”

I get a good look at her, then.

She’s younger than I expected, maybe early twenties or mid, with tired eyes that hold a depth I can’t quite place.

There’s something about the way she keeps her shoulders squared, like she’s bracing for impact, that I can sympathize with.