Page 34 of More Than Words (Trickle Creek: The Lyons #2)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ethan

“ I t’s officially Christmas!” Quinn grabbed the end of the gaudiest red and silver garland I’d ever seen and started to run through the brewery with it.

I shook my head and tried to hide my smile. My daughter had been counting down the days until I’d finally let her decorate for the holidays. Despite a tag team effort with her and Delaney, I’d held firm to my December first date.

“It’s not Christmas,” I called after her. “It’s December.”

“Same same,” Delaney said with a wink as she walked past me, carrying a giant wreath.

“Where is that going?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Delaney said. “We’ve got this.”

“Yeah, Dad,” Quinn echoed her. “We’ve got this.”

“Yeah, Ethan,” Preston said with a laugh. “They’ve got this.” I shot him a look, but he only laughed harder. “What do you have on tap that’s festive?”

I knew when I’d been beaten. I moved behind the bar, which was where it was safest for me, and pulled Preston a pint. “It’s not festive, but it’s our best seller these days.”

“Chapter One.” Preston grinned into his glass before taking a big gulp. “It is a winner.”

He spun on his stool to watch the chaos taking place in the brewery.

It looked like all things Christmas had exploded onto every table.

At least all things tinsel and over-the-top gaudy Christmas.

Where Delaney’s store had a distinct rustic holiday theme with pine boughs, pine cones, and tasteful bows, everything she’d brought over to Peaks & Brews was silver and red and… shiny.

“Good for you, letting her run with things, man.” Preston shook his head.

“Hey. It makes them happy.” I joined him and pulled up a stool. “And if my girls are happy, I’m happy.”

Preston turned to me with a raised brow. “Your girls ? It’s like that, is it?”

I nodded once. Without a doubt, it was.

“Pretty serious then?”

“Like a heart attack,” I said, and then quickly added, “Only way better.”

My younger brother laughed so hard, he almost choked on his beer. “I’m glad to hear it, Ethan,” he said when he’d recovered. “Delaney’s awesome.”

“She sure is.”

“Even if her taste in decorations for this place is questionable.”

I couldn’t disagree with that.

The bells over the door announced Grayson’s arrival, along with a gust of cold air and a giant pine tree. “Ho ho ho!”

At least I was pretty sure it was Grayson. The tree was massive.

“No, no, no!” I jumped up from my stool. “You need to get that out of here.”

“Dad!” Quinn was at my side, Delaney right behind her. Both of them stared at me. “It’s a Christmas tree,” Quinn said. “We need a Christmas tree.”

“ We do,” I told her. “The brewery does not.”

“Are you sure about that, Ethan?” Delaney was trying her best not to smile. “I mean, are you even properly decorated for Christmas without a tree?”

I opened my mouth to object, but she continued quickly.

“I thought maybe you could decorate it with those new cans you had made up for the beer. It’s like advertising and decorating all in one.”

“Yeah, Dad.” Quinn crossed her arms.

Grayson peered around the tree and looked at me, his eyes sparkling with laughter. “Yeah, Ethan.”

I was smart enough to know I wasn’t going to win that particular argument. I threw up my arms. “Fine. The tree can stay.”

Quinn clapped in delight while Delaney took over directing Grayson on where to put the largest Christmas tree I’d ever seen.

I rejoined Preston at the bar and tried to ignore his laughter.

A few minutes later, Avery and Reid joined us, each carrying cardboard boxes. I only shook my head at the number of decorations that continued to accumulate.

“This is…impressive,” Reid said once he’d joined us at the bar.

Grayson was right behind him, leaving the women to handle the decorating. I pulled them each a pint, and got Preston and me fresh ones.

“I was promised pasta and pizza for my efforts,” Reid said as he took the glass with a nod of thanks.

“Brody’s picking it up on his way over.”

Right on cue, the door opened once more, and Lauren and Brody walked through, laden down with take-out boxes from Willa’s Whisk across the plaza.

Delaney

My stomach growled at the mouthwatering aroma of garlic bread and roasted tomato sauce, the second Lauren and Brody walked in with arms full of takeaway containers.

I’d been so busy Christmasfying the brewery, I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.

“This looks amazing,” I said as I joined everyone else at the counter.

Ethan slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me in for a quick kiss.

“ You look amazing.” He tugged on the garland I had wrapped around my neck like a scarf. “I like you in tinsel.”

Preston groaned and Grayson laughed when I blushed. I did a quick scan for Quinn, lest she see us being gross. But she was still digging through a box, pulling out sparkly ornaments.

“This is amazing,” Reid said with a moan as he took a bite of pizza. “Did Willa change the recipe? I mean, it’s always been good, but this is…”

“Heavenly,” Preston finished for him with a mouthful of spaghetti.

Grayson raised an eyebrow at his word choice, but Preston shrugged and said, “Seriously. It’s damn good.”

“I’m not going to take your word for it.” Grayson filled a plate and tucked in, agreeing with his brother’s assessment almost at once. “Damn. You’re not wrong. This is next level.”

“Right?” Lauren said. “It must be Harper’s tweaks. That woman is not playing around. I ate there the other day, and I swear, all of a sudden, that diner is like a Michelin star—what?”

Everyone had grown still and was staring at Lauren.

“What?” she asked again, just as oblivious as I was as to what she’d said wrong. “You all must know Harper, right? She’s Willa’s?—”

“We know who she is.” Ethan cut her off gently and shot Grayson a quick look before turning his attention back to Lauren. “We went to school with her.”

I looked around the group. I sometimes forgot that Lauren didn’t grow up in Trickle Creek.

“Then why are you?—”

“Harper’s back?”

I whipped around to see Grayson, who looked as if he’d seen a ghost.

He set his hardly touched plate on the counter and pushed it away. “Did you know?” He directed the question to Brody.

The eldest Lyons brother shrugged in an effort to look casual. “I just found out when I picked up the food. She said to say hi.”

Grayson was quiet for a moment before turning to me. His face was impossible to read. “Do you have lights for that tree?”

I nodded. “I sure do. I’ll show you.”

After I dug out a few tangled strands of lights and gave them to Grayson, who’d become much quieter than I’d ever seen him, I returned to my uneaten dinner and the rest of the group.

“Does anyone want to tell me what that was all about?”

Ethan handed me a piece of garlic bread. “They were a thing in high school.”

“Not just a thing ,” Reid said with a shake of his head. “She was the great love of his life. At least, that’s how Gray sees it.”

“So…” I glanced behind me, where Reid’s twin was busy stringing the lights with Quinn’s help. “Obviously, it didn’t end well?”

“That’s the thing.” Preston shrugged. “It’s not like it ended dramatically or anything. I mean, Grayson’s not really the drama type.”

There were a few chuckles. Grayson was probably the steadiest and most drama-free of all the brothers.

I pulled up a stool and picked up my fork. The pasta really was good.

“Harper always dreamed of going to culinary school and working around the world,” Ethan explained as I ate. “Grayson wanted a small-town life.”

“So he broke up with her?” I quickly filled in the blanks.

Ethan nodded. “It broke his heart.”

“And he’s never really dated since,” Reid added. “Not seriously, anyway.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” Brody agreed with me. “Wow.”

“And now she’s back,” I said.

Preston shrugged. “No idea for how long.”

“Huh.” I couldn’t help but smile, the inner romantic in me automatically playing out a dozen scenarios for Grayson. “Sounds like it could get complicated.”

“It sure does,” Avery said. “I hope it’s?—”

“Are you all going to sit around and talk about me all day?” Grayson yelled from the other side of the brewery, interrupting the conversation. “Or can we get some help with this tree?”

Reid laughed and shook his head. “Relax,” he fired back. “We haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”

Grayson shook his head, but Reid jumped up to help him and just like that, the conversation was over.

With the whole group, decorating went even faster than I expected, and it wasn’t long before my theme of red and silver glitter with just a touch of beer was complete.

“I have to admit,” Ethan wrapped an arm around my waist, “I had my doubts about this, but…”

“It’s pretty great.”

“You’re pretty great.” He spun me so I was in his arms, my lips only inches from his. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“I’m really glad to be here,” I murmured before pressing my lips to his.

“Ewww.” Quinn appeared out of nowhere, just the way she always seemed to whenever we tried to sneak a kiss. “You guys are so gross.”

I pulled back just in time to see her roll her eyes, but her bright smile betrayed how she really felt.

“It just so happens I like being gross with Delaney.” Ethan kissed me again, and I laughed when Quinn groaned loudly.

“I like being gross with you, too,” I said with a wink when we pulled apart.

“Fine.” Quinn stretched out the word. “I guess I’d rather the two of you be gross instead of stupid.”

“Stupid?”

“Yeah,” Quinn responded to her dad with a shake of her head. “You know, like when you guys weren’t talking because of something dumb? And you were walking around pretending you didn’t love each other, but really you were just making the rest of us crazy? That kind of stupid.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. For a twelve-year-old, she really was wiser than her years.

“You’re right, Quinn.” With one arm still around Ethan, I opened my other one for her. She slipped easily into our arms and all together, we squeezed tight. “Gross is way better than stupid.”

I closed my eyes and soaked in the moment before Quinn wiggled her way out of our embrace and ran off to check on the symmetry of the tree.

I leaned into Ethan’s side. He placed an easy kiss on the top of my head but didn’t say anything.

Neither did I.

But for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t wondering what came next.

I was already in it.