Unwrapped (The Unspoken Series) Read online

  UNWRAPPED

  Copyright © 2016 M.C. Decker

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or publishers.

  Cover Design:

  Kari Ayasha, Cover to Cover Designs www.covertocoverdesigns.com

  Cover photos:

  Lauren Perry, Perrywinkle Photography www.perrywinklephotography.com

  Interior Design and Formatting: Christine Borgford, Perfectly Publishable www.perfectlypublishable.com

  Table of Contents

  Unwrapped

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  About the Author

  BROOKE

  Just as I was about to pull the turkey from the oven, I heard a commotion coming from outside the front door. Locking the baby gate, to stop my now wiggling twins from mysteriously crawling away, I went to investigate. Shaking my head, I started laughing uncontrollably at the sight before me. Sprawled flat on her back was Cassidy, almost as if she were making snow angels like we did as kids. A pile of presents was strewn around her and Kaitlyn just stared down at her mother in apparent disbelief.

  “Mommy, I told you not to carry so much stuff,” Kaitlyn said, chastising her mother, which only intensified my fit of laughter.

  I slipped on my soled, plaid UGG slippers and ran out to help Cass.

  She sat up, flinging the powdery snow from her hair, and flipped me the bird.

  “Seriously, Bitch, you couldn’t even check to make sure I hadn’t broken my neck before you started laughing?” Cass chuckled. “Why hasn’t Ricardo shoveled your damn sidewalk yet? I’m going to kick his ass if I got dirt on these white pants.”

  “Rich isn’t home yet. I just got off the phone with him. His meeting ran longer than expected in D.C. He had a hell of a time catching a cab and by the time he finally made it to the airport he’d missed his flight,” I sighed in discouragement. “Now there’s a winter storm headed toward the middle Atlantic and he’s probably not going to make it here tonight—tomorrow may be out of the question, too,” I added, a bit tearfully.

  “I’m sorry, Brookie. I was only teasing. He’ll make it home, you’ll see. He wouldn’t dare miss the twins’ first Christmas. He loves you, Brendan and those girls so much. He’ll do anything in his power to make it home for Christmas. I can picture him ‘Plains, Trains and Automobiles’ styling it home. Stop crying before that shit freezes on your cheeks,” she said, encouragingly.

  “Now wipe my ass off and promise me there isn’t mud on my bum,” she pleaded, hopping to her feet and sticking her now wet and transparent booty in my face.

  “Nope, no dirt,” I revealed, trying to conceal my laughter.

  “Oh, thank goodness. I paid a small fortune for these pants. Now help me with these presents and let’s get in the house. I’m freezing,” she said, with a mock shiver.

  Unable to restrain my laughter any longer, “I may have forgotten to mention that I can see ‘Santa’s Naughtiest Ho, Ho, Ho’ stamped across your ass though. What on earth possessed you to wear white pants, anyways? You do know that it’s after Labor Day, right?”

  “Oh fuck me sideways,” Cassidy said with a sigh. “I totally forgot I put those on this morning. Serves me right for trying to be festive. I should’ve just stuck with my Vixen socks. I knew it was too much,” she said. “And, these pants are WINTER white so it’s a totally acceptable color to wear after Labor Day.”

  “You’re ridiculous,” I said, rolling my eyes in her direction. “Where did you find panties like that anyway?”

  “Um, online,” she said, scrunching her face as if I’d just asked the most absurd question. “You can buy anything online, Brookie. You really need to step into the twenty-first Century. Even my mother shops online.”

  “I shop online, asshole. I guess I just don’t go searching for novelty underwear. My shopping these days consists of burping clothes and toy trains.”

  “Oh dear lord, we’re finding you some novelty panties for New Year’s then.”

  “I can hardly wait,” I answered, sarcastically.

  “Yeah, you can’t,” she teased. “By the way, where did my daughter run off to?” she questioned.

  “Kaitlyn?” Cassidy shouted, as she began picking up the now sopping wet presents.

  “Over here, Mommy.”

  We turned in the direction of the little voice and I gasped at the sight before me. It was who had snuck out behind wearing only his socks, sweatpants and T-shirt.

  “Brendan Richard Davis! Where are your coat and shoes?” I yelled across the yard.

  “In my bedwoom,” Brendan shouted back, without a care in the world.

  “You get back in the house and change your clothes, young man. You’re all wet,” I scolded.

  Brendan came running in my direction with Kaitlyn following close behind.

  “Aunt Brookie, are you mad?” she asked.

  “Yes, Brendan knows better than to come outside without permission and especially without his winter clothes on. He could get hurt.”

  “Sowey, Mommy.”

  “You’re forgiven, now scoot and do what I asked, please.”

  The kids scurried back into the house and I quickly scooped up the last of Cassidy’s presents.

  “Shit! I completely forgot about the turkey in the oven. Not only will my husband be MIA on Christmas, my son will have pneumonia and now I’ve ruined the effing bird,” I said with defeat in my voice.

  “Bren’s a tough kid, Rich will be home and no worries about the meal because I brought an extra ham. You’ve been my best friend for more years than I care to admit and I know all about your culinary skills,” Cass said with a wink. “Now let’s get this Christmas Eve feast finished before everyone else arrives and you lose your mind.”

  We made our way into the house, dropping off the gifts by the door.

  “Whoa, your decorations are gorgeous, Brookie. How on earth did you find time to get all of this done with Rich gone?”

  “Pfft. I didn’t. I was stressing so bad trying to get everything done while trying to take care of the kids and writing a few freelance articles that I cheated and called in the same decorator as last year.”

  I took a minute to really take in the gorgeous décor. A strand of pine garland and white twinkle lights adorned the staircase banister and a large balsam wreath hung above the door. Even the chandelier, hanging from the cathedral ceiling, was decorated with golden ribbons and metallic balls. My house screamed “tis the season,” but not in an overdone, tacky sense. Everything was tastefully done and not over the top in any way.

  Even each fireplace mantel was decorated with a different holiday theme. My favorite, aside from the one with our family stockings, was the one with an advent calendar made with paper envelopes that hung in front of the logs. Each day Brendan was surprised with a tiny trinket, peppermint candy cane, or small train.

  The decorating was just as if I’d been able to do it myself. I allowed the decorators to put up the tree in our front room—the one I had envisioned the year before—decorated with purple and silver balls, bows and shimmery tinsel. But, I wanted to decorate the tree in our family room with my husband and children; this tree was speci
al.

  Before Rich left on his business trip, we’d bundled the trio up and spent an afternoon hiking through the local Christmas tree farm, pulling the kids behind on an enclosed sled. Rich assumed I wanted the gigantic Fraser fir when I really had my sights set on a tiny Scotch pine that Brendan had picked out the previous year.

  “There it is. There’s the tree I want to take home,” I said, pointing at the Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

  “Seriously? That looks just like the tree you grumbled about last year,” Rich responded, shaking his head at me.

  “I know, but that tree was special. It was Brendan’s first Christmas and although we didn’t know it, it was the girls’ first Christmas, too,” I said with a smile.

  “Well you make a valid argument, Mrs. Davis,” he said, placing a soft kiss on my lips.

  “Mmmmm . . . I could kiss you out here all day, but I’m afraid our lips would freeze together,” I teased.

  “I don’t have a problem with that,” Rich countered.

  “Although I love the idea of being fused to you, I think I would rather do it under our cozy down comforter. Could you please cut this thing down so we could head home? As I’ve heard Cass say a time or two, ‘it’s colder than a witch’s tit out here,’” I giggled.

  “I think you two need to be separated,” he said, rolling his eyes as he turned to grab the saw we’d been given at the front gate.

  The kids and I watched as Rich made quick work of cutting down the small tree. Once we got the tree home, Rich carried it in and set it up in the family room. Alyssa and Mikayla were both getting fussy and even the tireless Brendan had begun rubbing his eyes, so we decided to call it a night and decorate the tree the following day. Even before sunrise, Rich received a call from Paul, his publisher, about a mandatory meeting in D.C. on Monday morning.

  After Rich left, Brendan and I found a few lingering moments to decorate the tiny tree after the twins fell asleep each night. Making some popcorn, we would string it on the tree and eat popcorn balls. I even let my boy watch his Thomas the Train Christmas special for what seemed like the five-hundredth time.

  A lone tear escaped my eye as I thought about spending Christmas without Rich. I heard Cass come back into the kitchen, interrupting my thoughts.

  “What did I tell you about those tears? You need to wrap this shit up,” she insisted.

  “You’re right, you’re right. Let’s change the subject,” I consented.

  “There’s my girl,” she said, pulling me in for a hug.

  “So, I don’t see any extra packages for you-know-who. Will your NEW boyfriend be joining us?” I asked, making sure to put extra emphasis on “new.” Cass had been keeping her most recent beau a secret for quite a few months, just recently breaking the news to Rich and me. I couldn’t be any happier for both of them, but I was still a little disappointed that it had taken her so long to tell me.

  “Seriously? That’s your idea of changing the subject, hooker? Are you ever going to get over it? You know everything now. I thought you told me I was forgiven. And, I’m not sure if he can make it, or not. We weren’t sure if it was the best—you know for everyone. I’ll probably just spend a few hours over at his place tomorrow.”

  “I’m over it. I just like giving you a hard time,” I said with a smile. “I hope he decides to come, but I understand his reasoning if he decides to stay home tonight.”

  RICH

  I’d spent the last three days trying to learn the details of a large company acquisition that was scheduled to happen the first week of January. I’d met with the CEOs and CFOs of each company and finally had my article ready to go as soon as I was given the green light on the merger.

  It was Christmas Eve and my meeting earlier that morning had gone slightly longer than expected. I’d brought my bags with me and intended to catch a taxi to Dulles with time to spare before my eleven o’clock flight. Instead, every cab I tried to hail was filled with last minute Christmas shoppers. By the time I flagged down an empty car it was already after ten o’clock. Even with my boarding pass already in hand, it was unlikely I’d be able to make it through security and to the gate before eleven. I just prayed there was a second flight leaving in the early afternoon.

  I’d been monitoring the winter storm tracking eastward toward Virginia and Maryland and things were looking bleak. I knew that if I didn’t make it out before three o’clock, I wouldn’t make it out at all before the holiday.

  Sure enough, I arrived at the airport with only fifteen minutes to spare. The one time I wanted to see the flight information read: DELAYED; it instead read: BOARDING. I looked over toward the security checkpoint and laughed at the dozens of people waiting to go through the full-body scanners.

  “This is a lost cause,” I mumbled to myself, walking toward the checkin desk hoping to get a later flight. I would probably miss the Christmas Eve feast, but at least I’d be home in time to help Brooke wrap gifts and play Santa. I was determined to spend Christmas morning with my family. While standing in line, I heard a voice over the loudspeaker call for a final boarding of my flight.

  “Next in line, please,” the airline clerk yelled through the crowded terminal.

  “Hi Brittney,” I said, squinting to read the name on her I.D. badge. “I was supposed to be on the direct flight to Detroit, but it seems I’ve missed that flight. Will there be any other flights to Michigan today?”

  She typed a few things into the computer before responding, “I have a direct flight, but it doesn’t leave here until seven o’clock. I can’t guarantee that it won’t be grounded due to the winter storm, though. I can get you an earlier flight into Chicago, but then you’d have to find another flight out once you landed at O’Hare,” she said, still feverishly typing away at the keyboard.

  “What time does the flight leave for Chicago,” I asked.

  “Noon.”

  “OK, I’ll take that one. Thank you, Brittney.”

  “You’re welcome, Mr. Davis. Here’s your itinerary and boarding pass. You’ll be boarding shortly at gate twelve. I suggest you immediately step into the security line in order to board on time.”

  I made it through security much faster than anticipated and had a few minutes to call Brooke while I wanted for my call to board.

  I dialed her number and was surprised when Brendan answered the phone.

  “Hi Daddy,” Brendan said from the other end.

  “Hi Buddy. How are you?” I asked.

  “I’m good, Daddy. Mommy took me to see Santa Claus yesterday. I got to pet the reindeer. Did you know reindeer eat apples? Are you coming home soon, Daddy? Mommy bought us all matching Christmas sweaters. I miss you,” he said, not stopping to take a breath.

  Just as I was attempting to answer his questions, I heard Brooke come on the line. “Sorry about that, Babe. I was loading the dishwasher and didn’t even hear the phone ring. He must have seen your picture flash across the screen.”

  “He sure has a lot to say,” I laughed. “He said he got to feed reindeer apples. I take it you saw some deer that had fake antlers attached to their heads, right?”

  “No, they had reindeer with Santa at the Christmas in the City celebration yesterday. Cass and I took the kids.”

  “You know reindeer are like Santa’s elves, right? They aren’t real, Brooke.” I insisted.

  “Uhhh, Babe, I don’t like disagreeing with you, but I saw them with my own two eyes. Reindeer are very much the real deal. You’ve heard of caribou, right? Reindeer and caribou are one in the same, dear.”

  “OK, whatever you say, dear.”

  “Seriously, google that shit,” she encouraged. “And, stop mocking me.”

  “You started it! And, I believe you. I’m glad you all had a good time. I wish I could’ve been there,” I retorted.

  “Me too. And, why are you calling now. Aren’t you supposed to be in the air? Oh god, please tell me you’ll be home for dinner.”

  “My meeting ran longer than I thought and the city is
crazy busy right now. I missed my flight, but they have me booked on one to Chicago that is supposed to leave in a few minutes,” I told her.

  Just as I was explaining my new itinerary, I heard an announcement come through the loudspeaker.

  “May I have your attention please? Flight twenty-three to Chicago has been delayed due to poor weather conditions. We will keep all passengers advised when more information becomes available to us.”

  “Fuck!” I screamed into the phone.

  “What’s wrong,” Brooke asked.

  “My flight to Chicago has just been delayed. I’m so sorry, sweets, but I probably won’t make it home in time for dinner. I will do everything I can to make it home tonight though.”

  “What if you can’t even make it home for Christmas, Rich?”

  “I’ll be there, baby. I promise.”

  I sensed disappointment on the other end. Fuck, I needed to figure out something and quick. “Brooke, I’m going to let you go so I can see about getting another flight out of here before the storm hits. I’ll be home, baby. Kiss the kids for me. I love you.”

  “OK, be careful. I love you, too,” she said before ending the call.

  I sat with my head in my hands for a few moments before deciding on my next step. Noticing a block of car rental companies near the terminal entrance, I thought that surely one of them would have something available. I would just drive back to Michigan. It wasn’t the ideal situation as it would take me approximately eleven hours to get home, but at least I would arrive shortly after midnight and be able to help Brooke put the last of the gifts under the tree and be home when my kids woke up on Christmas morning.

  Standing up, I made my way back to the front of the airport and stopped at the first rental car counter without a line.

  “How may I help you today?” the clerk greeted, as I walked toward her.

  Skipping the small talk, I said, “I need a car. Any type will do. I don’t care about the price. I just need something today. I could even return it to any location in Michigan tomorrow.”