Free Cowboy Christmas (A Henley Christmas Novella) (Down Under Cowboy series) by Kasey Millstead Page B

groan and pull her earlobe between my teeth.  She whimpers and I feel her shiver.
    Fuck yeah!   I love the effect I have on her.  I know my daughter just woke up, but all I really want to do is put her back to bed, tell my brother to piss off to his own place and go inside and take my woman.  Hard and fast.  Then soft and slow.
    “Come on, you two.  Let’s get the Barbeque started, I’m hungry.”  Ava breaks our moment.  She links arms with Edie and pulls her inside to get the salads ready.
    “You hear my woman, she’s hungry.  Fire up that piece of shit you call a Barbie and let’s get this show on the road.”
    “Jealous,” I mutter.
    We’r e only taking a jab at one another – except he really is jealous.  Last Christmas, when we had our joint wedding with Jeremy and Ava, Edie bought me the fanciest barbeque known to mankind.  It was so fancy, it took me a week to learn how to use all the functions!  But, now I know how to operate it, you can’t get me off it. I cook us dinner most nights.  It can roast, grill, smoke, char – it’s even got a rotisserie for Christ sake.  It was the best present ever, and what makes it even better, is knowing Jeremy’s jealous as hell over it ‘cause he doesn’t have one.  Saying that though, I bet this year, Ava buys him one for Christmas.
    I take the meat from the fridge and fire up the hot plates.  In the kitchen, I can hear Edie laughing with Ava. 
    “Nearly done?”  Jeremy asks, handing me another beer.
    “Shouldn’t be too much longer.  Where are the kids?”
    “Oscar put a Thomas DVD on, so he and Olive are watching that.”
    I nod.  Oscar loves his Thomas the Tank Engine.
    “You talk to Mike?”  Jeremy asks before taking a long pull of his beer.
    I shake my head.  “Nah, why?”
    “Reckons he wants to have a meeting with us after Christmas.  Ava thought it might be him wanting to discuss joining the stations.  She said he’s been hinting at him and Elizabeth travelling around Oz more and more lately.”
    “Hmm,” I scratch the stubble on my jaw.  “S’pose we’ll just have to have a yarn with him and see where he’s at.  I mean, it’s a great opportunity for us, but it also involves a lot of extra work.  We’d need to employ more blokes for one.   It would make Ava happy though – she knows her parents have dreamt of this for years.”
    “Tell me about it,” he mutters.
    “Righto, well, let’s eat so you guys can go home.  I got a hot wife in there who’s pregnant and permanently horny.”
    “ Yeah, well I got a hot wife in there who’s ovulating and horny,” Jeremy laughs.
    “Too much info, man.”  I punch him in the shoulder nudge him with my shoulder and take the meat off the Barbie and put it onto some trays.
    Walking up to Edie with the meat, I lean down and whisper in her ear, “You ready for my meat, darlin’.”
    She giggles, before swatting me away. 
    “Come on kids, tea’s ready.”  No sooner have the words left my mouth, than Olive and Oscar come tearing into the kitchen.
    We sit down at the table and enjoy a feast of steaks, sausages, potato salad, coleslaw, devilled eggs and tossed salad.
    Later, after dinner, we take the kids outside.  I carry my little girl, who’s rubbing her eyes in tiredness.  Sitting her down on the grass, I walk over to the power board.  “Ready?” I call.
    “Yep.  Turn them on, Daddy,” Edie shouts back.
    I flick the switch and the kids start screaming.  Oscar is running around, shouting “Yippee,” so Olive does the same.  Edie bursts into laughter and Ava follows suit.  I stand there, looking at our handiwork.  It looks good.  Now I understand why my wife wanted lights up.  Olive is fascinated.
    “Ho ho ho, Daddy,” she giggles.
    “Ho ho ho, baby,” I coo to her.
    “Good job, babe.  They look amazing.”  Edie goes up on the balls of her feet and kisses my cheek.
    “Thanks, darlin’.”
    ~*~
    After what seems like eternity, Ava, Jeremy