Free Beyond Christmas (Corrupt Chaos MC #1.5) by Bink Cummings

with Penny. She’s seated at the oversized card table across from me with her husband to her left and Bonez beside him. The men just completed a round of poker.
    “So, you and Mikey have two grown children?” I ask.
    Nodding, she takes a swig of her Bud Light . “Yes. We have a son and a daughter. Mary is twenty and Michael junior is twenty-five.”
    Out of my peripheral, I catch something off and turn to see Bonez nibbling on Mike’s ear. What the! Penny doesn’t seem to care when she continues, gesturing to my ring. “So when’s the big day?”
    Bonez moves his tongue to Mike’s jaw.
    Not again! Can this man ever keep it in his pants for one day? I need a dang breather. Bonez really needs to cool it around me.
    “It’ll be next year sometime.” I rush my answer, sounding vague. Then I stand, wave to Penny, and kiss Lachlan on the cheek, before speeding out of the bar and back into the barn.
    Over in the corner, I see Cas and Bridget in some sort of argument. She’s slapping his chest and pushing him away, but he’s not budging.
    Can’t I catch a darn break? Isn’t this Christmas?
    I approach them. Cas is the first to notice me, and takes a step back to give Bridget space. She darts from around him, throwing herself into my arms with a sob.
    Shooting him a dirty look, I hug her tightly as her face presses to my neck. “What’s wrong?” I rub her back.
    “It’s nothing, Mags,” Cas grumbles, tugging a smoke from behind his ear and putting it to his lips. “She just doesn’t want to accept my Christmas present.”
    “What was it? Your dick?” I blurt on the defensive, wrapping my arms tighter. Guilt eats at me for voicing that in the first place. Nonetheless, I shove that warranted feeling to the back burner so I can stick up for my girl, instead of apologizing.
    “No, it wasn’t. And fuck you very much for thinking so.”
    “Well, what do you expect? You and Bonez are first place contenders for the biggest man whore of the year.” Crap! I can’t believe I said that, too! I’ve gotta shut up.
    Bridget giggles against my throat. Great, she thinks this is funny.
    Releasing a sigh, Cas’s face loses color and he drops his head to stare at his feet. “It’s not like that,” he mumbles under his breath, kicking the dirt.
    “Then what’s it like? I’m here to listen whenever you need me. You know this. But today is not the time for drama. It’s Christmas. Leave her alone. If you wanna sort junk out, do it another day. Let’s enjoy Christmas and forget all of the bad stuff, okay? Isn’t it about time to open presents, anyhow?”
    “Aye, it is,” Lachlan intrudes, his arms locking around Bridget and me from behind. He kisses the back of my head. “I love ye both so bloody much.”
    “We love you, too, Dad,” Bridget states.
    My insides get all warm and fuzzy. This has been quite the day. Last year, I spent Christmas in my apartment eating a frozen dinner and reading. As a matter of fact, I’m fairly certain I’ve done that for the past three years. If I were dating a guy at the time, I’d always lie and say I had some place to go. When, in reality, I just didn’t want to celebrate a holiday with someone I could barely tolerate. Sounds pathetic, I know. But I never said my life was full of rainbows and unicorns. It’s sometimes chaotic and messy. Until times like this when my man is hugging me and my girl is cuddled in my arms, making my life worth it. Making all of that dark murk that I trudged through for years a blessing in disguise. I don’t believe you can truly appreciate joy until you’ve been through hell and back. I’m not saying I’ve had it worse than most. And I’m not comparing my demons to yours. I just know that I’ve been through a lot. Now, I’m facing the best years ahead of me. The amount of appreciation and happiness I feel could bring me to my knees. I’m—
    “Grab your bale and set your asses down!” Whisky yells, ripping me from my thoughts. I welcome