Free Where the Heart is (Interracial with Baby) (BWWM) by Cristina Grenier

both places either way."
    "That you do. Then I'll see you tomorrow."
    His father hugged him and headed to his car with the boxes he was taking with him, leaving Simon standing in the entry way of the house with the cold wind soothing the heat in his cheeks.
    "You're being an idiot," he mumbled under his breath. With a shake of his head, he closed the door behind him and got into his car, heading towards The Pit to meet Jamie.
    They had both decided that it was much too cold to eat in their usual spot, and there were still more people who wanted to fuss over Simon's return, so The Pit it was.
    "Plus," Jamie said, grinning when he walked into the diner some fifteen minutes later. "The closer it gets to Christmas the more random dinner items appear on the menu. Like tonight it's chicken and dressing, and you know I can't turn down chicken and dressing."
    Simon did know that, and he laughed and settled in before explaining to her about his idea for Christmas.
    Jamie's eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly. "Oh, man. Mom would love that. I know she missed having bigger dinners when you left, and she never knew what was going on with your parents. Which is impressive since most people in this town know everything."
    "My dad went out of his way to make sure no one would know," Simon explained.
    "Makes sense."
    They ate their meals along with massive slices of apple pie and discussed the menu for Christmas dinner, and Simon was struck all over again by how much this place could seem like home sometimes.
     
     

Chapter 8: The Joy of Christmas
     
    Christmas Day was bitterly cold, but the sun was shining, illuminating the snow that had fallen in the night.
    Jamie woke up in her bed, draped over the warmth of Simon with a blanket pulled up over her head. She already knew her hair was a mess and that she had probably drooled a little in the night, but she was so comfortable she didn't want to move. Unfortunately, she still had to go pick up the food for dinner and get dressed and then help her mother with everything.
    She poked her head out of the tangle of blankets to see that Simon was already awake. He was texting and when her head appeared, he grinned down at her.
    "I was worried you were going to suffocate down there," he said.
    "Nope. No suffocation here, doctor. What time is it?"
    "Quarter after nine," Simon replied, smothering a yawn with one hand. "I told Dad I would be over at eleven to help him start cooking for everything, and he says we should be at your mom's house by six."
    Jamie nodded, stretching before rolling over to flop onto her back. "Okay that sounds good. I've gotta go over to mom's soon anyway and help her get the last of the decorations and stuff up. She's going a little overboard, but she's so happy about this that I'm not going to try and stop her."
    Overboard was an understatement.
    When Jamie had told her the plan for Christmas, her mother's entire face had lit up. She'd looked so excited at the prospect of a Christmas where it was more than just the two of them, and immediately had asked Jamie to help her get the decorations up from the basement.
    It had taken a combination of Jamie and the afternoon nurse to keep Adelaide in her seat so they could take turns bringing things up while her mother kept leaping up and saying she wanted lights everywhere.
    Jamie honestly didn't mind that she was about to spend the next few hours decorating only to have to take it all back down again. Having her mother be excited about something like this made her happy, and the joy on Adelaide's face took years off and made her look less weary.
    So she was going to drag herself out of the warmth of the bed, grab a shower (because there was no reason for her mother to have to deal with her smelling like sex), and then head over to get the festivities started.
    "Merry Christmas, by the way," Simon said, leaning over to kiss her on the lips.
    "Merry Christmas," Jamie replied with a grin. "I don't think my mom has been this excited