Read Online All I Want for Christmas: A Kinnison Legacy Holiday novella by Amanda McIntyre - Free Book Online Page B

this in. Come on, hang up your things. Everyone except Clay and Sally are here.”
    Rein hooked his hat on the antler rack that hung in the foyer. Cody stayed close to Rein’s side.
    Aimee smiled as she emerged from the kitchen and saw them. Hugging them both, she smiled at the reclusive little boy. “Hi Cody, welcome to our home.”
    “Can you say hi, Cody?” Liberty asked quietly.
    Aimee smiled, giving Liberty a look that she understood the boy’s shyness. “It’s great that we’re all be together again. It’s been too long.” She smiled. “Then again, I’m spoiled. I love having everyone under the same roof.”
    Rein tossed Dalton a wave. He sat in Jed’s old rocker near the fireplace, cradling his son, Sawyer.
    Wyatt hugged Liberty and then Rein. “Good to see you. Dad would have been really pleased with how well the parade went.” He was referring cryptically to Rein’s performance as Santa.
    “Guess we’re lucky Santa was able to stop by with it being so close to Christmas.” Rein knelt down at Cody’s side as Sadie, the Kinnison’s golden retriever, meandered over to greet the new scent in the house. The dog, almost ten years old now, showed signs of aging. Her brows and chin were graying, her eyes less bright than they once were. Nonetheless, she continued to have approval of who entered her house. She sniffed Cody’s hand, bumping it with her cold nose.
    He jerked his hand away and pushed close to Rein. It startled the dog and she backtracked from the boy, unsure of his intent.
    “Sadie won’t hurt you, buddy. She’s just smelling you. That’s how she says hello.”
    Cody eyed the dog who waited patiently, her tail in jubilant motion as Rein reached out to smooth his hand over her head. “My Uncle Jed brought us Sadie when we were in high school, that was a long time ago. She’s a good old dog. You want to pet her?”
    Cody’s jaw set firm. He shook his head.
    “Sadie, come, get your supper, girl,” Emilee called out, holding the dog’s dish. Her dark braids fell over her slim shoulders. The young girl looked like her mother, Angelique, with her dark eyes and hair, but as she grew older it was Dalton’s personality that she resembled most. Dutifully, the dog lumbered behind as they walked to the kitchen.
    Cody released a small sigh.
    A short while later, the large group sat around the massive dining room table. It had been built by Rein years before as one of his first furniture-making endeavors.
    Liberty smiled as she had a flashback memory of her first meal at this table. Guarded, cantankerous, and more than a little rebellious, she’d just arrived from her former life as a dancer in a Vegas club. Wanting to escape her life, she’d found her half-brothers and requested sanctuary at the ranch until she could get on her feet.
    “What are you thinking about?” Rein leaned over to ask quietly.
    “Just thinking about my first morning here.” She met his blue-eyed gaze. “Your critique of my outfit. How I put you in your place.” She gave him a quick kiss. “I think I started falling in love with you that very moment, right here.”
    He returned the kiss. “I was an ass back then,” he said quietly so the kids couldn’t hear.
    “Back then?” Wyatt smiled as he leaned over to pass the potato casserole.
    Rein narrowed his gaze on Wyatt and accepted the casserole.
    “Your house looks beautiful,” Liberty told Aimee.
    “I agree, Aimee. This is a step-up from those paper snowflakes you tried to teach me last year,” Angelique said with a laugh.
    “I had to make them for her,” Emilee interjected.
    Aimee shrugged. “Wyatt actually did the majority of it. I was so busy on the town lighting committee that he got tired of waiting. I think” --she leaned over to give Wyatt a kiss--“he did a beautiful job.”
    Gracie clapped at the sight of her parents kissing.
    “Cheap entertainment,” Dalton muttered, then offered Wyatt a surprised look. “What?”
    “Who are you and