The McRae Series 01 - Twelve Days Sam and Rachel

Sam and gave him a kiss, a not-too-fast one on his mouth. "Thank you. I love it."
    "You're welcome," he said.
    "I love you, too."
    The kids giggled, probably because of the kiss. Emma looked shyly fascinated, and Zach was making faces. Grace clapped and beamed up at him. Rachel wiped a tear away and said, "We have so much to do."
    "More?" Zach asked.
    "Lots more," she said. "I have to have a shower, and we all have to get dressed, and before long, lots and lots more people are coming."
    "Who?" Zach asked.
    "My family. My entire family. My father... Remember him?" Zach nodded. "And my sisters."
    "You have sisters?" he asked.
    "Yes. You know that. You met them. Or you met two of them. But I have three and a brother. And Aunt Miriam and Aunt Jo—the one with the sleigh."
    "Will she bring it? Can we go for a ride?"
    "No, she won't bring it today. She'll come in her car. With her husband and her kids and grandchildren."
    "Oh." Zach was disappointed now.
    "But she'll probably bring more presents," Sam said. "Everybody will bring more presents." The house would be overflowing. Christmas with Rachel's family was like nothing he'd ever imagined before he married her.
    "And little boys," Rachel told Zach. "My sisters and my brother together with Miriam's and Jo's children have eighteen kids, ten of whom are boys."
    "Wow!" Zach said. "I like boys."
    "I know. We'll have so much fun. But for now, we have to get ready because everyone will be here soon."
    They managed to talk the kids upstairs. Not easily, but they did it, and rushed through the morning routine. Sam made it downstairs with Zach first, and soon Emma was back with Grace and finally Rachel.
    Sam watched her come down and the smile on her face took his breath away this morning. She'd lost that pinched look to her face, those little lines of tension in her brow, all that sadness she'd worn for so long. It was gone, and she was beautiful this morning.
    Her hair was shining and her eyes. There was a hint of color in her cheeks, and that smile. There'd been a time when he couldn't take his eyes off her, that she'd absolutely dazzled him and he'd been so proud, so happy to know that she was his. He'd forgotten all about that.
    She came to his side, and he eased his arm around her waist and kissed her softly. "You look beautiful this morning."
    She caught her breath and said, "You're going to make me cry."
    "No," he said. "Not anymore."
    "I can cry if I'm happy, can't I?"
    "No, Rachel. Not even happy tears. I want to see you smiling like this again."
    She sniffled and worked hard to put a smile across her face, and he just wanted to grab her and hold on to her, hold on to this day, this newfound happiness.
    The doorbell rang a few minutes later, and the house started filling up. Rachel's father arrived with Gail and her husband, Alex, and their four kids. Gail kissed him, and Alex slapped him on the back. Their two oldest sons walked in with a football and big grins.
    "I brought the ball," Alex Jr. said. He was as tall as Sam now and might even outweigh him.
    "You're nuts," Sam said.
    "Hey, it's tradition. Snowball."
    Sam frowned. They'd nearly ended up with frostbite some years playing tackle football in the snow, a viciously brutal game played not so much for touchdowns as the opportunity to shove someone down in the snow and pile on top of them. He'd had snowballs shoved down his shirt, down his pants, had eaten mouthfuls of snow, in last year's game.
    Alex Sr. gave his son a playful shove and said, "It was more fun when they weren't so big. When we could push them around."
    "I know." Alex Jr. grinned and shoved right back. "It's revenge time."
    Sam was saved from agreeing to anything when Rachel's sister Ellen and her husband, Bill, and their four came in. Davy, Rachel's brother, a miniature version of her father, and his wife, Jane, a petite, perky blonde, and their three arrived next.
    Davy held up his watch to show Sam the time. "Three hours and counting. I'm counting on you to move this along. Get this meal served so we can sneak upstairs by kickoff time."
    "Hey, I don't have anything to do with this meal. Talk to your sisters and your aunts."
    "It's your house, Sam. Be a man. Put your foot down."
    Jane got her coat off and slipped in beside him, hearing the tail end of the conversation. "You mean, like you do at home, honey?"
    Davy frowned. Sam laughed.
    "He can live without football for a day," Jane said, dragging him into the midst of the crowd.
    The next time