The Sweetest Gift

1

Elliott Dawson checked the scar at the base of his neck in the mirror hanging in the recording studio bathroom in the basement of his home. It was two weeks to the day since the doctor Georgia, Lennon’s fiancée, had helped him find had put it there.

Everything about his prognosis was good, or so everybody assured him. A T1b Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma was as good a thyroid cancer diagnosis as you could get. It was small, didn’t require the removal of his whole thyroid, and he’d been in and out of the hospital the same day.

No radiation.

No chemo.

No losing his hair that Kendalee loved so much.

It was a simple surgery, one that protected the movement and sensations in his voice box.

And the survival rate of his prognosis was so fucking close to one hundred percent it made it one of the most beatable cancers.

But the diagnosis had rattled him. He was no longer the twenty-year-old with the naivety to believe he would last forever. Instead, he had gotten a punch to the side of his face that the new life he’d built for himself was built on sand.

He wandered to the recording studio, the corridor decorated with misshaped Christmas trees made from the babies’ handprints. The memory of eight-month-old Noah and nearly two-year-old Holly covered from head-to-toe in green paint brought a smile to his face. Sixteen-year-old Daniel had stoically helped but had refused to look at Elliott as he’d taken photographs to capture the event.

Elliott picked up his acoustic guitar. Perching himself on the stool, and the guitar on his knee, he strummed it mindlessly, finally joining in with the vocals.

Would you know my name, he sang, easing into Eric Clapton’s, Tears in Heaven.

The song had more meaning now than it ever had.

His annual physical wasn’t meant to be a big deal. He ate well and took the time to stay in great shape. So, when the doctor had spent several minutes poking and prodding in his neck, he hadn’t been overly concerned. It was when the doctor began to talk about referrals and further tests he’d begun to sweat. On the way home from the appointment, he’d done the one thing he knew he shouldn’t. He’d looked up ‘lumps in necks’ online. By the time he’d gotten home, he’d lost the doctor’s words of reassurance that there was no need to worry.

He’d shared his fears with Kendalee, holding her while he talked. But that night, after he’d made love to Kendalee with a need that bordered on frenzied, he’d dreamt that he’d died, and Holly and Noah didn’t remember him. He’d woken up with a shout, rousing Kendalee whose eyes had been filled with concern. In a way he could never thank her enough for, she’d soothed his rattles and sat by his side, reassuring him that God couldn’t be so cruel as to make him lose his family all over again. Or be lost to them.

While he’d always respected the strength of her faith, it had never quite brushed off on him. He’d built his church on the back of friendship, brotherhood, and the love of a good woman.

He always held her while they slept, but that night, she’d held him.

Still, the lyrics of the song continued to hit him in a way they never had before.

The door down to the basement clicked open and shut, and from the creak of the stairs, he knew it was Kendalee.

Fuck, he loved that woman.

More than he could express in words or music.

He stopped playing as she came into view carrying a laundry basket filled with kids’ clothes. Her long strawberry blond hair was pulled up in an elastic. She wore a black sweater with three silver Christmas trees on the front, black jeans, and was barefoot. Fresh-faced without make-up, she looked so fucking beautiful that his heart missed a beat.

When she saw him looking her way through the glass walls of the studio, she popped her head around the door.

You need a reason to believe in miracles? she said.

He rested his hands over his guitar. Sure, hit me up.

"Noah and Holly are both asleep. At the same time. She turned and showed him the two baby monitors, one hanging off each pocket of her jeans. Listen…"

Silence filled the room. Elliott placed his guitar in its stand and walked toward her. Is Daniel home? he asked.

Kendalee shook her head. Nope. He went over to Kyle’s house to catch up before we leave for Miami tomorrow. Which is why I’m using this precious time to get the laundry done so I can pack. I’m so looking forward to Reid and Lia’s wedding. It’s so romantic. Christmas Day.

She stood up on her toes and gave his cheek a peck and headed to the laundry room. He tracked her ass as she walked, still fucking sexy with a baby monitor hanging off each pocket. She loved their kids as strongly as any mother could. Something he’d never experienced. Watching her love their family only made him love her more.

There had been a distance between them since his surgery, and it had been all his fault. He’d struggled with his diagnosis in a way that was disproportionate to his actual prognosis. He’d remained deeply entrenched in his head, which was never the best place for him to be.

They’d made love, but for him, it had come from a place of fear, of losing what they had. It was time to put that in the past and get back onto a regular schedule of making love, of fucking, of laughing and getting dirty and trying things that didn’t always work out. There was nothing better than the look on Kendalee’s face when he pushed her places she didn’t think she could go, only to find she loved every fucking minute just as much as he did.

He followed her to the laundry room. Kendalee was bent over, putting the clothes in the industrial-sized washing machine they’d bought after Holly was born. That kid wore fifty percent of every meal. The two baby monitors were on the countertop.

Babe, he said, sliding his hands over her ass.

Kendalee jumped up, almost head butting him. God, I didn’t realize you’d followed me in here. She placed her hand over her heart.

Elliott laughed. Sorry. Well, not sorry, because I love groping your ass.

She bent over again and put the last of the laundry into the machine before slamming the door shut.

He watched as she danced around the laundry room. She grabbed a new bottle of laundry detergent from the cupboard beneath the counter and poured the liquid into the machine. She squinted at the dial, and he smiled knowing she’d probably left her glasses upstairs in one of the kids’ rooms while she was reading to them before their nap.

All done? he asked. She put her hands on his hips and he wrapped his arms around her, tugging her closer.

Not yet. I thought I might finish wrapping the rest of the Christmas gifts so I don’t have to do it tonight. What about you?

Gently, he kissed the side of her neck. I have a list. Top five things I want to do to my wife in the laundry room.

Kendalee tilted her neck to the left to give him access. "If number one is to actually do the laundry, I might orgasm right here."

Elliott laughed. He couldn’t help it. His thoughts had been dark only moments before, but as always, Kendalee was there letting the light in. I’ll finish the laundry off for you. But don’t you want to hear my list?

Her cheeks blushed. I’ve always loved your lists. I remember the first one you sent me. Top five things to do on a rainy day.

"You missed sex on that list."

I remember, she said, a grin on her face. I barely knew you. You were so much younger than me. I thought it was some kind of joke.

He took her hand in his and spun her engagement ring around her finger. You were never a joke to me. He brushed his lips over hers, gently at first and then more firmly.

You were always so certain, despite… She waved her hand in the air. Everything. This. Me. Daniel. My divorce.

Gently, he tugged the elastic out of her hair, letting it all fall around her shoulders in soft waves. Us, Kendalee. I was always certain about us. And being certain about us meant we could deal with everything else.

Kendalee smiled. You continue to sweep me off my feet.

A murmur broke through the silence. Soft mutterings came through the baby monitor, and they both switched their gaze to the little white box that could disrupt Elliott’s plans. Thankfully, Holly settled, and he looked back at Kendalee, threading his fingers through her hair.

First thing on my list. Lure my wife into thinking we’re just kissing. He fucking loved the feel of her lips on his. Soft, pouty, and always deliciously warm. Her eyes were firmly on his, something he loved during moments of intimacy like this. Sure, there were times for closing your eyes in the final throes of sex, but at the start, there was something so vital about seeing an expression of love and lust on the face of someone who meant the world to you.

What’s number two? Kendalee gasped.

Second thing on my list. To see what my wife is wearing underneath this sweater.

She lifted her hands in the air and he pulled off the sweater and the vest she wore beneath it.

Blue lace.

His favorite color, his favorite fabric, on his most favorite woman.

Smooth skin met his fingertips as he brushed his fingers over the rise of her breast. Nipples he knew were a dusky pink were already erect beneath the fabric and he scraped his thumb gently across them.

Elliott, Kendalee murmured.

What, Babe?

Her eyes locked with his. I’ve missed you.

The words ricocheted around his heart. I’ve missed me, too. I’m sorry.

Kendalee reached up onto her toes and placed her hands around his neck, kissing him softly. No. I didn’t say it to make you feel bad. I know it’s been a lot for you.

"Number three on my list. I’m going to get us both naked. Literally and figuratively. Because I need both. We need both."

Stepping away from her, he pulled his T-shirt over his head and shucked his jeans and underwear, leaving them on the ground. By the time he was done, Kendalee had kicked off her jeans and removed her lingerie.

I should have picked a better spot to do this than the laundry room, he said gruffly as he pulled her naked body to his. Bright fluorescent lights, a wooden floor that, thankfully, had underfloor heating, and the smell of fresh laundry. Not the sexiest place to seduce his wife.

Are we in the laundry room? I hadn’t noticed, Kendalee whispered against his ear.

Elliott ran his hands down the soft curve of her back until he reached the cheeks of her butt. Nudging her gently, he picked her up, his arms around her, her legs around his waist, and placed her onto the washing machine. Spontaneous sex in any part of the house is officially back on the menu.

I’m glad to hear it. Kendalee’s eyes glowed with the love she felt for him. Even when she’d not believed herself capable of falling in love with him, the signs had been there that she already had, written in her gaze.

Have I told you how much I love your eyes? he muttered.

She shuffled closer to the edge of the machine, using his hips for leverage. He could feel the slow and steady rumble of the washing machine as the drum turned. Not recently.

"Number four. I want to check out just how ready for me