would get a present for her baby this week. And think of baby names. Her baby would not have the Delaney name. Another Hillman.
She missed Zach. As mismatched as they were, she liked being with him. He had been easy to work for. When she decided what and how she would tell him about the baby, she would get in touch with him. In the meantime, this break was as inevitable as it was necessary.
She fingered the locket around her neck. She thought it was a beautiful heirloom and she would take very good care of it. It would go into safekeeping for her baby soon.
She hoped Will prevailed on Zach to keep the letters. It would be sad to see them destroyed. Since she would be mother of a Delaney, if they decided to shred the letters, she intended to ask Zach for them.
She missed Zach badly and each mile between them increased her longing to be with him. She could have prolonged the separation, but there was no point and her emotions were on a raw edge. In a few hours she would be home and her family would keep her busy enough that the pain over parting with Zach should be alleviated.
By Monday, Zach missed Emma more than he had thought possible. He was planning to leave for Italy on Tuesday, but he had lost his enthusiasm for the trip. Should he do something else this Christmas? That was Emma’s influence. He recalled times as a child that he had wanted to be with his family, but then he and his brothers had been left at their schools for the holidays. Eating at the home of an indifferent headmaster had never been fun and Zach began to count only on his own company. He would be happy in Italy once he was there.
Earlier that morning Will had called his brothers and Sophia, and the entire family was coming for lunch today to bring their Christmas presents to him, so he was having a little Christmas celebration with his family. Emma would have been relieved to hear it, but now she was wrapped up in her own family’s activities. When he first was injured, Zach had given his secretary at headquarters a list of gifts to purchase for each member of his family. They’d been wrapped and delivered to the ranch.
Standing at the window, Zach looked at the dry, yellowed windswept landscape beyond the fenced yard. Why had life become empty without Emma? It had only been the weekend since she left, but it seemed eons ago. Common sense told him she was not the woman for him, not even in a casual way. He smiled at the thought. No relationship was casual to Emma. Not even the brief affair they had.
He paced the room restlessly. “Go to Italy,” he advised aloud. “Pick up your life and forget her.”
Memories flooded him of holding her, kissing her, making love to her. Of her laughter, her hands on him, her luminous green eyes studying him. Even the looks of pity she had given him came back to haunt him. Was he missing out on the best part of life as she had said? Was he letting that armor from childhood keep him from loving and being loved today?
Would he really want to be tied down with a family? Tied down with Emma? The last thought sounded like paradise.
Was he going to mope through Christmas? It was a time he had never given much thought to since he was grown.
He saw three limos coming up the drive so he left to open the front door.
Will, Ava and Caroline climbed out of the first limo. Ryan emerged from the second and Garrett and Sophia from the third limo. The drivers carried boxes filled with wrapped presents. Zach directed the drivers where to put the presents and then turned to greet everyone.
“Don’t tell me all this stuff is for me,” Zach said.
“Who else is here for us to give presents to? Although I do have one for Nigel and one for Rosie and I’ll bet the rest do, too,” Ryan said with a cocky grin. “You said you were giving Nigel and Rosie three weeks off.”
“And I did. Come in,” he said, picking up Caroline to give her a hug. He led them to the family room where the drivers had already placed boxes of presents.
A sofa beside a large wingback chair was piled high with Zach’s presents for his brothers, Sophia and their families.
“You should have had Nigel bring down the Christmas tree,” Will said.
“Don’t you start that. Emma had decorations up and I got rid of them.”
“You have turned into Scrooge,” Will said.
“Hardly,” Zach replied, waving his arm in the direction of the sofa with presents. “I believe I have a few presents for everyone.”
“My apology,” Will said, laughing. “Not entirely Scrooge. I do see mistletoe hanging over the door. That’s a weird decoration to put up for a man living alone.”
“Just drop it, Will,” Zach said.
“Maybe I should have stopped by last week and met the secretary,” Ryan said.
“Will a beer shut you two up?” Zach asked. “First, let me see about the drivers and get them settled with something to eat and drink. I’ll be right back. When I do, we’ll start this little family Christmas celebration that I suspect is totally for my benefit,” Zach remarked dryly.
When he returned he asked them, “Eggnog, beer, wine, martini, margaritas, Scotch, an old-fashioned—none of you have to drive home and I have a full bar, so what do you prefer?” he said, going behind the bar to fill orders. In minutes he brought out snacks Rosie had left.
Ryan held up his bottle. “Merry Christmas to our newest family member, Sophia, to Ava and Caroline, to my big brothers, to Garrett who’s been like a brother,” he said, including Garrett as he always had.
They all held up bottles and echoed his toast.
“Now I’ll propose a toast,” Will said, “and a Christmas prayer of thanks for Caroline in our lives, for Sophia becoming part of our family and for Ava. The four of us have been blessed by them.”
“Here, here and amen,” Ryan said and they clinked bottles together again.
In a few minutes Ryan raised his bottle high again. “Here’s to the two surviving bachelors in this group. Zach, my bro, I’m going to outlast you.”
All three of the others protested at the same time. “Ryan, you’re next,” Garrett said. “No way is anyone getting Zach down the aisle.”
“They can’t get him to stay in one country long enough to fall in love,” Will added, making Zach grin.
“Sorry, Ryan, but I’ll win this one,” he said, thinking about Emma.
They soon went to the kitchen where Zach got out ribs from a Dutch oven. All night he had cooked ribs and he had baked beans that had slowcooked for hours. He got a large bowl of Rosie’s cold potato salad. He replenished beers and they all gathered around the big table to feast on the rib dinner. As he passed out the beers, he thought of Emma. If she could see him now, she would know he enjoyed his family. They just weren’t together as often as hers.
“When are you leaving for Italy?” Will asked.
“Tomorrow. The weather prediction is good. So when is everyone else going?”
“We’re leaving tomorrow morning for Colorado,” Will replied. “Caroline is hyped over going and she is almost climbing the walls now,” he said, smiling at her and Caroline giggled.
“Garrett,
