Authors: Anna Kristell
“You are happy, aren’t you,
hon?”
“Do you even have to ask,
baby? You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, or my kids.”
“So you have no regrets?”
“Certainly not, do you?” He was beginning to worry what her answer might be.
“None, whatsoever
.” She leaned up to kiss him.
He pulled her into his arms and held her the rest of the night.
The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were busy ones between work, kids, and planning the trip to Florida. Chase had called and spoken to Alice, who was thrilled to hear the whole family would be spending the holidays at the beach house.
“Now Alice, if you have plans to go to Orlando, don’t let us stop you. All I ask is that you have the house prepared for us and the kitchen stocked with food before we arrive. We
’re quite capable of taking care of ourselves.”
“Actually
, we spent Thanksgiving with the boys and their families. They’ll both be spending Christmas with their wives’ families this year. It works out perfectly. This will be wonderful.” Alice didn’t seem to be able to contain her excitement.
“Well,
all right then, it’ll be great to have you and John there. Alma and George will be happy to hear that.”
“I’m so glad they
’re coming along, and Marty and Mrs. Drake, too.”
“One big happy old-fashioned Christmas,” he
replied, chuckling.
“That
’s the best kind, and one this family hasn’t had in quite some time. I’ll have everything ready, don’t you worry about a thing. You just get that family of yours here and we’ll have a real celebration.”
“Thank you, Alice. We
’ll see you on the twenty-third. Ali’s school break starts that day.”
When he told Sunny that Alice and John would be joining them, she was elated. “Oh, this is going to be the perfect Christmas, Chase. I can’t wait.”
“And just think, with all those grandmas and doting housekeepers there, Ali and Brice won’t even miss us if we steal away for an hour or two to stroll along the beach.” Grinning mischievously, he leaned over and kissed her on the tip of her nose.
“Strolling the beach over the Christmas holiday with a hot guy, what more could a girl ask for?”
“There you go with the hot thing again. You just want to butter me up for a good Christmas gift, I get it now.” He threw his head back in hearty laughter.
“Oh, gee, you figured me out…” Sunny put her arms around his waist and leaned up to kiss him.
“You just go right on thinking I’m hot, baby. I like where that thought takes us.” He kissed her again and added, “You’re not so bad yourself, you know.”
“We’d best stop this line of conversation,
honey. The kids will be home in about five minutes. George went to pick them up.”
“To be continued…”
He released her. “I have some work to do in the other room anyway.” He retreated into his home office, leaving his wife to her special after school time with Ali and Brice.
***
*
Sunny had begun a tradition of trying to be home when the kids came in from school most days. The three of them liked to have a snack and share their day together
.
Sunny often thought while watching the faces of her children when they were deep into a story about what they’d done that day their little family would be complete if she and Chase added a baby to the mix. They hadn’t discussed it at any length, just in passing. Sunny had put the thought in the back of her mind, where it would stay until Chase was ready.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the boisterous entrance of Princess Ali and Master Brice
, as Sunny liked to call them.
“Mama Sunny, are you here, I got an A on my paper today. We had to write our name and some of the ABC’s.” Ali ran into the kitchen waving a paper in her little hand.
“Let me see,” Sunny said as she placed a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the bar. “That’s wonderful, Princess Ali. I’m so proud of my little girl.”
Ali beamed with pride as she reached for a cookie. “You make good cookies, Mama.”
“Why thank you. Would you like a glass of milk with that cookie?” Turning to Brice, she asked, “And how about you, Master Brice, any big news on the preschool home front today?” She lifted him onto a barstool and handed him a cookie.
“Two boys got in a fight today
,” he replied as his chubby little hand reached for the cup of milk she’d just poured for him.
“And one of them
wasn’t Brice Dupont, was it?”
“No, it was Cory and Luke. It wasn’t me.”
“I’m glad to hear that, little man. I don’t want you to get into any fights at school.” She leaned across the bar to kiss his little forehead and ruffled his hair affectionately.
“What did you do today, Mama Sunny?” Ali asked as she reached for another cookie.
“That’s your last cookie until after dinner, little one. What did I do today? Well, I worked with your daddy this morning. And a little while ago, we called Alice at the beach house. We told her we’ll be there for Christmas. Guess what?”
“What?”
both children asked in unison.
“Alice and John will be having Christmas with us
, too.” She watched their faces light up as they heard the news.
“Everybody is going to be there. Grandma Marty
, and Grandma Laura, and Alma, and Alice, and George, and John,” Brice informed his sister.
“And don’t forget Mama and Daddy
,” Ali reminded him, dropping the Sunny and referring to her simply as Mama. She was doing that occasionally lately and it warmed Sunny’s heart when she did.
“And Mama Sunny says Santa Claus knows where we
’ll be and he’ll come down the chimney in Florida instead of here.”
“I know that.” Ali finished her milk and looked at Sunny. “Is Daddy home yet?”
“He’s working, but I’ll poke my head in the door and see if it’s okay for you to go in. If he’s on the phone, you might have to wait just a few minutes, sweetie.”
Walking down the hallway, she quietly opened the door to the office
. Chase was on the phone and he beckoned her to come into the room. She sat down and listened to the call.
“That’s right, Russ. Thomlin must want it bad. Greed, that’s all
it is. He can’t stand the thought that someone else is doing well…he wants it all. I’ll speak to Sunny about the offer, but I really think she’ll agree with me. I’ll get back to you in a few days.”
“What’s Mr. Thomlin done now, Chase?” Sunny could see the lines of stress beginning to show on her handsome husband’s face.
He ran his hand through his perfectly cut hair and replied, “He’s made another offer to buy our company, Sunny. But this one is extremely generous. We’d be living like royalty for the rest of our lives if we accepted it.”
“You aren’t seriously considering selling to him now, are you?” She couldn’t believe after all he’d done to save his company from the vile Mr. Thomlin he’d give in now.
“I don’t want to, but it bears discussing, Sunny. You’re a partner in this business, not just a name on paper. Your opinion matters.”
“Can we discuss it tonight after the kids go to bed? They really want to see you and I need to wrap my head around this new development.”
“I’ll fill you in on all the details tonight. We’ll need to call a special meeting with the Board members.” He looked across the desk and smiled wearily. “I’ll come out and spend some time with Princess Ali and Master Brice before dinner. Why don’t you take some time for yourself and go for a walk to think about things?”
“I think I will, thanks,
hon.” She leaned up to kiss him as they walked hand-in-hand to join the children.
“Hey, guys, Mama Sunny
’s going to go out for a bit. How would you two like to play some Wii games with the old man?” he asked as his children ran to him.
“Yes, yes, let’s play.” Ali looked at Brice who nodded.
“I’ll see all of you at dinner. Have fun, you three.” Sunny blew kisses to her family and went to get her coat.
The air was brisk but Sunny loved to take walks in the afternoon. There was a wooded area behind the house and it was the perfect place to walk and clear her head. She often went there. Chase had even put a bench in a cleared area for her when she’d told him about walking there. As she neared the clearing, she thought she heard something, like a rustling or scampering sound, then the sound of a twig snapping. She looked around but not seeing anything decided it must have been a small animal. She reached her bench, which Chase had engraved with the words
Sunny’s Solitude Bench
and sat down. What a sweetheart he is, she thought as she lightly traced the words with her hand.
She sat for an hour on her beloved bench, contemplating the offer made by the Thomlin Corporation. Chase hadn’t told her how much
money the man offered. But he’d certainly indicated it was much more than had been discussed previously. Looking at her watch, she saw that she would have to hurry. They would be holding dinner because of her if she didn’t. She got up from the bench and walked briskly back through the woods and to the house.
“I’m back and I’m starving
,” she called out as she stepped into the foyer.
“And you look like you’re freezing, Sunny.” Chase took her coat and hung it in the closet then pulled her to him to warm her.
“It’s nippy, but you know how I love my walks. I went to my bench.”
“I figured that’s where you’d go. Come on into the dining room. Alma made her chili soup with cornbread. You
’ll be amazed. I think she might even have baked some chocolate pies for the chocoholic I’m married to.”
“Chili soup sounds good right now as cold as
I am.” Chase pulled her chair out and after Sunny was seated, Ali said grace.
There was a salad to go along with the chili and indeed there were two chocolate pies. The soup warmed Sunny
. As she ate, she listened as the children told her about the games they played while she was out. She and Chase exchanged smiles as the children spoke.
A few hours later the kids had been put to bed and
the time had come for Sunny and Chase to discuss Thomlin’s offer. In the sanctuary of their bedroom, she prepared for bed. As she was applying lotion to her legs, her husband finally joined her.
“Got them all tucked in?” she asked as he entered the room.
“Yes, read to them, listened to their prayers, and tucked them in.”
“You look tired, Chase.” She traced his face with her finger.
“I am a bit tired. I think I’ll grab a shower and then we can talk.” He leaned down and kissed her.
A few minutes later he joined her on the bed.
“Did you have time to think while you were walking?”
“I did.”
“They’ve offered a lot of money, Sunny.”
“I don’t want to hear the amount, Chase. No amount of money is enough for the Li’l Taste of Heaven. You’ve built the company and you’ve taken extreme measures to hold on to it. I’ve grown to love it too in the months since I began working with you there. My vote is no, don’t sell.”
“Then we’ll call a Board meeting and tell them we don’t want to sell.”
“Is that what you want, Chase?”
“I do. But I would have sold, if that was what you really wanted.”
“But, Chase, why would you do that? You even went to the extreme of marrying me
, in order to save it. Why now would you give it up? Surely not for the money, that’s not who you are.”
“I married you to save the company, yes. But we’ve come a long way, Sunny. I value your opinion and you
’re an equal partner in the business. I told you, I wanted you to be involved. I told you, this venture was for life. If you had thought it best to sell, then I would have ended this madness with Thomlin and taken his money. We could have started a new business. But as long as you’re okay with continuing the fight to keep this company, that’s what we’ll do.”
“I’m touched, Chase.”
“Sunny, you’re an equal partner in all aspects of my life, from the boardroom to the bedroom. Any and all decisions I make involve you.”
“
In that case, I say you need make an executive decision right now, and forget about business for the rest of the night. I think I want to try out some of this equal partnership in the bedroom you were speaking of.” She smiled seductively as she caressed his chest.
“You are something else, do you know that? Everyday with you is more interesting and amazing than the last.”
He kissed her and pulling her on top of him, moved his hands expertly down her back. As his tongue probed her mouth, currents of electricity pulsed through her veins, creating sparks of desire.
“I want you now, Chase,” she murmured as he gently caressed her buttocks.
“Already?” he asked as he rolled her over.
“Yes.” She reached down and slid her hands between the elastic of his silk pants and his skin, pulling the soft black silk past his hips.
“Now…Chase…”