Christmas Extras Read online

  Table of Contents

  Christmas Extras

  Somethin’ About That Christmas Baby

  Author’s note:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Ho Ho Holy Hotness

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Epilogue

  Christmas Presence

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  A SWAT Call Before Christmas

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Uncertain Christmas

  Text copyright © 2022 Lani Lynn Vale ®

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  SOMETHIN’ ABOUT THAT CHRISTMAS BABY

  (Companion novella for Somethin’ About That Boy)

  AUTHOR’S NOTE:

  This is unedited AF. (as fuck) I wrote it really quickly so y’all could have a little slice of excitement for the month of December. I apologize ahead of time if it’s kind of rough. But I wanted to get it out to you as fast as I could, and that means not getting it to my editor. So it’s not my usual work. Hope it all looks good enough! Enjoy! And Merry Christmas!!!

  CHAPTER 1

  PERRY

  “How’s school going?”

  I looked at Banner with a glare in my eye, though he completely missed it seeing as he was halfway around the world, doing God knew what, God knew where.

  He’d been gone for a long time.

  When he’d joined the Navy, a day hadn’t gone by that I hadn’t worried about him.

  That worry, however, had been taken up about fifteen notches when he’d been sent on his first mission.

  “Were you listening to anything I said?” I asked curiously, wondering if he’d heard me, or if he’d just pretended to listen like he sometimes did.

  Banner glanced down and flashed me a grin.

  We were Facetiming, only, Banner had the phone in his lap, so all I could see were his nostrils, the underside of his chin, and a few flashes of grins.

  “I’m listening.” He promised. “I just didn’t hear that part. I’m in a bad area.”

  I didn’t think about the ‘bad area’ or the fact that I didn’t like him being in a bad area.

  “It’s going.” I admitted. “Switching to online classes were the better choice.”

  I’d switched to online classes after a few too many incidents with needing to puke all the way through class. And hell, all the way through the day.

  When Banner had gotten me pregnant about a year too early—I graduated at the end of the year. Three more weeks, in fact thanks to an extension that I’d desperately needed—I’d panicked because I wasn’t sure what that would mean for me and schooling.

  I was so close to being finished.

  I’d spent the last four years going to school.

  The baby, although a welcome surprise, kind of put a kink in my plans.

  “I thought it might be,” Banner glanced down at me and smiled, a gleam in his eyes. “How’s my baby?”

  Always his baby. Never mine.

  I rolled my eyes as I shivered at the sound of his voice.

  Still, to this day, Banner Spurlock gave me an ooey gooey feeling in my stomach that felt like it was permanently filled with trapped butterflies.

  “Your baby is keeping me up at night. It’s like I switched from one hell to another.” I admitted.

  Going from hyperemesis to insomnia was trading one very bad thing for another.

  But, at least while I was awake, I could eat whatever the hell I wanted.

  I’d lost nineteen pounds since I’d gotten pregnant.

  “Did the baby accidentally show you his junk?” Banner teased.

  “Actually,” I admitted. “No. I have one more ultrasound in the package that you got for me today at four. The last one they’ll do before Christmas day, well, my due date. I still can’t believe they’re open.”

  Banner chuckled. “Your lucky day, I guess.” He paused, wincing slightly. “I have to go. There’s something going on up ahead. Will you send me lots of pictures?”

  I snorted. “Don’t I always?”

  He sent me an air kiss before saying, “I love you, Perry.”

  There was that ooey gooey again. “I love you, too.”

  Then the line went dead.

  But not before I heard what sounded like…cows?

  Not even two seconds later, my mom was knocking at my door.

  My mom and dad had come down a few days ago, and were planning on staying, for the next month until I had the baby.

  It was decided by Banner and my dad that, since Banner couldn’t be here, my dad would be available in case I needed him.

  Which was why I had my dad and my mom in my cramped two bedroom house.

  “You want to go to Walmart with me, baby?” My mother asked.

  No, what I would like to do was have my husband home. What was going to happen was my husband would still be on deployment for freakin’ Christmas, and I’d be stuck pregnant, alone, and…

  “Baby?” she snapped my mind out of the continuous loop of sadness.

  “Yes,” I croaked, clearing my throat right after. “I will.”

  My mom’s hand caught mine, and I had to swallow the tears down in order to offer her a smile.

  “It’s okay to be sad.” She said quietly.

  I swallowed and tried for a smile. It definitely didn’t reach my eyes.

  “Come on.” She urged. “Your dad went to get your car detailed, and the car seat installed at a fire station in town. I think we could go get our toes done, too, if we hurry.”

  I looked at my watch and frowned. “It’s only eight in the morning. Where is he getting it detailed at?”

  She shrugged and said, “I stopped questioning your father after our second year of marriage. We’re much happier that way.”

  I snorted.

  My parents were so in love with each other, it wasn’t even funny.

  But if that’s what they wanted to think…

  We arrived at Walmart less than thirty minutes later—we lived out in the country in a small two-bedroom farm house that was so far away from fast food that I literally cursed our decision every single night.

  But according to Banner, the stars at night out in that secluded little farm reminded him of home. So that’s where we stayed.

  “What do you need?” I asked curiously.

  She grinned and led me to the baby section. “I wanted to buy you some diapers…and see if they had any cute little outfits.”

  I outright laughed at that. We had plenty of cute outfits. So many, in fact, that it would be a wonder if my little bundle of joy even got to wear them all.

  “I’m buying a few cute boy and girl things.” She told me. “That way, at least there’ll be a little pink in there for my princess.”

  I rolled my eyes. My mom was a firm believe that I was having a girl.

  My dad and Banner? Boy all the way.

  “That’s not…”

  “Marco!”

  My head whipped around, and I stared toward where I’d thought I’d heard the sound coming from.

  What I found, however, was an old man calling for his wife across the aisle. She found him with a middle finger stuck way up high in the air.

  “That’s rude,” she said. “You shouldn’t yell in the store.”

  Oh, what I wouldn’t give to hear a yell through the store.

  “Baby, you ready?”

  I looked over at my mom with a knot in my throat, and nodded since I couldn’t make my voice work.

  “He’ll be home soon, sweetling.” She promised.

  Maybe. Maybe not. I just hoped that I didn’t have this baby without him.

  I had a couple more days until I was officially full term. And that date was coming in hot.

  ***

  I was well and truly depressed by the time I got home.

  Every single thing I saw reminded me of Banner, to the point where I was nearly in tears when I arrived home to drop my mom off.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to go to the sonogram?” she asked.

  That was one thing that I’d reserved for Banner, and Banner only.

  All doctor appointments were attended by the two of us only.

  He’d been able to go to the first three before he’d had to leave.

  Now, it was just me.

  “I’m sure.” I promised. “I love you, but I need to go alone.”

  My mom pressed her hand to my cheek, then kissed the tip of my nose as she tapped the door, causing her ring to click against the metal.

  I smiled, then spent the next hour crying my eyes out as I drove.

  When I arrived at the base hospital in Norfolk, the last thing I wanted to do was stop at the gate and tal
k to the men manning the guard shack.

  But I didn’t want to go to jail, so I did anyway, and received a look of pity from the man who took one look at my puffy eyes and decided not to comment.

  After passing through, I drove to the hospital and came to a stop what felt like a mile from where I needed to be.

  I started the walk toward my doctor’s office, and kept my head down the entire way.

  I passed three of four men in uniform while simultaneously keeping my head down when a familiar laugh had me jerking my head up and looking every which way.

  I found the man that the laugh belonged to standing directly in front of me, not even five feet away.

  My mouth dropped open, and something inside of my heart started to go wild.

  One second, I was standing there feeling sorry for myself, and the next I was running full tilt toward my husband.

  “Banner!” I cried out, throwing myself at him.

  He caught me as best as he could due to my unwieldy belly, swinging me around like I was a child, and not a full-grown pregnant adult.

  I didn’t realize that I was full on sobbing until Banner moved out of the way of a couple exiting the doctor’s office and pressed me against the building.

  “Shhh,” he whispered. “It’s okay.”

  Was it?

  I wasn’t so sure.

  I squeezed my arms and legs around him tighter and continued to sob.

  “Shhh, shh.” He continued. “Baby, you’re killing me.”

  Was I?

  I was finally living for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.

  Breathing in Banner’s scent, sweet, salty and spicy.

  God, I could stay here for the rest of my life and be content.

  “You’re not stopping.” He teased.

  I pulled back and looked into his eyes.

  Or tried to.

  He was wearing stupid sunglasses.

  I pulled them off, getting my fingerprints on the lenses as I did, and said, “What the absolute hell, Banner?”

  He grinned.

  “Let’s go look at our baby.”

  And that was exactly what we did.

  With me full on sobbing.

  Funny enough, nobody noticed, or if they did, didn’t care.

  Obviously, it wasn’t unusual for sobbing women to cry their way through the waiting room.

  When it came to waiting, I sat in Banner’s lap and cried against his neck.

  And he let me.

  By the time we were called back, I was practically no longer crying.

  “All righty,” the young woman that would be doing the sonogram said. “We’re looking for size today. I know you’re getting close. With you as far along as you are, don’t expect any miracles today, okay?”

  I didn’t.

  Well, not when it came to seeing anything good. I felt like the baby was squished in there like a sardine, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you couldn’t see much at all.

  “And the baby made a liar out of me already,” the woman said as our baby’s face was displayed on the screen as soon as she stuck the wand to my belly.

  “Oh,” I grinned. “He’s so fat. And looks exactly like you.”

  “Thought you said it was a she?” Banner teased, squeezing the fingers of my hand that he’d yet to let go.

  “Whatever.” I grumbled.

  “Do y’all not know?” she asked the two of us.

  I shook my head. “At first, when we wanted to know, we never got a clear shot. Now, it’s just something we don’t know. As if maybe we’re not trying as hard to know.” I scrunched up my nose. “If that makes sense at all.”

  “Ahh,” she said. “Then I won’t tell you. Unless you want to know. And he or she gives me a good view.”

  Which he or she didn’t.

  In the end, all we got were a really good headshot, a picture of his or her feet near the head, and a cute little butt shot.

  I was smiling at the photos, and snapping pictures to send to Banner’s mom, as we walked out the door.

  Banner had moved his possessive hold from my hand to my hip as we walked outside.

  “Damn,” he said as squeezed my hip. “I’m fucking scared now.”

  I snorted. “Why?”

  “Because it’s real. I guess…I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be as close. I mean, logically I knew it could be any day, but I was almost too late. That’s like a real-life baby in there!” he said in surprise.

  I rolled my eyes and poked him. “Why didn’t you just meet me at home?”

  His smile was sheepish.

  “I thought I’d catch you at Walmart. Your mom was supposed to get you there, and then I’d meet you there. But then shit happened, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it…” he paused, letting me know that something big had happened on the way home. Something that’d caused him to slow down in his process of getting to me.

  “You better not have stopped to change some woman’s tire like you did last time.” I poked him in the chest. Which wasn’t very impressive when I was all but snuggled into said chest. “This time, someone better have died.”

  He chuckled. “Actually, worse. A couple of cows fell out of a cattle truck on the freeway. I stopped to get them all tucked into a hastily erected cattle pen. Which is why I’m about to say what I’m about to say next.”

  I waited, not sure I was going to like what he had to say next.

  “We have to go see the boys at their game.” He said. “Because if we don’t, then they’ll know that I’m home. And you know that I like to surprise them.”

  It’d become a game to him and his ‘boys.’ Him surprising them when he got home.

  This was his fifth ‘deployment’ if you could call it that. More like very long mission that’d taken him away from us for months and months.

  This time, he’d been away for seven long ones.

  Anyway, he liked to surprise his friends, just like he liked to surprise me.

  Meaning, he’d have to go see them play tomorrow night to shock them. He would have to lay low in the morning so they didn’t notice that he was home.

  “You know they’re playing each other, right?” I asked.

  “Yes.” He confirmed, grinning wickedly.

  “And you know the game has been sold out for ever, right?” I pushed.

  Because it had. I’d tried to get tickets, because I liked to support my boys as much as I could since they did the same for me, yet I’d been unable to acquire tickets.

  I could practically hear the laughter in his voice as he said, “Of course.”

  “You have a plan.” I guessed.

  “I have a plan.”

  ***

  “We’re going to go see the boys.” He declared, holding up the tickets an hour later. “They have a game tomorrow on Christmas…is that okay?”

  Anything was okay with him home. Anything.

  “Of course, it’s okay.” I promised.

  I was tired, exhausted, swollen and ready to give birth any second.

  But if it meant seeing him smile, and seeing Titus and Slone smile, I’d do just about anything.

  He wrapped me up in a hug so big, that I couldn’t stop myself from leaning into him.

  He sighed. “I’ve missed the hell out of you, Perry.”

  I squeezed his waist and pressed against him as best as I could. Which sadly wasn’t all that great now due to the girth of my belly. “Me, too. And I love you, so much.”

  CHAPTER 2

  BANNER

  With my wife’s hand in mine, we were led out to the entrance of the tunnel seconds before the anthem was played.

  “You can’t sing for shit,” I heard my wife whisper.

  I shrugged.

  Honestly, she was right.

  I couldn’t sing for shit.

  But, they’d needed someone to sing it, and what better way to get out onto that field than by singing the anthem?

  How hard could it be?

  Well, according to my wife, it would be really damn hard.

  “We won’t put you up on the jumbotron,” I heard the man that was accompanying us to the field, say. “That way, you can surprise them if you want.”

  I did.

  “He does,” Perry echoed my thoughts. “He’d like to pretty much walk up and scare the shit out of them, if you’ll let him.”

  “Unfortunately,” the man chuckled, looking a bit nervous. “I don’t have the authority to get them over to you. They’ll have to do the moving.”