Because Naughty Holidays Can Be Oh So Nice 2015 by Nicole Edwards

around behind Gage’s back, one hand rubbing her arm as the four of them stood there for a moment.
    And though the contest was between the brothers, Kylie couldn’t help but think that she was the one who’d won tonight.

    BY THE TIME they ended up at Kaleb’s for the final house of the night, Gage was reeling from all the remarkable scenes he’d seen.
    Zane had created a toy shop out in front of his house, equipped with giant bears and remote control cars, even dancing dolls. Braydon would definitely get credit for the most lights, there was no doubt about that. Gage didn’t think there was an inch of his house visible after the light show had begun. Sawyer’s theme was animal related, and Buster had even donned a reindeer outfit for the occasion. As for Ethan and Beau … they would get the award for most creative. And it had been obvious that they’d had Mason and Derrick in mind when they created theirs. It was all about trucks, including the kid-sized monster truck track they’d designed to wind through the various scenes.
    Needless to say, it hadn’t been easy pulling the boys away from that one.
    And now, they were all gearing up for what they expected to be the highlight of the night.
    After pulling into the driveway, everyone climbed out, looking around in awe. The trees were wrapped in lights, as was the house. But other than that, there wasn’t much to it.
    But then, Kaleb disappeared behind the house, and a few minutes later, lights started flashing along the ground, a chasing pattern that started from the house and kept going. It took a minute to realize that they were lighting up the train track that snaked across the yard, around the house, over near the old barn, and back.
    Gage was holding Kate in his arms when the whistle on the train sounded. She jumped, momentarily startled by the noise, but then a spotlight came on, highlighting the train, and more lights flashed, giving everyone the first view of the red and green locomotive with the giant wreath attached to the front, followed by one rail car and the caboose.
    It was every boy’s dream right there in front of them, and Mason and Derrick proved it when they started to jump up and down, yelling. Derrick was tugging Jared’s hand, urging him toward the train, while Mason was hopping up and down in front of Zoey.
    “You wanna ride on the train?” Travis asked Kate from behind them.
    Her eyes were wide, but she didn’t answer. With Travis and Kylie right behind them, they followed the others, making their way over so the kids could get on. Kate’s grip tightened around his neck as they got closer, and when the whistle blew again, she jumped in his arms.
    “It’s a train, sugar,” he told her. “I’ve got you.”
    At first, Kate wanted nothing to do with it, but finally Kylie offered to ride with them. At that point, Gage knew the kids had definitely picked the winner. And quite frankly, though impressed by it all, Gage would have to agree.
    After an hour of riding the train around in circles, everyone had had a chance to climb on, including all the brothers, which had resulted in a ton of pictures that would likely be looked at for years to come.
    “Yep, Kaleb’s definitely the winner tonight,” Travis said, coming to stand beside him and linking their hands together.
    “Looks that way,” Gage agreed. Although deep down, he couldn’t help but think they’d all won something tonight. The chance to spend the holidays together.
    And he felt completely blessed to be a part of it.

Chapter Eleven
    TRAVIS CARRIED KATE in from the truck, then got her ready for bed while she slept soundly. It was almost midnight, and he’d been stunned that his daughter had made it through all the events of the evening. If they were lucky, she would sleep through the night, and they would, too.
    Only Travis had no intention of going to sleep anytime in the near future.
    Closing Kate’s door after turning on the video monitor, he noticed the rest of the