King pulled him to his feet. “Did Leo say where he was going? Other than to find the mayor?”

  “Nope. Just took off.” As Ace brushed off snow, he looked around. “Where’s the ax?”

  Joker lifted it. He handed it to King.

  “Good idea. King should chop the tree,” Ace said, nodding.

  “We are not chopping the tree.” King took the ax in one hand and reached into his coat with the other. He sent off a one-handed text, which was impressive for someone perpetually at war with the office printer. “I sent a message to the rest of the guys to watch for Leo. He’ll be okay. You know how he is when he gets an idea in his head. He’ll find the mayor.”

  Joker looked around. “How exactly were you planning on getting the tree back?”

  “Carry it. Obviously.” Or drag it. The thing was going to shed endless amounts of pine needles anyway.

  King pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “If you try to carry a tree that heavy by yourself, you’re going to—”

  “Don’t say it,” Ace warned, putting a finger up. “Do not say I will throw out my back.”

  “How about that tree?” Joker pointed to a somewhat smaller but equally full tree. “It’s roughly ten feet. That’s what Colton wanted, right?”

  “How does everyone know what size tree Colton wanted? None of you were there for that conversation.”

  King arched an eyebrow at Ace. “Really?”

  Right. What was he thinking? If a conversation happened in the woods and no one was around to hear it, did someone in his family find out about it? Yes. Yes, they did.

  “Fine,” Ace grunted. “Let’s go for the puny ten-footer.” He plucked the replacement tree off the snow where Fitz had left it and followed King and Joker to the new tree. King refused to let him hold the ax. “What do you think I’m going to do with it? Turn into Jack from The Shining? Start trying to smash my way into creepy bathrooms?” He crooked his finger. “Redrum, redrum.”

  “You are so fucking weird,” Joker said, shaking his head.

  It took no time at all for King to chop down the tree. As soon as he did, Joker and Ace planted the new tree. Okay, so things went faster and easier with help.

  King decided he wasn’t taking any chances and made the three of them carry the tree. Ace was ordered to take the middle section, which meant he kept getting smacked in the face with the branches and pokey pine needles. When they returned to the Christmas tree lot, Ace paid for the tree, rope, and the right size stand for it. The SUV was parked out front, so they loaded it on top, tied it securely, and got in. King drove, leaving Ace to sit beside Joker in the back, with Chip happily lying on the floor at their feet.

  “I can’t believe you lost all four Boyfriends,” Joker laughed.

  “I didn’t lose them. They abandoned me.” Ace pouted and folded his arms over his chest. “I’m not a babysitter.”

  Joker snorted. “No shit. I mean, you lost four adults. Imagine a baby?”

  “Keep it up. You’re getting a lump of coal for Christmas.”

  “I’m fine with that. Have you seen the cost of fuel these days?”

  What was happening right now? Ace narrowed his eyes at Joker, who narrowed them back. Oh, his friend was in a good mood. Ace gasped. He leaned in.

  “You met up with your man and got frisky. That’s why you’re in such a good mood.”

  Joker turned his attention out the window. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, you do.” Ace slid a hand down his front, or at least the front of his coat. “You got a little bow chika wow wow.”

  “Please never do that again,” Joker muttered, staring at him.

  “Gio’s so prim and proper. I bet he likes to get kinky in the bedroom.”

  “I’m going to open this door and throw you out into the snow if you say one more word.”

  Knowing Joker was one of the few men who did not make idle threats, Ace promptly shut his pie hole. He’d find a way to torture his explosive little friend later.

  King pulled up to the front of the cabin. “I’m going to help you fellas bring in the tree, then I’m going to head back out and look for Leo.”

  “Let us know if you need help,” Ace said, climbing out of the SUV. The lights were on upstairs, so Colton was likely inside making calls.

  Joker went to unlock the front door while King and Ace carefully untied the tree. When Joker returned, the three of them got it down and carried it inside, leaving a trail of green sprinkles behind them. Chip bounded past them, announcing his presence with a bark as he darted in.

  “Hello?” Ace called out as they walked into the living room.

  “Looks like they’re still out,” King said, lowering the tree to the floor.

  “Colton’s here,” Joker said. “Chip’s whining upstairs, which means he’s wanting to get into a closed room. Heaven forbid he not be able to enter and exit a room when he pleases. I’ll go grab the tree stand.” Joker ran back to the car while Ace and King held onto the tree. Just as Joker said, a door opened, and Colton stepped out. His smile always filled Ace with so much joy.

  “Hey, you got the tree! It looks great.” Colton gave Ace a pointed look. “And it’s the size that I asked for.”

  “I hope you appreciate the trouble I went through. I got attacked by a wild beast, thanks to you.”

  “It was a squirrel,” King said, rolling his eyes.

  Ace scoffed. “I meant Fitz.” He moved his gaze back to Colton. “The squirrels came later.”

  “Where is Fitz?” Colton asked. As if he didn’t know. “And Laz? Oh, is Gio outside? Hm, I don’t see Leo.”

  Ace groaned.

  Maybe he was better off with the squirrels.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Don’t say it,” Ace muttered from the plush carpeted floor where he lay.

  Colton kneeled on the floor beside his stubborn husband, holding an ice pack. He blinked innocently. “Don’t say what?”

  “You know what.”

  “I would never say I told you so.” Colton would only think it. “Now turn over so I can apply this cold pack to your not-thrown-out back.”

  “It’s not thrown,” Ace insisted. With a sharp intake of breath and Colton’s help, Ace turned onto his stomach so Colton could lift his shirt and place the cold pack on his lower back. Next to Ace, Chip wagged his tail, whined, and poked Ace’s cheek with his nose.

  “I’m okay.” Ace petted Chip, laughing when Chip flopped onto his belly and laid his head on Ace’s shoulder. “You’re so stinking cute.”

  One of these days, Ace would realize that he was not, in fact, invincible. Maybe then he’d think twice before attempting to lift a ten-foot tree by himself. King had stepped away for a heartbeat, and in that time, Ace had lifted and promptly fell over with the tree.

  “I just tweaked a muscle. That’s all.”

  True. But still.

  “Has the ibuprofen kicked in?” Colton asked, running a hand through Ace’s hair.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I’ll get the hot pack when the inflammation goes down.”

  “Thank you,” Ace mumbled.

  “At least Joker wasn’t here to see your downfall,” Colton said gently.

  “Now there’s a Christmas miracle.”

  “You know, this morning, I met this adorable little girl and her mother at the café. Dotty—the little girl—said something very curious. She said she saw a bear wearing makeup chasing a man screaming about mints not being food. Do you have any idea what that might have been about?”

  Ace side-eyed him. “Yeah, okay. I got distracted and didn’t feed Fitz. He went feral, and it all went downhill after that. But baby, I got stuck up a tree and was attacked by a squirrel on steroids.”

  “I don’t know what to make of that sentence, yet I’m not surprised.”

  “It definitely did not want to knit me a sweater,” Ace grumbled.

  “I’m so confused. Who didn’t want to knit you a sweater?” Colton shook his head. “Never mind. You had one job. Get a tree. Preferably without injuring yourself.” He hadn’t sent the Boyfriend Collective with Ace so Ace could keep an eye on them, rather the other way around. He’d hoped that between the four of them, they would have been able to keep Ace from doing something like…climbing up a tree in search of furry creatures with the intent of chopping down said tree with an ax he had no business wielding.

  “Correction. I had one job and one impossible feat.” Ace planted his hands on the floor. “I think I can stand now.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. You have things to do.”

  As if Colton wouldn’t drop whatever he was doing to help his husband, no matter what he’d done. “Since everyone is still out, why don’t you come upstairs with me? You can nap on the bed or watch TV, and I’ll keep working. I’ll even let you have some snacks in bed. You can snuggle up with Chip.” Colton carefully helped Ace get on his feet.

  Ace eyed Chip. “He’s going to try and steal my snacks.”

  “I’ll put a few treats in his puzzle ball.”

  With three big dogs in one place, their people had brought plenty of enrichment toys, regular toys, and treats. After grabbing Chip’s puzzle ball and his bag of treats, plus some snacks for Ace, Colton followed Ace upstairs.

  Chip darted into the room and dove onto the bed, making Colton and Ace laugh. His tail thumped against the mattress happily as Ace climbed up next to him. Colton fluffed the pillows and placed them behind Ace’s back so he could get comfortable. Treats provided and TV on, Colton sat in the armchair near the bed with his laptop and phone. He propped his feet on the footrest and took a moment to soak everything in.

  The view outside the huge windows across the room was stunning—nothing but snowy hills, trees, and mountains. The sun was starting to set, and a light snow flurry fell. In bed, his husband, who he adored with his heart, body, and soul, discussed snacks with his friend’s dog while a Christmas movie played in the background.

  Chip lost interest in what Ace was saying the moment Ace placed the puzzle ball on the bed.

  “Fine. Pick treats over a riveting conversation with me,” Ace teased.

  Chip’s ears twitched at the word “treat,” but he ignored Ace in favor of his puzzle ball.

  This moment, right here, was everything, and Colton allowed himself a few minutes to enjoy it. Then he got back to work. He had several contacts at tech companies and made several calls regarding the items Jack needed to get the Ice Castle up and running. Apparently, more than one panel, or whatever it was called, was required. After about half an hour of calling different people, he finally had everything Jack had asked for, and it would arrive by tomorrow afternoon.

  “Thanks so much, Harold. I appreciate it.” Colton hung up and let out a sigh of relief.

  “That sounded like a good sigh,” Ace said.

  “Yep. The pieces Jack needs will arrive tomorrow. Before you got here, I’d also made arrangements for all the materials Lucky and Mason need to fix the roof of the Ice Castle. Thankfully, the damage isn’t structural. The Ice Castle supplies will also arrive tomorrow, so they can start immediately. I’ll review the invoices Clara gave me and put in some orders.” That reminded him. “Did you know Clara is married to the mayor?”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. His name is Christopher Snow.”

  Ace stared at him. “Clara and Christopher Snow.”

  “And they have a reindeer farm.”

  “You’re shitting me,” Ace said, his smile huge. “Does Leo know?”

  Colton shrugged. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen him all day.”

  “He probably knows by now since that’s the reason he left. To find Santa, I mean, not the reindeer farm. It was right after he got a text.”

  “I wonder what he’s up to,” Colton said. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to Fitz either, and usually, he tells Fitz everything.”

  “You think we should be worried?” Ace asked.

  “Is King worried?”

  “He’s wondering what’s going on, just like the rest of us, but he doesn’t seem too worried about it. At least not yet.”

  The next several hours were spent with Ace and Chip snoring softly while Colton sent off several emails and made dozens of phone calls. With Christmas roughly three weeks away, he was cutting it close, especially with the number of supplies, decorations, and merchandise Winterhaven needed to pull off another successful holiday season. But with his company handling shipping and transportation, he could get it done.

  Rubbing his eyes, Colton closed his laptop. He was waiting to hear back from a few vendors, but he’d managed to make the rest of the arrangements. Winterhaven was about to be inundated with freight trucks. He stood and stretched, smiling at his sweet, slumbering husband. Unable to help himself, he stopped by the bed, putting a finger to his lips when Chip opened his eyes.

  Colton leaned in and brushed his lips over Ace’s, gasping when Ace grabbed him and pulled him down. Chip barked his displeasure at them from being startled, then jumped all over them, licking wherever he could get them and making them laugh.

  The door opened, and Joker stood there, shaking his head. “I heard shenanigans, so I figured you all were awake and wearing clothes. Can I have my dog back now?”

  Ace blinked at Joker while he took hold of one of the large pillows and slowly dragged it over Chip. It might have worked if Chip’s butt wasn’t sticking out and his tail wasn’t thumping loudly against the mattress. “What dog?”

  Joker was not impressed. “Oh, gee. I wonder where he went. Chip.”

  Chip darted out from under the pillow and leaped over Colton and Ace, landing gracefully on his paws in front of Joker, tail wagging.

  “Show off,” Ace muttered.

  Joker snorted. “Maybe if you didn’t go around lifting things you shouldn’t, you could make that jump, too. Instead, you have to lay there. Like a potato.”

  Ace narrowed his eyes at Joker, then batted his lashes at Colton. “Baby, could you annihilate him for me? Or, I don’t know. Ooh, steal his wallet and hold it high over his head so he can’t reach it.”

  “Bite me,” Joker said, turning and leaving the room. “Get your asses downstairs. Red says dinner’s almost ready.”

  Colton got up and helped Ace to his feet. “You okay? Feeling a little stiff?” Ace opened his mouth to reply, and Colton put a finger to Ace’s lips. “If you say, ‘That’s what he said.’ I’m going to leave you to the squirrels.”

  “I was just going to say, after you, my darling husband, light of my life.”

  Colton hummed. He headed downstairs, groaning as he got to the bottom step. “That smells amazing.”

  Red beamed at him as Colton walked into the kitchen, his stomach rumbling and mouth watering at the smells.

  “I figured since it’s so cold outside, some homemade comfort food was in order.”

  Ace and Chip entered the kitchen simultaneously, lifted their noses to the air, and sniffed in perfect sync, making Red and Colton laugh.

  “What?” Ace asked.

  “Nothing,” Colton replied, taking a peek in the oven. He gasped at the glorious sight. “You made your famous chicken pot pie.”

  “I did,” Red replied brightly, then glanced at Ace. “Before you go worrying. I made your honey cornbread.”

  Ace threw his arms up and then immediately regretted the action. “Ow. Ooh. That was not a good life choice.”

  Fitz walked into the kitchen and headed for the fridge. “Heard you threw out your back. Was it carrying all that breakfast food? Oh, wait.”

  Colton had to put his fist to his mouth to keep himself from laughing. His husband was not going to live that down any time soon.

  “First of all, I didn’t throw out my back. Second of all, I said I was sorry. And third of all, if my back did go out, maybe it was when you and your fifty-pound fur coat landed on me!”

  Fitz took the pitcher of iced tea from the fridge, his expression showing he was not impressed. He poured himself a glass, his gaze still on Ace. Somehow, he didn’t spill a drop. Then, he placed the glass on the counter and returned the pitcher to the refrigerator. He picked up his glass again and slowly sipped, meeting Ace’s gaze.

  “I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.” An evil twinkle came into his eye. “After all, your bones aren’t what they used to be.”

  Ace gasped. “That little nerd nugget! He told you.”

  “Of course he did,” Fitz said, laughing. His smile faded, which had Colton pushing away from the counter. “Has anyone seen or heard from him? I texted him four times, but he hasn’t responded.”

  “When was that?” Colton asked.

  “We had lunch at noon, and then he said something about returning to the reindeer farm?” Fitz shrugged. “I don’t know what that means. Is there an actual reindeer farm here?”

  Colton nodded. “Clara and her husband own it.”

  “Her husband is the mayor,” Ace offered. “She’s married to the guy who looks like Santa.”

  “That’s adorable.” Fitz removed his phone from his pocket and sighed. “Still nothing.”

  “Maybe he’s with King?” Red said as he removed a stack of plates from the cabinet.

  Ace pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. “King’s not answering.”

  “I don’t like this,” Fitz said. “One of them always answers.”

  Ace shot off a text, and soon after, the rest of the crew, minus King and Leo, appeared. “Has anyone seen or talked to King or Leo?”

  Everyone looked around.

  No one.

  Fitz tapped his fingers against his glass. “Maybe they’re just, you know, getting a little sugar.”

  Joker scoffed. “King and Leo aren’t the kind of guys who have sex inside a tool shed.”

  Gio’s eyes went wide, and Colton cringed. It was like Joker didn’t know his husband. If there were an opportunity to tease his brothers, Ace would always notice even the most subtle signs.

  “You mean like you and Gio?” Ace asked, not missing a beat.

  Joker blinked at him.

  “Ha!” Ace thrust a finger at Joker. “I knew it! You two are so on the naughty list.”