Maggie sat in between Marc and Kyle and the constant carping between the two of them made her laugh. Marc was a shameless, but totally harmless, flirt and he did it partly just to needle Kyle. Finally, Polly leaned over and rapped Marc across the knuckles with her fork and told him to stop harassing his brother and Maggie laughed even harder.

The family was so wonderful and welcoming, she felt like she’d never truly even had a holiday dinner before. She helped clear up the dishes but then the men took over, sending the women out to sit and drink coffee and brandy.

“Ah…this is the life,” Polly said, kicking off her spike heeled shoes and wriggling her toes. “Too bad they don’t do this more often. Maggie, darlin’, you must raise my grandsons to do the dishes. I came from a different generation, it wasn’t done very often. I admit I spoiled them a bit.”

“Just a bit,” Maggie said dryly. “It is mighty difficult to not want to take care of Kyle. Luckily, he can cook and his condo is quite clean. As for grandchildren, well, let’s just take this one step at a time.”

Georgette laughed. “You’re the sacrificial lamb, sugar. The first real woman who’s caught a Chase boy this generation. Just think about how much easier it will be for the next three after she’s broken you in.”

Polly threw her sister a dirty look. “Don’t you go scaring this little peach away! She’s the best thing that ever happened to Kyle. Have you ever seen him so, I don’t know, happy? Calm, satisfied looking? No, this little girl, she’s so wonderful that Kyle’s brothers can now see just how worthwhile love truly is. Not a sacrificial anything, an angel.”

Maggie snorted. She wouldn’t think Maggie was so angelic if she knew why her son looked so satisfied lately.

The doorbell rang and Polly started to put her shoes back on and groaned. Maggie put a staying hand on her knee and stood up. “I’ll get it, just put those feet up.”

She walked into the foyer and opened the door, only to come face to face with none other than Lyndsay Cole and her bimbo partner in crime, Stefanie Peterson. Maggie stared at them. “Yes?”

“We brought some pie by.”

“That so?”

“We did it to be neighborly of course. We’re very close to the Chase family, you know,” Stefanie snapped.

“Oh really? Funny, no one’s ever mentioned you.”

“Lyndsay is close to the Chase family, or at least one of them in particular.”

Maggie snorted and nearly jumped out of her skin when Polly came into the hallway, in her bare stocking feet. She turned and gestured to Lyndsay and Stefanie. “Apparently, they wanted to be neighborly and bring over a pie.”

“Why would we want their pie when yours were so good?” Polly said with a smile that slid into a glare when she turned her gaze at Stefanie and Lyndsay. “Cut the crap, girls. What are you really doing here?”

“Hello, Mrs. Chase. How are you today? Momma just had an extra pie and wanted me to bring it over,” Lyndsay cooed. Maggie had to admire the girl’s steel for not quailing in the face of Polly’s scorn.

Polly took the pie, looked at it and handed it back. She just stared at Lyndsay for some moments before speaking. “You say your momma made that pie?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“She working over at Kroger’s bakery these days?” Polly jerked her head, indicating the Kroger’s stamp on the bottom of the pie tin.

Lyndsay’s face colored and then she brightened. Kyle walked into the hall and approached, putting an arm around his mother and Maggie. “What’s going on here?”

“Apparently, Kyle, Lyndsay’s momma is working at Kroger’s bakery now and wanted her to bring over a pie. Also, Stefanie thought she’d come by as well, to be neighborly and all,” Maggie said sounding quite dangerous.

Polly, hearing a tone similar to her own in Maggie smiled in her own dangerous way. “Apparently, honey, she forgot to wear a bra, too.”

Maggie burst out laughing and Kyle smiled down at his mother and then looked at Lyndsay—from the neck up, he wasn’t a fool. “You two need to go on home. My family is having a nice day and I don’t want you to ruin it.”

“She’s not your family,” Lyndsay said.

“Of course she is. You see, family is about more than genetics. It’s about love,” Polly said, taking Maggie’s hand.

“And I love Maggie very much, as does the rest of my family,” Kyle added.

“Yeah, well she’s a home wrecker! You’ll see! She doesn’t deserve you!” Lyndsay spat out venomously.

“Go home, Lyndsay. You’re embarrassing yourself. Kyle. Isn’t. Interested.” Maggie sounded bored but still looked dangerous.

“How do you know that? If he’s not interested, where was he last night?” Lyndsay tossed that out with a smirk.

Maggie met that with a smug smirk of her own and leaned in close to the other woman. “With me. All night. Where he is every night. Believe me when I tell you he’d have been too tired to go anywhere else.”

Kyle chuckled. “Very true, sugar.”

“You broke up your own parents’ marriage!” She looked around Maggie to Polly, who’d moved back a bit to lean against the doorjamb. “On top of that, do you know, Mrs. Chase, that she went out with Shane and dumped him to go out with Kyle? Kyle and I were in a relationship before she came along and wrecked it.”