Welcome Birthday Guest Kris Jacen!

Kris’ Heptad Birthday

“Your destination is on your right,” the annoying voice from the GPS said as I pulled into the driveway. Good thing I love these guys. Couldn’t Holly have found a more convenient location for my party? Oh yeah, I knew they were throwing me a party. Why else would the guys ask me to join them on vacation?

After turning off the car, I climbed out and just looked over the house. Okay, maybe Holly had found a great location and even though it was in Savannah, there was a bite to the air for Christmas Eve. The house overlooked the beach and was huge. As I started up the walk, the door opened and all the heptad’s kids came flying out.

“Miss Kris! Miss Kris! You’re here!” all the different voices melded together. Lord did my boys and their spouses make some pretty children. Cam and Cal, as the oldest, were following along behind making sure all the toddlers weren’t wandering off and I could see Cam watching Tristan out of the corner of his eye.

Nova, Mike’s oldest, and Julia, Kevin’s little girl, were somehow the first to get to me. “We get a ‘prise after your cake,” Nova told me.

“Cake! Cake!” Noah, Mike’s youngest, and Maggie, Brian’s youngest, started chanting. Well, at least I think that’s what they were saying. I’m a little rusty in toddler-speak.

“Hey! You weren’t supposed to ruin the surprise for Miss Kris, nibbles,” Mackey said as he walked out with Dix who immediately began to round up the kids.

“So glad you were able to make it down, Kris. It’s been so long since we’ve seen you.” Mooney came right up to me and gave me a big hug.

“Ha! I got to see her a few months ago at Ranger School with Randolph.” Spook preened since he was really the only one of the heptad to be in my last book. Sucks that they were handing everything over to the younger crews but these boys of mine had done so much for their country. It was getting time for them to enjoy civilian life.

“It’s good to see you all too. Everybody made it down?” I couldn’t see into the house but I was sure the rest of the heptad and the spouses had to be there.

“Everyone is here and just for your birthday, we’re going to start a new tradition with the kids this year. Cam and Cal were doing some research with Siah’s help about holiday traditions around the world and found one that seems especially for you. Boys?” Mooney looked at his twins with a raised eye brow.

“Well, yeah—” Cam started.

“since your birthday is on—” It was a good thing that I knew these boys so I could follow them.

“Christmas Eve, we thought—”

A new voice interrupted the normal rhythm of the twins, “That is so cool, Miss Kris. I wish I had a cool birthday,” Maddy said.

“I like your day, Maddy,” Cal told her before continuing, “so we know you’re Scandinavian so it’s not—

“totally your heritage but—”

“in Iceland they give books—”

“to everyone on Christmas Eve and then—”

“we spend the rest of the night reading.” Cam finished.

“And just who is going to read to the nibbles?” I asked.

“All of us are going to take turns,” Tristan told me. “Haley knows how already and Maddy and me have been learning how to read.”

“I think it sounds like a great idea. But first…” I looked at Noah and Andrew. “Cake!”

 

You can read more about the heptad and the younger crews in Kris’ For Me series. They can all be read standalone but it does add to the stories if you read them in order. The latest release in the series is CHALLENGE ME (https://goo.gl/btvxyA).

 

Bio

Kris Jacen grew up just north of Boston, Massachusetts, met her soldier in high school but didn’t married him almost ten years later. She moved around with him and their daughters (born in two different states thanks to the Army) for the first 19 years of their marriage (they’ll celebrate their silver anniversary in 2018) before settling in western New York.

She has been the Editor in Chief and Formatting Director for ManLoveRomance Press and its imprints since January of 2008 and has never looked back. Working with the amazing authors at MLR has allowed her to both hone her editorial skills and indulge her inner fangirl. She also acts as editor, mentor and sounding-board for newcomers which lets her “pay-it-forward” and help authors realize their dreams.

You can find out more about Kris on her website www.krisjacen.com.