As more raucous laughter erupted, Navarro and Zachary made a show of consoling their pouting wives.
More than forty of them would be spending the holidays at Asha's luxurious château in Burgundy. To avoid overloading one plane with everyone's luggage and Christmas packages, they were splitting up into two groups. Half of the family was traveling on Manning's Gulfstream, the other half on Marcus's.
"All I know is that I'm flying on the same plane as Mama Wolf," Magnum announced.
"Aww," Prissy cooed, patting her son's stubbled cheek. "That's sweet that you want to fly with your great-grandmother."
"Heck, yeah, I do," Magnum asserted, grinning. "Mama Wolf is like a good luck charm. She's one hundred and five years old and still going strong. As long as she's on the plane, nothing's gonna happen."
This set off a round of laughter and guffaws, heads shaking in amusement.
Maddox remarked humorously to Mason, "Your boy Reid has been lighting up Twitter since last night."
"I know," Mason said with a laugh. "Every woman I know has been sending me the link to the video all day. Like I hadn't already watched the press conference last night and called to congratulate Reid."
"Are you talking about your friend who plays hockey?" Sterling asked.
"Yeah. He popped the question to his girlfriend last night after the game. Mind you, he had a really big night, scored his three hundredth career goal. But all these chicks wanna talk about is his romantic marriage proposal. Granted, it was pretty dope."
"Ooh, I wanna see it," Reese exclaimed. "Is it on YouTube?"
"But of course." As Mason pulled out his smartphone, everyone crowded around him to watch the video of a tall, strapping, blue-eyed hunk proposing to his stunned girlfriend, a lovely young black woman in a badass Miu Miu dress.
When the video ended with the couple locked in a passionate kiss, a chorus of feminine coos and sighs swept around the kitchen.
"Aww! That was sooo romantic!"
"What a lucky girl!"
"There's nothing like young love. And what a kiss." Asha sighed, laying a hand over her heart. "Le seul vrai langage au monde est un baiser. The only true language in the world is a kiss."
Zora was less eloquent but just as truthful. "Damn, Reid is fine as hell!"
The women laughed and hummed in hearty agreement, causing the men to scowl and grumble.
Zora grinned, fanning herself. "If I weren't happily married-"
"Girl, hush," Maya chided. "One white boy is enough for you."
"I know." Zora leaned up on tiptoe and soundly kissed Zachary's cheek, drawing amused snorts of laughter from everyone.
"How long have Reid and his girlfriend been dating?" Asha asked Mason.
He grinned. "Just a couple months, if you can believe it."
"Wow," the others exclaimed. "He moves fast!"
Marcus smiled down at Samara. "When it's right, it's right."
"Amen," Michael agreed, winking at Reese.
Asha gave Samara a meaningful glance before smiling at Mason. "And how did you meet Reid?"
"We met in New York a few years ago," Mason explained, tucking his phone away. "We were shooting an anti-drug PSA with some other pro athletes. We hit it off and started hanging out after that. He's good people."
Stan nodded. "I like him. He's got a good head on his shoulders, seems like he was raised right. Pris, remember how he treated us all to dinner when we flew out to Denver for Mason's game against the Broncos?"
"I remember," Prissy said warmly. "Reid was the perfect host, and it was so wonderful to see the Wimbushes again. Remember how we spent hours at the restaurant laughing and reminiscing about the years we lived in Denver?"
"Sounding like a bunch of old fogies," Mason clowned his parents. "Reid and I were tryna hit the club and y'all were holding us up."
Stan and Prissy laughed.
"Didn't Reid just sign a deal with Nike?" Marcus asked.
"Yup," Mason confirmed. "We're doing a commercial together next year."
"Oh Lordt," Zora joked. "That's gonna break the damn Internet."
All the women laughed in agreement.
Donning fancy oven mitts, Prissy and Asha removed the aluminum pans from the double ovens and set them down on the center island.
As everyone gravitated toward the good-smelling food, Prissy peeled off the foil covers with a dramatic flourish and cheerfully announced, "Come and get it while it's hot!"
She didn't have to tell 'em twice.
7
Three days later, Marcus was driving back to the office after attending a hearing at the courthouse. The judge had ruled in his client's favor, so Marcus had strolled out of the courtroom feeling even more exhilarated than when he'd arrived.
Truth be told, he'd had a permanent spring in his step for the past nine years, starting from the day Samara had gazed into his eyes and spoke the words, "I do." She'd changed him in more ways than he could have ever imagined. She'd torn down his defenses, dismantled the walls he'd erected around his heart in the aftermath of his parents' devastating divorce. After years of carrying around so much hurt and anger and cynicism, it had been liberating to let go of the baggage.
Since marrying Samara, he'd been at peace with himself and his world. He walked around feeling a bone-deep satisfaction with life. As far as he was concerned, nothing on earth compared to the love of a good woman. It was the kind of love that could sustain a man through life's toughest challenges and save his very soul.
Whistling along to the Christmas tunes playing on the radio, Marcus decided to take a detour and pay a quick visit to Magnum at the fire station. He and his cousin had always shared a close bond. They were the same age, so they'd played together as children and were roommates at Morehouse.
Magnum always knew he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a firefighter. He and his four brothers had grown up taking rides on fire trucks, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Long after his brothers outgrew the thrill, Magnum's fascination with firefighting had only intensified. He'd collected replica rescue trucks and enjoyed running around the house in his father's helmet, turnout coat and boots.
He was destined to become a firefighter, and just like his old man before him, he'd turned out to be a damn good one.
When Marcus pulled up to the fire station, the garage doors were open. Two fire engines and a fire truck were inside the large bay.
Marcus parked at the curb and got out. He was wearing dark sunglasses and a navy Brioni suit with Louis Vuitton loafers. He always felt overdressed when he showed up at the fire station in his business attire. The firefighters enjoyed giving him a hard time and calling him "Counselor GQ."
The thought made him chuckle as he started up the long driveway toward the redbrick building. He could see a pair of booted feet inside the fire truck's ladder chute, a narrow compartment that provided access to the engine and pump.
As Marcus neared the truck, he heard a muttered string of expletives that brought a knowing grin to his face.
"Damn, son," he drawled, pulling off his sunglasses. "Is it that bad?"
Magnum broke off mid-curse. "Marcus?"
"The one and only."
Magnum chuckled. "Yo, what up, cousin? What's good with you?"
"That's what I should be asking you, Captain Wolf." Marcus sauntered over to the side of the fire truck so he could see his cousin through the opening. Magnum was wearing tinted safety goggles and sporting several days' worth of dark stubble.
"What're you doing?" Marcus asked him.
"Fixing this damn valve that sprung a leak."
"Don't you have a mechanic for that?"
"He's out sick."
"So you couldn't find anyone else to do the job?"
"Why should I?" Magnum retorted. "I've been fixing engines since I was in diapers."
It wasn't far from the truth. Magnum's father was a talented handyman who'd always enjoyed repairing things. He'd passed on his knowledge and skills to his sons and nephews, who'd spent many childhood afternoons crowded around the hood of a car as they learned everything from how to change the oil to how to install an exhaust system.
Part of being a man is being self-sufficient, Uncle Stan would lecture them. Your ancestors fought bravely in wars, took care of their families and handled their business like real men are supposed to. No Wolf male should ever go through life not knowing how to do something as basic as changing a flat tire.
Smiling at the memory, Marcus hitched his chin toward Magnum. "Sounds like you're having some trouble up there."
Magnum grunted. "Nothing I can't handle."
Marcus propped one shoulder against the truck. "This is the umpteenth time this year that the truck has needed repairs. Think it's time to put her out to pasture?"
"Nah," Magnum scoffed. "No need to blow our budget on a new rig. Regular maintenance and upkeep is all this baby needs."