When she arrived at the center, she made a point to let them know that Kyle had the authority as well as her Aunt Ellen to sign for any needs that had to do with the center. When she glanced at the clock on her dash, she realized it was already after one and she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. She headed to Angelo’s she knew if any restaurant was open, she’d like to eat at it would be there. When she arrived, the host smiled brightly and said, “Miss. McDaniel’s it’s good to see you again.” He didn’t even bat an eyelash at her casual attire. He asked, “Where would you like to be seated today?” Angel asked curiously “Do you have a quiet place that I can get some work done while I eat?” Emmanuel smiled brightly at her and said “I believe I have just the place for you Miss.” When the server came to ask for her order after she’d set her laptop up, she said evenly “Could you just tell Angelo that Angel is here, he’ll know what to bring me.”
She was making real progress through her emails and other correspondence, as well as searching for Jackson’s Christmas present locally online when her food arrived. During her late lunch she contacted Justin to ask him if he knew where she could find a good body for a 1967 Camaro Z28, she’d noted Jackson’s fixation with the car. He loved antique cars and it was his dream car. She was about to give him the space to work on it, the tools to get the job done. A professional to help along the way during the process and all the parts he’d need. Justin told her he had a friend who owned a custom body shop that she could go over and talk to him.
It was three by the time she made it there; the owner was clearly not expecting a nineteen-yr. old girl to show up at his shop. When she told him what she wanted he had told her point blank “That’s going to cost a pretty penny, you can buy one cheaper than you’re talking about.” Angel smirked and said “If I wanted to buy one, I could buy all the ones ever created and still not be broke. I want my brother to have the satisfaction of having been in on the ground floor up of building his car. And I want someone there to make sure the jobs done right and it’s safe for him. Whatever he wants, the sky’s the limit Mr. Meyer.” He arched his brow and said, “My dad’s Mr. Meyer, I’m Dirk, look I don’t want you offended but for a job like this I’ll need the full price for the car body upfront, and half the cost of the repairs in advance.” Angel nodded and said “It’s a business Dirk I would expect no less, but I will be paying for everything in advance completely, any extra cost can be billed to me at a later date.
What I need to know from you is if you can setup the work area in the garage at the house, lifts and all tools, car, everything before Christmas morning.” Dirk said baldly “If my guys got to work Christmas Eve, it’s going cost you extra.” Angel nodded and replied “Done.” Dirk blinked rapidly, before asking cautiously “Just who the hell are you kid?” Angel smiled and said, “I’m Angel Denae McDaniel’s.” He knew Justin worked for the Denae’s a very, rich family, but everyone knew the McDaniel’s. Jesus, this kid was on the level, which meant he was going to have to have his guys, hustle to get everything done. When she handed him a check and then insisted on calling the bank, so he knew the money was available he was beyond stunned. Who laid down that much money for their kid brother’s hobby? She must really love him.
She had phoned Deanna and she was having the old Chapel turned into a photography studio for Kaleb, backdrops, props anything he’d need Deanna was locating, she’d suggested they go through some of Liam Montgomery’s things that were in storage for the harder to find pieces. She realized she had her brothers covered but her grandparents, aunts and uncles were another story.
It was after four when she returned home; she could see that people were starting to arrive to begin work on the garage and the chapel. She made Grant promise to keep the boys out of both areas. She made the rounds of handing out bonus checks to all her employees and most was genuinely stunned she had done so being as they had only been with her a few weeks’ time. But while stunned they were genuinely thankful as well.
She remembered she’d promised to take Louisa to the mall, so she headed straight over there. She noted the party planner was in full swing after all Christmas was tomorrow and there was a lot to get done. After picking up Louisa she informed Grant of their destination and he insisted he and Brandon join them. She didn’t rush Louisa or vice versa, they stopped for coffee with the guys and shopped leisurely as they went. Angel found the rest of the gifts she needed which she was thankful for. It was going on seven when they arrived home. Grant and Brandon unloaded Angel’s things while she helped Louisa carry her things to her place.
When she arrived home, she was stunned to see all the decorations were finished, it was like looking at one of those homes in a magazine. The ones everyone wishes they had because it looks like the picture of a normal Christmas. The tree itself was surrounded by so many presents; she’d never seen so many boxes before. Due to the peace, they had accomplished at the family meeting the night before the whole family as well as her employees were coming to the Christmas dinner. Except for their grandma Marigold that is. She had firmly drawn the line in the sand and then promptly buried her head in it. She was sure in the end it would all work out, but she knew Marigold would never completely forgive her for taking what she felt should have been hers. Even though the initial decision hadn’t been Angels, the boys siding with Angel had been like salt to an open wound, the alienation of her sons and husband would cause a festering wound as well.
Dinner went pretty much as it always did, afterward the boys went to their rooms to work more on the website. She went to check the progress Deanna was making and then to check on the progress of Dirk and his crew. She was surprised to see her father and Grant in the garage. When Hunter looked, he said “You do realize that Jackson might never leave this garage now, right?” Angel laughed and responded “No, he’ll feel motivated to get his chores done faster so he can work on it every evening. Once we hire on more stable hands, he’ll have more free time until then it’s chaos at best around here.” They had made considerable progress; she was actually very pleased with the initial progress.
It was around midnight when the wrecker hauling the shell that would be Jackson’s car arrived. It was under a tarp so it couldn’t be seen, but once it was in the garage the tarp came off. The bodywork had already been completed but it was a blank canvas. It was completely gutted, no seats, no dash, it was literally a shell. Jackson would be able to design everything on his own from scratch, she knew his skills if anyone could do it her brother could.
Deanna herself had turned the Chapel into a first-class studio with the small office at the back of the chapel being turned into a darkroom. The lighting the stained-glass windows in the church would throw would be amazing.
Oh, she had no doubt their grandma Marigold would try to outdo her. But it wasn’t about the money; it was the thought that drove the actions. By the time she headed to bed at two people were still working steadily. Her father had decided to stay over again, which was fine with her.
She was surprised when her alarm went off the next morning that she was wired rather than groggy, her adrenaline was kicking in. After her shower she knocked on the boys’ doors and true to form they were ready to work out. As per usual the men were already hard at it. She noted that Kaleb seemed to be building his endurance somewhat. He had initially started out running two miles on the treadmills, now he was running four.
After a quick breakfast with the family, she could tell the boys weren’t going to wait much longer to open their presents. They were practically vibrating with the energy. It took the boys twenty minutes to sort through the presents and pass them out to those who were there at the time. Once everyone was seated on the couches with their presents near them the boys began to open theirs. Her father, bless his heart had bought her brothers ATV’s. Lord knew the worries she would have now. But on the plus side he bought them protective gear as well. Her grandmother Belle hadn’t forgotten them either she bought them several outfits, various gift certificates and had given them a visa gift card that Angel didn’t even want to know the limit of. When Angel got around to opening her gifts, she had custom jewelry, new boots, clothing, and other various accessories. She was touched they had bought her anything at all. It was the last gift that touched her the most. Her, brother’s handed her an envelope, inside the envelope was a tourist pamphlet to a resort in the Maldives Islands, the tickets inside the envelope were for the day after Christmas all the way through the New Year. The best part of all was that her Grandmother, Father, and brothers were coming with her. She shocked her brothers by hugging them both tightly, because, at the moment she couldn’t think of enough words to thank them.
So, she led Jackson to the garage to present him with his Christmas present. When he opened the door, the way his jaw hit the floor was priceless. She explained, it would be his project from the ground floor up and that Dirk would help him build it. While Jackson was pouring over his gift she walked with Kaleb to the Chapel where she opened the doors and showed him his new studio. He was mesmerized by all the new equipment, and the portfolio that Deanna had thrown together of his pictures of the animals. It was around eleven when all the other families began to filter in which gave them time to dress in their Christmas best, and get ready for the Christmas dinner.
Thankfully, everything went off without a hitch, it was only after the dinner that their grandma Marigold made her appearance, and as Angel had predicted she’d shown up in grand fashion. She had bought the boys brand new BMW’s. While she’d expected profuse thanks and adulation what she got from them was a bewildered thanks and confusion. Their grandpa Harrison had reined her in before she could create a scene. Michael had been shaking his head, Nicolas has looked on in disbelief, Gabriel and Geoffrey had shown outright disgust for their mother’s actions. Everyone knew she had tried to buy her grandsons affections and failed miserably. Angel really wished her grandmother could understand that all she had to give them was unconditional love and understanding.
It was the first real Christmas she’d ever had, and she’d got to spend it with all the people she cared about, to her that made it a perfect Christmas. After all the presents were opened and the wrappings had been cleared away and everything placed where it belonged, everyone slowly went about their business and returned to their own homes. She had loved the fact Angelo had been present, that he’d taken the time to prepare the meal. It had added that extra personal touch.