Zee and I had time for two lunch dates before Thanksgiving rolled around on Thursday. They weren't much, but I wanted to spend a lot of time with Hollie too. As much as I liked spending time with Zee, I needed to make sure that my new relationship didn't mean that I ignored my daughters. That wouldn't be fair, and might make them resent Zee, which is the last thing I wanted. Lunch time dates were good, because the girls could hang out together while Zee and I got to talk and relax, then we had the rest of the day to spend as a group. So far that was working well.

On Thanksgiving Day, the house was full of activity. Elizabeth had come over with two heads of fresh cauliflower that we'd be roasting later and some stale breadcrumbs for a homemade stuffing. She hadn't mentioned her gardener friend since the first time, and I was afraid to ask. I guess he wasn't joining us today. She still seemed happy though, and that was what mattered. Quinn was there as well, fulfilling her promise to join us for the holiday and not having any of her men that she wanted to spend the time with. It would have been great if Harlow had come too, but she was still trying to work things out with her fiancé, and I silently wished her good luck.

"Okay, I think we're ready for the turkey to go in," I announced. Zee and Elizabeth were in the kitchen with me, and we had all chipped in on prepping things and making the stuffing before putting it into the big bird. Zee was a quick learner and seeing her concentrating while her cute little tongue was sticking out as she sauteed onions made me want to reward her with a lot of kisses.

So, I did. 

We'd explained to Elizabeth that we were just starting a relationship, though we left out the part about meeting at the hotel, and she quickly gave Zee a hug that made the younger woman tear up. It was one thing for me to tell her that she wasn't alone, and another for her to feel more and more people that had come to be on her side. Not to mention, she knew what Elizabeth meant to me, and her supporting us meant as much as my daughters doing so. My whole family was now on board with us trying to be together, and that was a good feeling.

Strangely enough, the afternoon was spent watching football. We had over four hours with the turkey in the oven, and Hollie and Zee had both grown up being into sports, and had spent much of the fall watching the Seminoles play football up at school, so it made sense that they watched. Elizabeth didn't care too much either way, while Jashanna and Gracie were too busy snuggling to worry about what was on television. But it was Quinn's begging that almost forced us to watch, because she had evidently hooked up with Tampa Bay's new rookie tight end, and she was very vocal about her not being a tight end when he was done with her. Yes, that meant exactly what you probably thought it did. The rest of us tried not to think too much about it.

"Come on 89!" she screamed at the television as her beau caught the ball and rumbled down the field. She'd love to celebrate with him after the game, but they were playing in Detroit and wouldn't be back till the morning. But she already had plans to go see him when he landed. I didn't know if the age gap between me and Zee had any bearing on her hooking up with a 22 year old rookie, but she was happy with what they had. Of course, she had the same thing with several others still, so maybe this guy was just very good at keeping her screaming.

"I would have thought you would have been cheering for 69," said Elizabeth drily, making us all cackle at her delivery, timing, and the fact that it was her that said it at all.

"Oh, I don't have to cheer for that," Quinn said with a grin. "That boy gives as good as he gets. I might have found the one!"

"Seriously?" I asked. "After all this time?"

"Yeah, I think so." She turned to look at me with a smile. "I never thought it would happen either. But Alec is a special one, so who knows?"

We all gave her little sounds of encouragement, and she blushed profusely. "Seriously Quinn, we're all happy for you. Do you think he feels that way too?"

She nodded quickly. "Yeah. He already let me meet his mom on a video chat, which I don't think I've ever done. It's been kind of a whirlwind. Honestly, if Zee here hadn't taken you off the market, I would have introduced you to his teammate, because he was looking for someone too. He's much better than that conference guy I mentioned before."

"She's taken!" Zee said with a mock growl before pulling me into her in a tight hug. "No football players needed, nor wanted!" 

I wrapped my arms around my girl and kissed the top of her head. "Sorry. Off limits here."

"I know, I know," Quinn said with a chuckle. "But if they go to the super bowl, I'll be waving at you on TV!"

"And we'll cheer on your team too," I assured her. "But we'll be happily watching it from here."

"And if they win you might not see me for a week, cuz I won't let him out of bed!"

"You do that already!" I said with a snort.

"And you don't?" she asked with her eyebrows raised.

I shook my head slowly, because other than our one night together at the beginning of the break, we had done nothing more than share many lovely kisses. I think that night had been magical, but we had done well in keeping ourselves grounded since then and made a lot of progress in learning about one another. We were at the point now where I could really see us together and happy, we just needed a little more time before we could say more. But I had a feeling that when the Christmas break rolled around, and we were back together for an extended amount of time, we would be much more secure in our feelings.

"We're going slowly," I told her with a smile.

"Ha!" Hollie said. "Not entirely."

Zee's eyes flew open, and I couldn't help but blush deeply at my daughter's accusation. I couldn't deny that we'd been a little loud that night, and both left a few marks. But we really have been good since then! "Okay, but that was only one time!"

"Well, one night," Zee corrected. "Multiple times." She leaned in for a kiss, and I groaned once more in embarrassment. "But we've been good since then."

"Seriously, Demi?" Quinn looked over at me with surprise. "How the hell do you not go after her every night? I'm not even into girls and I know you have to be dying to grab her-"

"Quinn! Enough, stop being your usual horny self." I said quickly as Gracie and Jashanna burst into laughter, while Elizabeth started to blush. "After everything, I want to make sure that if we're going to make a run at this, that it is more than just physical. I have three daughters that I have to take care of too. Trust me, we're doing well so far, and hopefully things will go even better soon. But don't rush us."

"Mom, we just want you happy," Gracie said softly. "And we can see that you both are smiling a bunch, so keep it up. Whatever you're doing is working."

"I know I can't remember being this happy," Zee admitted. "I'll do all I can to make this work." She then changed her voice to a silly cackle. "But then I might be the evil stepmom!" Everyone got a laugh out of that because none of us had seen an evil bone in Zee's body at all. Sure, she made a mess out of Elliot's face, but he most certainly had that coming and it was protective rather than evil.

There was a lot of other good conversation as the food cooked, and the house slowly became more and more delicious smelling every time I basted the turkey. As we got closer to it being done, the activity in the kitchen picked up. Zee continued to be my helper, as she peeled the potatoes while I got the cauliflower cut up for roasting. We had three plantains that we'd make sure were nice and ripe for frying, but those would be the last things we did, as they needed to be nice and hot when served.

But when the timer finally beeped at the end of all our hard work, we had quite the feast for the seven hungry women in the house. While we had finished up, the girls had all set the table, and Quinn had got the wine ready, and soon the table was overflowing with food for us to enjoy. Truly, with Jashanna having joined the family, and Zee there for the first time, it really felt wonderful. I couldn't wait to repeat the same thing at Christmas, assuming Quinn wasn't 69ing number 89.

"Thank you all for being here," I said as I looked down to the other end of the table. I had Zee on my right, her hand holding mine as she sat next to Quinn. My three girls were on my left, and Elizabeth sat at the other end of the table, making it a nice distribution of personalities. "I know this has been a very different year, but I'm so happy that we're together like this. I love you all, and I hope you enjoy the meal."

"And thank you for hosting us, dear," Elizabeth added. "Having family over, both old and new, makes for a wonderful meal."

"I agree." Quinn was nodding quickly. "You're all really like my second family, and I'm so happy to be a part of this. I've never felt happier."

"Me too!" Jashanna was next, and she wasn't going to wait. "Becoming a part of this family was something I always wanted, though it turned out a little differently than expected, But I've always felt the love of you all, and I'm so happy to be here and soaking in the atmosphere."

"I'm glad you're here too, Shanna." Gracie leaned over giving her girlfriend a kiss. "And thank you mom for making this all possible. You're always there when we need you."

"And we're all glad to see you happy," Hollie chimed in. "It is long overdue to see you smiling so much, and I know everyone here is thrilled to see it."

A sniffle from Zee stilled everyone, and I turned to see her head bowed and tears streaming down her face. I quickly leaned over, pulling her into a hug, and felt her shudder in my arms. "Are you okay, baby?" I asked in a soft whisper.

She nodded quickly, then sat up, drying her tears. "I never knew that a family could be like this," she choked out while trying to smile. "You're all such wonderful people, and I can't tell you how lucky I feel that I stumbled into your lives, let alone that you have included me in all of this. Thank you so much for everything, from the friendship and food to the room and the internship." She turned to me, her eyes still sparkling with unshed tears. "And thank you for taking a chance on me. I will always be glad to have met you, and I will do my best to keep that smile on your face."

"Well, this is your home as long as you want it," I assured her. There was no way I would kick her out like her parents did, she needed stability in her life. "And if this is your home, then you can count on all of us as friends and family."

She nodded rapidly. "That is all I need."