A Home for Christmas (20 page)

"What are you doing here?"

Riley stepped back, draping his arm around
Jenna's shoulders.

"Bullshit!" Aaron cried.

"Aaron!" Paige said, slapping at his
chest.

"What happened to Wade?" Trevor asked.

"We divorced five years ago," Jenna
told him.

Jack looked back and forth from his younger
brothers to his older brother.

"What am I missing here?  You two know
Riley's girlfriend?"

"We went to school with her," Trevor
filled in.

"And who is this?" Jack asked, nodding
to Cam.

Riley placed his other hand on Cam's
shoulder.  "This is Jenna's son, Cameron."

Aaron shot a look over at his mother. 
"What is it with you women naming your sons your maiden name?"

"Shut up, Aaron," Riley said, though
Jenna could see humor shining in his eyes, as Aaron's question echoed a
statement he himself made to Jenna early on when they met.

"Why didn't you boys tell me you were coming
home for Christmas?" Paige asked.

"We weren't sure we could pull it off,"
Jack replied.

"Mom and Dad were just telling Jenna and Cam
about the time we tried to dig our own swimming pool," Riley said, making
the other three groan.

"Not one of my better childhood
memories," Trevor lamented.

"I thought it was hilarious," Cam
laughed.

Riley ruffled Cam's hair.  "I wouldn't
advise it nowadays, bud, with all the underground utilities."

"The decorations look good, Pop," Aaron
said.  "Did you help him, Riley?"

"What the hell do you think?"

"Boys!  Watch your language,"
Paige admonished.  "Go put your things in your rooms and then come
into the kitchen."

"Yes, ma'am," they all answered. 
Even though they all had their own places in town, they would all be staying at
their parents' house for Christmas.

"Brody, what do we have to feed these
boys?"

"I can go pick something up," Riley
offered.

"No, no, my boys are all home, I'm
cooking," Paige said.

"Let me help, then," Jenna said, going
to Paige's side.

Paige smiled and gave her a quick hug. 
"Thank you, sweetie.  Now, let's see what we've got here."

Riley watched Jenna working with his mother and
couldn't suppress the feeling of contentment and pride at seeing his girl
helping his mother.  Maybe that was a little bit chauvinistic of him, but
he couldn't help it.

"Hey, Riley," Jack called from the
living room, "come here a minute."

"Yeah, hang on," he called back, then
turned to look at Cam.  "You good here for a minute, bud?"

"Yeah," Cam replied, his eyes on the
Santa he was assembling.

"OK, be right back."

He got up and went into the living room and found
his brothers waiting for him.

"Jenna Cameron," Trevor said. 
"What the hell?"

"What?"

Aaron shook his head.  "You don't
remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

Jack thumped Aaron on his chest lightly. 
"Told you."

"What?" Riley asked again.

Trevor muttered a foul oath under his breath,
shaking his head.  Aaron nodded toward Trevor, his eyes on Riley.

"Trev had a thing for her in high
school."

Riley cut his eyes over to Trevor, who had his
arms crossed over his chest.  Of the three brothers, Trevor was the
shortest and also the thickest.

"Seriously?  Is this going to be a
problem?"

Trevor shook his head.  "No...it
just...you didn't know?"

"No, Trev, I didn't know.  I was off at
Yale when you were in high school.  So, I repeat: is this going to be a
problem?"

Trevor sighed.  "No...it's just a
little...weird."

"Well, you better get used to it, my friend,
because I'm asking her to marry me tomorrow night."

"No shit?" Jack said, smiling. 
"That's great, man," he said, giving his older brother a hug and
clapping him on the back.  "Happy for you."

"Yeah, bro, that's awesome.  Instant
family," Aaron said.

"Yeah," Riley said, glancing back toward
the kitchen, "I'm crazy about them both."

Trevor cleared his throat and then embraced his
older brother.  "I am happy for you, bro...just a stupid old
crush."

"Thanks, man...hey, how did you all manage
to get leave and show up at the same time?"

"Mike pulled some strings for us.  I
guess he knew something big was about to go down," Jack replied.

Riley smiled.  "Yeah.  Yeah, he
did."

"So, doing it tomorrow...you looking at a
long engagement?" Aaron asked.

"Depends on her," Riley said.

"Would be cool to do it while we're all
still here," Jack said.  "Just sayin'."

Riley chuckled.  "I'll see what I can
do."

Cam was in awe of Riley and his brothers. 
They were all busting with muscles, they had really cool jobs and a lot of
great stories to tell.  Best of all, they all seemed to like him and
wanted to get to know him.  Aside from Riley, Cam couldn't decide which of
the brother's was the coolest.  Trevor was a SEAL just like Riley had
been.  Aaron was a lawyer, but a Navy lawyer so Cam thought that was still
cool.  Jack was a fighter pilot, though.  He flew F-18 Super Hornets
and Cam secretly thought that was the coolest of all, though he would never
admit that to Riley.

The brothers were all like Riley, always smiling
and laughing.  They tried to impress their parents and him and his mom
with stories of things that they'd seen and done and were constantly trying to
one-up each other.  To Cam, though, none of the brothers' stories were as
good as Riley's.  He was older, so he'd seen more action than
Trevor.  Cam liked how Riley would listen to Trevor's stories and then
caution him on not always looking for the excitement, but to take things steady
and calm.  Listening to Riley, Cam could see a different side to him, the
daredevil side that had made him join the SEALs in the first place, and the
careful, studied side that had brought him safely through all his battles.

Jack's stories were exciting, but in a different
way.  The enemy now was mainly a ground soldier.  Jack had a few
scrapes with pilots from other countries, mainly those countries who felt like
our guys were getting too close to their sovereign air space, but most of
Jack's experience was in taking out targets on the ground.  Targets that,
Riley and his team had "painted" for Jack more than once.

"Boys," Riley's mom said when Jack and
Riley began discussing yet another mission, "can we not have any more talk
of war at my dinner table?  This is Christmas, a time of peace.  Do
you realize it's been five years since I've had all four of you at my table at
the same time?"

Cam watched the brothers all glance around at
each other and lower their heads slightly, smiles dimming but not fading. 
Conversation shifted then to his mom, and after the first question, about his
dad, Cam was wishing they'd go back to talking about war.

"So, what happened with you and Wade?"
Trevor asked.  "I thought y'all were tight."

"Really, Trev?" Riley asked, and Cam
didn't think he sounded very amused.

"What?  They dated all through high
school.  She was always all about Wade.  I'm just..."

"You're just being an ass," Riley
snapped.

"Riley," Jenna said, placing her hand
on his arm.  "it's OK."

"Simmer down, Riley, it was just a
question," Trevor said, a bit taken back by his older brother's
hostility.  "Jenna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a sore
subject."

"It's OK, Trevor."

"My dad got caught up in being famous and
forgot he had a family," Cam answered.

Jenna looked down at him and gave him a sad
smile. 

"Yes, he did," she replied.

"And we came over here to take Cam's mind
off of all that and get back into the Christmas Spirit," Riley said,
glaring at his younger brother.

"No better place to do that," Aaron
said to Cam, "we've been trying to talk Mom and Dad into dressing up like
Santa and Mrs. Claus, but..."

"But I refuse to dress up like an old woman,"
Paige huffed, making everyone laugh.

Riley leaned over to Jenna, pressing a kiss
against her ear.

"Sorry about that," he whispered low.

Jenna shifted and looked up into his eyes,
placing her hand on his cheek and gently kissing him.

"It's OK, I don't think he meant anything by
it."

"He just doesn't think, period," he
said low.

"Hey!" Aaron called, tossing a piece of
his dinner roll across the table, hitting Riley in the side of the head. 
"No PDA at the dinner table."

"Aaron Stanton!  Tell me you did not
just throw food at your brother!" Paige gasped, horrified.

Aaron was laughing so hard his face was bright
red.  "Maybe."

Cam was staring wide-eyed at Riley's youngest
brother and so he saw when Jack launched a roll across at Aaron, hitting him
square in the forehead.  That prompted Aaron to retaliate, pulling Trevor
in.  Their mother was yelling at them to stop.  Their dad was
chuckling but not interfering.  Cam turned to look up at Riley, who was
also laughing but had yet to participate.  Cam had the feeling that had he
and his mom not been there, Riley would have been just as involved as the
others.

"Jenna, I swear to you, I did not raise
heathens!" Paige told her, even as the dinner rolls kept flying across the
table.  "Brody, do something, please."

"Boys," Brody said, his voice low and
firm.  The guys kept laughing but the rolls stopped flying. 

Jenna shook her head, looking up at Riley.

"What?" he asked, chuckling, "I
didn't participate."

"Only because Cam and I are here. 
Don't think you fooled me for one minute, Riley Stanton."

"What can I say, baby, you've domesticated
me."

"Gelded, you mean?" Aaron shot over at
him.

"Aaron Stanton, you are about two seconds
away from being sent to your room, I don't care how old you are!" Paige
admonished her youngest son.

"Busted!" Trevor laughed.

"Sorry, Mom," Aaron chuckled.

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to
Jenna."

Aaron's eyes shifted to Jenna and she could see
the mirth and mischief sparkling in them, so decided to cut him off before
something truly appalling escaped his mouth.

"Apology already accepted...so whatever you
were about to say, save it!" she said, shaking her finger at Aaron, which
sent the guys into new peals of laughter. "Don't forget that my ten-year
old son is at this table, Aaron."

He feigned a look of innocence. 
"What?  I was just going to say that I didn't mean to imply that my
brother is now a whipped...:

"Watch it, PeeWee," Riley cut in,
making them all laugh.

Jenna laughed too, in spite of Aaron's
implication that she had domesticated his oldest brother.  Or maybe, she
thought, looking up at Riley's profile, because she
had
domesticated
him...slightly. She had no doubt that had she not been there, he would have
been tossing rolls right along with his brothers; she'd seen it in his
eyes.  Truth be told, she kind of liked that about him; that he could be
wicked but didn't, because of her.

"You boys are setting a fine example for
Cam, you know that, right?" Paige admonished, but she was smiling.

"This is what not to do at the dinner table,
Cam," Jack told him, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, Cam.  Do as we say, not as we
do," Trevor threw in.

Cam was laughing harder than he had in a while
and Jenna decided the Stanton Brothers were the absolute best thing that could
have happened to Cam that day.  Bringing him to his parents' house to help
return his Christmas cheer had been a good decision on Riley's part.  Even
before his brothers arrived, Cam had been smiling and engaged, enjoying putting
the Santa ornaments together and listening to stories about Riley and his
brothers.  Now, having all the Stantons together, Cam was really enjoying
himself.

Jenna's phone rang, pulling her attention. 
She pulled it from her pocket and saw that it was Lainey.  Showing it
quickly to Riley, she glanced down at Paige.

"I'm sorry, excuse me a minute, I need to
take this," she said as she got up.

Riley watched her go, his gaze catching Cam's as
he turned back to the table.  A frown creased Cam's brow, letting Riley
know the boy was concerned.

"It's Lainey, calling her back," he
told Cam, keeping his voice low and calm.

Cam glanced back over his shoulder to where his
mother had walked out, then looked back at Riley.

"If Lainey thinks I should go talk to him,
would you come with me?"

"Absolutely," Riley promised.

"Everything OK, son?" Brody asked,
seeing the looks of worry on Riley and Cam's faces.

"Lainey has been working with Cam and his
dad, trying to iron out some rough spots they've hit lately.  Wade
is...well, he's in..."

"My dad's in rehab," Cam
explained.  "He started doing drugs a few years ago and Mom told him
if he wanted to spend time with me, he had to get cleaned up."

The brothers sobered and fell silent, looking at
Cam and then at Riley.  Cam looked up at Riley for reassurance and smiled
when Riley winked at him.

"Wade got into drugs?" Trevor asked.

"Yeah," Riley answered, locking gazes
with his brother to silently communicate that they didn't need to get into a
discussion about Wade there in front of Cam.

"Is that why they split up?"

"They split up because he cheated on my mom
and she caught him," Cam replied.

Trevor shook his head.  "I think
someone would have to be a fool to cheat on your mom."

"Yeah, well, that's my dad in a
nutshell," Cam said, sounding much older than his ten years.

"Do you ride dirt bikes like your dad,
Cam?" Jack asked, shifting the subject.

"Yeah," Cam answered.

Riley reached over and put his hand on the back
of Cam's neck.  "Cam just won the local season championship in his
division."

"Way to go, little dude!" Aaron said,
reaching across the table to high-five Cam.

"Thanks.  That was the day after we met
Riley.  He came to see it."

"It was awesome," Riley said.

"Riley?" Jenna called from the
entry-way.

He turned in his seat and looked over at her.

"Yeah, babe?"

"Can you come here a minute?"

"Yeah, sure...Cam, we'll be right back,
OK?"

Cam nodded and Riley got up to join Jenna in the
living room.  She had a strained look on her face that he knew couldn't be
a good thing. Before even speaking, Jenna stepped to him and wrapped her arms
around his waist, burying her face in his chest.  He slid his arms around
her, holding her tight, kissing the top of her head.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

She took a deep breath then stepped back from
him, raking her fingers through her hair.

"Lainey talked with Wade again.  She
thinks I should probably let Cam see him tomorrow.  Just briefly."

"OK."

She scowled at him.  "OK?"

"Lainey knows what she's doing.  She
wouldn't recommend this if she didn't think it would be good for Cam."

Jenna glanced past him into the dining room,
seeing Cam laughing and talking with Riley's brothers.  He seemed his
normal, carefree self in there with them.  She didn't want to do anything
to change that.

"I'm sure she is good at what she does, but
she isn't Cam's mother."

"I know that...and at the end of the day,
you have to do what you feel is right for your son.  All I can tell you
is...Lainey has helped a lot of families since she became a family
counselor.  She's dealt with a lot of kids whose parents were pulling them
in every direction, using the kid to hurt each other.  And, personally,
Lainey has helped me settle the mess that was in my head when I came home from
the war."

"So, you think I should let Cam see
Wade?"

"I think, Cam is old enough to at least have
a say in the decision...but, Jen, you're his mother and I wouldn't want to step
on your toes."

She closed her eyes a moment.  When she
opened them, she looked up into Riley's green eyes and nodded.

"I'll tell Cam what she said and see what he
wants to do...and it's not stepping on my toes if I ask you for your
opinion," she said, smiling at him.