by Vaughn, Ann
They followed the elderly man to the back of the store and then literally stepped inside a Christmas Wonderland. The entire back room was packed full of commercial grade Christmas displays. For a moment, Jenna and Cam just stood inside the doorway, eyes wide as they took in the room.
Riley laughed, his green eyes alight with so much genuine joy it gave Jenna a thrill just to see them.
“Everyone has that reaction when they come back here. Mr. Murray is one of the top suppliers of Christmas light displays in the State. This is where Dad always buys all his stuff.”
“I’ve lived in Springfield all my life,” Jenna said, looking around, “how did I not know about this place?”
“Well, he pretty much only sells to commercial accounts.”
“And Brody Stanton,” Mr. Murray said.
“Yeah, and Pop. Here’s what the front of Jenna’s house looks like,” he said, showing Mr. Murray the pictures he took. “What do you think?”
Jenna’s head began to spin with all the talk of LED vs. traditional lights and all the different bulb sizes. Riley told Cam to go grab a basket from the front of the store and she watched him add roll after roll of lights. She was a little worried about the price, but decided the excited look on Cam’s face was well worth whatever expense it would be.
“Mom! Check out this display, it’s so cool!” Cam called. She followed the sound of his voice to an enormous wire display that was meant to go over a driveway. It depicted Santa and a reindeer riding a dirt bike and jumping over the driveway to land on the opposite side. It was a wire archway and the animation was achieved by moving lights. “Take a video, Mom…that’s too cool.”
Jenna took her phone out and took a video of the display, echoing Cam’s sentiments. It was really cool.
“You like that one, little man?” Mr. Murray asked.
“Yes, sir! I race dirt bikes. This is awesome!”
“Well, now, I tell you what. If your Mom will agree to display a sign in her yard, I’d be willing to let you take that home and display it. Riley can set it up.”
“Are you serious?” Cam asked.
“Oh, Mr. Murray, I couldn’t…what if it got damaged?”
“Honestly, it was a special order and then when it was three-fourths finished, the customer backed out. I’ve had it for two years now, just back here not getting seen by anyone. The only expense to you would be the added cost to your electric bill, which isn’t as bad as it used to be because it’s all LED lights.”
Jenna looked over her shoulder to Riley. “What do you say?”
He winked at Cam before looking over at her. “It would be really cool. And that kind of display is easy to set up. Do you have an HOA that would prohibit displays like that?”
“No HOA, thank goodness,” she replied.
“Then go for it. I can have that up in less than thirty minutes.”
“Well, OK, if you don’t mind.”
“Woohoo!!!!” Cam hollered, causing Mr. Murray to laugh.
“That’s what it’s all about right there,” Mr. Murray said. “Go load that stuff up, Riley then come back and help me tear this down.”
“Yes, sir,” Riley said, pushing the basket towards the front.
“Load up, but…”
“Come unlock the truck for me, Jenna,” Riley said, cutting her off.
“But don’t we…” she began but the look Riley gave her made her stop. She was just wondering how she was supposed to pay for everything. She held her tongue until they got outside. Before she could ask, Riley leaned down.
“I have an account with Mr. Murray. We deal on trade. I work for him when I can; he lets me take what Christmas items I want. I’ve never abused the system so he knows he’ll get his money’s worth.”
She looked at him with awe. “You are something else, Riley Stanton,” she said, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
Chapter Three
By the end of the night, Jenna didn’t even recognize her house. The dirt bike Santa and reindeer arch was over her driveway, close to the house. The eaves and windows and roof lines were all adorned with bright, multicolored LED lights that Cam absolutely loved and Jenna had to admit looked really good. More than that, though, Jenna knew she would never ever forget how much Cam laughed, how patient and understanding Riley was with him, and how well they worked together and got along. Even now, they were in the living room playing a video game while she was in the kitchen making Cam’s favorite, her homemade lasagna.
“Dude, you are going down!” Cam told Riley when she walked in.
“Dinner’s ready, bud, your rematch will have to wait,” Jenna told Cam. “Go wash up.”
“Cool. But after dinner, it’s on, man!” Cam told Riley as he rushed down the hall to wash up.
“Thank you for indulging him,” she told Riley, watching him stand and stretch.
“No indulging. I’ve had fun. He’s a good kid.”
“Thanks. I sometimes worry that he doesn’t get many chances to just be a kid.”
Riley was about to ask what she meant when Cam came back in. Jenna insisted he sit and had Cam set the table. She carried the lasagna in and placed it on the center of the table, then picked up the plate that was before him and scooped out a serving for him.
“Thank you,” he said when she put the plate back down before him. “This smells really good.”
“It is awesome, dude, trust me,” Cam told him when Jenna placed a filled plate before him.
“Cam, can you cool it with the ‘dudes’, please?” Jenna said, “He has a name.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cam laughed.
She smiled and fixed her own plate then took her seat across from Riley and next to Cam. To Riley’s surprise, Cam said a blessing before they ate. They were a good little unit, Jenna and Cam. They got along well together, played off each other’s strengths. He could tell, though, that Cam was starved for male attention. In his short conversations with the boy, he knew that Cam missed his father and wanted desperately to draw his attention with his racing. He took a bite of the lasagna and had to close his eyes a moment to savor it; it was that good.
“Wow, Jenna, this is amazing,” he said, making her smile.
“Told you it was good,” Cam said.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“Will you come to my race tomorrow, Riley?” Cam asked, “It’s the last one of the season.”
“Yeah, sure, I can come,” Riley told him.
“Awesome. It starts at ten and if I make it through to the finals, they’re at one.”
“In other words, it’s an all day affair,” Jenna told him.
“Awesome,” Riley said with a wink to Cam, “didn’t have any plans for tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” Jenna asked.
“It’ll be fun.”
Jenna felt a small thrill run through her at the thought of spending the day with Riley again tomorrow. His smile was so infectious she found herself smiling all the time as well. She got up to clear the table, needing a few moments away from him to clear her head. He surprised her, though, by joining her in the kitchen.
“Why don’t you go finish decorating the tree,” he said, “I can clean up.”
“No, that’s OK, you go…” He stopped her by placing his hand over hers.
“Let someone else take care of things for a change, Jenna,” he said, his voice soft.
She looked up into his eyes, eyes that had gone soft as he looked down at her. She felt her breath catch in her throat, extremely aware of his nearness, and just how big he really was compared to her.
“OK…thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he said, smiling.
She backed away then went back into the living room, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart. For a few moments, she stood just staring at the tree, trying to pull herself back together. There was a definite attraction between her and Riley, not only because he was quite simply gorgeous, but because he was so good with Cam. He was
dangerous, she decided, as far as her heart went, anyway. After just a few hours knowing him, she felt that she could easily see herself falling for him.
“Mom? You OK?” Cam asked, noticing that she was just standing there.
“Um, yeah, I’m fine. Want to help me finish the tree?”
“Nah, you got it covered. I gotta brush up on my skills for my rematch with Riley,” he said, turning back to his video game.
She shook her head but it was like this with Cam every year as he got older. He’d decorate up to a point and then leave it all to her. She supposed this year with all the outdoor stuff, Cam had more than his fill of decorating for one day.
Riley emerged from the kitchen just as she was getting ready to place the star on the top. She was on her step-ladder and having a hard time reaching the top of the tree. The ladder she usually used had broken last year and she’d yet to replace it. The one she was on now was not quite tall enough.
“I can do that,” Riley said after watching her struggle to reach for a moment.
“Would you? My ladder isn’t quite tall enough.”
He held his hand out for the star and to help her down from the ladder. He stepped up and easily placed it on top, then handed her the plug. She waited until he stepped down and stepped back to be able to see, then plugged the star in.
“That’s really something,” he said, looking at her tree. “I think you could give my mom a run for her money in the tree decorating department.”
Jenna smiled at him. “Thanks. I’ve always loved decorating for Christmas.”
He looked around the living room, at her snow villages, Nativities, garlands and wreaths. She had a collection of gingerbread men, snowmen, Santas and reindeer. Every surface that could be covered, was, but it all flowed together well.
“You’ve got a real Christmas home. All that’s missing is a fire.”
“We do fires every once in a while. Still a little warm for one right now though, unfortunately.”
“True…this all really is nice.”
Jenna studied him a minute. “Did you miss a lot of Christmases at home when you were in the Navy?”
“Too many,” he said, a sad look crossing his face briefly. “I spent many a Christmas under the stars in the desert. We did go to Bethlehem one year, though, when we were between missions. That was really something. Just to be in the same place where it all started,” he said, a smile returning to his face.
“Oh, wow, that gives me chills just thinking about it.”
“It was surreal.”
Cam paused his game and was listening to Riley talk. Jenna noted the almost star-struck look on her son’s face while he listened. Not even a full day together and Cam already had a bit of hero worship going on.
“Riley?” Cam asked.
“Yeah?”
“I guess, since you were a SEAL, that you’ve…you know, killed people before?”
“Cam, I don’t think-“ Jenna began but Riley held a hand up to stop her.
“No, it’s OK, it’s only natural for him to be curious. And yeah, Cam, I’ve had to kill people, that’s what you do when you’re in the military and fighting.”
Cam’s eyes were huge. “A lot of people?”
“Even one is a lot,” Riley answered.
Cam nodded. “Have you ever been shot?”
“Yes.”
“You have?” Jenna asked, shocked.
Riley’s green gaze shifted to her. “Yes. Four times.”
Jenna gasped and involuntarily reached out to place her hand on Riley’s forearm.
“Don’t you guys were body armor?” Cam asked.
“Usually, but there are times, like when we had to swim, that you can’t wear Kevlar.”
“Were any life-threatening?”
“Only one, and really only because it took so long to get treated. The other times I was hit, I was able to get treatment soon afterward. The last time I was hit, though, was a pretty bad fight. We lost one of our own. My team leader and I went to retrieve his body and we were ambushed. The others got me and the body of our friend when our team leader allowed himself to be taken prisoner. We took Zig’s body somewhere safe, then went back to get our commander. It took twelve hours. By the time we got him, I’d lost a lot of blood.”
“Oh, my God!” Jenna cried softly, “Riley! How…I don’t,” she took a deep breath, “what you guys go through, what you sacrifice. I just can’t imagine.”
He shrugged. “Just part of the job. We lost Zig, but we weren’t going to lose Mike.”
“And you got him back?” Cam pressed, “He survived?”
“They tortured him. He was in pretty bad shape, but yeah, we got him back and he did survive. Too stubborn to die.”
“Sounds like you were, too,” Jenna said.
“Wasn’t going to let them get me.”
They were quiet a moment. Jenna had to fight an overwhelming urge to pull him into her arms, as much to comfort herself as to offer comfort to him.
“Do you have a lot of scars?” Cam asked.
“Cameron,” Jenna said, “he just said he was shot four times. What do you think? He could have bullet wounds with no scars?”
Cam flashed a cheesy grin. “Well, can I see some of them?”
“Cameron!”
Riley laughed. “That’s OK, Jenna. Yeah, you can see the ones on my back.”
Jenna’s eyes widened and Cam froze.
“You got shot in the back?” Cam cried.
Riley pulled his shirt over his head and turned so Cam could see.
“Whoa…” Cam said, standing on the couch so that he was close enough to Riley’s back to see. “Mom! You gotta see this!”
Jenna was having a hard time pulling her gaze from Riley’s perfect washboard abs and the dusting of slightly darker blonde hair on his chest. Once she got over looking at his muscles, she noticed that his chest and side was covered with scars.
“Oh, Riley,” she gasped, raising trembling fingers to touch one really long, jagged, nasty looking scar that ran along his ribs.
“Got tangled up in a razor wire fence,” he said, watching her touch him.
“Wow, sick!” Cam exclaimed, clearly impressed by Riley’s battle scars.
Jenna could see another scar that disappeared into the waistline of his pants, likely from the same razor wire. He had a tattoo on his left upper bicep, a sort of tribal looking design that, while she wasn’t much of a tattoo fan, she had to admit looked really cool on him.
“So many,” she whispered. She noticed one on his jawline she hadn’t seen before because it ran right along the underside. Overcome with emotion, she rocked up on her toes and placed a brief, but tender and heartfelt kiss there. “Thank you, Riley, for your service.”
“Yeah, dude,” Cam said, “thanks! It’s cool that, you know, you didn’t die from any of these.”
Jenna laughed. She couldn’t help it. Leave it to her son to say something so ridiculously crazy. Riley was chuckling, too as he pulled his shirt back on.
“I’m glad I didn’t die from any of these, either. Then I wouldn’t have been there to get your mom’s purse back this morning.”
“I’m really glad you were there,” Cam told him, suddenly solemn. “I worry about her sometimes.”
“Cam,” Jenna began but stopped when Riley spoke.
“That’s good. You should always look out for your mom.”
She watched Cameron beam under the praise. Another reason why she wanted to strangle Wade Blackwell: Cameron missed having a male influence in his life. That was obvious to her today, watching him work with Riley to hang the Christmas lights and put together the archway.
“Cam, you need to get in bed now. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“But, Mom, Riley and I need a rematch.”
“I’ll be here tomorrow, too,” Riley told him. “You want to be rested for your race, right?”
Cam sighed, “Yeah, all right. Thanks for everything today, Riley. Getting my mo
m’s purse back and the Christmas lights and stuff.”
“You’re welcome.”
“’Night, Mom.”
“Goodnight, Cam.”
“’Night, Riley.”
“Goodnight. See you tomorrow.”
Riley watched the boy walk down the hall and disappear into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Turning his gaze back to Jenna, he was painfully aware that they were now alone. In just a few short hours spent with her, he found himself just as drawn to her as he’d been when he first saw her this morning.
“You’re very good with him,” Jenna said, breaking his thoughts.
“He’s a good kid,” he said, studying her. She looked a little nervous now that Cam was gone, but he didn’t think she was going to ask him to go just yet, which was good, because he really didn’t want to go.
“Would you like some hot chocolate?” she asked, backing away from him a step. “I always like to have a cup at night when the Christmas tree is up and everything is all sparkling and cozy.”
He smiled. “Sounds good.”
He followed her into the kitchen and watched her get mugs and a Tupperware container that held hot chocolate mix.
“Do you make your own?” he asked, surprised.
“I do,” she said, giving him a soft smile. “It’s my grandmother’s recipe and I’ve tweaked it a bit over the years. Cam won’t even touch any other hot chocolate. That makes me kinda proud, I must admit.”
“As it should,” he said and she couldn’t help but notice how his eyes sparkled. He had the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. She thought she could stare into them all day long and not be bored.
The tea kettle whistle broke her gaze and she turned her attention to fixing his cup, then hers.
“Marshmallows or whipped cream?” she asked him.
“Whipped cream,” he replied, “My sweet tooth is my weakness,” he admitted.
She giggled and added a generous dollop to his mug, along with a peppermint stick to stir it.
“You go all out,” he said, smiling when she handed his mug to him.
“Absolutely! I told you, I love Christmas.”
He took a sip from his mug and she laughed when his eyes bugged.
“Wow!” he said, taking another sip. “This is…the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted.”
