by Vaughn, Ann
Cam came out of his room then. Jenna's heart nearly broke looking at him. He had a bit of a whipped dog look to him. Her eyes shifted from him to Riley, silently pleading with him to do something.
"Hey, bud, how's it going?"
Cam shrugged, flopping down on the couch.
"What's for supper?" Cam asked Jenna.
"Well, I haven't decided yet. Anything you're hungry for?"
He shrugged again. "Did Lainey call back yet?"
"No, but, honey, she hasn't been gone that long. I doubt she's had time to talk to your dad again."
He sighed. "I just want all this over with."
"All what, honey?"
"Christmas. It's all just stupid."
"Cameron!" Jenna cried, "How can you say that? Christmas is beautiful."
"Not when your dad is holding it over your head."
"See, now, that's where you can do something about that," Riley said, squatting down so he was eye level with Cam.
"What?"
"You can choose to let your dad ruin it for you, or you can choose to enjoy it in spite of what he's trying to do. You're allowing him to steal your joy. Don't let him."
Cam sighed. "Easier said than done."
Riley studied him a minute, then stood up. "OK, everyone grab your coats. Jenna, no cooking. We're going out."
"What?" she asked, having just opened a package of chicken.
"Just wrap that back up. We're going out."
Jenna and Cam grabbed their jackets and followed Riley out to his truck. Jenna didn't question Riley as to where they were going; she trusted that wherever it was, it would be somewhere he believed would cheer Cam up. Once they were on the road and she saw the direction they were going, she knew where he was taking them.
Cam had been blankly staring out the window until Riley turned down a driveway and an elaborately decorated house came into view.
"Wow, someone went all out."
"This is my folks place," Riley told him. "Told you my dad loves to decorate."
Jenna felt her heart leap when there was a genuine smile on Cam's face.
"This is cool!"
Riley caught Jenna's eye and winked as he pulled up to the house and honked twice before turning the truck off. She saw the side door open and his mother stepped out, her blonde hair perfectly styled in a smooth bob and a huge smile on her face.
"Hello, sweetheart, what brings all of you here?" she said, tilting her cheek up for Riley to kiss.
"Cam here, is in need of a bit of Christmas cheer. So, I thought, where better to come than to the neighborhood Christmas house?"
Paige shifted her attention to Cam, giving him a big smile. "Got a little bit of the Bah Humbugs, do you?"
"Maybe a little," Cam admitted.
"Well, come on inside and have some Christmas cookies and we'll see what we can do about that. Jenna, good to see you again, honey."
"I hope we aren't imposing," Jenna said as she followed Paige inside.
"My son and his family are never imposing," Paige said and Jenna felt a warm, happy feeling spread through her at being referred to as Riley's family. "Now, then, Cam, as you can see, I am in the middle of making Christmas ornaments to give out at our Christmas Eve party tomorrow. Would you like to help?"
On her kitchen table, she had a bit of an assembly line set up, where she was making Santa figurines.
"Damn, Mom, did you decide to do this at the last minute or something?" Riley asked, seeing how much she had laid out.
Paige waved a hand in dismissal. "I fell a little behind, but no big deal. You're here now."
"Well, yeah, but you didn't know we'd be here," Riley said, pulling his coat off and then taking Jenna's.
She smiled at him then. "I was actually planning on calling you."
He chuckled, pushing his sleeves up. "All right, we're here now. What do we do?"
She went through the instructions of how to assemble the Santas and once they were clear on what to do, she turned her Christmas music up and they sat around the table, putting the Santas together and singing along with the music. It was clear to Jenna that Paige Stanton was extremely good with boys, which she should be since she raised four of them. She kept things lively and entertained Cam with stories of Riley and his brothers and their exploits growing up. When his dad came home and joined in the storytelling, Cam was completely hooked. He hung on their every word, laughing and asking questions and teasing Riley for some of his exploits.
Jenna found herself drawn in by the stories of the four precocious boys, all relatively close together in age. Riley, being the oldest, was always the one looking out for his more rambunctious younger brothers but it was clear he got into his fair share of scrapes.
"The worst time was when the boys decided they were going to dig their own swimming pool," Paige said.
Riley chuckled. "Oh, yeah...forgot about that. That was Trevor's idea, by the way."
"Never mind that we have a swimming pool back there. The boys decided they wanted their own. By the time Brody and I got home, they had a hole the size of a small car dug under their tree house."
"Did you get in trouble?" Cam asked.
"Well..." Riley began, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Let's just say they weren't sitting comfortably for a few days," Brody told him.
Cam looked over at Riley who shrugged. "The woodshed got a workout that day," he said with a wink.
"I think that was the worst time they ever got in trouble," Paige said. "But don't get me wrong, they were really good boys for the most part."
"Yeah, but..." Riley began but stopped when there was a loud pounding on the front door.
"Oh, my goodness," Paige exclaimed, "what in the world could that be?"
Riley and his dad got up and went to the front door, Paige hovering behind them. When the door opened, Jenna and Cam jolted when Paige screamed and a bevy of excited male voices sounded. Curious, Jenna and Cam got up and went into the living room and saw Paige, Brody and Riley embracing three other blonde men that Jenna knew were Riley's brothers, Jack, Trevor and Aaron.
"Jenna?" One of the brothers asked, stepping back from the group.
"Hi, Trevor," she said, greeting the brother who was in her class in school.
"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."
Chapter Twenty-Three
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.
