Christmas With the Alexanders

by M. Malone

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Back Cover

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Excerpt of One More Day

  The Alexanders Series

  About the Author

  Copyright

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  For the fans:

  Wishing you the comfort of family and friends

  and all the joys of the season.

  And for Andre. Always.

  CHRISTMAS WITH THE ALEXANDERS

  Kaylee Wilhelm knows what she wants for Christmas—for Elliott Alexander to notice her. Unfortunately, he doesn’t like her much, so she’s spending the holidays with her disapproving parents.

  Elliott’s finally in the position to come home for good. Home means bittersweet memories and the only woman who makes him feel things he isn’t ready for.

  When Kay’s car skids out of control on Christmas Eve, she’s forced to reach out to the only man she trusts to save her. Eli’s a protector, so she knows he’ll come for her, but this Christmas Kay is hoping for a little bit more.

  The Alexanders, Book 3.5

  ** This novella should be read after He's the Man, The Alexanders, Book 3. It is not intended as a standalone read.

  CHAPTER ONE

  ELLIOTT ALEXANDER CONSIDERED himself a pretty good sport. He wasn’t overly sensitive and could take a joke as well as the next guy. But he was on the verge of knocking his younger brother upside the head if he didn’t shut up.

  “So, you opened the door and she was just standing there?” Nick glanced at him, a twinkle in his eye. “She wasn’t peering in the windows like a stalker, was she?”

  Their friend Matt Simmons was telling them about his final week at Eli’s house last summer while he was in physical therapy. Now he was happily coupled up with his therapist, Penny, and living in New Haven again.

  Matt shrugged and Penny laughed along with them. “All I know is I’d been doing some yard work and cleaning because I didn’t want to leave the place a mess. On my way out, I opened the door and there she was, standing on the porch. Judging by the way she was dressed, it wasn’t me she was expecting to open the door.”

  Eli gritted his teeth as their howls of laughter continued. His youngest brother, Jackson, clamped a hand on his shoulder in solidarity. Either that or he was trying to hold him back so he wouldn’t strangle one of them.

  “How did we get on this topic again?” Eli shot Matt a disgruntled look, but his friend didn’t seem daunted at all. He’d lost his intimidation factor it seemed because they were all having a hell of a time making fun of him.

  “Wait, by the way she was dressed? What exactly was she wearing? Or not wearing?” Nick added.

  His sister-in-law, Raina, walked up and pinched Nick’s arm hard enough to make his brother jump. “What did you just say?”

  Eli watched in amusement as Nick’s whole demeanor changed. His normally smooth younger brother turned into a total wuss when his gorgeous wife was around. Raina had a successful career as a model and he could see why. She was far too thin for his taste, but her light brown skin and wild curly hair gave her an exotic look. Best of all, she was something of a ballbuster. It was always a joy to watch her handle his brother.

  Nick held up his hands. “Oh, hey, baby. Matt was telling us about his last week staying in Eli’s house and all the women knocking on the door.”

  He had hoped Raina would corral his brother’s antics, but that hope died when her eyes lit up. “Eli? I never knew you were such a ladies’ man,” she teased.

  Elliott squashed the urge to growl. Half of his brother’s fun in teasing him was watching him get more and more pissed off. “First of all, it was one woman. One. Second of all, I have no idea who he’s even talking about.”

  Matt covered his laugh by taking a sip of the beer he held. “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to rat you out, but I couldn’t keep that to myself. She looked pretty devastated when I opened the door. I guess I wasn’t up to her standards.”

  The group dissolved into laughter again. Eli was the darkest skinned of all his brothers and, to his chagrin, the shortest. With his brown hair and tanned skin, Matt was about as far from Eli’s looks as you could get.

  “I don’t even need to ask what she looked like. Let me guess, petite and curvy?” Nick smirked at Matt’s nod. “There’s never been a busty woman near Eli that was safe. That’s been his type since high school. He had a crush on Janet Reed in the ninth grade because she developed a set of double Ds over the summer.”

  Even Eli had to smile at that one. He could still remember how obsessed he’d been that school year. His poor teenage hormones hadn’t stood a chance against Janet’s suddenly full figure.

  “Okay, I think we’ve had enough fun at my expense. And I really don’t think you want me to start sharing some of my high school memories of you.”

  Nick immediately stopped laughing. Raina looked at him with interest. “Oh really? Maybe I do need to hear this.”

  “Is that the baby crying? I’d better go check.” Nick sauntered off, leaving his wife shaking her head as she followed.

  Eli walked over to the window and shoved the curtains to the side. A profusion of snowflakes turned the landscape into an endless wall of white. Snowstorms were the norm at his house in Northern Virginia but not in New Haven. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been home while it was snowing.

  “She’s just fine where she is. Go on now!”

  Eli turned at the sound of his mother’s voice. His earlier annoyance vanished as he watched Nick try unsuccessfully to take his baby girl back from their mother, Julia. Eli could have told him that wasn’t going to happen. Their mother was beyond excited about having a granddaughter, and she was probably going to have a grip on the baby all night. Finally Nick settled for pulling his wife into his arms instead. He nuzzled her neck and whispered something that made her smile. Eli looked over to where Jackson was similarly cozied up with his wife, Ridley.

  It was a good thing to see his little brothers so settled and happy. He’d left New Haven years ago, sure he’d never return to live there again. But time had a way of putting things into perspective. A way of distilling life to what was important and what was window dressing. He was tired of casual encounters and empty nights. Strangely enough, he wanted everything he’d always had growing up. Family, friends, and the certainty that they weren’t going anywhere.

  When he finally came out of his thoughts, he was startled to see his mother, Julia, standing right in front of him. Instinctively he stood straighter. His mom had a way of looking at him as if she’d caught him doing something he shouldn’t have been even when he was doing nothing at all.

  “Mom. Are you okay?”

  She smiled up at him and ran a hand affectionately over his bald head. “I just want to spend a little time with my handsome son. Now, what’s this I hear about a girlfriend at your house? Why don’t you ever bring anyone home to meet me?”

  His brother Bennett was walking up behind his mother, his mouth open as if he was about to say something. When he heard her words, he clamped his lips shut and backed away slowly, sending Eli a sympathetic look.

  “Welcome home,” he mouthed before turning around and going the other direction.

  Eli grunted and took another swig of his beer. “Yeah, yeah. No place like it.”

  And despite knowing that he was in for at least an hour of well-intentioned prying from his mother, he meant every word.

  * * * * *

  KAYLEE WILHELM WATCHED as her mom held her granddaughter in the crook of her arm and bounced her on her hi
p. Her mom made kissy-faces and talked in a singsong voice as she danced the baby back and forth.

  The two of them formed quite a picture silhouetted against the darkening sky. Kay loved watching them like this when her mom didn’t know she was looking. It was the only time she saw glimpses of how her mom used to be.

  Before she’d disappointed her.

  She shook off the dark thoughts and went back to what she’d been doing, folding the purple baby blanket she held into a neat square. It went into the diaper bag along with Hope’s favorite plastic unicorn teething ring. She’d forgotten it the last time they visited and Hope had cried for hours without it that night.

  “Are you getting ready to head out, baby girl?” Her father, Leeland Wilhelm, handed her a stack of baby wipes that she’d left on the coffee table.

  “Yeah, I need to go over some things tonight. I have to practice the new songs Jackson sent me. We’re supposed to record them right after the New Year.”

  Her father’s face fell and she immediately wished she hadn’t brought it up. He hated that she’d quit her job to pursue a singing career. Especially since she was singing “the devil’s music” now.

  “It’s the holidays, pumpkin. You should be here for Christmas. I don’t like thinking of you in that apartment all alone.”

  “I’m not alone.” She glanced over to Hope. When she caught sight of her, the baby gurgled and tried to throw her little body sideways out of her grandmother’s arms.

  “You know what I meant.” He handed her the diaper bag and followed as she walked over to her mom.

  “Okay, Mom, we need to get going. I heard the snow is going to get worse tonight so I need to be home before then.”

  “You should just stay here. The ham is almost done and you can help me make the bread for dinner tomorrow.”

  Kay suppressed a sigh. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning, Mom. I just have some stuff that I need to do at home.”

  Her mom clutched Hope closer. “You can always leave Hope here. It’s foolish to drag her out in this weather when you don’t have to. She has everything she needs here, anyway.”

  Kay gritted her teeth. Her mom had been doing this more and more lately, leaving not-so-subtle hints that Hope would be better off staying with them full time. Her mom thought she was helping out, but all Kaylee heard was your daughter is better off without you or you’re not a good mother. Whenever she said anything about it, her mom brushed off her concerns as Kaylee being too sensitive.

  “We’re going home now. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Kay leaned over and gathered Hope in her arms, settling her on her hip. It was hard not to be rude sometimes, but she’d learned the hard way that she needed to be forceful with her mom or they’d be going back and forth all evening.

  “I don’t see what the rush is—”

  “Just let the girl be, Henrietta. They’ll be back tomorrow.”

  Kay sent her father a grateful look. He wasn’t happy with some of the choices she’d made in the last year, but at least he tried to help her out.

  “I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning.” She kissed her mother on the cheek and then stood still so her father could kiss her forehead.

  “Don’t forget her blankie,” her mom said. She followed directly behind them, wringing her hands as Kaylee walked to the door.

  “I’ve got it, Mom.”

  “And what about her teething ring? You forgot it last time, you know.”

  “Yes, I know. It’s in the diaper bag.”

  Kay tried to block out the rest of her mom’s warnings as she pulled the diaper bag higher on her shoulder. If she responded, it would just prolong the lecture. It was easier to let her mom get it all out of her system while she did the hard work of wrestling Hope into her fluffy winter coat and fastening her in her car seat. Finally, she stood and lifted the car seat with her right hand. It no longer felt like it weighed a ton since she was so used to lugging it around.

  Her parents stood in the doorway, watching as she carefully navigated the walk from the front door to where her car was parked in their driveway. She leaned into the back seat of her sedan, her back protesting the whole way, to latch the car seat into its base. When she was done, she waved gaily at her parents before getting into the driver’s seat and securing her own seat belt. At the sight of them standing in the doorway, a small pang of guilt made her hesitate, her hand pausing on the key in the ignition.

  It was Christmas Eve.

  It was the holidays and she was leaving her parents alone so she could practice. Yes, they were a little overbearing at times but they were still her parents.

  Then she thought of what was sure to happen if she stayed. Her mother would start in on her usual lecture about everything Kaylee was doing wrong, from her career choices to her parenting. They’d end up having another argument and then they’d all sit in tense silence for the rest of the night. Good intentions or not, she just couldn’t take it.

  Not tonight.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow,” she muttered, not sure who she was trying to reassure. It was her daughter’s first Christmas. She had every right to want it to be filled with happy memories.

  She grinned at Hope in the rearview mirror before backing out carefully. “Time to go home, baby girl.”

  * * * * *

  “WHO ARE YOU texting? I’m starting to get a little jealous.” Penny poked Matt in the ribs, though it was obvious she was just joking by the way she snuggled up against Matt’s back and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “I’m not texting.” Matt covered the hand she’d rested against his belly with one of his.

  Elliott believed in love; it was hard to be a part of his family and not believe in fate, but he’d been a little skeptical that it could happen to guys like him. Rough, blunt guys who didn’t have a Hollywood-perfect face and a lot of smooth lines.

  But Matt was a rugged, ex-military man. Eli had a lot more in common with him than he did his brothers. If love could happen for him, then maybe there really was hope for the rest of them.

  “Kaylee missed her check-in. She was supposed to e-mail when she arrived at her parents’ house. The GPS on her car places her there but I didn’t get a confirmation from her.”

  Eli snapped to attention. “Is she okay? Does she need anything?”

  “She’s on her way home now. It’s just not like her to miss a check-in. She knows if she doesn’t keep us updated, she’ll go back to having a constant shadow. As much as we’ve enjoyed hanging with her these past months, I think she was glad to get back to normal.”

  More than anything, she was probably happy to get some time away from Eli. He sighed. There were a lot of thing he regretted about his summer and the way he’d treated Kay was at the top of the list. It wasn’t her fault she rubbed him the wrong way, but there was just something about her.

  He gritted his teeth. There was something about her all right. She was the epitome of his “type” except for one small detail.

  The fact that she was frickin’ jailbait.

  When he’d been protecting her, fate had taken every opportunity to test his control, from her never-ending collection of snug sweaters to his sister-in-law Ridley accidentally booking them into the same hotel room on a trip. He’d offered her the bed that night and camped out on a small cot the harried concierge had brought them. But it had been a special brand of torture lying there all night, listening to the rustle of sheets as she moved. Imagining the fabric sliding over her skin.

  Torture.

  And enough to make him want to give his libido a scalding-hot bath. She wasn’t actually underage, but from his perspective, she might as well be. He was disgusted with himself for even thinking about her that way. She was just a kid and he was now officially a dirty old man. There was easily a decade between their ages. And even if they could get past the age difference, how could she accept his past? He sighed and pushed the idea out of his head.

  “I’m just glad we caught the bastard sending those threatening let
ters,” Eli grumbled.

  Over the past summer, they’d been working around the clock trying to uncover the identity of the person sending Kaylee threatening letters. She’d had a near-constant security detail, which had been a challenge for her and for him. Elliott had finally traced the paper used in one of the envelopes to a local store and had been able to find the guy who’d bought it, an old classmate of Kay’s.

  His motive appeared to have been simple jealousy. When he’d seen how well she was doing as part of the new pop group, Divine, he’d asked her for a loan and she’d turned him down. So he’d decided to send her the letters as payback.

  At least that was the story they assumed was true. The guy had claimed that he had no idea what was in the letters he was mailing. That someone had left him money in exchange for sending them.

  Which was ridiculous.

  Either way, Eli had spent quite a bit of time guarding Kaylee over the summer. Time when he’d had to constantly remind himself that he was thirty years old and she was barely out of her teens. That she was sweet and softhearted and he was more like a surly bear.

  Most importantly that, despite having a baby, she was sheltered and innocent when it came to male-female interactions. He was… not.

  He almost choked on his drink as he imagined her reaction to the things in his room at home. He kept a fully kitted closet with everything from blindfolds and bindings to clamps and floggers. He would never bring her there, of course. As soon as she walked in and saw the mirrors over the bed she’d probably faint.

  They’d spent most of their time at Kaylee’s apartment. Her tiny apartment. Then when Matt had come to work for him, he’d assigned Matt to her security detail because he trusted him.

  Also because you can’t deal with being that close to her all the time.

  Eli realized that Matt and Penny were both watching him closely so purposely made his voice casual when he asked, “Is she coming over later?”