by Bree Cariad
By the time the last one hugged him and was assured he was fine, the tension in the air began to dissipate. It felt better. Aiden relaxed a little and fell asleep at some point.
“He was up all night,” Peril whispered while everyone else lingered in the room, not wanting to be too far away. “I don’t think he slept at all after we saw the news report.”
Jonathon knew they needed hope and a sense of normality. “Peril, can you go get the hymnals? Let’s sing the spirit so high that the fear has no place to hide.”
When they saw the books, the kids grabbed at them as if they were a lifeline. “Which shall we sing first?” Jonathon asked, running his fingers lightly through Aiden’s hair. The boy was relaxed enough to sleep, but he was still tense.
Nathan, one of the quieter boys, started singing the Thank You song that wasn’t in the hymnal but reflected perfectly their feelings in that moment and everyone quickly joined in. Their voices rose to the heavens and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. As the song continued unabated, the spirit of love filled every heart to overflowing and Jonathon knew that while fear would try to make a comeback, peace would stay. Aiden relaxed a little further against him and Jonathon sent up an extra prayer of gratitude.
Thank you, Father, for giving me more time with these wonderful children. They are the most wonderful gifts I’ve ever received.
My son, there are greater gifts to come.
Unable to help himself, Jonathon cried freely as joy filled him to overflowing.
Chapter Fifteen
“It will take time,” Brecker reiterated to his newest client. “We’ll start the moment the contracts are signed. I have trained specialists and one of them will be assigned your account. Myca is probably the best one for the kind of issue you’ve got.” She was an expert in ferreting out back doors former employees put into place in computer software and destroying them. “But the fact is, you have millions of dollars of data. We can’t just walk in, put in a basic piece of software, and ta-da have you protected. The reason why Brecker Security is top rated is because we’ve never had someone hack all the way through our security. They try. Daily. But they’ve never gotten further than 25% through our firewalls because they’re different than anyone else’s. We don’t just toss a piece of software on top of your current programs. We build a security set up, about, and around your system. That way if someone tries to get it, they are diverted in tons of directions before they can get close.
“I understand the need to get it protected now. Today. Especially since one of your former employees broke in and stole some data. But we don’t do anything halfway. You need to let us do our jobs if you want Brecker Security to protect your data. And that means months of work. If you sign today, I’ll go back to the office and pull a project manager onto your problem now. By the end of the day, if we can get everyone to act, I can have Myca on site tearing through your code.”
“What do you mean ‘if we can get everyone to act’?” Josh Berger asked, his eyes narrowed. “With as good as your rep is, I can’t imagine your people don’t jump when you tell them to.”
“This isn’t about my people,” Brecker explained calmly. “But if you agree, you have to pull your current security company inline so they give us complete access. I’m going to warn you here and now. They’ll be resistant to it. Even if they had months to get used to the idea that you were pulling your contract, they would be resistant. In an emergency? They may put up road block after road block.”
“Why?” Josh yelled. “It’s my data.”
“And currently you’re their account. If they can drag things out and make us look bad, they think you’ll stick with them.” Brecker shrugged. “It’s the nature of doing business. They don’t want to lose a million dollar per year account and will fight dirty to keep it.”
Several expressions crossed Josh’s face and then he calmed and nodded. Brecker knew, in that instant, he would like working with Josh. He was a decision maker. Josh quickly scrawled his signature at the bottom of the contract and clicked a button on his phone.
“Yes, Mr. Berger?”
“Get William of Compton Security on the line now.”
“Just a moment, sir.”
Josh looked up at Brecker and grinned. “If he plays dirty, he’s going to find himself face down in the muck.”
Oh yes. Brecker was going to like working with Josh.
Thirty minutes later, Brecker left Josh’s office with the contract, their beginning fee, and a disc which held all the logins they needed to get into Josh’s server farm. He doubted it would be that easy, but the way Josh took William Compton on over the phone, it might be.
He stepped into the office and waved at a couple of employees who were chatting by one of the cubes. They waved back. “Do you know where Dawn is?” he asked.
“Nirvana,” one of them called back.
“Thanks.”
Dawn was seated on one of the sofas sipping her usual chai tea when he got to the top of the stairs. She smiled up at him. “Hey, boss.”
“Dawn. Got a moment?” He waved the contract. “Got a beast of a job you’re gonna love. Myca will be perfect for it.”
Her eyes lit up with interest and she followed him into his office. When she left forty minutes later, it was with a bounce in her step. He could hear her shouting out names and demands as she ran down the stairs. Oh yes. She was going to love overhauling Josh’s security. An amused smile crossed his lips. Josh was also her type. He left that part out of the briefing. When his ears burned, he’d know she was cursing him in her head.
A quick glance at his watch told him he still had a couple hours before he needed to be at the shelter. In the thirteen days since Jonathon was shot, Brecker had been so busy he hadn’t seen him since he left the hospital. Today nothing was going to stop him. It was candy making day and he had every intention of being a taste tester. And making sure Jonathon was, in fact, better. He sounded good on the phone, but that kind of thing could be masked.
There was a week until Christmas and he hadn’t shopped at all. Brecker assumed with two hours to kill, he could force himself to at least see what was out there. He hated shopping. Usually he bought online and that way didn’t have to get caught up in the crowds. But this wasn’t simple. He was Christmas shopping for thirty-nine people, thirty-seven of them under the age of eighteen. Brecker was so over his head.
“I’m out for the rest of the day,” he informed Siobhan as he left his office.
She looked up and smiled. “Jonathon told me it was goodie day today. Have fun.”
“I plan on it,” Brecker said. “Rolf’s pies were fantastic. I can only assume his holiday goodies are going to send me into a sugar coma.”
With a laugh, she waved him on. “Going early?”
“No.” He explained about doing a little window shopping so he could somewhat figure out what to buy. “I figure I’ll hit the mall tomorrow.”
She stared at him with an aghast expression. “You, the ‘I hate shopping’ shopper are going to the mall the Saturday before Christmas?”
“Is that bad?”
A snort of a laugh came from her mouth. “Oh, Brecker. That’s one of the biggest shopping days of the year.”
He grimaced. “I’d buy online but I have no idea what to get for those kids. And I don’t want it to be something stupid.”
“Why don’t you get them something handmade? It will be crazy as well, but the Crafter Festival is on this weekend. There will be crafts, wood burning, art kits, jewelry, food… just about everything.”
That was a good idea. “I can ask Jonathon for a little more info of the kinds of things they would like.”
“There you go.” She beamed and he nodded.
“All right. Once again you’re right.”
“By now you’d think you would be used to that,” she teased.
He rolled his eyes and raised his hand in a wave. “Go home early, Siobhan. Get the last of your shopping done.”
; “I was finished three weeks ago,” she called after him.
“That’s just rubbing it in,” he hollered back. Her laughter followed him down the stairs.
He still had a couple hours to kill. So he went to the mall anyway. It was bad enough. He couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be the next day. Adults and kids rushed to and fro, many of them laughing. The kids were pointing at this and that, obviously making sure their parents knew what they wanted.
But even with all the rushing, there was a wonderful feeling of expectancy in the air. Some parts of it were too commercial—large signs hung everywhere telling the last minute shopper what to buy. He winced because he knew he was in that category. But he still didn’t want to buy just anything.
As he approached one of the larger department stores, a group caught his eye and he leaned against a pillar and watched them. A woman had seven children with her, their ages ranging from two or three up to sixteen he assumed. Four races and just from physical look, possibly more than two genders.
“All right,” the woman said loudly enough for them all to hear. “Here are your envelopes. They include your money and a list of things your brothers and sisters want. I didn’t put the same thing on anyone’s list so you can be assured nobody’s going to buy what you buy. You four,” she pointed at the eldest “can go off on your own. The rest of you will come with me and we’ll shop for them. Once they’re done they’ll take you between them to buy for the rest.”
As she handed out the envelopes, she got thank yous, but some of them called her mom and others called her Barb. He wondered if she was a foster mom or if the kids were adopted. And once again, he was hit with that feeling of being alone. He hated that feeling. That holiday season it had been tempered a little bit by Jonathon and the shelter, but the fact was he was alone. He was just usually not around so many people that weren’t. It was like having a mirror stuck right in front of his face and forcing him to see inside.
What he saw was a barren wasteland. He didn’t want to see it. Not this year. This year he was part of something. And while it might be temporary, he was going to grab hold as long as he could.
He turned to walk back down the mall when a woman walked up and handed him a small piece of paper before walking off. Figuring it was a coupon for some sale, he shoved it in his pocket and continued on.
When he went to get back into his car, the paper crinkled and he pulled it out. Out of curiosity, he opened it to see what was being advertised.
Save a child. Needed: Foster Families for area youth. Are you a foster parent? Do you want to be? We have hundreds of children who need caring homes.
His eyes blurred and he shoved the piece of paper in his trash bag.
“What is with people?” he muttered as he wiped his eyes and turned the ignition. “I was not cut out to be any kind of person you would want to have care for a child. I work too many hours and am too busy. If I couldn’t keep a wife happy, how am I supposed to care for a child?”
He shivered when a still small voice, as soft as a dove’s wings, whispered You will make a good father.
Instantly, he clamped down on whatever that was. Imagination maybe. Not something he put his faith in. To keep his mind off of it, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed to Jonathon’s shelter. Once there, he could forget entirely about that voice.
On the way out of town, he glanced at a new electronic billboard. He hated the things. Billboards were ugly enough without them blinking at you in neon. Just before he passed, an image of two teenagers popped up, a boy and a girl. They showed before and after shots and then the name of a photography studio offered makeovers and photoshoots for teenagers twelve to eighteen for a holiday rate.
It gave him the beginnings of an idea.
The shelter was already running high on sugar by the time he arrived. “I missed the cookies?” he asked in mock horror as he saw platters of them around.
“I saved you a plate.” Aiden bopped up, a huge grin on his face and his eyes glistening with a little bit of sugar madness, a plate of cookies in his hands.
“Well, thank you, kiddo.” Brecker put an arm around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Where are Rolf and Jonathon?”
“Uncle Rolf’s in the pantry getting the ingredients for something called divinity. Reverend Jonathon’s in his office I think.”
“Perfect. Where are we making the candy?”
“In the dining room. I saved you a seat.”
Warmed despite his misgivings earlier, Brecker smiled. “Perfect. I’m going to go roust out Jonathon and then I’ll meet you in there.”
“Okay.” Aiden ran back into the dining room and with a chuckle, Brecker went to Jonathon’s office.
He would have knocked on the door, but it was open so he walked in and had to bite back a grin. Jonathon was dancing as much as he could to some holiday song playing on his computer. Something about a grandmother getting run over by one of Santa’s reindeer. He used his crutch well and shimmied back and forth as he was doing something in front of a small floor to ceiling bookshelf in the corner.
“Now that’s not the kind of music I expected,” Brecker said and chuckled when Jonathon yipped and swung around, a startled expression on his face.
Red tinted his cheeks and he grinned. “We might have grown up on a farm, but my uncle was big on odd music and got me into it. I’ve got discs and discs of this kind of thing. Hey, Brecker.” He hobbled forward, one crutch working with his hurt leg. When he reached him, he hugged Brecker lightly and Brecker hugged him back. “Glad you made it. The kitchen’s going crazy.”
“Yeah,” Brecker said with a laugh, feeling rather warm all of a sudden. “I thought goodie making didn’t begin until now.”
“Someone mentioned cookies and Rolf suddenly had to make them. He’s worse than the kids when it comes to the holidays. I barely managed to stop him from making fruitcake, and I think the only reason I succeeded is because the only kind he knows how to make is filled with alcohol.”
They walked back to the kitchen where Rolf was talking the kids through how to make divinity. He waved at the two of them. “And good thing they’re here as well. Everyone’s arm is going to get a workout on this.”
Brecker had never seen homemade treats done the way Rolf did them. No electric mixer was used. Plain old fashioned hand power was the mixer of the day. They made divinity, fudge, and several things he couldn’t remember the names to but were very good tasting. Aiden was at his side wherever they were, whether it was the dining room or the kitchen and he found himself putting an arm around his shoulders whenever he was there. Aiden would instantly lean against him and wrap both arms around his waist.
He caught Jonathon watching a couple times and there was such a soft expression in his eyes whenever he saw them do it that Brecker realized what he was doing. But he didn’t feel like he could move away or he’d hurt Aiden’s feelings.
After dinner was served, he asked Jonathon if he had a few minutes and they retired to his office.
“Is everything okay?” Jonathon asked, looking almost excited about something.
“It’s fine. I wanted to talk to you about a gift I was thinking about for the kids.”
“Oh.” The excited look dimmed but he nodded. “What are you thinking?”
“If you think they’d hate this, say so. I haven’t made any calls or anything. But if I could get a team here on Christmas Eve, do you think they’d love a little primping? Haircuts, fancy clothes, makeup for those who want it, and pictures. I was thinking….” The look in Jonathon’s eyes made the words vanish from his head.
“I think that’s a fantastic idea, Brecker. Nothing that’s going to make them look unrealistic, but I think that’s absolutely fabulous.”
“Good,” he said in relief. “I figure get the makeup artists to bring out the kind of look the kids want. If they want to look gothic or extra feminine or masculine. Whatever they want—” The air whooshed out of his mouth when Jonatho
n was suddenly hugging him.
“How do you always know exactly what to do?” Jonathon asked in a husky voice.
Not knowing how to answer, Brecker put his arms around Jonathon and held him for a moment. For a brief second in time, he felt a rash of emotions he couldn’t even name. Then a knock came at the door.
“Come in,” Jonathon called as he sat back down.
One of the girls walked in. She smiled at them both shyly. “We want to watch a movie. Uncle Rolf asked me to come in and ask if you wanted to watch it with us.”
“Sounds fun, Candy,” Jonathon said warmly. “Tell Rolf we’ll be out to help with popcorn in a minute.”
She beamed and darted out, leaving the door open behind her.
“What movie?” Brecker asked as he stood up.
“Something holiday-ish,” Jonathon mused. “More than likely Elf. The kids love that movie.”
The living room was packed but one sofa was empty so he and Jonathon sat down. Aiden squirmed over by Brecker’s legs and lay his head against him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d watched a movie like this, with a room full of people. It was impossible not to get caught up in the fun as the kids shouted their favorite lines. At the end when everyone had to get filled with the Christmas spirit or Santa’s sleigh wouldn’t go, he could swear he felt it in that room. Tons of whispered “I believe” floated around him and he was surprised to find tears running down his face when the sleigh finally took off again.
But even with as amazing as that feeling was, the one that followed him home was of holding Jonathon and all those emotions that had attacked him at the same time.
The holiday season was turning into something he wasn’t sure he could handle.
The next few days flew by. For some reason, he could not stay away from the shelter. He went daily and spent time with both Jonathon and Aiden, and Rolf because he was always around. Brecker also got to know several of the other youth pretty well. Each time he left, he had such conflicting emotions that he felt torn apart.