by Lisa Worrall
Aiden rinsed his hair and then began to soap up his body, humming tunelessly to himself when a knock on the shower cubicle door had him almost jumping out of his skin. He peered at the outline of a small person outside the frosted glass. “Um… yes, honey?” he asked, heaving a sigh of relief that it was only Kaylee. Patti had been known to come barging into the bathroom when she had something to say, waving away his protests that she’d “seen it all before” and had “changed your butt.”
“Daddy, Aunt Patti says we’re eatin’ turkey. Is it true?”
Aiden frowned at the definite wobble in her voice. Quickly rinsing himself, he opened the door and stepped out onto the mat then grabbed the towel off the heated rail. His gaze widened at the welling of tears in her eyes and he fastened the towel around his waist before leading her into the bedroom and urging her up onto the bed beside him. “Yes,” he said with a nod of his head. “It’s Thanksgiving today, and it’s traditional to eat turkey at Thanksgiving. What’s wrong, baby? Why are you so upset?”
“But Daddy,” Kaylee sniffed loudly then wiped her sleeve under her nose and Aiden tried not to wince at the movement. “Turkey is a bird.” She drew out the word.
“Yes,” Aiden said hesitantly. He had no idea where she was going with this, so he figured caution was his best option.
“Bird are God’s features. I don’t wanna eat it!” She dissolved into tears and threw herself back onto the bed, prostrate with grief.
Aiden wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or become a vegetarian right there and then. He laid down next to her and took one of her hands in his. “Um, well, honey. You’ve eaten turkey before,” he began. “We eat it at Christmas, too.” Her eyes flew open and locked on his. His stomach plummeted at the despair in her gaze—Good one, Reid. He rubbed her back gently. “Sweetie, we eat meat all the time. Where did you think it came from?”
He had no idea what to do and her sobs escalated when she replied on a wail, “The market!”
At that one, Aiden had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing in her face. He sat up and pulled her up with him, wrapping his arms around her. Only his sweet girl, who was the most ravenous carnivore he’d ever met, would pick Thanksgiving to realize where their dinner was from. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and stroked her hair. “Tell you what,” he said softly, “why don’t I just put all the other stuff on your plate and leave out the turkey. Would that be okay?”
As if someone had turned off a tap, Kaylee’s sobs ceased and she looked up at him, once again wiping her nose on her sleeve and sending a shiver of down his spine. I really need to get her to stop doing that! A frown creased her brow and he felt as though he were waiting on tenterhooks for her response. After what seemed like forever, she nodded.
“Okay.” A smile lit up her tear-streaked face and she jumped off his lap and bounded across the room. She paused at the door and her parting shot left him open-mouthed in disbelief as she fled back downstairs. “Achly, Daddy, I’ll have ham.”
Aiden stared after her and waited until her footsteps had thumped down the stairs before he laughed so hard his ribs ached and his face hurt. It probably wasn’t the right time to have a conversation with her about where ham came from—he’d save that one for next Thanksgiving.
When his chuckles had subsided, he wandered over to the chest of drawers, took out his favorite jeans, the ones that had a little give at the waist, and some clean boxers. He dried himself off and pulled them on before taking his new purple shirt out of the closet, bought especially for the occasion, although he’d be slapping an apron on as soon as he hit the kitchen, and the shirt had short sleeves—he’d definitely thought of everything.
He probably ought to put some shoes on as they were having company, but Finn’s family had become used to his aversion to wearing footwear in the house, so he ignored his sneakers and trotted downstairs in his bare feet. If I’m cooking my ass off all day, they can put up with my feet. He thought it was more than a fair trade.
Aiden paused in the kitchen doorway at the sight of Patti and Meredith at the table, coffee mugs in hand talking animatedly. If someone had told him a couple of months ago he’d be hosting Thanksgiving and his sister would be there, he’d have written them a one way ticket to the nuthouse. But there she was, in his kitchen, her beautiful green eyes alight with laughter at something Kaylee had said, looking for all the world as though she’d always been there. He was proud of her for standing up to their parents to join them today. She’d been a stubborn kid and she was an even more stubborn adult, so when she’d made the threat to move to LA, he knew his mother would have folded quicker than a house of cards. That would create far too much excitement at the country club for his mother’s liking. Not that he cared how she was here. She was here—that’s all that mattered.
“Morning, ladies,” he said, striding across the room to pour himself a cup of coffee. He paused to drop a kiss on each of their cheeks as he did so. “I hope you all slept well, because we have a lot of work to do today.” He heaped two spoons of sugar into his coffee and stirred it well before joining them at the table. “I see you’ve set up the ironing board already, Kaylee. Good job, honey. Are you ready to get those napkins as flat as you can?”
“Yes, sir!” Kaylee said loudly, saluting him then dissolving into a fit of giggles. “Aunt Patti told me to.”
“Very funny,” Aiden drawled, raising an eyebrow at his aunt, who was busy laughing into her coffee. “Please tell me there’s not a mutiny already.”
“Everything’s ship shape, Cap’n,” Patti said, in a quite passable impression of a pirate. “Awaiting your instructions.”
“You’re incorrigible,” Aiden said, his lips curving into a smile. “Although, if we take your language into account, you’ve obviously known a few sailors in your time.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Patti countered swiftly, dropping him a lascivious wink which, coming from his aged aunt, was far too disturbing for Aiden to handle. “I’ll tell you about it sometime.”
“Eww, please don’t.” Aiden gave a full body shudder at the thought and Meredith laughed so hard she had to wrap her arms around her stomach. Aiden grinned widely, joining in. Finn was right. Today was going to be perfect.
III
Finn strode along the concourse in the direction of Monty’s theatre, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He hoped Chris was in a better mood today. He’d been quiet ever since the Halloween debacle and still hadn’t completely forgiven Finn for masterminding the prank. Chris had, however, accepted he’d maybe taken his own pranks a little too far in the run-up to Halloween, but Finn was beginning to think he’d been more affected by Finn’s zombie apocalypse than he was letting on. Finn sighed and pushed open the double doors to the locker room. Maybe he’d gone too far, as well. Perhaps a clearing of the air would do them both good. They’d been friends for too long to let things fester, and Finn didn’t want this hanging between them. Although it had had the desired effect. Chris’ practical jokes had been non-existent and he’d apologized profusely to his victims. Now maybe it was time they apologized to each other.
Chris was already inside, bagging up miniature Monties and Thanksgiving themed candies, his brow creased in concentration. He glanced up as Finn came in and nodded, “Hey.”
“Hey, man,” Finn replied brightly, and clapped his hand to Chris’ shoulder. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Yeah, Happy Thanksgiving.” Chris smiled up at him. “How’s Aiden this mornin’? Got his jocks in a knot over dinner?”
Finn snorted derisively. “What do you think?” He blew on his knuckles and rubbed them against his shirt. “Although I do believe I helped him start the day with a smile.”
Chris made a face. “Thanks for that. Now I’m gonna have to bleach my brain.”
“You’re welcome.” Finn tossed his backpack onto the bench and shrugged off his jacket. “You still going to Katie’s parents?”
“Nah,” Chris replied, tyin
g ribbon around the last little plastic bag. “Her dad decided they were going to her grandparents’ in Des Moines at the last minute. I’ve got a double shift on Saturday, so I’m gonna curl up with a beer and a turkey sandwich while I watch the game.”
“No you are not,” Finn said firmly. “You’re coming home with me.”
“It’s fine.” Chris shook his head. “I ain’t gonna be responsible for Aiden having an aneurism. I think I’ll pass.”
“One more mouth won’t make a difference,” Finn urged. “In fact, he’d kick my ass all over LA if I didn’t take you home.”
“Finn—”
“I ain’t taking no for an answer.” Finn’s tone brooked no argument.
Chris nodded. “Okay. Thanks. I’d like that.”
Finn smiled and turned his attention to his suit. His smile widened as he took in the pilgrim costume Monty had been dressed in. Although how the hell he was supposed to keep the hat from falling off every five seconds, he had no idea. But the kids would love it and, if he was honest, so would he. However, there was only one thing on his mind right now. Getting back to Aiden so he didn’t freak out entirely. Today meant so much to him, to both of them, especially with Meredith back in his life. If anything went wrong, Aiden would be devastated, and Finn wanted to avoid that eventuality at all costs. The sound of Kaylee yelling, “Finn! You’ve got a message!” suddenly echoed around the room.
Chris snorted loudly. “You made Shortstack your secretary?”
“Once she figured out she could record herself, there was no stopping her.” Finn chuckled as he pulled his cell out of the pocket in his backpack. “You wait ‘til you hear the ringtone she set me up with. You’ll never feel the same about Jingle Bells again.” Finn opened the message.
Ben is bringing his roommate-can we borrow an extra chair from the auditorium?
Finn sighed. Oh well, in for a penny. He tapped at the screen and sent his reply: I’ll bring a couple, Chris is coming, too. Is that okay? A few moments later Kaylee shouted again and Finn opened Aiden’s response.
I hate you. Of course it’s okay, he’s family. And I hate you.
Finn sent a smiley face and then put his cell back into his backpack before securing it in his locker. “Aiden’s really happy you’re joining us,” he tossed over his shoulder at Chris.
“You’re such a liar, Thomas. He’s probably drooling somewhere as we speak.”
Finn laughed. “I think he did that earlier when Ben told him he was bringing his roommate.”
“Good God,” Chris said, his mouth an ‘o’ of surprise. “Poor Aiden. He’s gonna implode.”
“He’ll be fine,” Finn said firmly. “He’s got Patti and Meredith and my mom and dad’s flight lands in an hour. My mom will be more than happy to help and all AJ and dad have to do is pick their spots in front of the TV. Ben’s driving down and won’t be there until about one anyway. Aiden will be fine.”
“Of course he will.” Chris stood up and slapped Finn on the back. “I’m just teasin’. If anyone can pull it off, it’s Aiden.”
“Absolutely,” Finn said, nodding firmly. A smile curved his lips. “I think he’s even scheduled toilet breaks.”
Chris laughed and stood up. “I’d better make sure I go before we leave then, in case I’m not on the chart.” He brushed some lint off Monty’s pilgrim jacket. “Come on, doofus. Let’s get this party over so we can get the party started.”
Finn put a hand on his locker door to steady himself and stepped into the bottom half of Monty that Chris held out for him. “Wait a minute, where’s your costume?”
Chris blushed. That on its own was enough for Finn to raise an eyebrow. He’d never seen Chris blush before. Didn’t even know he could. Then he saw it, hanging on the door to the bathroom. “Oh. My. God.”
IV
“Is it them? Is it them?” Kaylee bounced on the spot and Aiden smiled fondly.
“Why don’t you go see?”
Kaylee flew across the room to the window and pulled back the curtain. “It’s them! It’s them!”
“Then we’d better let ‘em in. Go answer it, I’m right behind you.” Adrian chuckled softly as Kaylee all but vaulted the coffee table and took off down the hallway to the front door.
“Daddy’s comin’! I can’t reach!” Kaylee yelled her apology through the letterbox while she waited for Aiden to unlock the door.
Aiden grinned as he bent to shout through the letterbox, “You might wanna brace yourselves.” Then turned the handle.
AJ didn’t even have time to get over the threshold before Kaylee had climbed him like a tree, screaming Grizzly at the top of her lungs. Not that he cared from the look on his face as he folded his muscled forearms under her butt, like a seat, with Molly and Dan grinning like demented maniacs beside him.
“Kayles,” Aiden mock admonished. “Let ‘em in. We can’t have Thanksgiving on the doorstep. Speaking of which, Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!” Molly stepped into the hall and his open arms, hugging him tightly.
“Happy Thanksgiving, baby.” Molly started unbuttoning her coat. “Point me to the kitchen and give me a job, my fingers are itching to do something.”
“For God’s sake find her something, boy,” Dan said, taking his wife’s coat and hanging it in the hall closet. “She was so twitchy on the flight she was a martini away from suggesting we join the mile high club.”
“You hush up, Dan Thomas,” Molly hissed, slapping her husband on the arm. Although Aiden didn’t miss the twinkle in her eye as she did so. “But he’s right, honey. You’d better give me somethin’ to do before I start rearranging furniture.”
Aiden laughed at the desperation in her voice. “Kaylee, will you take Grandpa and Grizzly into the living-room and get them settled, while Grandma and I go and help in the kitchen?”
“Sure, Daddy.” Kaylee pointed toward the living-room door and, Aiden couldn’t quite hold back his amusement at AJ’s muffled groan when she said, “You wanna watch Barbie?”
Aiden looped his arm around Molly’s shoulders and guided her down the hall to the kitchen. “I think it’s safe to say AJ is going to be firmly in Kaylee’s clutches for the rest of the day.”
“He’ll love it,” Molly said on a heavy sigh. “She’s been all he’s talked about for the last week.”
“He’s great with her,” Aiden agreed. “And she adores him.” He paused a few feet from the kitchen door and gazed into her eyes, Finn’s eyes, noting the sadness there. “What is it?”
“AJ’s just been so down since he broke up with Clare,” Molly kept her voice low so only Aiden could hear her.
“The one with the little girl?”
Molly nodded. “Shelby. She was the sweetest little thing, all blonde hair and blue eyes, but shy, cripplingly so. Poor thing could hardly string a sentence together although she’s a year or so older than Kaylee. But she and AJ took to each other from the start. The way they looked at each other…” her breath caught in her throat. “My boy was more of a father to that little girl than her own ever was. More of a mother, too, if the truth be told. I could tell that Clare was a wrong-un from the moment I laid eyes on her. What could I say? He’s a grown man. But I tell you somethin’, if I’d known then what I know now, I’d have never let that woman into my house.
“When they left, his heart broke. Not for Clare, but for that little girl. Seems to me he’s been disappearing inside himself more and more every day since. The only thing that brings him real joy anymore is the time he spends with Kaylee.” She dabbed at her eyes with the edge of her sleeve and huffed out a derisive laugh. “Look at me, stupid old woman.” She urged him on. “C’mon, I want to meet this Aunt Patti I’ve heard so much about.”
Aiden pulled Molly into his arms and hugged her. He was overwhelmed by her love for her son, by the way her heart ached for him, mirroring his pain. It wasn’t something he had ever experienced himself. She was quite a woman. He kissed her gently on the cheek and then stepped back to smile down at her. �
�He’s lucky to have you looking out for him.” Aiden leaned into the palm she laid against his cheek and her scent invaded his nostrils. Finn was right, she did smell like cookie dough and lavender.
“Are you two gonna stand out there yapping all day like two old women in line at the post office? This dinner ain’t gonna cook itself.”
Molly’s gaze widened at the voice drifting out into the hall from the kitchen, and Aiden chuckled at the expression on her face. “And they would be the dulcet tones of my Aunt Patti.” He leaned in and mumbled against the shell of Molly’s ear. “Before we go in, I apologize for anything and everything she says, before she says it. Believe me, it’ll save time if I do it now.”
“Hey, Stinky, old don’t mean deaf,” Patti berated from the kitchen. “Now get your ass in here.”
Aiden rolled his eyes. Stinky? Really? Childhood nicknames? Please dear God, don’t let her mention the butt plug. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said wryly and ushered Molly into the kitchen. “Molly, you remember my sister, Meredith and this is my aunt, Patricia Bowen.”
“Please, call me Patti, everybody does.” Aiden watched, amused, as Molly was engulfed in a cloud of red chiffon and Chanel. “It’s so good to finally meet you. That boy of yours is a credit to you and your husband. I don’t know where this family would be without him. He’s certainly put a smile on ole Stinky’s face, which I can’t tell you how grateful I am for. Even if I do have to wear my noise reduction headphones every now and then to get a good night’s sleep.”
“Oh dear God, really?” Aiden clapped a hand over his eyes so he didn’t have to see the look on Molly’s face. “Of all the openers you could come up with, you thought that was the one to go with? Why do you hate me?”
“I don’t hate you, sweetie,” Patti mock-admonished. “I’m merely pointin’ out that on occasion you might think about biting down on somethin’ so as not to wake up the whole house.” She put her arm around Molly’s shoulders. “Now, lets you and me sit down and get acquainted over the coffee Aiden’s going to make us.” She guided Molly to the kitchen table and then waved a hand at an astonished Aiden, who had been stunned into silence. “Well, don’t just stand there. Oh, and no sugar in mine. I’m feeling sweet enough today.”