Let's Scrooge

by R. L. Caulder

  Looking around, the guys are also struggling to choke back their emotions, and Zedd has a few stray tears running down his cheeks. When I look to Beth and see her smiling, tears streaming from her eyes, I lose it.

  Holding my sweater tightly in my grip, I run to her and sit in her lap, burying my face in her chest as the tears fall freely, soaking her shirt. She holds me, running her hand over my hair, and murmurs so only I can hear, "I told you, Lana; I'll always love you more. You all own a piece of my heart. We might not be blood but you will always be my children—all of you."

  The guys gather around the chair and we have an awkward puppy pile, proclamations of love in the air around us.

  Moments later, she shoos us off, wiping away the tears on her flushed cheeks. "We still have more presents to open!"

  I hope she knows how much this simple gesture means to us. Six children who’ve never belonged, who barely knew morsels of love before her. Who’ve been through hell in the foster system before being blessed enough to find her.

  We'll always belong to the Sanders Clan.

  Chapter 9

  Lana

  After we manage to gather ourselves, I demand to be the next one to hand out presents to everyone. No one argues about it so I pass everyone’s respective box.

  Beth opens hers. With a megawatt smile in thanks, she quickly adds the Superwoman charm, with “Super Mom” engraved on it, to her bracelet.

  The twins, practically whining as they express their impatience, are up next and they rip theirs open in record time. They each got a matching, insulated mug, one with Tweedle Dee and the other with Tweedle Dum on it.

  They roll their eyes and go to their second round of presents. For their real gifts, Leo pulls out a French press coffee set while Luke pulls out a coffee bean grinder. For the past month, they’ve been going on and on about how much better the coffee tastes this way after they had it at a local coffee shop.

  Cackling in my mind, I anticipate the delicious coffee they’ll be making in the coming days. Who’s the winner here?

  They crawl over to me to plant a kiss on my cheeks and my face flushes all the way up to the tips of my ears.

  Zedd is patiently waiting for his turn when I look at him. At my smile and nod, he opens the wrapping with care, not tearing a single piece. He neatly folds it and places it off to the side before opening the box. He holds the gift up and beams up at me—a signed box set of his favorite series.

  I gesture to Hale and Ash next, letting them know either one of them can go next. Neither of them concedes to the other, ripping the packaging open at the same time.

  Ash finishes first and nervously holds up the gift certificate in his hands, smiling at me, but his anxiety is clear. It's a certificate for a mixed media art class. He’s always had an eye for art and has often talked about how he wished he could find the time to learn. This will allow him the chance to dabble in different styles and find whichever medium is his favorite.

  I already accounted for his anxiety and insecurity.

  I lean over to whisper in his ear and reassure him, "I signed myself up as well. We'll be doing it together. You won't be alone."

  He surprises me by crushing me to him and holding on for a bit before releasing me with a kiss to my forehead and a murmured ‘thank you.’

  Hale pinches my arm, drawing my attention to him, and his smile is instantly infectious. He holds up two tickets to a football game and asks cheekily, "So, who do you think will want to go with me?"

  The twins cough and say “Brittany” under their breaths, causing Hale to yell at them to shut the fuck up.

  My face must show my sour opinion of her because Hale turns back to me and puts his fingers to the corners of my lips, dragging them up into a mock smile. "Will you go with me, Little One?"

  This time, I don't need his assistance and my smile comes easily. I nod happily, butterflies flying in my stomach.

  Not that it's a date or something. Just two friends enjoying an event together.

  Within thirty seconds, I have six presents piled in front of me, their eager eyes watching me.

  Nerves overcome me because every year, the guys argue over whose present I like the most and I’m dreading it already. I hate it. I never want to hurt any of their feelings.

  They'll never understand that simply being in each of their lives, feeling their love for me every day, is the best present I could ever ask for.

  Gingerly, I pick up the smallest box first, and Hale's face lights up.

  Guess this one's his.

  I unwrap it and see a black jewelry box. Opening the lid, my breath catches at the teal diamond stud earrings that lay nestled within the red pillow.

  "I had to get them when I realized they match your eyes perfectly."

  My lip quivers. I look over at him, his icy blue eyes dancing with glee. "Hale … this is too much. You didn't have to do this."

  He boops me on the tip of my nose. "I know. I wanted to."

  Exhaling a deep breath, I thank him and put the studs in my ears.

  Ash looks like someone kicked his puppy as I pick up the next box, similar in size to the first. My eyes widen when I find another black jewelry box inside.

  I look up, confused, but things quickly become clear when I see Ash glaring at Hale.

  What the fuck is going on?

  I open the lid and find a pair of small, snowflake earrings winking at me, the white gold metal gleaming. They’re gorgeous.

  I glance up at Ash and smile at him. "I love these, Ash!"

  Although I mean every word, my response apparently isn’t good enough because he abruptly stands and walks out of the room.

  Chapter 10

  Ash

  Fucking hell.

  Of course we’d both get her earrings and she’d open his first. That would’ve been fine—if his gift hadn’t brought tears to her eyes while mine barely elicited a reaction.

  A flash of rage goes through me as I stomp up the stairs to my room. Am I acting like a child right now? Without a doubt, but who gives a fuck?

  Recently, I haven’t been acting like myself when it comes to Lana. I’ve become more territorial of her, more conscious of how she looks at other people. I know it but I’m helpless to stop it.

  As I go to shut the door behind me, I come up against resistance. A hand catches the door before it can close, slender fingers wrapped around it.

  Lana's soft voice floats through the opening, "Ash. Let me in."

  I'm the biggest dick in the world, making today about me. She loves Christmas and here I am, being a big, whiny, fucking baby. I absolutely live up to the Grinch nickname she’s christened me with.

  "Go back and enjoy the rest of the morning, Lana. I'm sorry. I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

  "I'm not going until we talk."

  With a sigh, I open the door to let her in, aware that it’s my only option. She’s as stubborn as a mule when she wants to be. I need to get a hold of my emotions and push them deep inside of me. This isn’t fair to anyone.

  As soon as she steps over the threshold, she crushes herself to me in a hug, leaving me dazed. It takes me a moment to react and wrap my arms around her but when I do, she embraces me even tighter, her small hands brushing up and down my back.

  I flinch, knowing that she knows about the small white scars marring my skin. They're almost invisible now, only noticeable to those who know they’re there, but the emotional wounds will stay with me forever.

  "I know you don't like to open up, Ash, and I won't push you. But I couldn't just stay down there without letting you know that I love my gift. But more than that, more than anything that any of you could ever give me, I love having you all in my life the most. You mean the world to me. I love all of you."

  There she goes, being the most perfect woman in the world like always.

  This is why I agonized over getting her the perfect gift. What do you get the girl who owns your heart? What do you get her when you know yo
u can never act on those feelings and that this small, absolutely miniscule offering is the only way you can ever come close to showing her how much she means to you?

  And how do I, right here, right now, keep this platonic when every fiber of my being wants to crush my lips to hers?

  "Thank you, Lana. I love ... you all as well."

  My anger and jealousy subside as we hug, replaced by a different thought. Do I tell my brothers about my feelings? Do I keep them to myself?

  After she pulls away from me, she grabs my hand and stares up at me with wide eyes. "Please come back downstairs with me?"

  I could never deny her anything.

  She owns me. It’s time I admit that to myself.

  Chapter 11

  Luke

  As Lana and Ash come back downstairs, I watch everyone’s facial expressions carefully, reading any furrowed brows, any barely detectable tightening of the lips. It’s very unlike our family to squabble over petty things and I’m worried that a second one might erupt.

  My brother and I may be the playful ones of the group but it doesn’t mean we’re blind. We watch and we observe and over the past months, it’s become glaringly obvious to us that our dynamic has shifted.

  This morning has solidified to me why that is: we all like Lana.

  How the hell are we going to go about this? She could reject the shit out of all of us and our family would never be the same again. But what if she likes us back? Is that even a possibility?

  I scoff at myself and run a hand down my face. Why would she want any of us? Not only are we supposed to be her brothers, we’re a sad bunch of broken men. We all front a brave face and hide our emotional turmoil with whatever mask suits us—Leo and I as the jokesters, Hale the leader, Zedd the know-it-all, and Ash the grump. But regardless of how we pretend otherwise, we’re all damaged goods.

  And even if she did like one of us, what about the remaining four? It could never work.

  The rest of the morning goes quickly, with Lana gushing over the poem that Zedd wrote for her and squealing over the skydiving tickets that Leo and I got for the three of us. Soon enough, we’re heading upstairs to put our gifts away and to take our customary naps while Beth heads off to give out gifts with the DCF.

  This year, there’s been an uptick in foster children with the surrounding cities being hit by a flash flood, the most violent one recorded since the one that took Beth's husband and son many years ago.

  Our world is slowly adjusting to the random acts of nature occurring more frequently around the world. We’re trying to live our lives to the fullest but the fear that we could lose each other any day lingers underneath the surface. With our pasts, there’s no optimism bias that has us believing we’re less likely to experience traumatic events.

  So, with the increase in children in the system, Beth announced that she would be out longer today. After our naps, we’ll clean the kitchen and the house before she gets home so all she has to do is relax.

  Flinging myself down onto my bed, I groan into the mattress rather loudly. My bed creaks as my brother sits down next to my prone form.

  I turn my head to the side so he can hear me. "So obviously we both like Lana. By the way Hale and Ash took the present mishap so seriously and Zedd was red like a fire engine, I think it's pretty clear that the other guys do as well."

  He nods thoughtfully before answering, "Yup. We're all fucked."

  That cracks a grin from me because it's pretty accurate—short and to the point.

  "We need to talk to the rest of them before—"

  My words are cut off by a soft knock on our door.

  At my beckoning yell, the door opens to admit Zedd, Ash, and Hale. Speak of the devils.

  Zedd sits on the floor at the foot of our beds, while Ash and Hale sprawl on Leo’s bed.

  After a few short moments where we wonder who will start the conversation, Zedd shocks the hell out of all of us by bringing up the elephant in the room. As I think that, I imagine the seventy-five different ways Lana would castrate me if she knew I referred to her as an elephant.

  "Listen, I need to get something off my chest and I think you all do as well. I like Lana. As more than a sister. And maybe I'm way off base and you guys don't but it's been different between all of us recently. This morning was proof enough."

  I slap my twin on the shoulder. "See! I wasn't wrong."

  He slaps me back just for the sake of it before turning to Zedd. "We were just having that conversation before you guys walked in. We both like Lana as well."

  We look to Hale and Ash, who wear the sheepish look of kids who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

  "Yeah … sorry about this morning. My jealousy kicks in when it comes to my feelings for Lana," Ash admits.

  Hale hums his agreement. "Yeah, that's why I was so secretive about the gift I got for her. I didn't want anyone to top me this year because my feelings have shifted into something else."

  We all sit in silence for a moment before I feel the need to break it. "Honestly, I'm kind of relieved. I was really worried I was alone in this and that you guys would judge me for having these ‘forbidden’ feelings."

  Everyone seems to breathe a sigh of relief at my words and there’s a collective nod of agreement in the room.

  "How do we approach her with this?” I ask. “What if the feelings aren’t reciprocated? It would be so overwhelming for her."

  Zedd is quick to pipe up, "They are."

  We all turn to look at him, wearing identical looks of confusion, and wait for him to explain.

  He uncrosses his legs and stretches them out, clearly a little uncomfortable with the attention. "Honestly, you guys have been too busy in the past with other girls to even realize it. I've paid closer attention to her. I've seen the disappointment on her face when you guys left the house for a date. I’ve seen her smile fall as soon as your backs were turned when you were done asking for advice over another girl."

  That breaks a piece of me, hearing about the pain she felt that was caused by us having our heads up our asses. By the pained looks on the other's faces, the feelings are mutual.

  Those other women were only flings. We never felt the connection for them like we do for her. Of that, I’m one hundred percent certain.

  "So what do we do? We can't just bombard her, especially when she probably won't trust that our feelings are genuine with our past."

  “What if she thinks it’s all a cruel, elaborate prank?” Luke asks, the note of worry clear in his words.

  Hale finally contributes, "We take the time to prove to ourselves and her that these feelings are genuine. This could ruin our family if even one of us isn't serious about this. We need time to sit on it and make damn sure that we’re all in this for real. I don't think any of us wants to break her heart."

  Ash, who’s basically an iron fortress with his emotions, adds, "Agreed. I say we wait until she'll believe, without a doubt, that we're hers."

  I nod. "Alright, boys. So let the wait begin. One day, we'll let her know."

  Make no mistake, Lana—you’ll be ours.

  About R.L. Caulder

  Err … not sure how much of an intro you guys are looking for … I don't like long walks on the beach, I'm a Gemini, and my favorite color is teal. I think that covers the typical first date questions. I'm engaged to the love of my life who pushes my buttons like no other. I have a ginger cat named "MeowMeow" and a Staffordshire Pitbull named "Winrey." You're a cool cat if you know where we got the dog's name from. I just started my writing journey during 2020 and hope to continue for many years to come.

  Stalk me / stay up to date on my projects by joining my Facebook group:

  The Cauldron

  Other works by R.L. Caulder

  Darkness Rising Series

  Paranormal Reverse Harem

  Desolation: mybook.to/Desolation

  Detonation: mybook.to/Detonation

  Devastation: mybook.to/DevastationDR

  A Performe
d Christmas by Suki Williams

  Chapter 1

  Hollis

  “There is no way we are getting one of those!” I heard Grant tell Beckett as soon as I walked into my house. They didn’t even turn to look at me when the front door banged closed behind me. Not willing to deal with whatever they were arguing about or discussing, I bypassed them and went straight into the kitchen, praying Carter had started dinner.

  I was in luck. He had indeed started dinner, and it smelled delicious. Letting out a happy sigh, I dropped my gym bag onto the floor, not caring about the loud noise it made, before walking over to wrap my arms around him. Resting my chin on his shoulders, I looked at the food he was stirring, feeling his lips lift in a smile where I leaned my cheek against his.

  “Hello, gorgeous.”

  “That smells amazing,” I told him in greeting and pressed a kiss to his neck when he laughed at me. “What are you making?”

  “Chicken Pad Thai.” He turned his head slightly to capture my lips in a hard, quick kiss. “Should be ready any minute.”

  “So what are Grant and Beck arguing about in there? They didn’t even notice when I came in.”

  “Christmas trees,” Carter replied dryly, his voice full of amusement. “Grant wants a real tree. Says it’s all part of the holiday experience that he missed while he was living in the barracks. Beckett, of course, wants to get a fake tree. His argument is that it’s more practical and can be used every year, unlike a real one that needs to be replaced every year. They’ve been discussing it for the past hour with no decision made.”

  “So, basically… it’s just an argument so they can have makeup sex later?” I questioned, amused that they would use small arguments as a kind of foreplay.