A Very Daring Christmas (The Tavonesi Series Book 8)

by Pamela Aares

  “You need to get in here right after Christmas and sign all these docs. And Nike wants some lead PR.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay? To PR? What’s your mother’s maiden name?”

  “Huh?”

  “I just wanted to make sure I’m really talking to Jake Ryder.”

  “Not funny. But I do have some new ideas. I’ll run them by you.”

  “See you after the holidays. And, Jake?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m jealous.”

  As Jake sought for something to say, Tony added, “I’ve always wanted a week away from the friggin’ cellphone and computer. I might try it this winter.”

  “Your wife would kill you.”

  “Not if I take her to Bora Bora.”

  Jake handed Alex his phone and told him the news.

  “Can I say I told you so?”

  “No.”

  “No one is more stoked to hear this than me,” Alex said. He shook Jake’s hand. “But what’s eating you?”

  Alex was more than a teammate; he’d become Jake’s most trusted friend. If he couldn’t talk with Alex about what was gnawing at his guts, he couldn’t tell anyone. But his mind gripped hard, and all he could come up with was the question that had kept him awake for more nights than he could count.

  “How did you know you loved Jackie?”

  “Seriously?”

  Jake nodded.

  Alex let his gaze focus on Jake’s face for a few uncomfortable moments. Then he turned and pressed the switch to shut down the bright lights in the cage.

  “If you listen, you’ll know. Love is like a recognition of a truth, an awareness of another person’s integrity that lights you up. It’s a recognition that you’ve met a person who can go the hard way with you. You might not want to admit it; in fact, I think that’s a sign that love is rolling in. And you might try to ignore the recognition, the feelings, try to rewrite, reform, rescript—like I did at first.” He shook his head. “I strongly recommend not doing that. But falling for Jackie? It was terrifying at first. And for a long time.” He took in a deep breath and shrugged. “I once thought I loved my single life. But when Jackie’s gone on those long research excursions, I can’t wait until she gets home. It’s like she’s taken some part of me with her and I never feel right until she’s back with me.”

  Terrifying.

  The word thudded in Jake’s brain. He’d fought the recognition that some part of him was tied to Cameron—still didn’t want to let it in. Losing Peter had made him never want to feel that close to anyone ever again. Worse, the conflicted, unfamiliar feelings he felt for Cameron seemed to call to him not from his past or present but from his future. That future that had once loomed like an open field had collapsed into a tumbled path of irresistible energy tugging him in a direction he’d never imagined wanting to travel. Instead of celebrating Tony’s news and reveling in achieving his goals, he was fighting an internal battle that didn’t let up.

  “I’ve played the field for so long,” Jake said, grasping at the reality that once made sense. “I’ve always liked it.”

  “You trying to convince me or yourself?” Alex said over his shoulder as he opened the door to the batting cage.

  Jake followed him out into Ryan’s barn. “If I were ready, I’d know, right?”

  “Oh, you’ll know all right. It’ll hit you so hard it’ll flatten you. You won’t be able to think straight.” Alex nailed him with one of his piercing stares. “Sounding familiar?”

  “Consider me flattened.” He wanted to be honest with Alex. “But she’s taken.”

  Alex crossed his arms. “Taken? Cameron? We are talking about Cameron here, aren’t we?”

  “She prefers the prince. What woman wouldn’t?”

  “You are one thick-skulled guy. Tell you what, talk to Sabrina. Better yet, talk to Cameron.”

  “Are you kidding? Who knows what’s true with an Oscar-caliber actress?”

  “You forget that my sister is one of those actresses. They’re women first, Jake.”

  When Jake said nothing, Alex shook his head. “Talk to her. She has no idea how you feel, right? Jackie reminds me often that guys live in their heads, that we imagine that since we’ve worked an issue to death in our minds, it’s settled, even if we never talk it out with anyone else.”

  Jake was speechless. He frowned at Alex.

  “Yeah, thought so. You need to bring Cameron up to speed. I promise it won’t be as painful as you’re imagining.”

  The sun was dipping toward the hills, lighting a bright path on the Pacific Ocean in the distance as they walked out of the barn housing the batting cage and up the gravel path toward Ryan’s house. Ryan waved at them from the paddock behind his house where he was herding a pack of donkeys into the barn he’d built the previous winter. Ryan rescued donkeys. Alex operated a vineyard. And they had women in their lives whom they loved. Jake kicked at a stick in the path. All he did was play baseball.

  When had the game stopped being enough?

  The corners of Alex’s eyes crinkled with his smile. “You could talk to Ryan. He had a hell of a time admitting he was in love. Nearly took him out. I’d hate to see that happen to you. We need our third baseman next year.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Miss Kelley?”

  The sound of the Tavonesis’ elderly butler’s voice shouldn’t have made Cameron jump, but jump she did, and the pliers she’d been using to cut wire for the wreath clattered to the floor. Nothing had gone right all day. The trip with Dimitri to speak with the director of his family’s foundation the previous day had been more than a disappointment. They didn’t fund aid projects, only arts and culture. Dimitri’s apologies as they’d driven back to Sonoma after dinner were sincere but didn’t do a darn thing to help the people of Dominia. You couldn’t drink art, she’d wanted to say to the stuffy foundation bureaucrat.

  Spencer cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt you, but there’s a gentleman looking for Mr. Ryder. Do you know where I might find him?”

  “He’s gone to the coast.” Without her. Maybe with Brigitte. She hadn’t seen Jake since the previous morning. “Perhaps the visitor could wait in here?” Cameron offered. Even with the hundreds of twinkling lights on the towering Christmas tree, Trovare’s Great Hall loomed empty without the voices and laughter of the family and their friends. Still, a random visitor probably wouldn’t soothe the loneliness she felt.

  Spencer clasped his hands behind his back. “The gentleman won’t leave the car. He has a young boy with him. A sleeping boy that he doesn’t want to disturb, it appears.”

  “I’ll go out and explain. You have more to do than any person could handle right now.” How the elderly butler managed to see to everyone’s needs with just a skeleton holiday staff, she didn’t know.

  “Thank you, miss. I appreciate your help.”

  With a quick flick, she tied off the bow on the wreath and set it in the chair next to her. She grabbed the shawl she’d left at the end of the long table and made her way across the foyer and out through the entrance and across the drawbridge.

  A man stood leaning on a red sports convertible. As she got closer, she recognized Emilio Aderro, Jake’s former teammate. He and his sleeping passenger were hardier souls than she to have the top down on such a chilly day.

  “I’m Cameron,” she said softly, extending her hand.

  “I remember. Who wouldn’t?”

  Before she could respond with more than a smile, he motioned her away from the car.

  “That’s Dylan. He’s had a long day.” Though they were fifteen feet from the car, he kept his voice low. “A long month, if I tell the truth. But today we flew in from Dominia. He’s been sleeping since we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. I didn’t have the heart to wake him. And I couldn’t leave him here to wake up alone to”—he stopped and waved at the drawbridge—“all this.”

  “Jake should be back soon. He’s just gone out to the coast.”

&
nbsp; “Then I’ll wait.”

  The gray-tinged circles under Aderro’s eyes told her that the boy wasn’t the only one who’d had a long day. “Can I bring you something to drink? Or perhaps a blanket for your son?”

  “He’s not my son. He’s Jake’s brother’s son. His mother died recently, and, well, I should wait until Jake returns. He should hear the news firsthand.”

  Aderro’s words shocked through her. “I didn’t know Peter had a son,” she stammered.

  “Neither did Peter. And now the poor kid’s lost both his parents. That’s why we’re here.” Aderro lifted his gaze and peered down the drive.

  The rumble of tires announced an approaching vehicle. Cameron’s stomach churned as she fought to make sense of Aderro’s news.

  Jake waved as he pulled up beside them. Cameron raised her hand, stopping midmotion as she glanced at the boy. Still sleeping.

  Aderro held a finger to his lips, a sign Jake caught immediately. He didn’t even shut the door of his car. With careful, quiet steps he reached Aderro and her.

  Jake clasped Aderro in a bear hug.

  “They run you out of the country?” Jake said in a quiet, teasing tone as he released his friend.

  “If I didn’t make it back in time to help Maria cook up enough chile rellenos and mole for the forty relatives descending on us today, she’d lock me out of the house.”

  Jake turned a cool glance to her. “Cameron, you’re back from your date in town?”

  His question barely registered as it wound through the shock of Aderro’s revelation about the boy in the car. “It wasn’t a date.” Had he thought she’d spent the night in the city with Dimitri? If he had, maybe she’d hidden her feelings deeper than she’d imagined. Maybe even from herself.

  Aderro looked from Jake to her. A person didn’t have to be a genius baseball player to pick up on the energy flying between them.

  Jake pointed toward the car with the sleeping boy. “You picking up new recruits along the way?”

  Aderro crossed his arms. “You didn’t return my calls. Did you at least listen to my messages?”

  “Sorry, man. I left the phone at my place in the city. Did I miss anything earthshaking?”

  Aderro pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. “I think you should read this.”

  Jake took the envelope. “Can it wait? I need a shower. And you look like you could use a drink.”

  Aderro tapped the envelope. “I think you should read that first.”

  “So serious. Bad flight?” Jake ran a finger under the flap, pulled out a sheaf of papers and began to read. His face flushed, and Cameron saw the telltale muscle flinch in his jaw. Suddenly she felt like an interloper.

  “I could get you something to drink,” she said to Aderro.

  Jake reached out a hand to her arm. “No, stay. Please. I think I’m going to need you.”

  “I told her he’s your brother’s son,” Aderro admitted. “But I figured the rest is up to you, what you say, what you do about Dylan.”

  There was no mistaking Aderro’s message. Jake would have his hands full with the boy.

  “Did you meet his mother?” Jake asked.

  Cameron’s heart cracked at the raspy sound that signaled Jake was choking back emotion. His hand still rested on her forearm. Of course she’d stay, but what help could she provide? It wasn’t every day someone showed up to land a child on your doorstep. She hoped the others would return from Napa early. Matt and Alana had experience with children; they could help. She glanced at her watch. Five thirty. The caroling didn’t start until six. And then there would be wassail and socializing. They wouldn’t be back for hours.

  “No, I didn’t meet her. His mother’s research colleague was a close friend of my sister’s.” Aderro clapped a hand to Jake’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I tried calling your cell as soon as I found out. I should’ve thought to call Alex. It was just a mad rush to get Dylan’s papers sorted and get here. Get him to you like his mother wanted. I’m sorry it’s so close to Christmas. Holidays make everything so much more complicated.”

  Jake tilted his head toward the sleeping boy. “Does he know about me?”

  “Dylan has his own letter, written by his mother. He let me read it. He knows I’m bringing him to his uncle, his dad’s brother. And he knows his mother has passed on. She gave me firm instructions in my letter to tell him that she had died.”

  Aderro’s eyes misted, and Cameron had to look away to keep from tearing up.

  “Her ashes will be sent to you. Some of them. He doesn’t need to know all that. Not yet.”

  Jake tapped a finger to the letter. “Peter never knew he had a son.”

  “No.”

  Jake slipped his arm around Cameron’s waist. As he leaned into her, she felt the tension in his body. He was like a string so taut that if you plucked it the wrong way, it would fray and snap.

  “Peter never knew,” Jake repeated. “And he was the one who wanted a family. He wanted kids. The whole shebang. How could she not have told him?”

  “Peter’s gone, Jake. Dylan’s here. And he needs you. I can tell you, the kid never meets a stranger. Probably from growing up traveling and then the last few years living in jungle villages. He’ll adapt here.”

  “Here?”

  “With you. You’re going to take him in, aren’t you? That was his mother’s assumption. Her intention.”

  Jake pulled his arm from around Cameron’s waist and smacked the letter against his open palm. “That was her plan.” He glanced down at the letter. “Alia’s plan. It’s not—”

  “You should sleep on this,” Aderro said in a firm tone. “Get through Christmas. Don’t make any of your famous snap decisions. What about your parents?”

  “They’re in Rome. With my sister.”

  “I’ll be down at my place until after the first of the year. You call me if you need help. And Maria has offered to help too.”

  A sprinkle of cold rain landed on Cameron’s hand. The weather front the meteorologists had been predicting was moving in.

  “Let’s get him inside, get him something warm to drink,” Cameron said as she found her voice. “Or should one of you carry him up to bed?”

  “No,” Aderro said firmly. “I think waking up in a strange bed would be a shock. I’ll wake him. By now he’s used to my mug.” Aderro chuckled. “He’s seen a lot of it for the past week.” He put a hand to Jake’s forearm. “You’ll figure it out. Just don’t overthink it.”

  Jake grimaced. “See why I miss this guy? That’s the same brilliant advice he used to give me about hitting. Sort of one size fits all.”

  Aderro shot Cameron a wink. “He hit three seventy-eight when I was giving him advice.”

  Cameron felt Jake stiffen beside her as they watched Aderro walk over to the car and gently shake Dylan. Aderro put his head next to Dylan’s and whispered in his ear. The boy’s head shot up, and his eyes went wide as he took in Trovare Castle.

  Dylan’s exclamations of surprise drowned out Jake’s quieter “Oh, boy.”

  But when Jake turned to her, his expression said he was just as shocked as Dylan was.

  If Dylan was disturbed about Aderro going off to be with his family and leaving him with Jake, he didn’t show it. Jake couldn’t answer even half the rapid-fire questions Dylan asked about Trovare Castle as they made their way across the drawbridge. When Dylan saw the gargoyles, he stopped, and Cameron ran into him from behind.

  “Oh, sorry. But that statue looks just like one in my mom’s books. She had stacks of books. I got to order as many as I liked. But when we moved to Alacenya—that’s the deepest of the deep-jungle villages—it took forever for my books to come. Do you have lots of books?”

  “Me?” Jake was hoping he’d fire a few questions at Cameron.

  She raised a brow. “Do you have lots of books?”

  She wasn’t going to save him. But he sure as hell was glad she hadn’t gone off caroling with the others. He needed her more than he wanted
to admit.

  “Some. Mostly baseball. And history.” And a few old bound volumes of poetry. But he didn’t cop to them. The collection had been Peter’s. That and a bat were all he had left of his brother. Until now.

  “You hit three seventy-eight last year!”

  “What?” He was concentrating on holding the huge main doors of Trovare open so that Dylan and Cameron could pass through.

  “Mom gave me a letter. Mine’s not as long as yours. And Aderro wouldn’t let me read yours. I read really good. But—”

  “Really well.” God, he was correcting the kid’s English? According to the letter he’d read, Dylan spoke three languages fluently.

  “Right. I read really well. So Mom made me a list of the things I might like about you. At the top was that you hit three seventy-eight last year.”

  Cameron sniggered.

  The kid liked baseball; he was saved. Must be genetic. He doubted there’d been much access to games in the deep jungle.

  Though Jake wanted to know what else was on the list, Cameron’s wry smile kept him from asking.

  Dylan pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. “Here’s Mom’s list.”

  It was very short.

  His lifetime batting average was at the top.

  There was a note about his interest in kids baseball camps. That one was probably compliments of Aderro’s sister.

  He liked zip-lining.

  And ending the list was a single line that stopped his breath.

  Your father, Peter, loved Jake with all his heart. He’ll be a great uncle.

  Jake raised his gaze from the wrinkled paper and caught Cameron watching him. He shrugged.

  Dylan yawned, and his stomach let out a loud growl.

  “Are you hungry, Dylan?” Cameron asked.

  “Yeah.” He looked to Jake. “I mean yes.”

  Jake’s heart did a little flip as his stomach sank to his knees. The kid wanted his approval. Wanted to do things right. Say things right.

  He knelt down to Dylan’s eye level. “You can just be you, okay?”

  Dylan nodded.

  “I mean, when it’s important, I’ll clue you in, I promise. And you do the same for me. Deal?”