A Home for Christmas

by Vaughn, Ann

  Jenna shook her head but left Riley to deal with her ex and went down the hall to help pick up the pieces of her son’s broken heart.

  Chapter Six

  Riley really would have liked nothing more than to have pounded that idiot Blackwell into the ground. After Jenna walked down the hall to Cam’s room, some of the bravado Wade had been displaying had disappeared when faced with Riley on his own. Jenna probably hadn’t seen it, but Riley knew that her ex was hyped up on some sort of high, cocaine most likely. It hadn’t taken much more than a step forward from Riley to have Wade turn tail and slink away. Riley followed him outside and stood in the driveway, arms folded across his chest until Wade got into his rental and drove away.

  Pulling his phone from his pocket, he decided it was time to dig a little deeper into Wade Blackwell. He needed to know if whatever Wade was into would spill over onto Jenna and Cam in anyway.

  "Well, if it isn't Malibu Ken," Colt Harris' amused voice answered.

  “I need your help,” Riley replied, his tone flat.

  “Anything, brother, shoot,” Colt said, alerted by the seriousness in Riley's tone.

  “I need you to do an extensive background check…and I mean extensive, extensive. Financials, the works.”

  “Not a problem. What’s the name?”

  “Wade Blackwell.”

  “The Motocross guy?” he asked, surprised.

  “That’s him.”

  “OK…and we’re running him, why?”

  Riley sighed. “Because I’m seeing his ex-wife and he just showed up at her house hopped up on drugs and being an ass.”

  “Gotcha. I’ll have it all to you within the next hour.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “You bet.”

  He ended his call with Colt, then scrolled through his contacts to call his cousin, who was a family counselor who specialized in working with kids. He had a feeling Cam would need to talk to someone about all of this.

  “Hello, Riley. Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

  “Hey, Lainey,” he said, feeling his heart rate calm just hearing her voice. She had that type effect on people. “I need your help.”

  ***

  Jenna found Cam face down on his bed. She went in and sat on the side of the bed beside him, placing her hand on his back.

  “Is he gone?”

  “Riley just saw him out,” she said softly.

  “I hate him.”

  “Cameron, look at me,” she said, then waited for him to turn over before continuing. “I know that you’re hurt, but you don’t hate your father.”

  “Yes, I do. He left us. He doesn’t care about us so why the hell should we care about him?”

  “OK, first, I want you to stop saying hell, you hear me? I don’t want you talking like that. Second, your dad has changed; I’m the first to admit that. But he does love you, Cam. He wouldn’t have flown all the way here after your phone call if he didn’t.”

  “Don’t make excuses for him, Mom. He came because I told him about Riley and he was jealous. He didn’t want you any more but he doesn’t want anyone else to have you, either. Because he’s selfish. Now, we have Riley and he’s trying to take Riley away from us, too.”

  “Honey…Riley is –“

  “Not going anywhere,” Riley said from the doorway. Cam sat up when Riley walked into the room. “You hear me, Cam? Your dad isn’t going to make me go away. The only people who can make me leave are you and your mom. Either one of you say the word, and, it would suck, but I’d respect your wishes and leave you alone. But, I’m telling you right now, even though it’s only been a week, I have no interest in leaving either one of you.”

  Jenna looked up at him and surprised him by reaching out and grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

  “Thank you, Riley,” she whispered.

  Cam wiped his forearm over his eyes. He sat for a minute looking down at his hands, then his head snapped up and he looked at Riley.

  “I thought you had to work this morning.”

  “Had something more important come up.”

  “So, do you have to go to work now?”

  “No. Get up and get a shower. We’re out of here in about an hour, got me?”

  “Yes, sir,” Cam said, standing.

  “Hey,” Riley said, making Cam look up at him. He held up his fist to do a fist bump with Cam. “Chill out, man, it’s all good. OK?”

  Cam nodded. “Yeah. OK.”

  “Hit the showers,” he said, then took Jenna’s hand and led her out of Cam’s room and straight through to her bedroom. He closed the door behind them then to Jenna’s surprise, backed her into the wall and sealed his lips over hers.

  Jenna gasped and grasped his forearms. His hands were cupping her face, his body pressed against hers so that she could feel his arousal against her belly. She became aware of the fact that she was still in her robe, her very short, very slinky silk nightgown beneath the robe.

  “Riley,” she gasped when he pulled back, his lips skimming down her neck and pulling on her robe to expose her shoulder.

  “So soft,” he whispered, “so pretty.” He pulled on the tie to her robe and smoothed it off her shoulders, then stood back to look at her in her slinky nightie. “Damn, baby,” he murmured.

  She was breathless a moment, stunned by his onslaught, then reached for him, pulling him into her arms.

  “Thank you for coming this morning,” she said against his ear, running her tongue along the shell of it, causing him to groan.

  “Nowhere else I’d rather be. You’re so beautiful, Jenna,” he said, kissing her, then took a step back from her. “Get ready. We’ll go out and get Cam’s mind off all of this, OK?”

  She nodded, “Thank you, Riley.”

  ***

  Riley walked out of her bedroom and found Cam sitting in the living room, eyes on Jenna’s door. He knew he had Cam’s approval so he decided to just play it cool, as if it was natural for him to be walking out of Jenna’s room.

  “What do you feel like doing today?” Cam shrugged. “Look at me, Cam,” he said, then waited for him to comply. “It’s OK to be upset.”

  “My dad…he’s gotten all caught up in being Wade Blackwell, the celebrity. It’s gotten worse every year. The last time I was with him at his place in L.A., I spent most of my time with his agent. I ended up calling Mom to come get me after just three days. Today was the first time I’ve seen him since. And all that crap he said about Mom being his wife? I don’t get that at all. He cheated on her and he left her.”

  Riley took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure how much of what he knew he should tell Cam and even if it was his place, but he knew he had to say something to help him understand what was going on.

  “Did your dad drink around you?”

  “What, like beer?”

  “Yeah, beer. Alcohol.”

  Cam shrugged. “Yeah.”

  “Have you ever seen him drunk before?”

  “A couple of times maybe.”

  Riley nodded. “This morning, your dad was…impaired.”

  “Drunk?”

  “Not drunk.”

  “Stoned?”

  “Yes.”

  Cam nodded. “I saw him smoking pot before.”

  “What?!” Jenna cried, having heard what they were talking about. “When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Cam looked up over his shoulder to his mother. “Because I didn’t want to tell on him and then not get to see him again. Pretty dumb, huh?”

  “No, honey. He’s your dad,” Jenna said, coming to sit beside him, “but, what he was doing with you around, Cam, that isn’t cool…and it’s not safe for him. What if he went out on his bike with drugs in his system?”

  “He wouldn’t do that,” Cam said but Riley could hear that there was no real conviction behind his voice.

  “Come on,” Riley said, standing. “Let’s get out of here. Get our minds on something else."

  Jenna kept an eye on Cam on their drive to wh
erever Riley was taking them. He kept his gaze out the window, but she saw him scrub his forearm over his eyes a few times. Her heart ached for him. She’d long ago made her peace with what had happened between her and Wade; knew that for Cam’s sake, she had to put all the ugliness behind her and find a way to get along with her ex because the fact that he was Cam’s father couldn’t be changed. Lately, however, Wade had been making supporting him harder and harder. After the stunt he pulled this morning, she wasn’t sure she could forgive him.

  As they pulled into Arlington and got closer to the city center where the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys played, she saw Cam begin to perk up. She had a feeling she knew where Riley was taking them and when he pulled off of the highway her suspicions were confirmed. She glanced at his profile and felt a rush of feelings so strong for him she had to fight the urge to lean over and kiss him.

  “We’re going to Six Flags?” Cam asked and she could hear the excitement in his voice.

  “Yep,” Riley confirmed as he pulled into the entrance.

  “Sweet!!”

  Jenna couldn’t help it then, she reached across and grabbed Riley’s hand, smiling at him when he glanced at her. He raised her fingers to his lips and winked at her. This was the perfect place to bring Cam to take his mind off of the ugliness of the morning.

  The day spent at the theme park was exactly what the doctor ordered for Cam. Jenna knew it wouldn’t make the issues with Wade go away, but as she watched her son laugh and draw closer to Riley, she knew it was at least what his young heart needed: a day just to unwind and have fun. For herself, Six Flags had never been one of her favorite places; she hated waiting in lines for rides, but with Riley there, waiting in line had never been more interesting. He talked about his career and answered endless questions from Cam, giving him just enough information to keep him intrigued and engaged but at the same time not really revealing much. She noticed that Riley was a really good story-teller, and he even had the people surrounding them in line hanging on his every word. Best of all for her, Riley was turning into a hands-on sort…as in, he constantly made some sort of contact with her. Often, he would be massaging her shoulders or neck as he spoke. Other times, he played idly with her hair. Each and every touch made her crave more and she suspected he knew exactly what he was doing to her by his constant contact: making himself as important to her as the air she breathed.

  At the end of the day, when they were finally back home, Jenna hated to see him leave. Cam had crashed as soon as they got back home…a home, Jenna had been shocked to find, that had been equipped with a new security system. She’d stared wide-eyed while Riley went over the basics of arming and disarming with her and Cam before Cam went off to bed. She’d tried to argue with him over it but Riley had simply kissed her brow and told her he wasn’t taking any chances with what had happened earlier that day. Given that, she kept quiet and concentrated on paying attention to what he was telling them about it. Now that Cam was in bed and it was just the two of them, however, she decided it was time to address it.

  “Riley…the security system –“

  He cut her off. “Not up for discussion. I don’t want to worry about you when I’m not here.”

  “I understand, and I definitely appreciate it, don’t get me wrong, but…”

  He pulled her close and kissed her. “No buts. These security systems are part of what I do, so I’m not out a lot of money, just cost of materials, which is my concern, not yours. Got it?”

  “But, Riley, I don’t…”

  He stopped her by pulling her to him and kissing the ever-living daylights out of her. Jenna curled a hand around the back of his neck, burying her fingers in his short, razor cut hair, sighing when he pulled her even closer.

  “I better go,” he murmured, his lips pressed against her forehead.

  Jenna tightened her hold on him. “I don’t want you to,” she confessed.

  “I know…but with Cam down the hall…”

  She looked up at him, touched that he would think of not wanting to upset Cam.

  “Thank you for today…for everything,” she whispered.

  “My pleasure,” he said, making her smile. He said that a lot. “Listen, before I go, I want to give you something to think about. My cousin, Lainey, is a family counselor, and she specializes in helping children through a divorce. I realize it’s been five years, but with the way Wade was this morning and the things he’s done lately…maybe Cam would benefit by seeing her. Would you let her talk to Cam?”

  Jenna took a step back from him, studying him. She was touched that he would care enough about her son to try to get help for him. She knew Lainey Riley to be a gentle, soft-spoken person and wasn’t surprised that she specialized in helping children.

  “I would like that,” she told him.

  “OK, I’ll set it up. This is just another bump in the road, Jenna. It will all smooth out soon.”

  She looked up into his green eyes and wanted nothing more than to believe he was right.

  Chapter Seven

  After two and a half weeks of seeing Riley every evening and all day on the weekends, Jenna knew she was hopelessly attached to him. Every evening when it was time for him to go, it was getting harder and harder to say goodbye to him. And as much as she loved her son, she was becoming more and more frustrated that she and Riley only had a few stolen moments alone. All week at work, she began planning out a special weekend for them. She’d contacted the mother of one of Cam’s friends and arranged to have him stay the night Friday and Saturday. She wanted plenty of time alone with Riley. She’d even finished her houses early and went to the mall to buy some special lingerie for the occasion.

  On Friday, she arranged to get home as soon as Cam got out of school so that she could be there to get him ready and take him to his friend Austin’s house before Riley came over. She picked him up from school and sent him to get his things together while she started preparing the dinner she would fix for Riley tonight. She’d just finished preparing the vegetables when Cam began frantically calling for her.

  “MOM!!!!! MOM!!!! Hurry!!!”

  She scrambled out of the kitchen into the living room, thinking he was hurt.

  “What is it? Are you OK?”

  “Riley’s on TV!”

  “What?”

  “Look, look!”

  She glanced at the screen, seeing a report of a police stand-off at a local convenience store.

  “How do you know Riley is there?” she asked, already getting her phone out to text Riley.

  “They showed the SWAT team arriving and showed Riley talking to…see!? There he is!”

  She sank down on the couch beside her son, eyes glued to the TV. Riley was indeed there, in full SWAT gear, all black, Kevlar body armor, though he’d yet to put his helmet on…and he was fully armed! It was sobering, seeing him like that. He’d told her he was a part-time SWAT team member for his uncle’s police force but she really hadn’t grasped what that meant until that moment.

  The reporter who was speaking said that he had just been told by the police to move back a few hundred yards. He reported that there was one gunman and four hostages, one of whom was the cashier and the reported gunman’s ex-girlfriend.

  “This is so cool,” Cam said, his face clearly showing his interest and excitement.

  Jenna didn’t speak. In truth, she couldn’t. Her heart was beating so hard and fast it took all her concentration just to breathe. She sat glued to the report, straining for glimpses of him, hoping that the situation would resolve itself without any action needed on his part.

  “Riley’s walking toward the store!”

  “I can see that, Cam,” she said, her voice a bit shaky.

  Cam captured her hand and squeezed. “He’ll be OK, Mom,” he said and she wondered if he were saying that not only to comfort her but to convince himself as well. “Riley knows what he’s doing.”

  The camera zoomed in as far as it could, but she could still see Riley approach the
front doors of the store, hands help up palms out to show the gunman he wasn’t armed. The gunman stood on the other side of the door, holding a woman (whom she supposed was his ex) in front of him, the barrel of the gun pushed against her temple. Riley stood there for a few minutes talking to the suspect, who was becoming increasingly agitated.

  “Walk away, Riley,” she murmured, “just…”

  She screamed and Cam yelled when the gunman shifted to aim the gun directly at Riley and fired four shots through the glass, level with Riley’s head. Miraculously, Riley didn’t even flinch. Spider webs appeared in the glass but the bullets didn’t go through.

  “It’s bullet-proof!” Cam exclaimed. “See, Mom? Riley’s fine!”

  Tears were streaming down Jenna’s cheeks. She thought she’d just seen Riley killed on live TV! As she watched, Riley drew his gun, backing up as the gunman forced his hostage to open the door. The camera pulled back a bit to show other members of the SWAT team moving in behind him. For a few tense moments, they were in another stand-off, then suddenly, the gunman released his hostage, held his hands up and just like that, it was all over.

  “Riley. Is. Awesome!!!!” Cam raved. “That was so cool!!”

  “He could have died. Right there in front of us on live TV,” she gasped.

  “But he didn’t. Did you see how he didn’t even flinch? He must have known the glass was bulletproof,” Cam said, trying to console her.

  Jenna covered her face with her hands, unable to control her sobs. Cam put his arm around her shoulders while she cried.

  “Don’t cry, Mom,” he soothed.

  “I’m OK,” she whispered, wiping her tears. “Go finish getting ready, OK?”

  She called the mom of Cam’s friend and explained to her what had happened and had her come pick Cam up. Picking up her phone, she opened a new text and sent one to Riley.

  Please come over as soon as you are able. Don’t worry about the time, just please, come over. I need to see you.

  To her surprise, he immediately texted back.

  I was just about to call you. I’m going to be tied up here for a few hours yet. I’ll be out as soon as I can. Are you all right?