A Home for Christmas

by Vaughn, Ann

  "Two hundred thousand dollars, Mike!"

  "Giovanni Casiano, Manny," Mike shot back.

  A string of curses came through in both English and Italian. Mike merely listened patiently, waiting for the tantrum to end.

  "Fine. I will forget all about Wade Blackwell."

  "Mille grazie, Manny. Caio."

  Jenna watched, wide-eyed while Mike ended his phone call.

  "Well?"

  "He will have Cam brought to your house in forty-five minutes. And he will not come after Wade again."

  Wade slumped over in his chair, burying his face in his hands. Jenna launched herself from Riley's arms straight into Mike's, hugging him tight.

  "Thank you! Thank you, Mike," she sobbed.

  He stiffly returned her embrace, then stepped back from her. Jenna took a deep breath to compose herself, then turned to face Wade and leaned over him, putting her hands on the armrests of the chair he sat in,

  "We. Are. Done, Wade. You stay in here and you get clean and sober and you go through whatever steps you have to take to help with your gambling problem, but then you stay the hell away from me. Do you hear me? You stay away from me and you stay away from my son. We are dead to you, do you understand me?"

  "Jenna, come on, don't..."

  She slapped him then. Hard. He jerked back from her when she raised her hand again. Riley grabbed her in a bear hug and forced her to walk out of the room. Mike followed and soon they were on the road back to her house.

  When they got there, a black SUV was parked on the curb in front. They parked, the door opened and Cam came scrambling out of the vehicle and straight into Jenna's arms. Mike and Riley crossed over to the SUV, guns drawn.

  "Stand down, Mike," Richie called out. "We didn't hurt the kid."

  "You need to go into a new line of work, Richie," Mike said, gun still drawn.

  "I'm considering it. Manny said the debt Wade owes has been taken care of. I'm assuming you held Giovanni over his head."

  "Natualmente," Mike replied.

  "Mi pare di capire," Richie said.

  "I suggest you get out of here before the police arrive," Mike told him. "And I mean completely out of here. As in leave town."

  "No reason to stay."

  "Addio," Mike told him, stepping back to allow them to drive off.

  "You're letting him go?" Jenna cried.

  "Charges wouldn't stick. Manny has some of the best attorney's around. It would be a hassle your police force doesn't need."

  "Thanks, Mike. I owe you one," Riley told him.

  "You owe me nothing, you know that," Mike told him, turning toward his car.

  "Mike?" Jenna called, stopping him. "Thank you."

  "You're welcome. Try to get some rest."

  Chapter Seventeen

  "Are you OK?" Jenna asked Cam, holding his face between her hands and meeting his gaze.

  He nodded, his eyes huge. He was shaken up but she could tell he was trying to be brave with Riley there.

  "I'm fine, Mom. They didn't hurt me. Scared me some, but they were actually really nice to me. Kept promising they wouldn't hurt me, just wanted to send a message to Dad. So, yeah, I was really scared right at first, but they untied me as soon as they took that picture. The main guy, Richie, was pretty cool. He had some awesome stories to tell."

  Jenna closed her eyes and pulled him close to her, hugging him so tight she knew it had to be uncomfortable but she couldn't help it. She hadn't been so scared in all her life.

  On the other side of the room, Riley stopped in his sweeping up of broken Christmas decorations and pulled his phone out. He'd forgotten about the break-in when they were questioning Richie and wanted to make sure they were the ones behind it.

  "Mike? We didn't ask Richie about the break-in. Can you contact him? Verify it was him, and if it was, find out what the heck they were looking for?"

  "Will do. I'll get back to you as soon as I know."

  "Thanks, man."

  Riley ended his call to Mike, then stepped out of the room to make another call.

  "Riley?" a soft, sleepy female voice sounded on the other end of the line. "Is everything all right?"

  "Sorry to wake you up, baby girl. I need your help. Do you have plans for the morning?"

  "Um, not that I can think of just now. What's happened?"

  "Remember I told you about the woman I'm seeing and her son?"

  "Jenna Blackwell?"

  "Yeah. They had some drama tonight and I have a feeling they're going to need to talk with someone to help them through it."

  "I can be there in about thirty minutes if you think they need to talk to someone tonight."

  He glanced into the living room where Jenna sat with her arms around Cam, cradling his head against her and subtly rocking him.

  "I think they'll be OK for tonight, but I'd like you to be here in the morning."

  "OK, how's ten o'clock sound?"

  "Perfect. Thanks, Lainey. I'm sorry I woke you."

  "Anytime, Riley, you know that. I'll see you in the morning. Just text me the address."

  "Will do, thanks."

  He ended the call and texted Jenna's address to his cousin, then went back into the living room to finish sweeping up the glass. Jenna watched him, refusing to let Cam go. She knew she was pushing her luck with babying him the way she was, but she couldn't bring herself to let him go just now. She placed kisses to the top of his head every now and then as she watched Riley clean up the mess that was her Christmas tree. Her heart was heavy at seeing some of her favorite ornaments destroyed, but was extremely thankful it was only ornaments and not Cam or Riley who was hurt.

  Riley crossed to her when he finished sweeping up all the glass, squatting down so he was eye level with her. Cam was asleep now, but Jenna continued rocking him.

  "Want me to put him in your bed?" he asked her softly.

  Jenna bit her lip, touched that he understood her need to have Cam close to her.

  "Please," she whispered. She held her arms away so that Riley could scoop Cam up in his arms and she followed him down the hall to her room. She pulled back the covers and Riley gently laid Cam down on the bed. He helped her remove Cam's shoes then started to turn to go.

  "Riley," she called, stopping him. "Don't go. Please. I need you here with me."

  He nodded and removed his shoes, then got in bed beside her, so that she was in the middle between him and Cam. He pressed his front to her back and held her tight in his arms, kissing the back of her head. Cam lay on his back, out for the count. Jenna had one arm wrapped around Riley's that held her, and one hand on Cam's chest. He could feel the slight tremble of her body and knew that she was crying.

  "Everything's all right now, sweetheart," he told her, his lips against her head. "It's all over now."

  She nodded and hugged his arms closer to her. "Until the next time Wade screws up."

  "Let's hope he gets the help he needs and there won't be a next time."

  She nodded again and was quiet, but he could feel her silent sobs. He hated that he could do nothing more than hold her, but knew that she needed to get her tears out, that she needed that release.

  "Jenna?"

  "Yes?"

  He kissed her head and tightened his hold on her. "I love you."

  Her arm tightened reflexively on his. "I love you, too, Riley. So much. Thank you for being here for us."

  Beside his mother, Cam felt absolute joy fill him at hearing Riley say that he loved his mom. Getting kidnapped had sucked, no doubt about it, but if it brought his mom and Riley one step closer to being together forever, then Cam considered it all to be totally worth it. He wanted to turn to Riley and tell him he loved him, too. He wanted to hear Riley say it back to him. He knew it was dopey and sappy to want that, and if pressed by his buddies he would deny it from now until doomsday, but he wanted that...badly. He wanted Riley to want his mom and he wanted Riley to want him. Taking a deep breath, he prayed to God that Riley would stay with them and they
could be a real family.

  It seemed to Riley that he'd just drifted off to sleep when a terrified cry brought him jolting to awareness. He and Jenna both jolted up, Jenna gathering Cam into her arms, trying to soothe him.

  "Cam! Cameron!" she said, trying to calm him. "It's OK, honey. You're home. You're safe. It's OK."

  Cam was still pushing and fighting against her. Riley got up and went to the other side of the bed, laying his hand on Cam's shoulder. At his touch, Cam stiffened and stopped fighting Jenna, but scrambled to get closer to her.

  "Hey, bud, it's just me. Just Riley," he said, keeping his voice calm and even.

  Cam's eyes flew open then. He looked up at Jenna first, then turned toward Riley, eyes wide with fear. He had tears running down his cheeks and then ducked his head.

  "Hey, kid, look at me," Riley said, seeing the shame that had flooded the boys face. He was embarrassed to have been caught in a moment of weakness by Riley. "It's OK to be scared. You went through a pretty bad ordeal. There's nothing to be ashamed of. I get nightmares sometimes. Had one just the other night. Sometimes that's the only way our minds can deal with some of the scary stuff we've seen and done. Nothing to be ashamed of. Doesn't mean you're a baby."

  "You have nightmares about your missions?" Cam asked, wiping his forearm over his eyes.

  "Yeah, I do. They used to be bad, but I have a cousin who is a counselor. Her name is Lainey. She's helped me a lot. I asked her to come over in the morning and talk to you. Would that be OK with you?"

  Cam glanced at Jenna and then back to Riley. "You talked to her about your nightmares?"

  "I did. You can tell her anything, Cam, and your mom and I don't have to be in there when you talk to her if you don't want us to be. Lainey is a really good listener. She's my cousin but she's more like my little sister. And I do mean little. She is tiny. My brothers and I call her Tinkerbell. She's short, only about five feet tall. She has blonde hair, a few shades lighter than mine. She looks like a little pixie." Cam offered him a weak smile at that. "Bottom line, though, bud, I still have nightmares, but they aren't as bad or as often as they were because I talked to her."

  Cam took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

  "OK. I'll talk to her when she comes over."

  Riley winked at him. "Good man." He stood but stopped when Cam reached out for his hand.

  "Thanks, Riley."

  "You bet."

  "You'll stay here, in bed with us?" Cam asked in a small voice, and Riley knew he was again embarrassed to admit he needed him there.

  "Absolutely. Just need to hit the head."

  Cam nodded and watched Riley walk off, then eased back down to lay curled on his side, his back to his mom. Jenna leaned down and kissed his cheek, then settled back down beside him, holding him tight in her arms.

  "I love you, boy," she told him.

  "Love you, too, Mom. Sorry I woke you up."

  "Don't apologize to me, baby. Everything is going to be OK."

  She looked up when Riley came back in and sighed in relief when he got back in bed and pulled her close to him, his big arm enveloping her and Cam. She turned her head to kiss him briefly.

  "Thank you, Riley," she whispered.

  He kissed her once more, a bit deeper than she'd kissed him, then laid his head back down...and held his family the rest of the night.

  In the morning, Riley woke before both Jenna and Cam. He got up and went into the kitchen to make breakfast for them. Comfort food seemed to be the order of the day, and in her fridge he found biscuits and sausage so he set about making his mother's biscuits and gravy, bacon, eggs and french toast. Cam and Jenna came into the kitchen together, wide-eyed at seeing him cooking.

  "This looks awesome!" Cam said, and Riley was pleased to see he seemed to be in much better spirits than last night. Riley smiled but before he could speak, Jenna came up to him and stood on her toes to pull him down for a good morning kiss that had him groaning and very aware that Cam was sitting at the breakfast bar watching them with a huge grin on his face.

  "Good morning," she purred at him.

  "Good morning, beautiful," he said, smiling down at her.

  "What have we got here?" she asked, looking down at the food he'd prepared.

  "Mom's Southern Comfort breakfast. All we're missing are grits...but you don't have any and I draw the line at making them from scratch."

  "Grits?" Cam asked, and his tone indicated he was not upset in the least that grits were absent from the menu.

  "Boy, you haven't lived until you've had my mom's grits. I'll get her to make them for you sometime. She makes them from scratch."

  "I think I'll pass," Cam said, shuddering.

  "My mom had four hungry boys to feed, plus my dad. She perfected the art of manly foods, bud. You'll love 'em, trust me."

  Cam wrinkled his nose. "If you say so."

  Jenna crossed to the fridge to fix Cam a glass of milk, adding chocolate to it, then got plates out for Riley to begin scooping food out onto them. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then nodded to the bar where Cam sat.

  "Thanks for getting the plates. Now go sit down. I got this."

  She smiled at him and decided not to argue, going to sit beside Cam, leaning over to kiss his cheek when she did. Cam shook his head, though there was a smile on his face, but then he suddenly stiffened on the stool.

  "What is it, honey?" she asked, alarmed.

  "It's Monday. I've got school!"

  "Oh, that," Jenna said, waving a hand in dismissal. "You aren't going back to school until after Christmas break. Just three days this week and it's not like you will be missing anything. I want you home with me. You don't mind, do you?"

  "Uh, no!" Cam laughed.

  She winked at him, "I didn't think so."

  Riley sat plates of food in front of them, "Eat up. Lainey will be here at ten," he told them.

  Cam's smile disappeared, but he took a deep breath and began eating, so Jenna and Riley took that as a good sign.

  "This is really good!" Cam exclaimed after taking his first bite of biscuits and gravy.

  Riley chuckled. "Don't act so surprised there, bud. I can cook."

  "Well, I know, you cooked the other night, but..." his voice trailed off and he shrugged. "My dad can't cook anything."

  "He could cook. He just didn't like to," Jenna said, not wanting Cam to completely down his father.

  "Where is Dad?" Cam asked. "Did you tell him about what happened? Did he even care?"

  "Honey...your dad is in rehab trying to get cleaned up. He was extremely scared but he couldn't leave."

  "Rehab?" Cam asked, his tone flat. "All this was his damn fault and he's in rehab?"

  "Cameron," she warned, "no cussing."

  Cam slammed his fork down and hopped off the stool, starting to storm out of the room.

  "Cameron Blackwell, you come right back here and sit down," Jenna admonished. Cam shot her such a dark, hateful scowl that Jenna had a flash of Wade giving her that same look over the years. "I mean right now, Cam."

  Cam stopped in his tracks but stood there a moment, visibly trying to calm himself. Riley watched silently, not wanting to interfere with Jenna's parenting but ready to step in should he need to. After a couple of moments, Cam turned and came back to his stool, picking up his fork and eating in silence. Lot of issues there, Riley noted. Lot of issues for Lainey to help him through. He had faith in his cousin, though. If anyone could help Cam, it was Lainey.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jenna's doorbell rang promptly at ten o'clock. Jenna held Cam's hand as Riley went to the door to greet his cousin. Jenna had met Lainey several times before; she cleaned her house twice a month, usually when Lainey wasn't home, though. She saw Lainey step inside and embrace Riley and saw the family resemblance immediately. Lainey's hair was a much lighter blonde, bordering on platinum, but the eyes were the same, the smile. Riley was right, though, Lainey was petite, and certainly did resemble a pixie.

  She glanced d
own at Cam and saw him staring wide-eyed at Riley's beautiful cousin.

  "Cam?" she whispered.

  He looked up at her but didn't speak when Riley approached, his arm around Lainey's shoulders.

  "Hello, Jenna," Lainey said, extending her hand for Jenna to shake.

  Cam looked up at Jenna, over to Lainey, then back to Jenna.

  "You know her, Mom?"

  "She's one of my clients, one of my very first clients, actually." Jenna told him.

  Lainey smiled at Cam. "Your mom is the best!"

  He nodded. "Yeah, she is."

  "You wanna show me around?" she asked Cam. "Riley said you are a pretty good Motocross rider. Can I see your pictures and trophies?"

  Cam looked up at Riley, nodded when Riley winked at him.

  "Lead the way, then, please, sir," Lainey told him. "Jenna, Riley, just hang tight. After Cam and I finish our tour, we'll come back in the living room so we can all talk together, OK?"

  "Sounds good, Tink," Riley said.

  Lainey laughed and Cam decided he liked the sound of her laughter. He liked that her eyes were green like Riley's, only Lainey's were a deeper, brighter green, but they sparkled when she laughed just like Riley's. As they walked, she asked him questions about his school and about what type of bikes he raced and he was impressed that she seemed to know what he was talking about when he talked about the difference between an 80cc and a 125cc.

  In his room, he showed her all his trophies and the pictures his mom had framed and put on his wall and his shelves. She paused before a picture of him and his dad the last time they rode together. She took the frame from the shelf and studied it a bit closer.

  "This is your dad, huh?"

  "Yes, ma'am," Cam answered, sitting on the edge of his bed.

  "I went to school with him and your mom. They were older than me. Seniors when I was a freshman in high school, but we all knew who they were. You don't get to see your dad that much any more, though, do you?"

  "No. He's always busy."

  She put the frame back on his shelves and then sat in the chair at his desk.

  "Tell me about last night. That had to have been really scary."