A Home for Christmas

by Vaughn, Ann

  "I stood staring at him for a minute, listening to him try to stutter out an apology. Then I quietly turned and went into the bedroom, got my suitcase and walked out. I had the concierge arrange a shuttle for me back to the airport. Went home. Talked to my dad the next morning, met with his attorney and filed for divorce that day. Wade came home after the finals, after he'd been served with divorce papers, but I'd already moved out. He tried to plead his case, tried to beg me not to go, but there was no way I was staying." She shook her head and then narrowed her eyes at Riley, pointing a finger at him, to which he held up his hands in supplication.

  "Don't even go there, lady," he laughed, "I know a good thing when I've got it."

  "You'd better!" she told him.

  "I do, I promise."

  She took his chin in her hand and leaned forward to kiss him. "Good thing you're so cute."

  "And irresistible?"

  She laughed. "Yes."

  "And charming?"

  "Yes!"

  "And..."

  "MOM!!!!!" Cam yelled, jolting them from their teasing mood. Jenna slid off the stool and started toward his room when she heard his door slam. "MOM!!!!"

  "What? Geez, I'm right here, what...?"

  He thrust his phone out at her. "Dad," he growled.

  Jenna took a deep breath and took the phone from him. She looked over to Riley who took her cue and rounded Cam up, taking him outside to throw the football.

  "What do you want, Wade?" she asked, her voice flat.

  "Look, Jenna...I'm sorry for all the shit you've been taking from me for the last few years...I talked to Cam's counselor, to Lainey, and I just...I want to make things right with Cam."

  She sighed and sat down, raking her hand through her hair. "Wade...I respect that, I do. But...Cam has a lot of anger toward you, Wade. Surely, Lainey told you that."

  "She did...and she told me not to call him but I couldn't help it. I just..."

  "That is where you mess up. You always think of yourself first. Lainey has only had one session with Cam. One. He's not ready to deal with you just yet. You can't undo five years of damage after just one counseling session. It doesn't work that way."

  "It's Christmas. I just want to see my kid."

  "This isn't about what you want, Wade. Not any more. I'll talk to Lainey. If she thinks it's a good idea, then I'll consider it. But if she says he isn't ready, then you're going to have to live with that, do you hear me?"

  He sighed. "Yeah. I hear you."

  "And do not call Cam again until Lainey clears it, do you understand? If you want to talk to him, you call me first. For once, put your son first."

  "That's low."

  "Is it? When's the last time you put Cam before your career?"

  "I have to make a living!"

  "And so do I. But I find time to do things with him. I realize my career doesn't have me travelling like yours does, but there are ways you could include him. Ways you could participate with him. You just need to figure that out."

  "I still want to see him. I need to talk to him."

  "I'll talk to Lainey and see what she says. That's all I can promise."

  "OK. Thanks. Will you, will you tell him I love him?"

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah, OK. I'll call you after I've talked to Lainey."

  She ended the call and just sat for a minute with her eyes closed. She could hear Cam and Riley outside, laughing. At least she could take comfort in the fact that Riley could get him out of his funk.

  She pulled her phone out of her pocket and pulled up Lainey's number.

  "Jenna? What can I do for you?"

  "Wade just called Cam, and Cam is pretty upset."

  "Oh, no. I told him not to call Cam yet."

  Jenna sighed. "Well, that's Wade. Impatient as always."

  "Do you want me to come talk to Cam?"

  "Would you mind? He's outside with Riley right now, and he seems fine, but...Wade knows how to push his buttons."

  "I'm free now. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes, OK?"

  "Thanks, Lainey, I really appreciate it."

  "No problem. Tell Riley I need him to check something on my car, while I'm there."

  "Will do. Thanks, Lainey."

  She sat for a few moments to collect her thoughts, then went outside to watch her boys playing football. She loved seeing how Cam played with Riley, how carefree and happy he was. And her heart absolutely melted at seeing Riley, such a big, macho, tough guy playing with her small-for-his-age son.

  Riley saw her watching them and jogged over to her, concern on his face.

  "Everything OK?"

  "I called Lainey. She's coming over to talk to Cam. She said she needs you to look at her car, too."

  Riley nodded. Then looked over to Cam.

  "He's angry, but he's trying not to let it show. You know what he told me? He doesn't like being angry because he doesn't want his friends to accuse him of having Little Man's Syndrome."

  Jenna gasped, tears filling her eyes. Riley leaned forward and kissed her brow and drew her into his arms.

  "It's gonna be OK, Jen."

  "What's wrong?" Cam asked, coming to stand beside them. "Did Dad say something to make you cry?"

  Jenna pulled back from Riley and wiped tears from her cheeks. "No, honey, everything's OK. Lainey is coming to talk to you in a few minutes."

  "If it's about Dad she can forget it. I don't want to talk about him."

  "Cam...honey, I know you're angry with him, but..."

  "Don't defend him, Mom. I've had it with him. I'm tired of his promises that he never keeps. I'm tired of him asking what I think about what he did in his last race or what he said in an interview. I'm just tired of him. All he cares about is himself. I don't want to see him and I don't want to talk to him."

  "Cam, I understand you're upset, but..."

  "But nothing, Mom! I don't want to talk about him!"

  Before Jenna could speak, Riley put his hand on Cam's shoulder, firm but not rough.

  "Listen up, bud. I get you're upset, and I think you're perfectly within your rights to be...but don't take your anger out on your mom. She's not the cause of it and you don't need to speak to her like that. You hear me?"

  Jenna held her breath. This was the first time that Riley had stepped into a parenting role with Cam and she wasn't sure how Cam would react to it. She watched his eyes heat and his nostrils flare, but then she watched him look up at Riley and nod his head.

  "Yes, sir," he replied, his tone terse.

  They heard a car pull into the drive and knew that Lainey was there. Riley gave Cam's shoulder a squeeze then said he would go greet her and bring her around back. Jenna watched Cam as he watched Riley walk away. His shoulders were hunched and she knew he was still upset.

  "Cam?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Yes, ma'am," she prompted.

  He sighed. "Yes, ma'am?"

  "Don't be mad at me and Riley. We haven't done anything to you. That's the point Riley was trying to make."

  "I know. It's all Dad's fault. Now Riley's mad at me."

  "Look at me," she demanded, and waited for him to obey before continuing. "Riley is not mad at you. He was just trying to get you to realize that even though you are angry, it is never good to take your anger out on innocent people, and it is never good to speak to me with disrespect. Or to any adult for that matter."

  "Dad wants me to come to the rehab center on Christmas Eve...but, Riley and I made special plans for Christmas Eve."

  "Well, then your dad will just have to understand that you already have plans."

  Cam looked up at her, eyes wide with surprise. "You won't make me go?"

  "Honey, when have I ever made you drop your plans to do something your dad has pulled at the last minute?"

  "Well, I just thought, with him being in rehab and all alone for Christmas that you might make me go."

  Lainey walked up to them then, a soft smile on her face.

  "Hey
, Cam, how are you?" Lainey asked.

  "OK," he replied, his voice barely above a mumble.

  "Cameron," Jenna admonished.

  "Geez, Mom, give me a break," Cam snapped.

  "Excuse us a moment, please, Lainey. Cameron. Come here," Jenna snapped at him, grabbing him by the neck and steering him away from where Lainey stood.

  "Mom," he groaned.

  "Stop right now," she told him. "You're mad at your dad. I get that. Riley got on to you not five minutes before for being disrespectful to me. I can't believe you have turned around and done it again, even after Riley said something to you."

  "I don't want to talk about Dad. I don't want to think about Dad. I don't want to deal with any of this!"

  Across the way, Riley had just re-entered the backyard when he heard Cam's latest outburst. He started to walk over to where mother and son were in a stand-off but Lainey stopped him.

  "Let Jenna sort it out," she told him.

  "He doesn't need to..."

  "Riley," Lainey cautioned him, "don't."

  He wanted to protest but trusted Lainey's judgment and stood back to allow Jenna to deal with Cam's outburst. After several moments, Jenna led Cam back to where he and Lainey stood. Jenna looked tired. Cam still looked belligerent.

  "Sorry about that, Lainey," Jenna said.

  "It's OK. Cam? Your dad called you today?"

  "He wants to see me on Christmas Eve...but Riley and I made plans for Christmas Eve."

  "For the evening," Riley spoke up. "If you want to visit your dad..."

  "But I don't," Cam cut in. "I want to be with you and Mom."

  "Cameron, don't interrupt when someone is talking," Jenna admonished. "And if you go see your dad that day, Riley and I will be right there with you, I promise."

  "I don't want to see him."

  "I talked to your dad today," Lainey told him. "He's really sorry for the way things have been between the two of you."

  Cam glared at her a moment. "You think I should forgive him?"

  "We should always do our best to forgive those who hurt us," she told him. "It does you more harm than good when you hold on to your anger and don't forgive. And, well, Christmas is a special time, don't you think? Filled with hopes and dreams. I know that your dad has let you down, but when I talked to him today, I really did get the impression that he wanted to work on his relationship with you."

  "Too little, too late," Cam mumbled.

  "Is that really how you feel? Are you so angry with him that you can't find it in your heart to at least hear him out?" Lainey asked.

  Cam looked her directly in the eye. "What difference does it make? I'll go see him and he'll tell me how much he loves me and how sorry he is for not spending time with me...and when he gets out of rehab, everything will go right back to the way it was. I may be a kid but I'm not stupid."

  "No one said you were," Jenna said.

  "Dad thinks I'm stupid. Tell the stupid little kid what he wants to hear and he'll come crawling back every time. Well, not me. Not any more. I'm done. And I'm done talking about him," he said, and with that, he ran inside.

  Jenna started to go after him but Lainey stopped her.

  "Let him have some time to calm down and cool off. Wade told me some of the things he's said and done to Cam over the last five years. I can't say Cam's anger isn't justified. The good thing is, Wade sees that and he's willing to work to make it up to Cam...and he struck me as being sincere about it, not like he was just telling me what he thought I wanted to hear."

  "But that anger can't be allowed to grow," Jenna said. "It's eating him up."

  Lainey nodded. "It is right now...but let's give him some time. He's a good kid. With our help, he will work through the worst of it and be ready to deal with his father again. Maybe not in the time frame Wade would like, but eventually. And Riley, you are going to have to tread extremely carefully here. I know your instinct is to step in and stop him when he is being disrespectful...but you aren't his father, and right now he has such a strong resentment toward his father that any male stepping in to fill that fatherly role runs the risk of further angering him. Even if he does like you in all other areas. Understand?"

  Riley nodded. "Yeah, but..."

  "No buts. Trust me, OK? Trust me to help Cam through this on his own terms, all right?"

  Riley sighed. "Yeah, all right."

  "Good. Did you figure out what's going on with the warning lights on my dash?"

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lainey Riley was good at what she did, and she wasn't afraid to admit it. She specialized in counseling children, because being petite in stature, she wasn't intimidating to them. Her cousins, Riley, Jack, Trevor and Aaron called her Tinkerbell. She'd hated it growing up but now she used it to her advantage. Counseling Cameron Blackwell, however, was proving to be a bit more challenging due to the involvement of her cousin, Riley.

  Cam had bonded quite quickly with Riley. She'd always known Riley was good with kids but she'd been impressed with how well he handled the boy. It was obvious he loved the mother and that he loved the boy just as well. Which was good because the boy had been let down by his father for far too long. He needed a strong male influence in his life.

  Wade Blackwell was on the right path to reclaim the relationship with his son, but he still had a way to go. He was still looking at the whole situation from his point of view and not from his son's. He wasn't stopping to consider Cam's feelings yet, but she would get him there.

  She had her head down in her notes as she was leaving Jenna's house and wasn't paying attention to where she was going. One minute she was walking toward her car and in the next, she'd been snagged around her waist and jerked against a solid chest as a group of kids on scooters zoomed past on the sidewalk.

  "Are you all right?" a soft male voice asked.

  She looked up into eyes so pale blue they were almost translucent, except for the dark blue ring circling the edge. This was Riley's friend, Mike...and he was absolutely breathtaking.

  "I'm...fine," she managed. "I guess that will teach me to pay attention to where I'm going from now on. Thank you," she said when he steadied her and released her.

  He stepped back and inclined his head slightly to her, then turned and headed up to the front door. Lainey watched until Riley opened the door and Mike stepped inside, then released the breath she'd been holding and went to her car.

  Riley had seen the collision with Lainey and Mike out front and shamelessly watched from the window to see what would happen. He saw pretty much the same reaction most women had to Mike on Lainey's face as she looked up at him. What interested him was Mike's reaction. Not that there had been much of one, and had Jenna been watching she probably wouldn't have seen it; but Riley knew Mike well enough to know that he was definitely interested in his little cousin.

  "Hey, man, what brings you by?" Riley asked when he opened the door for Mike.

  "Just got word that the Lanzillo's have officially erased Wade's debt...and sent out word that he isn't to be allowed to place bets with any of them ever again."

  "Giovanni has a big shadow," Riley chuckled.

  "That he does," Mike agreed. "And that should go a long way toward keeping Jenna and her son out of trouble."

  "That's good. Because they have their hands full just dealing with the man himself."

  "More problems?"

  "A few."

  "Is that why your cousin was just here?"

  "Yeah. Blackwell's playing head games with the kid. Not cool."

  "And she's helping?"

  "She's awesome with him."

  "That's good."

  Jenna walked in, smiling when she saw Mike.

  "Hi, Mike," she said, surprising both men by kissing his cheek before going to Riley's side.

  "Jenna," he greeted. Riley could tell he was amused by her insistence on kissing his cheek whenever she saw him.

  "How's Cam?" Riley asked her, stroking his hand over her hair.

  "He'll b
e fine. Just another bump in the road."

  "He's a good kid," Mike said.

  "Thank you," Jenna said, "we're about to start dinner. Why don't you join us?"

  "Thank you, but I have to get back. My mother is planning a dinner party."

  Riley busted out laughing then. Jenna looked up at him, puzzled, then over at Mike, who managed to have only a mildly annoyed look on his face.

  "What am I missing?" Jenna asked. "Why is the fact that Mike's mother is planning a dinner party funny?"

  "Because I'm willing to bet that Mike will be the only single, unattached male there, am I right?"

  "Your mother is trying to set you up?" Jenna asked sympathetically.

  "I'm the only one of her kids who isn't married and I haven't been home in three years."

  "So she keeps the endless parade of eligible debutantes from twenty to thirty running past him in hopes that someone catches his eye," Riley laughed.

  Jenna gave Mike a sympathetic look. "Well, you're welcome to come hide over here whenever you want."

  "Thanks."

  "He doesn't seem like the type to be pushed around by his mother," Jenna said when Mike left.

  "He isn't," Riley said, and she was surprised when his tone was sober. "But, remember I told you Mike had a bit of a falling out with his family over his decision to join the Navy, and an even bigger one when he went into the SEALs? He was always quiet, but our time in the service made him even more so, especially around his family. His dad really gave him a hard time for not going into the law firm like everyone else. And, like I said, after all he went through on that last mission, his mother has been really clingy ever since."

  "I can imagine," she said, shuddering. "I think it's hard enough to be a military spouse. I can't imagine being the mother of a soldier or sailor. If that was Cam...I can certainly understand how she feels the need to keep him close now...no matter how old he is."

  "Yeah...my mom is like that a bit with all of us whenever we're around."

  "I really can't understand how your mother handles it. All four of her sons being in that line of work."

  "It's a bit different with my mom. We are a military family. My dad was in the Navy when they got married. Her dad was in the Air Force. Mike's family are lawyers...very blue blood, white collar types. He has family members who have been in the military but they were all high-ranking officers. Mike was an officer, but he was a fighting man. His family didn't know how to handle that."