A Home For Christmas

by Diane Adams

  Jared breathed in and out. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb, eyes closed. After a few calming breaths, he opened his eyes to meet Alex’s gaze. He read there how upset Alex was and reined in his impulse to start yelling. “Get Sissy and you guys go upstairs. I’ll call and see if one of Clark’s kids can come over and sit with her while she naps.”

  Alex tested the bottle on his wrist, and apparently satisfied it wasn’t too hot, he crossed the room to get the baby out of her chair. She grinned and reached up chubby grabby hands toward him. Jared saw him wince and his smile dimmed, but he picked her up and cuddled her close. “Where are we going?” he turned to ask on the way out.

  “For a drive.”

  Alex left without saying anything else, and Jared pulled his phone out of his pocket. The makings of their lunch lay abandoned on the countertop as he dialed Clark’s number.

  Jared drove through the twisting roads of the countryside. He didn’t plan to intrude on the Wrights a second time that day, but he wanted to see the place. Driving gave him something to do while he listened to Alex’s story. He hadn’t said why he decided to go to that first meeting alone, but Jared had no doubt it’d been to protect him. He let the words roll over him as he watched the houses grow fewer and the snowy fields bigger. Cows and goats gathered around huge haystacks. A few were out in the middle of the field and pawed at the snow looking for something to eat besides hay. At least that’s what Jared assumed, he’d be looking for something different if he was a cow.

  “Take the next left.” Alex’s voice pulled him out of his nonsense thoughts, and he realized he hadn’t been paying as much attention as he thought. He sighed and made the turn.

  “I’ve only been half listening.” The confession drew no remark from Alex. “You’ll have to tell me again.”

  He reached over and Jared felt the warmth of Alex’s hand settle on this leg. “Pull over here. You can see the house and we’ll talk.” He slowed the truck and pulled onto the shoulder of the road, leaving dark wet tracks in the unmarred snow.

  “It’s the place down there, with the shed in the back.” Alex pointed out the house, and Jared studied it in silence. Alex began the story a second time. This time Jared paid attention, well used to assessing the condition of a building while listening to someone talk. He wrapped his hand around Alex’s, taking comfort in the familiar touch as Alex finished the story.

  “You believe her?” He didn’t know what anyone would gain by making up such a fantastic story, but people did odd things sometimes.

  Alex nodded. “I do, but it will be easy to make sure.”

  “If she’s telling the whole story and there’s no history of abuse we’ll do everything we can to keep the family together.” Jared was a little surprised at how steady his voice sounded. He didn’t want to give Sissy away to anyone, but there were too many lives involved for him to give into his selfish inclinations. “If she’s Devon’s blood sister that means we’ll have to help her grandmother get custody. If she’s not, we’ll keep her if we can. There’s no guarantee of that, you know. If she’s not Andrew Wright’s daughter they can take her away and none of us will ever see her again.”

  Alex’s grip on his hand tightened. “I hadn’t thought of that. God, she could end up anywhere.”

  Jared’s chest constricted, restricting his breathing for a handful of heartbeats. He waited it out until he could relax and breathe. “It’s been a danger from the beginning,” he reminded Alex. “We’ve just been ignoring it.”

  “We need the DNA test as soon as possible. Should I call Masters?” Alex already had his phone in hand.

  He nodded. “Yes. He doesn’t practice family law, but he can tell us who to hire. See if he can get things started for the test.”

  While Alex made the call, Jared stared at the small house, little more than a cottage. The back door opened and a boy, with a barking dog at his heels, flew out at a dead run into the already-trampled backyard. They headed for the tree line at the edge of the yard and in a few minutes had disappeared into the cover of winter-bare trees.

  The call ended and Jared turned to meet Alex’s gaze. “He’s still got my coat.”

  Alex laughed. “Yeah, well, we already bought you a new one, so I told Pearl he could have it.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. Of course.” He kept staring at where he’d lost sight of Devon and his dog. “It sounded like Masters knew someone who can help us.”

  “He did. He’s going to call and set up an appointment for us tomorrow. He said he’ll text me with the time and address. Some woman, I think he said her name is Beck and that she’s one of the best in the business.”

  Jared nodded and put the truck into gear. He turned back to Alex when he grabbed his arm. “Did you want to go meet them?” He tilted his head in the direction of the house just as the boy and dog ran back into view.

  He shook his head. “Not yet. Let’s talk to the attorney and get things started as much as we can. We’ll take Sissy and we can meet Grandma and I can figure out how much work that place needs. It’s a great house. I think it might be close to a hundred years old. Tell me what you saw.”

  They had a plan in place to discover where Sissy belonged, and that went a long way toward relieving the tension between them. Jared let Alex distract him with the list of needed repairs and general maintenance he’d noticed during his visit. He made mental lists, tallied costs, and estimated timeframes. He didn’t know anything about custody or DNA, but he did know how to make a home safe and comfortable, and he intended make sure that’s what Sissy had. Wherever she was placed.

  * * * * *

  Beth knocked on the front door lightly and waited little bit before she opened it and let herself inside. Years ago Jared and Alex had told her not to bother knocking. She’d taken advantage of that privilege until the first time she’d walked in on them…well, saying it was a compromising situation was putting it mildly. After that she always knocked and gave them time to at least yell ‘stay out’ before she opened the door. The whole thing was funny now but had been excruciatingly embarrassing at the time. She had avoided them for a couple weeks before she had been able to face them again, and just thinking about it brought a hot blush to her cheeks. She’d have never guessed either of them were that limber…

  “Jared? Alex?” she called out, careful to keep her voice low in case the baby was sleeping. She was going to look upstairs, but Jared came out of the kitchen into the living room, wiping his hands on a towel tucked into his waistband.

  “Hi, Mom.” He sounded glad to see her, but she easily read the sadness in his eyes. “I’m glad you could come. Alex went to visit his mom and dad. I didn’t want to take Sissy out in the cold.” He flinched a little when he said the name. “Cassie, her name is Cassie. I’m having a hard time remembering.” His stoic expression faltered, and for a second the very real hurt he was feeling peeked through, wrenching Beth’s heart.

  Banging came from the direction of the kitchen and Jared laughed. “Come on, she’s strapped in, but I don’t like to leave her alone.”

  Beth followed Jared into the kitchen where it was apparent he’d been washing dishes while Cassie played. She grinned her beautiful toothless baby grin when she saw them and banged the spoon in excitement.

  “Ha! Good girl.” Jared patted her hair on his way back to the sink where a few more pots awaited his attention. “There’s coffee if you want some, and I made some cookies earlier. Help yourself to whatever you want.”

  “Beautiful girl.” Beth kissed the top of Cassie’s head, and baby-soft curls tickled her nose before she moved on to make herself a cup of coffee and see what kind of cookies there were. Settled at the table with her steaming cup smelling of French vanilla, Beth turned her attention to Jared. “So tell me what’s going on.”

  Jared told her, in as few words as possible. He never stopped working, scrubbing the pans as if he could wash away the pain of the afternoon if he rubbed hard enough.

  “
What are you going to do?” Beth took a bite of her cookie. The story he’d told was enough to break a person’s heart. She felt bad for the family, but her main concern was her son and his husband. Everything else came second. If he wanted to keep Cassie, she would do everything in her power to see it happen.

  “We’re doing the right thing, and we are doing it by the law. We don’t want some smartass to jerk her away for some bureaucratic reason.” Jared sighed and rinsed the last pan. He turned to lean against the sink and dried his hands. “We went and they did the DNA tests today. They swabbed Sissy, Devon, and Pearl. Best case and the simplest results will be for the three of them to be blood related. Our family law attorney, Lucy Beck, said with that result she can have Cassie back home before Christmas.”

  Beth frowned. “But what about you boys? I thought you wanted—” She wasn’t happy when her son cut her off but she let him talk.

  “What we’ve always wanted is for Sissy to have a family. We knew that might not be with us. I can live with her going home with her brother and Grandma. I’m not sure what I’d do if they took her just to place her in another foster home.” Jared joined her at the table. He sat across from her and reached out to take her hand. “It’s okay, Mom. I’m not sure that Alex and I are cut out for foster care. Once this is settled and the holidays are past, we are going to get serious about adoption.”

  Beth squeezed his hand in sympathy. “So the grandma met the baby for the first time. How did that go?”

  His face broke into a smile. “They both cried. Let me tell you, it was something to see. You know the lungs she has on her. You’d never guess she’d been injured by the smoke at all. Anyhow, she was wailing and Pearl was beaming down at her with these huge tears running down her cheeks. Devon tugged on her sleeve and said, ‘See, grandma, I told ya she could holler.’ Then Pearl pulled out a handkerchief, blew her nose, and corrected his grammar. Once Sissy settled down, it was easy to see she has Pearl’s eyes and Devon’s eyebrows and jaw. I’m trying not to worry about the results.”

  “You have my support, whatever happens, which you already know. Is there anything I can do?” Sissy tossed her spoon and it hit the table.

  “Uh-oh.” She grinned at Jared, and Beth had to laugh.

  “Oh my, your favorite game.” She picked up the spoon and handed it back to the baby. “Here you go.” And when she immediately chucked it again, they both laughed.

  “Well, Mom, now that you mention it, I have a huge pre-Christmas project to get started. How do you feel about babysitting most of the day the next couple weeks?”

  “Couple weeks? Jared, Christmas is…”

  “Two weeks from today. It’s going to be close I admit, but Clark’s family is all on board and, of course, Alex. Justin and Keith and some of the other guys from JD Construction said they’d pitch in, so we might get done in a week.” Jared got up and unbuckled Cassie from the infant seat and sat her in Beth’s lap.

  “I need to make some calls. Can you play with Cassie for a minute?”

  Beth laughed and pushed her coffee and cookies out of reach of the little hand already grabbing for them. “Of course, but what in the world are you talking about? What project?”

  “We are going to give Pearl’s house a makeover. Regardless of how things turn out, she and Devon need a safe place to live. That is something I can do and we won’t need any tests or lawyers.” He started out of the room, then turned back to kiss Cassie’s cheek and then his mother’s. The one he planted on Beth’s cheek was wet and sloppy, leaving her face still damp when he rushed from the room. She shook her head.

  “Well, little one, what will we do with him?” She kissed a round soft cheek and reached for her cookie. “I guess we don’t have any choice but to let them worry about the details. But, little girl, one way or another you are in this family to stay. Would you like a bite?” She broke off a tiny piece of cookie. Lost in thought, Beth munched the rest of the cookie while Cassie excitedly gummed her morsel.

  Building a Family

  Alex had spent the last two hours trying to get Cassie to sleep. She’d finally dozed off and didn’t wake up the second he tried to lay her down. He fell across the bed in sheer exhaustion. “Dude, your mom is never allowed to babysit again!” He covered his eyes with his arm to keep out the light.

  “Alex, I know she didn’t give her more than a tiny taste of cookie. She’s not stupid.” Despite his words, Jared sagged where he sat on the edge of the bed. “Cassie is just all worked up because we are. She senses our tension.”

  “I thought dogs did that.” Alex peeked out from under his arm, and Jared slapped at his leg.

  “You’re ridiculous.” Jared finally gathered enough energy to stretch out beside his husband. They were both still dressed, but beggars shouldn’t be choosers, at least lying prone neither of them would fall to the floor if he fell asleep on his feet.

  Alex snuggled into his side and was rewarded with Jared’s arm around his waist.

  “How do you think Pearl is going to react to the home makeover?”

  “I think the hardest part is going to be convincing her she doesn’t have to pay for it. She’s got enough pride for…” Alex sighed. “I was going to say for two people, but honestly she has enough to be your double.”

  “We all wish you were as funny as you seem to think.” Jared poked him in the ribs, and Alex slapped at his hand.

  “No tickling!”

  Cassie snorted and wiggled around in the crib. Alex froze instantly. Jared lifted his head cautiously to peer in the direction of the baby bed. She didn’t make any other noises, and after a few seconds, Alex discerned the soft sound of her snoring. Jared let his head drop back to the pillow. He didn’t try to restart the tickle game.

  “Sleep. Now.” Alex’s voice was a soft whisper as he turned off the lamp, throwing the room into darkness except for the soft light of the nightlight in the outlet beside the changing table. His eyes slid closed and he felt Jared’s lips brush his cheek. He turned to meet the kiss. It was brief and chaste, but the soft caress of his lips melted Alex the rest of the way into sleep.

  * * * * *

  Late the next morning, with Annie in place as babysitter, the guys were ready to present their view of the situation with Cassie to her grandmother. They left Annie with firm instructions that the baby couldn’t have anything to eat except her bottle and her jar of peaches. She’d laughed at them.

  “Have you been to my house? I know how to take care of babies.”

  Jared’s mind had gone straight to his mother and he shrugged. “Appearances can be deceiving. There are cookies in the jar, but only for you.” They had left Cassie cooing in her arms and pulling her hair.

  Now, his stomach in knots, Jared made his way with Alex up the dirt walkway toward the front door. Jared was pleasantly surprised to find that the porch was in good repair except for the couple posts that were showing some sign of rot where the paint had peeled. He didn’t see any signs that there was trouble with the foundation, and the windows needed to be cleaned but were double-paned and sealed tight. Someone had taken good care of the house in the past.

  And now someone would again. Jared glanced at Alex for support. His husband squeezed his hand and cocked his head toward the door. They’d agreed that since fixing things was Jared’s specialty, he’d handle his offer to help as he did with any other client. He knocked and a dog barked.

  The door opened to reveal Devon holding tightly to the dog’s collar.

  “Hi, Devon, we’re here to talk to your grandma. She’s expecting us.”

  The boy studied them in silence. He was no more welcoming than he’d been on Alex’s first visit or the day before at the clinic. Jared smiled reassuringly. “Would you like to come over and visit your sister for a little while after we talk to your grandma?”

  Eagerness lit the cautious brown eyes. “Really?”

  “Sure, we’ll take you home with us for a while and you can play with her, and then we’ll bring you home.
As long as your grandma says it’s okay.” Jared grinned at Alex when he squeezed his hand again.

  “I’m going tell her that you said it’s okay to visit. You can come in. She’s in here.” He dashed toward the living room, dragging the dog with him and leaving them standing in the open doorway. Alex laughed at him as they went into the house and closed the door.

  “Dude, how do you do that?”

  Jared shrugged. He didn’t know why he had a knack for setting people at ease, but it came in handy in his line of work. He studied the door and its frame. He detoured to test the stairs and check the banister before they joined Devon and Pearl in the living room.

  “Grandma, they said I can visit Cassie. Is it okay if I go with them later?” Devon sounded younger than fifteen, but Jared remembered Pearl had explained the teen was afflicted with a slight mental disability and his development was several years below his age. Pearl smiled at them from her place on the sofa. “I think it’s a good idea for you to visit.”

  “We’ll be happy to have him over any time he wants to come. There’s usually more than one kid taking up space at our place.” Jared and Alex sat next to each other on the sofa across from the chair she occupied.

  “You have other kids?” Devon seemed excited. “Old enough to play with? Are they nice?”

  “They aren’t ours, and they aren’t there today, but we do know some kids that like to play. You can come back another time when they’ll be there.” Jared paused, wondering what sort of treatment Devon had received at the hands of other children to make him ask such a question. “They are very nice, and I know they’ll be happy to meet you.” He kept any thoughts about Jens to himself; that little guy had to learn to share.

  Devon beamed while his hands were buried in the thick matted coat of his dog. He looked at his grandmother. “Grandma?”