a Beautiful Christmas: A Pride and Honor Christmas

by Ember-Raine Winters

  “Kate?” He chuckled and I snapped my head up.

  “I’m… uh… cleaning out the refrigerator. What are you doing?” I stuttered.

  “I was working out in the shed. I forgot how nice it was to work with my hands,” he said seductively, taking a step forward. The double entendre was not lost on me. I watched as he sunk his teeth into his bottom lip. Just like he used to when he was getting ready to do something sinful. I shuttered involuntarily.

  “Ahhh,” I heard a scream from the back of the house and we both jumped.

  “Peyton?” Adam yelled and we both went running.

  “You little brats. What were you thinking? I hate you,” she yelled at the twins who looked shell-shocked.

  “Peyton. Stop, what’s going on?” Adam scolded and grabbed her just as she lunged for the wide-eyed boys.

  “Uncle Adam! They hid a rubber spider in my desk and when I opened the drawer to get a pen it scared me.” Releasing her arms once she calmed down, he turned her to face him.

  “Peyton, that’s no reason to try to kill your brothers.”

  “They’re little jerks.” She burst into tears and ran into her room.

  “Uncle Adam?” Jace said carefully. “We did that before… um… before.”

  Walking over, I wrapped my arms around them and walked them to their room. “It’s all right. I know you forgot about it. When Pey calms down I want you both to apologize to her, got it?”

  They both nodded their heads and went back to their Legos. I walked down the hall to Peyton’s room and found her crying into her pillow. “Pey? Are you okay, hun?”

  “No. Go away. I’m so tired of those little brats trying to prank me.”

  “If it makes you feel better they are both really sorry. They did that before everything happened.”

  “That doesn’t make it okay,” she muffled, face still buried in the pillow.

  “No, it doesn’t but like I said they’re sorry and as soon as you calm down they’re coming in here to apologize to you. You are all going through a rough time right now. You need to band together and help each other through it. Adam and I can only do so much, you all need to lean on each other as much as you lean on us.”

  “How do we do that?” She finally turned her head to the side and wiped her tears with her comforter. “They’re all freaking out.”

  “You gotta bring them together, babe.” I heard Adam rumble from behind me and shuddered with just hearing his voice. “First things first you, gotta go forgive those boys for the spider. It was a harmless prank.”

  “I know,” she sighed dramatically. It was a total teenager move and I almost laughed. She got up and walked to the boys’ room.

  “How are we supposed to do this?” I turned to Adam, nearly in tears.

  “You did great just now, with all of them.”

  “But, I basically starved them for a week. They hated everything I cooked for them. Here, I thought they were just grieving, but what if it wasn’t that? What if it was because they didn’t like the food.” I was rambling and I knew it, yet I couldn’t stop myself. I was as bad as Peyton.

  Adam walked over and grabbed my hand pulling me up and into his arms. “It’s all right. You didn’t know. It will be okay. You know what to get now, and I’m here to help. You’re not doing this alone, I’m here with you. Every step.” He held me tightly as he rubbed soothing circles on my back.

  “I feel so weak lately. I’m not like this. I’m strong and independent, but I find myself crying at the drop of a hat. It sucks.”

  “It’s okay to lean on people, Kate. You can lean on me. My leg might give out, but I won’t let you fall,” he said with a smile in his voice. I had no idea what he meant by that, but whatever it was, I was holding on tight.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ADAM

  It had been a difficult month since Beth and Will’s death, but we got the kids in to see the counselor and they seemed to be doing better. April was still walking around with black hair, although it was now at least cut nicely, and her wardrobe was a little more emo than it had been previously, but the counselor assured us that it was just a phase that she would grow out of. Her grades were slipping, though, and we got more than one phone call from the school telling us about her skipping school. We tried to ground her but she would just sneak out. The parenting thing was way more challenging than either Kate or I had imagined.

  Kate was working a lot as well. She said she had a very demanding client and even had to take her calls while at the dinner table, which was a point the counselor discussed. We needed to take time out every day as family time and a dinner together was the best option considering the various schedules each of the kids had. I could see her work combined with the pressure of the new family we’d inherited was weighing her down so I didn’t comment on her dinner interruptions, not wanting to add to her stress. I wished she would lean on me more.

  I’d been spending most of the days at the house and though I was off the bottle, by going cold turkey, I still woke up in the middle of the night several times a week in a cold sweat from the damn nightmares, tangled up in my sheets and hoping to God no one heard me.

  It was almost December, and I was trying to figure out what to do to make Christmas a special one. I’d been searching the shed, looking for letters when Kate walked in. “Whatcha doin’?”

  “Trying to find something,” I grumbled.

  “You’ve been out here every day, going through this place.” She looked around, and for the first time in days I saw what she did. In addition to the tools, house supplies, and gardening equipment, on the back wall were forty plastic bins that I’d been spending my time carefully going through. Bethy, it turns out, was quite the organized if not a bit of a hoarder soul. She had multiple boxes of decorations for each holiday, even ones like Veteran’s Day. I didn’t think people really celebrated that with decorations.

  “You remember the letters they wrote to each of the kids the day they were born? I’ve searched every inch of this shed for them,” I said pointing to the wall. “And every one of those boxes.”

  “Adam.” She grinned at me then placed her hand over her mouth as though she was covering up a laugh.

  “They won’t be in the shed. Beth would have kept those in the house so they were safe. Come on I’ll…”

  Her phone rang and she groaned after looking down at it. “I have to take this,” she said apologetically. “Check the closet in their room.”

  No one had moved into Beth and Will’s bedroom, because it was just too hard. The counselor had told us that we would eventually have to clean the space out and use it, that in the long run, it wouldn’t be healthy to keep their room like a memorial to their death. He said it would be good for the kids to go through their parents’ things at some point, but none of us were ready for that yet.

  In addition we didn’t want the kids to think we were trying to replace their parents by over taking their bedroom. When I walked in, the feeling of dread was overwhelming. The last time I’d come in here was to grab a suit for the funeral, and I wasn’t even thinking clearly or even understanding what I’d been doing. It was just a chore on the list I had to accomplish that horrible week.

  The wash of emotions that filled me was unexpected. My knees almost buckled as I walked back into the walk-in closet. All their clothes were hanging neatly as if waiting for something that would never happen. I hated those clothes; everything looked so normal in a situation that was anything but. I took a swipe at the shirts hanging on Will’s side of the closet, suddenly so angry at him for leaving me. He was the only person that had been a constant in my life. I knew it wasn’t rational, but I didn’t care as I swiped at them again and lost my balance and crashed to the floor.

  I sat there for long minutes, my good leg bent at the knee and my head in my hands. Hot angry tears poured from my eyes all over again.

  “Uncle Adam?” Peyton said from the hallway. I guessed she wasn’t re
ady to cross the threshold of her parent’s room either.

  “I’m okay, pumpkin. Just tripped.”

  “Do I need to get Auntie Kate to help you up?” she asked sweetly.

  “That’s okay. Auntie Kate is on a work call. I can get up on my own,” I reassured her. The kids knew about my leg because they were there as Beth and Will helped me through rehabilitation. They had been the best support system a guy could ask for. I didn’t want Kate to know just yet. I wouldn’t be able to stand the look of pity I was sure would be there when she did.

  “Okay.” I could hear her quiet footsteps as she walked down the hall.

  Turning my head, I noticed a small box underneath a shoe shelf at the bottom of the closet. Picking it up I looked at a brand new phone with Peyton’s name written on it. I put the box back and made a mental note to call and have it activated on my account. Both Beth and Will’s phones had been disconnected, and I’d switched April’s phone to my plan shortly after they passed.

  Figuring the phone was meant to be a Christmas present, it gave me an idea. I’d need Kate’s help to pull it off, but I was sure that she would love it.

  I got up carefully making sure nothing was wrong with my prosthetic and went in search of Kate. If she liked my idea, we needed a plan, and fast.

  CHAPTER NINE

  KATE

  I never should have given that crazy woman my cell number.

  I groaned internally as I listened to Alexis’s latest crisis. The color scheme for the new line clashed with the old one, and I was practically rolling my eyes in the back of my head as she ranted at me. “Alexis, it’s an easy fix. We’ll change the silver to black and it will still have the feel of the company,” I said trying to placate her.

  “Will it be ready in time for fashion week? I leave in three days. Right after Thanksgiving,” she replied and my eyes grew wide.

  Holy Crap! I forgot Thanksgiving. I mentally shook myself and assured Alexis that they would be ready in time for the presentation and hung up the phone.

  Someone knocked on my door, and I opened it to find Adam standing there with an excited smile on his too handsome face. “I have an idea.”

  He pushed past me into the room and I shut the door. “Do you realize that Thanksgiving is this Thursday? As in three days?” I asked, panicked.

  “What?” He shook his head, looking at me in confusion before swearing, “Shit, I’ve been so absorbed thinking of Christmas, I completely forget.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  “How do we want to do this? As normal as possible, right? Like we buy a turkey and all that crap?”

  “Seriously? Let’s not say crap in front of the kids, okay?”

  My cooking skills were seriously lacking. I could follow a recipe, but I couldn’t really make shit up on the fly. My mom never got a chance to teach me how to cook, and my dad pretty much checked out after mom died so cooking wasn’t something I excelled at.

  “All right. We can do this.” Adam smiled. “Make a list of everything we need, and while you’re at work I’ll go to the store and pick up supplies.”

  I reached out and grabbed his forearm and squeezed. “Thank you, Adam. You really have made this so much easier. Now, what was your idea?” I asked.

  “Well, I was thinking of doing like a 12 days of Christmas thing but the whole month until the actual day on the 25th.”

  “Almost like an advent calendar, you mean?” I paced around the room, thinking about the idea. It had merit. We’d been struggling on and off with the kids, especially April. Maybe this could be something that would bring them all together. Something to look forward to. “That’s an awesome idea. On the weekends we can take them places, and on the week days we can give them little presents,” I replied thoughtfully, getting excited by his idea.

  “Exactly! I was thinking of doing a Christmas Day scavenger hunt, even.”

  “I like it. We can take them to all the places their parents took them to find clues,” I said my mind whirling.

  “That was exactly what I was thinking.” He pulled me into his arms, stopping me from walking back up and down the room.

  The excited smile he had on his face as he hugged me suddenly morphed into something alluring as I shuddered in his arms. His eyes darkened as he leaned forward slowly, my lips parting in anticipation. His pressed softly at first. It was magic, just as I remembered his lips to feel. It took less than a moment for it to turn desperate, and I gasped when he deepened the kiss. I melted into him as his hands traveled to my hips and up under the hem of my T-shirt. The skin on skin contact had me moaning into his mouth and arching into his chest. The feral growl that left his throat had me heating up even more.

  “Aunt Kate?” April yelled as she knocked on the door and we broke apart.

  “This isn’t over,” Adam whispered seductively in my ear.

  Composing myself, I opened the guest room door and looked at the teenager. She looked back at us knowingly but didn’t comment, which I was thankful for. She held a phone to her ear and I figured she was talking to her best friend. “Can I go stay the night at Max’s house?”

  “It’s Sunday. You have school tomorrow,” I said and in perfect teenage fashion her response was an eye roll.

  “School is on break. Don’t you know anything? We get a week off for Thanksgiving now.”

  “Hey, watch how you talk to her,” Adam said sternly.

  “Whatever. Can I go?”

  “Not until you apologize for that smart mouth.” Adam glared at her.

  “Fine. I’m sorry Aunt Kate,” she groaned, clearly not meaning a word. I was starting to get more than a little concerned with her behavior. Wasn’t this the time teenagers could lash out, make a horrible decision, changing their lives in an instance.

  “It’s fine. Go have fun,” I said instead of holding her back, unsure if being lenient through this trying time was the best parenting. She stomped off without so much as a thank you, grumbling to herself about gross old people kissing.

  My thoughts were abruptly cut-off as he grabbed ahold of my hips and pulled me into him. I felt a bulge in my back as his hands roamed up underneath my shirt traveling quickly to my heaving breasts. My head fell back on his shoulder and I felt his lips travel up my neck, as he kicked the door shut with his foot.

  “I missed this,” he said as his hands traveled higher, palming both breasts all while grounding him from behind.

  Reaching around, one of his hands slid down my belly and unbuttoned my jeans, deftly slipping inside by modest thong. “You’re so wet for me,” he growled.

  He ground into my back again and pulled my hips back against his hard length reflexively. His finger dipped between my folds and rubbed my clit furiously. I bucked against his hand and a dark chuckle escaped his throat.

  “You missed me too, didn’t you?” he whispered close to my ear then bit down on the lobe. “Come for me, beautiful.”

  I couldn’t help but break apart in his arms when he bit down on my shoulder and tweaked my nipple while rubbing my clit with those skillful fingers. We had been dancing around each other for the last month, since the almost kiss our first day in the house. Right then, all I could think about was the comment he made about being good with his hands. Yes, he was very good with his hands.

  Reaching behind me, I palmed his erection through his low-slung sweats. It was his turn to shudder. I was starting to like his sweats.

  Turning to face him, I slid one hand down the front to fist his huge cock and the other up his chest and around the back of his neck before pulling him down to my lips. “I’m good with my hands too, but I’m even better with my mouth,” I whispered close to his lips and licked a path down his neck. He groaned and sat in the chair next to my desk before pulling me onto his lap, sweats no longer in my way.

  “I’m not interested in your mouth right now. I want that scalding hot pussy wrapped around my cock.” He groaned as my hips gyrated on his l
ap. I had just broken apart all over his deft fingers, but I was still unbelievably ready for round two.

  Standing, I pushed my jeans and panties to the floor and stepped out of them as he watched with hooded eyes. Anchoring his hands around my hips, he gripped my ass and pulled me, so I was sitting on his cock and I nearly screamed at the contact as I impaled myself on him over and over.

  I felt so full as I repeatedly ground down on him. “Are you ready beautiful?” he asked and I nodded. His finger went back to my clit and when he pinched it between his fingers a white-hot heat traveled from my center and exploded all throughout my body. His other hand pulled my head down and he crushed his lips to mine to muffle our cries.

  I had completely forgotten in the haze of lust that there were kids in the house. Adam smiled at me as he broke the kiss. “Damn, I fuckin’ missed you.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  ADAM

  The next few days were a blur of grocery shopping, stolen kisses and cooking. I helped as much as I could, which just meant keeping the boys occupied and out of the kitchen. I could cook, I’d learned the basics in order to eat marginally well, figuring I’d be living the life of a bachelor.

  The boys and I made a game out of peeling potatoes and carrots for dinner which turned into a great family affair. I was glad that Jax was gradually starting to talk again, even if it was sometimes only one word responses. The counselor told us it was a phase and a way for him to grieve. He said we should continue to treat him like we always did. It was hard not to scoop him up and tell him it was okay if he didn’t want to talk that he was perfect just the way he was.

  There had been at least two more incidents at school with Jace sticking up for him and then getting himself in trouble. The principal was a douche and refused to do anything to the bully, even though Jace told him several times that the kid was harassing Jax for not talking. To me, it became even more imperative that we gave the kids the best Christmas possible. Not only that, but I wanted to see them smile and laugh again, be lighthearted children for a change without the overhanging weight we all still felt.