He’d always been cagey when anything about family had come up, but I hadn’t realized it was that bad. Jonah shrugged, but I couldn’t decide if he meant to be that casual about it or if he was trying to keep me from getting worked up.
“It was a long time ago and I’ve dealt with it.” He looked up and smiled, kissing me tenderly. “Really, it was a long time ago and I wasn’t alone. I had it better than a lot of kids in my situation would have, and now I have a wonderful family and two loving Masters and my art. There is nothing you need to worry about or be sorry for.”
Still not sure I should take his calm at face value, I ran my hand over his back and kissed him again. “I wouldn’t have dragged you over there if I’d realized it would bring up old memories. I just wanted them to see us as a united front.”
He smiled, tucking himself back against me. “It was the right thing to do, especially since your mother showed up. Which I’m still sorry about.”
Russ walked over and wrapped his arms around us. “Me too. I honestly thought he would keep it private.”
“I should have known.” I shrugged, letting out a long breath. “We’ll see what happens, but I’m ready no matter what. I have everything I need right here, and Jonah has enough family that I can borrow a few if I’m feeling like I need to be tortured.”
As he giggled, I looked at Russ. “And your family has always been wonderful. This just means we get to spend Christmas together at the farm for the whole week instead of taking just a few days to visit. Your mother has been after us for years to actually be there on Christmas Day.”
Russ groaned. “But then they’re going to make us tromp out in the snow and pick out the damned tree. That’s so cold and I don’t have the right shoes for that anymore.” Then he perked up. “How about a vacation instead? We’ll tell my mother that we need a break because you’re sad and then we’ll go to the Caribbean.”
Jonah giggled, egging him on. Russ kept nodding and smiling like he’d solved the problem of world peace. “It’s going to be great. I’ve never been on a cruise. Boats are cool.”
Before I could derail his excitement, the alarm notification on our phones started going off. I looked at Russ, who stopped mid-sentence about what great deals he could probably find. “Were you expecting anyone?”
As he shook his head, we both dug out our phones and I turned to Jonah. “Remind me to put the security app on your phone.”
“Security?” He leaned closer, curious.
“Yeah, there are cameras around the edge of the property and an alarm system in the house we don’t remember to set enough.” As Russ snickered, I huffed. “You’re worse than I am about remembering. The cameras are on all the time, so we don’t have to remember to set anything with them.”
Jonah was trying not to smile but wasn’t trying very hard.
“Hey, that’s Tanner’s car.” Jonah’s head pushed closer to the screen. “Oh, and there’s Austin’s SUV, so I’m betting the rest of the guys are in there.”
Jonah seemed fascinated by the cameras, so we watched as they pulled to a stop and everyone started piling out. “Oh, Clay looks hot in his uniform. I bet Austin loves that.”
Russ barked out a laugh that had Jonah grinning. “I’m taken, not dead.”
Russ wrapped his arms around our boy and pulled him flush against his chest. “Very taken, and don’t forget it.”
Before I could laugh or remind them both that the people on the TV were actually walking up to our front porch, I noticed something else. “Shit. Simon is with them too, and for some reason, Austin seems to be trying to wrestle his driver.”
Jonah shrugged. “We can be normal when we try. Although with Austin, there’s no guarantee, as you can see.”
That had Russ laughing again. “I’m pretty sure that cat’s going to be out of the bag sooner rather than later.”
Groaning, I shoved them both in the direction of the door just as the chime went off. “Come on. Let’s see why we’ve been invaded.”
That became clear as soon as we opened the door.
Me.
After a few introductions for the guys who hadn’t met Russ yet, and some reassurance to Clay that yes he was welcome too, they piled into the house rambling out apologies about my mother’s clear insanity and offering support.
The consensus seemed to be that she was nuts and we were perfect and that we were family.
They were insane but sweet.
Evidently,Austin’s wrestling match with Clay had been about the man’s refusal to come in and meet everyone. Everyone being Russ and me.
He seemed to be under the impression he was just the driver and that there should be boundaries. For some reason, he’d thought he would win against Austin.
Even I wasn’t that delusional.
