Holidays With the Walker Brothers (17 page)

“Good.
Thanks for inviting me.”

“Anytime,
bro. Anytime.” It wasn’t like Sawyer could imagine a holiday without Greyson.
They’d been attending one another’s family functions since they were in
elementary school. And he hoped that they’d continue the tradition for years to
come.

“What’s
going on after this?” Greyson asked, obviously trying to appear casual.

“No
idea.” Sawyer had a good idea that he knew what Greyson was about to ask, but
he figured he’d let him work for it.

For
long seconds, Greyson appeared to be interested in the goings-on in the room,
but finally he pushed to his feet and thrust his hands in his pockets, looking
down at Sawyer.

“Wanna
head over to Moonshiners after?”

“Sure.
Why the hell not.” Wasn’t like he had anything better to do. And if he was
lucky, maybe he’d find Ms. Right Now to pass the time with.

Because
he sure as hell wasn’t going to get what he wanted for Christmas this year.

♂♀♂

Travis

For
the first time in as long as Travis could remember, he sat quietly on the couch
in his parent’s living room listening to the chatter and reflecting on the
events of the last few months. It was true, this time last year, Travis had no
idea what happiness even was. He had personally sabotaged his own for so long,
he hadn’t even thought it was in his future.

Until
Kylie and Gage.

Sitting
here now, with Kylie’s warm body pressed up against his side, Gage’s comforting
hand resting on his shoulder, Travis felt as though his life was finally back
on track. Or hell, maybe it was just going in the right direction for the very
first time. Either way, he felt as though he was right where he was supposed to
be.

“What
do you want to do after this?” Kylie asked, looking up at him.

“Well,
I’m kinda thinking we should go home and check out your new Christmas present,”
Travis whispered to his wife.

“Technically,
that was
your
Christmas present,” she said with a shy grin.

“Not
that one, the other one.” As it would seem, Gage found an online special for
adult toys and he must’ve spent a small fortune.

“Yeah?”

“Hell
yeah,” Gage added.

Travis
chuckled.

Christmas
wouldn’t have been complete without a few sex toys wrapped up and put under the
tree. At least that was Gage’s philosophy and who was Travis to argue with that
logic. It made sense. And now it would seem that Kylie probably had the largest
vibrator collection in the entire state of Texas. What the hell she needed them
for, he had no idea. It wasn’t like they didn’t keep her occupied with the real
thing often enough.

Travis
glanced over at Gage. Well, at least Gage was getting some enjoyment out of the
toys. He did seem to have a penchant for using them on Kylie. And Travis
couldn’t complain.

"Or…,"
Gage said, glancing around to see if anyone else was listening. “We can use the
new camera you got me.”

“That’s
not what I had in mind when I got that for you,” Kylie corrected him.

“No?”
Gage acted as though he were confused with her intentions.

“No,”
Kylie said with a sweet smile just for Gage. “It’s to use at the resort. For
security purposes.”

“Hmm.”
Gage paused, pressing his back deeper into the couch. “I still like the camera
idea,” he said with a pout.

“There’s
always the webcam on the tablet she got me,” Travis added, squeezing Gage’s
shoulder like he felt sorry for the guy. “I hear those are a big thing right
now on the internet.”

Thanks
to his wandering thoughts, he had to adjust his position on the couch.

Kylie
slapped his leg playfully.

No,
she didn’t have to worry about any of that. They might like to tease her a
little, but Travis had no intention of letting anyone see what goes on behind
closed doors. These two belonged to him and only him.

“I
think Sawyer should go first,” Zane hollered from across the room. The
conversation slowly died, and a chorus of agreement followed.

Travis
watched Sawyer, noticing the sheer fear written across his face. Yes, of all of
them, Sawyer probably should be the most concerned about what potential gift
was in that gigantic box sitting at his feet.

“Why
me?” Sawyer asked, clearly trying to divert the attention.

The
room got quiet as Sawyer began ripping paper off of the box slowly, his face
turning an interesting shade of red already. Who would’ve thought?

Once
the box was open, Sawyer peeked inside, his brow furrowing.

“What
the hell is this?”

“We
can’t see it,” Zane informed him. “Whip it out and show us.”

That
comment got the room laughing and Sawyer turning another shade of red.

“What’re
you laughing at?” Sawyer asked, directing his attention right at Greyson who
seemed to be enjoying the joke. “It’ll be your turn in a minute.”

“Yeah?
Well, at least mine’s small,” Greyson retorted, holding up the small box in his
hand.

Another
round of laughter exploded.

“That
was probably too much information,” Brendon said. “But don’t worry, we won’t
share that with anyone else.”

“And
Greyson, just keep in mind, it’s not about size, it’s about how you use it,”
Zane offered.

“You
would know.”

The
sexual innuendos continued as Sawyer retrieved the items from the box at his
feet.

“What
the hell is that?” Travis asked, glancing over at his mother when he realized
he had cursed. She didn’t seem to be paying him any attention, but he did get a
glare from his father.

“It
looks like a metal detector,” Beau offered.

Another
item was pulled out of the box. Sawyer held it up for all to see.

“And
a stud finder.”

“Sorry,
man. We didn’t know which way you were swinging these days, but I thought we
could help you find what you’re looking for,” Brendon said seriously.

“Thanks,
man. I’m sure I’ll find it now,” Sawyer laughed, grinning at the twins.

“Travis’
turn,” Zane called.

“Bullsh
–” Before he could get the curse out, Kylie’s hand shot over, effectively
covering his mouth.

Travis’
head jerked toward his youngest brother. He did not want to know what was in
the box sitting on his knee. He damn sure didn’t want to open it in front of
his parents or Kylie’s.

 Grabbing
the small gift that had been placed in front of him, he picked at the edges of
the paper as he glanced around the room. He had no idea who drew his name this
year, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. The idea of secret Santa with this
group was kind of scary, all things considered.

“What
did you get?” Zoey asked.

Peeking
inside, just in case it was something that would make his mother want to run
and hide, Travis studied the small cluster of bottles.

“Need
some help?” Kylie asked sweetly, staring up at him from her position at his
side.

“No,
I don’t need any help,” he growled. Lifting the bottles out of the box, he held
them up.

“Neon
Warming Message Lotion,” Travis said, reading the description. He had no idea
what the rationale was behind that one, but he figured he’d find out soon
enough.

“You
like it?” Zane asked, and Travis cringed. Now he’d find out exactly what the
reason was.

“I’m
sure I can find something to do with it, thanks,” he said in a rush, putting
the box on the floor at his feet.

“Well,
I figured with all of those moving parts, you might need something to help you
find your way in the dark.”

Travis
glared at Zane, but everyone else laughed, including Curtis, whose booming
chuckle resounded over everyone else.

“Next,”
Kaleb called out when the laughter died down somewhat.

“I
say it’s Ethan’s turn.”

“Nuh-uh,”
Ethan added. “Zane can go next.”

Travis
knew this was only going to go downhill from there, so he sat back and sent up
a silent prayer that this would not get out of hand.

♂♀♂

Brendon

Brendon
pulled Jessie in close to his side as he rested on the arm of the couch close
to where Kaleb and Zoey were sitting. The room was full, and there was limited
seating, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Granted, it could be at
each other’s expense considering this secret Santa idea had taken a remarkably
quick detour to the naughty.

Then
again, this was a Walker family holiday, so Brendon shouldn’t have expected
much less.

Watching
as Zane opened the gift he’d been presented, Brendon held his breath. There was
no telling what was in that large flat box or whether it was even appropriate
for present company, but they were all about to find out together.

Zane
slowly slid the item out of the box before holding it up for everyone to see.
“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s
a net,” Ethan explained.

“What
the he–” Zane paused, “What the heck do I need a net for?”

“Because
we’re still waitin’ for you to catch her,” Ethan said, nodding toward V.

“Shut
up,” Zane said, grinning from ear to ear as he tossed the net on the floor. “I
caught her. Look, this proves it.”

Pulling
a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, Zane held it up for everyone to see.
“March twenty-second,” he said proudly.

A
round of applause replaced the laughter.

About
damn time
,
Brendon thought to himself. He knew those two would eventually tie the knot,
but he was wondering if they would all have to wait an eternity for that to
happen.

“Congratulations,
Bubba,” Braydon said over his shoulder.

Zane
just grinned from ear to ear.

“Who’s
next?” Gage asked.

“How
about one of the ladies this time?” Zane suggested.

“The
bride to be,” Jessie added.

V
glanced over at them, frowning.

“Good
idea. V, what did you get?” Sawyer said.

With
hurried movements, V quickly retrieved the item from the gift bag sitting on
the floor at her feet. When she pulled out the bottle everyone remained silent,
waiting to hear what it was.

“Wine,”
V said with a laugh. “Thank God.”

“Figured
you’d need it,” Beau told her from across the room.

“Well,
you were right.” Setting the bottle back in the bag, V leaned back and entwined
her arm with Zane’s while he pretended to pout. They shared a quick kiss and
then the game moved on to the next person.

Brendon
glanced over at Jessie. She seemed to fit in perfectly in this family. And it
was days like this when he wondered whether his way of life was keeping him
from something more. Although, there was no reason he should want more than he
had. But, if he honestly thought about it, in the long run, Jessie could
probably make him truly happy.

It
was just too bad he was having a hard time convincing his heart of that.

♂♀♂

Braydon

Standing
behind the couch, Braydon kept one hand on the small of Jessie’s back. She was
sitting partially on Brendon’s knee, so he had to be careful in case his
brother moved, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to touch her. The
feeling was overwhelming him. Suffocating him to the point of exhaustion.

After
their rendezvous that morning, it seemed to be getting worse. He needed to find
a way to distance himself from these two. As much as he hated the idea, he knew
it was what he needed to do. While they’d been sitting at dinner, he had
watched Brendon and Jessie, saw the way they laughed together, smiled at one
another. He’d never felt more like an outsider than he had right then.

Only
he would catch a glance from Jessie every so often and what he saw reflected in
her pretty blue eyes seemed to be reserved exclusively for him. God, he wished
he knew what she was thinking.

But,
it was Christmas, and he was here with his family and he had made a promise to
himself that he would enjoy the day. Tomorrow was a different story.

The
game continued, more gifts being opened, more faces turning vibrant shades of
crimson over and over, but ultimately everyone seemed to be enjoying
themselves. By the time the last gift had been opened, people were beginning to
mull about, going back for dessert, chatting in corners and he noticed that
Zane and V had disappeared upstairs, probably thinking no one saw them.

When
Brendon and Jessie snuck back to the kitchen, he planted his feet firmly on the
floor and refused to move. He wasn’t going to follow them around like a stray
puppy that was fortunate to have found a home.

“You
all right, boy?” his father asked, coming over and slapping a firm hand down on
his shoulder.

“Good,”
Braydon said with a grin. “You?”

“Never
better.”

Braydon
stood beside his father as they watched the others in the room. He had to agree
with his father, compared to last Christmas, this was something they should all
be grateful for.

Peering
over his shoulder, he saw Brendon standing in the kitchen, his arm around
Jessie as they talked to Gage and Kylie. A spear of jealousy stabbed him right
in the gut, and he was surprised he didn’t double over from the pain. Forcing
himself to look away, he turned his attention to Ethan. Or rather Ethan and
Beau who were staring at each other from opposite sides of the room.

Hmmm…