Page 55 of Because You Loved Me

“That’s exactly what you’re saying.” He stopped his younger brother. “It’s what you always say. What all of you always say. And yes, I like to work. Hell, I even love working. So obviously having Dad kick me out of the job I take pride in from beyond the grave…well, yes. That’s a bit of a blow.” He looked at each of his brothers in turn. Symon had turned away and was focusing a little too intently on the baby in order to give them space. “Even if I tell you that I’m fine, you’re not going to believe me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” He focused on Chase. “All of you are so deeply entrenched in the idea that I have nothing without work that you can’t stop for a second to consider that there might be more to me.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. It was finally Craig who sighed and nodded. “You know what? You’re right. I’m sorry, Asher.”

Chase stood and rounded the table to put his hand on Asher’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, too. Damn. I didn’t realize we were all being so closed-minded.”

“We weren’t trying to be.” Symon finally spoke up, and Asher knew, he spoke for Charli as well. “It’s just that you’ve always been so focused that I don’t think anyone bothered to stop and realize that there was more.”

“Of course there’s more.” He hoped he sounded convincing, especially after his outburst. The problem was, he was full of shit. Even if he’d somehow managed to convince his brothers differently, heknewthere wasn’t anything more.

Hedidn’thave anything in his life besides his work at Carlson Corp and his family. Nothing except Noa. And he didn’t even really have her. She wasn’t real or permanent or anything more than just a temporary distraction. In fact, spending the last few days with Noa, although they’d been a lot of fun, had also made it clear to him that he’d been missing out on a lot of life.

He swallowed hard and reached for his glass of water in an effort to calm his racing thoughts before he blurted out that particular realization. He drank deeply and then set his drink on the table. “So do you want to know about the cabin?”

Asher grinned as the men quickly switched gears and peppered him with questions about the little house he’d inherited. Thankfully, before the conversation could swing back to the topic of Noa again, the women entered with platters of food, the kids arrived with a burst of energy, and the Carlson family Christmas officially began.

ChapterThirteen

As promised,the men cleaned the dinner dishes and kitchen while the women relaxed. As soon as the men joined them, Kat jumped up from the couch and announced that it was time for the annual family Christmas photo.

She followed everyone as they filed into the foyer of the house and jostled for position by the big Christmas tree and tried not to feel out of place because there was no way she could be part of Asher’s family Christmas photo.

Chase set up the camera on a tripod, and Asher gestured for her to join him.

But she shook her head. “I’m just going to?—”

“Noa.” Chase noticed her trying to sneak away. “Get in the picture.”

“But I’m not?—”

“Come on, Noa!” Charli called. “Let’s do this before the baby cries.”

She looked around in a bit of a panic, but finally, when it seemed there was no other choice, she blew out a breath. “Tell you what?” she said to Chase. “Let me take the first one, and then I’ll get in one.”

He looked like he might argue with her, but ultimately, he grinned and ran into position while Noa crouched down and looked through the viewfinder of the camera.

“Got it!” she called after taking a handful of pictures. “You all look great.”

She started to slip away, but Asher appeared next to her. “Your turn,” he whispered in her ear. “Go stand next to Kat. I’ll set the camera.”

There didn’t seem to be any point in arguing. Besides, they had plenty of photos of their family, so her crashing one shot wouldn’t tarnish the memories of Christmas. Resigned, Noa took her spot and smiled for the group shot.

Just when she thought things would start to wind down, and they could sneak away back to the cabin, where she could give Asher the gift she’d worked on while he was out chopping wood earlier in the day, Annie made a new announcement.

“Now we have a surprise for everyone.” All eyes turned to Annie and Chase, who looked at her and smiled. “It’s time for the first annual Mistletoe Madness.”

“The what?” Asher raised an eyebrow.

“Mistletoe Madness,” Annie repeated. “We decided that since our family has done so much growing and changing recently, we should start a new tradition.”

“Okay.” Charli grinned. “I like where this is going.”

“Am I the only one who’s confused?” Kat scanned the group.

“I promise I’ll explain everything,” Annie said. “Grady? Meri? It’s time.”

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