Page 60 of The Bright Side of Christmas
He puts his hand out for my mom, but she waves it away, wrapping her arms around him and forcing him into a hug. His eyes meet mine and go wide, and I fight back a laugh. I warned him about my family’s inevitable question ofWhat are youtwo?…but I also probably should have mentioned that my mom is a hugger.
When she steps back, she looks him over, her hands going to her hips. “My, you’re a big guy, aren’t you?” As soon as the words leave her lips, a pink flush I’ve seen in the mirror on my own face a million times blooms on her cheeks, as if she didn’t mean to actually say that.
“Jeez, Mom,” I grumble, turning to my brothers, wanting to get this over with. “Jesse, Madden, this is Adam. Adam, these are my brothers. Feel free to ignore them.”
Madden turns to give Jesse a wicked, mischievous look before turning back to me and putting a hand to his chest, feigning hurt.
“Hey, is that any way to introduce your favorite brother to your…” The words trail off, and he lifts an eyebrow firmly at Adam, and I know a bright red flush burns on my cheeks without even having to touch them to feel the heat.
“Boys,” Mom warns in her stern tone, but Adam was prepared for this.
He steps over to my brothers, putting a hand out to them. “Her boyfriend. Nice to meet you; I’m Adam.”
My brothers look at one another before Jesse puts a hand out to shake. It’s firm, too firm to be casual and kind. I want to cut in, but when I look at Adam, he’s smiling, seemingly entertained by the battle of wills. He repeats the process with Madden, and I relax a bit.
Maybe this won’t be too bad.
Maybe—
Then Madden opens his stupid fat trap.
“What are your intentions with our baby sister?” he asks, and I try to seem annoyed and not blush, but I know I fail desperately.
“You guys, stop it. You’re being weird,” I say, my cheeks now feeling like they were recently doused in lava. “It’s weird when a brother is that invested in his sister's personal life. This isn’t the 1800s.”
He looks up at me with the most innocent expression, the one that absolutely used to work on my mom andabsolutelyworks on the women in town now.
“What? We’re just trying to get to know the mystery man our baby sister brought to the farm. You never bring men here.”
“I swear to God, Madden, if you don’t stop, I’m going to throw a temper tantrum.” He gives me a deadpan look like my threat doesn’t faze him, and I stamp my foot in irritation. I don’t know what it is about my brothers, but the second I’m around them, I revert from a full-grown adult back into the nine-year-old girl who was easily teased and taunted by her older brothers. It’s a phenomenon that someone should study.
“If asking a few simple questions freaks him out enough to scare him off, he’s never going to work,” Jesse says with a shrug.
“For whom? You or me? I didn’t realize you also needed to have a relationship withmyboyfriend.” Even saying the word brings a blush to my cheeks.
Madden opens his mouth to argue, but then Adam’s warm hand is on my hip, pulling me back against his chest. Immediately, a wave of calm moves over me, and no one in the room misses the move. Even Mom lets a little squeak out, though an excited grin accompanies hers.
“Ask away, I have nothing to hide. If I had a little sister as gorgeous and kind as Wren, I’d be doing the same thing,” Adam says, and when I look over my shoulder, he has a sincere look on his face. That warmth settles in my chest, and I fight back a girly sigh.
A long moment of silence passes, and I hold my breath waiting for Madden and Jesse to jump on his open opportunity,but Jesse looks at Madden and shrugs. That’s when I realize we passed the first test, and I can possibly relax a bit.
“All right, you two, give your sister a break. Everyone, sit and eat,” my dad says, walking into the kitchen.
“I guess we’re having brunch?” I murmur with apology in my voice at him. He shrugs, then puts a hand to my lower back, guiding me toward the set table. I should have known when I texted Mom this morning to tell her we were stopping by before the farm opened to get a tree that she would put something together, but I thought since I hadn’t given her much time, I was safe. I should have known better.
I am her daughter, after all.
I can’t think about that too long because Jesse’s eleven-year-old daughter walks in, giving me a huge hug. I try not to focus on how big she’s getting, already up to my chest. She was born when Jesse was barely twenty-one and I was just fifteen.
“Aunt Wren,” she says, stepping back with a grin that looks so much like my brother.
“Hey, girl, how’s it going?”
“Good. Sixth grade is a piece of cake.”
I grin at her, then watch as she moves to the kitchen table with practiced ease. Jesse has a small house on the property where he and Emma live, so she spends a lot of time at my parents’ place.
“Well, you gotta pay attention. I’ve been telling Mrs. Taylor you were a star student when you were in my class, and I don’t want her to think I was just playing favorites.” She slides into her chair at the table and gives me a look filled with sass and attitude.
