My jaw dropped open as the crowd of people there turned and faced me.
Kate, James’s wife, stood with their four children, a happy smile on her face. Mandy and Jaime were trying to control their brood of five kids. Meanwhile, Frankie and Jason had their four sitting behind a table, colouring. Tammy, Kate’s sister, stoodtalking to her husband with their twins chasing two of Jaime’s boys.
Even more shocking were Gunner, Autumn, and their brood. Gunner had a kid in each hand, holding them by their collars. I smirked a little at that, as twins Noah and Asher glared up at their dad. Dane appeared with his wife and two kids too, and I shook my head.
“Surprise!” Rina said weakly.
“What are you all doing here?” I asked, shocked.
“What part ofyou’re familydidn’t you understand?” Gunner demanded. “Dragging my sorry ass and this group of hooligans across the damn ocean to remind you wasn’t a Christmas wish!”
“You came for me?” I replied, deeply surprised.
Jamie’s kids crawled under a table and made their escape. Mandy made a desperate grab for them and caught them.
“Why else would we drag this bunch on a private aeroplane across the freaking ocean, asshole? Can you imagine the chaos they caused? All for your sorry ass,” Jason complained.
“I don’t understand…”
“Of course not. Because you’re stupid,” James quipped as he settled down in a chair. He sent his kids a stern look, and they subsided quietly. Then James plucked a piece of imaginary flint from his perfectly creased pants.
“Thanks for that comment. It doesn’t answer my question,” I said with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
“When did we stop becoming family?” James demanded.
“I… what?”
“A simple question, Adam. When did we stop being a family? Don’t bother answering; we didn’t. You forgot a simple rule. Families celebrate, grieve, and work together. If one of us is hurt, we all hurt. One of us hears joyous news, then we all celebrate. Your injury hurt us all, but you didn’t let us help you. We’re doneletting you push us away. Either come to your senses yourself, or we’ll knock it into you.You’re my brother, Adam.”
I held James’s gaze after his heartfelt words. There had only been two men James had ever called brother. Frank and Gunner. To be included in that circle was the deepest honour James Washington could bestow.
“I can’t protect you anymore.”
“Did I ask you to, Adam? Jesus, you’re at the office as much as I am, running your part of Bryant and Washington. I rarely used you as a bodyguard, but you had your head up your ass and didn’t notice. You’ve been more than a bodyguard for years, you stupid fool,” James retorted.
“I thought—”
“You didn’t think. Asshole, your value isn’t in being a bodyguard; it’s in being someone James can trust and call brother. And we’re all quite fond of you,” Gunner said, sounding reluctant to admit that.
“That hurt you, didn’t it?” I asked, and Gunner grunted. Autumn laughed at him.
“We came for Christmas with you, Adam. Because you might think you walk alone, but you don’t,” Mandy stated.
“We’re just happy you didn’t die,” Dane said, and several of the kids stopped running about and stared at us.
“Uncle Adam is going to die?” Chloe, James’s daughter, demanded. Her bottom lip began to quiver.
“I don’t want Uncle Adam to die!” Asher, one of Gunner’s twin sons, wailed.
“No! Uncle Adam can’t die. Daddy, you gotta kill that baddie!” Kitty, Gunner’s youngest daughter, screamed. Karter, her twin brother, held his hands over his ears as tears began tracking down his face.
“He’s our Uncle Adam,” Hunter stated fiercely with a scowl on his face. James’s younger son turned to him. “Take care of the problem, Daddy!” he ordered.
“Wonderful, our kids think we’re hitmen,” Jaime drawled. “Nobody is hurting Uncle Adam.”
The kids’ innocent reactions warmed a place in me that had been frozen for a long time. A wobbly smile touched my lips.
“We’ve got two weeks here. While we eat dinner, we need to make plans to keep these hooligans occupied,” Kate said as they began ushering kids to tables.
