“It’s fine.” He cleared his throat. “My father has been on my case lately. The contract I have with the company I work for is expiring and he has thoughts about it.”
Gem tried not to show his reaction. He had no idea what Ty did for a living, just that it caused his boy a ton of stress. “Are you renewing it?”
His boy shrugged. “I’m willing. It’s them that are dragging their feet. I’ve been there for a long time. I feel like they don’t need me anymore.”
“After everything that you’ve done for them?” It sounded like his boy needed to move on.
“They’re looking to go in another direction,” Ty said.
“Then fuck them,” Gem declared. He might not know Ty’s profession, but no company was worth this much bullshit.
His boy snorted. “It’s a…good job.”
“You’ll find another,” Gem insisted.
“It’s not that simple. The field that I work in is competitive,” Ty responded.
“I have faith in you,” Gem said sincerely.
Chapter Six
Aries
“Mama!” Aries raced to the front door before his mama had gotten all the way inside.
“Baby!” She dropped her bag to open her arms for him.
He threw himself into her arms. It had been forever since he’d seen his parents. Okay, maybe not that long. They’d come to check on him after the injury. But it was still longer than he had ever been away from her. Even in college, she would drive up for all their games since they’d only been a few hours away.
“My turn!” Nix bitched from behind him. “Move, brat.”
His mama released Aries and pushed him toward his stepfather before she pulled Nix close. That was fine. He didn’t need all his mama’s attention. Aries moved to hug his father.
His dad did give the best hugs.
Aries buried his face in his father’s shoulder. Now all of his family was there, so it could be the perfect Christmas. He pulled back to grin up at his dad. “Glad you finally arrived.”
His father nodded. “Your mom was determined. You know we would never miss a holiday with our boys if we can help it.”
He bounced. “Did she bring them?”
“Of course she did. White suitcase,” his father replied.
Aries turned and nearly ran into Nix. “She brought them!”
Nix rolled his eyes. “Did you think she wouldn’t?”
Aries scowled at his brother as Nix went to hug their father.
“Where’s Gem?” their mama demanded.
“Right here.” Gem walked down the staircase toward them. “I just thought I’d let Aries and Nix fight over who got to hug you first. I didn’t want to get trampled.”
Ignoring the teasing, Aries dropped to his knees in front of the white suitcase his father had wheeled in.
“What are you doing?” Vin asked, leaning over him.
His mama had Evan wrapped up in a tight hug. At least he was properly distracted.
