A Home for Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A

I sometimes worry that he doesn’t
get many chances to just be a kid.”
    Riley was about to ask what she meant when Cam
came back in.  Jenna insisted he sit and had Cam set the table.  She
carried the lasagna in and placed it on the center of the table, then picked up
the plate that was before him and scooped out a serving for him.
    “Thank you,” he said when she put the plate back
down before him.  “This smells really good.”
    “It is awesome, dude, trust me,” Cam told him
when Jenna placed a filled plate before him.
    “Cam, can you cool it with the ‘dudes’, please?”
Jenna said, “He has a name.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” Cam laughed.
    She smiled and fixed her own plate then took her
seat across from Riley and next to Cam.  To Riley’s surprise, Cam said a
blessing before they ate.  They were a good little unit, Jenna and
Cam.  They got along well together, played off each other’s
strengths.  He could tell, though, that Cam was starved for male attention. 
In his short conversations with the boy, he knew that Cam missed his father and
wanted desperately to draw his attention with his racing.  He took a bite
of the lasagna and had to close his eyes a moment to savor it; it was that
good.
    “Wow, Jenna, this is amazing,” he said, making
her smile.
    “Told you it was good,” Cam said.
    “Thank you,” she replied.
    “Will you come to my race tomorrow, Riley?” Cam
asked, “It’s the last one of the season.”
    “Yeah, sure, I can come,” Riley told him.
    “Awesome.  It starts at ten and if I make it
through to the finals, they’re at one.”
    “In other words, it’s an all day affair,” Jenna
told him.
    “Awesome,” Riley said with a wink to Cam, “didn’t
have any plans for tomorrow.”
    “Are you sure?” Jenna asked.
    “It’ll be fun.”
    Jenna felt a small thrill run through her at the
thought of spending the day with Riley again tomorrow.  His smile was so
infectious she found herself smiling all the time as well.  She got up to
clear the table, needing a few moments away from him to clear her head. 
He surprised her, though, by joining her in the kitchen.
    “Why don’t you go finish decorating the tree,” he
said, “I can clean up.”
    “No, that’s OK, you go…” He stopped her by
placing his hand over hers.
    “Let someone else take care of things for a change,
Jenna,” he said, his voice soft.
    She looked up into his eyes, eyes that had gone
soft as he looked down at her.  She felt her breath catch in her throat,
extremely aware of his nearness, and just how big he really was compared to
her.
    “OK…thank you.”
    “My pleasure,” he said, smiling.
    She backed away then went back into the living
room, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart.  For a few moments,
she stood just staring at the tree, trying to pull herself back together. 
There was a definite attraction between her and Riley, not only because he was
quite simply gorgeous, but because he was so good with Cam.  He was
dangerous, she decided, as far as her heart went, anyway.  After just a
few hours knowing him, she felt that she could easily see herself falling for
him.
    “Mom?  You OK?” Cam asked, noticing that she
was just standing there.
    “Um, yeah, I’m fine.  Want to help me finish
the tree?”
    “Nah, you got it covered.  I gotta brush up
on my skills for my rematch with Riley,” he said, turning back to his video
game.
    She shook her head but it was like this with Cam
every year as he got older.  He’d decorate up to a point and then leave it
all to her.  She supposed this year with all the outdoor stuff, Cam had
more than his fill of decorating for one day. 
    Riley emerged from the kitchen just as she was
getting ready to place the star on the top.  She was on her step-ladder
and having a hard time reaching the top of the tree.  The ladder she
usually used had broken last year and she’d yet to replace it.  The one
she was on now was not quite tall