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She wrapped her hands against my neck.

Fuck. I didn’t want to be the man who broke that promise.

21

Kaitlyn

To say Christmas was an emotional hurricane, was an understatement. It wa

s more like an earthquake, tsunami, and tornado had been hurled at me. But after my mother convinced me to lie down for an afternoon nap, I woke up feeling like I could handle it.

My dad was at peace with our decision. The hostility was gone. And my mom had spent my entire nap cooking and preparing for dinner.

Cole was in the backyard with Grayson. It was as if the storm had never hit. It was eerie.

But I knew it had. I had a wedding to plan in less than a week, and a fiancée to send off to a warzone.

I unplugged my phone from the charger next to the bed. I needed reinforcements.

Mary Ellen had texted a picture of her and Aiden sitting next to the Christmas tree. She was holding a necklace in her hand, obviously trying to show me what he had gotten her. I wrote back.

Merry Christmas. Love the necklace. Tell Aiden Merry Christmas from us.

I put the phone down. I decided not to call her right now. I needed her help this week, but it could wait another day.

I pulled on a sweater and walked outside. Grayson wanted to try out his new scooter from Santa. Cole had cleared the snow from the patio so he could make a track. Ryan was shoveling another section.

“Hey, sis.” My brother grinned.

“Hi. You look busy.”

“Well, the kid needs to try out his new wheels.”

I laughed. It was nice to see Ryan happy. He was always so serious. I knew it wasn’t his fault. I knew it was his job. He had been through things I couldn’t imagine. It had changed him over the years. And I was getting ready to send Cole to that same place.

I didn’t want him to come home darker and sullen. I didn’t want the mission to change the man I loved. The father of my children.

He walked over. “Feel any better?”

I nodded. “I think so. I couldn’t keep my eyes open once I laid down.”

“Good. Everything is fine out here.” He shrugged. “All problems solved.”

I shook my head. “It was that simple all along I guess.”

Ryan joined us. “Yeah, I heard mom making caterer lists while she worked on the mashed potatoes. And Dad called Grandma and Grandpa already to tell them they couldn’t go to the country club on New Year’s Eve.”

“Wow. And I only slept two hours.”

Cole grinned. “Want to watch Grayson on this thing? He’s a natural.”

“Of course.” I leaned into Cole.

The rest of the afternoon felt like a regular Christmas. Everyone chatted through dinner and told Mom how great the turkey was. I helped clean up the kitchen afterward while the guys had drinks and watched the end of game that had gone into overtime.

Mom handed me a folder. “I put a few things together for you.”

I looked at it. “What’s this?” I flipped the top open.