Brothers in Blue A Bryson Family Christmas - Jeanne St. James Page 0,45
his life in Manning Grove wasn’t important, anyone else could step in and do it, but his life overseas gave him meaning.
His heart knew it was wrong, but his brain said otherwise.
“It broke you. And that broke my heart.” Her eyes were brimming.
He didn’t want to see his mother cry. Fuck. “I’m sorry.”
A noise had Matt turning his head. Carly stood at the back of the salon, crying, a hand covering her mouth. She dropped it as she came forward and said, “This is supposed to be a happy day!”
His mother squeezed his arm, then got up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m sorry if I ever pressured you boys to get married and give me grandchildren. I thought that was why you stayed away. I should’ve known you three would settle down once you met the perfect partners. And you did. I couldn’t be happier with the women you’ve chosen. And now?” She glanced at Levi in his arms with a soft smile. “I have what I’ve always hoped for.”
“And you still have Pop.”
Mary Ann laughed past her tears. “Yes, I still have him.” She turned to Carly. “If you need me, yell.”
“I will.”
“I’m going to walk Ma out.” He planted a kiss on Levi’s forehead and placed him back into the stroller. He pressed a kiss to Carly’s lips and whispered, “I’ll see you later.”
With a last look at his family, he walked his mother out the door.
Chapter Seven
Teddy & Adam
Teddy couldn’t control his foot tapping nervously on the sidewalk. But it was better than chewing his nails down to the quick. Plus, if he did that, all he would do is get a mouthful of blech since he was wearing leather gloves.
He wanted to feel better after his conversation—and hot sex—with Adam early this morning, but something still niggled at him. He needed to talk to his best girlfriend.
Where the hell was Amanda, anyway?
She tended to be late, but not this late. And he could see and hear the high school marching band now coming up the street.
The parade order was always the band with the “Happy Holidays” banner and all the high schoolers in their cute uniforms freezing their asses off, then the mayor on a float with the town council. Not freezing their asses off since they got to dress for the weather and probably took nips from their whiskey-filled flasks they had secretly stashed in their coat pockets. Unlike the teenagers.
After them, came Max, the town’s Chief of Police, usually freezing his sexy tush off as he sat on the back of a convertible, handing out Manning Grove PD patches to anyone who came up to the car and asked for one. If it was a kid, the child got a little bag of candy, too. Max tended to be very popular with the under eighteen crowd and also with women over eighteen. But for two different reasons.
One for handing out candy, the other for looking like eye candy.
Amanda had gotten herself a catch. But there was no way she was retracting her claws from her man. Not that Max ever looked at other women the same way he looked at his wife.
Teddy sighed.
He wanted what they had. He thought he would get it with Adam. He was starting to wonder.
Ugh, he overthought everything! If he wasn’t careful, he could push his lover away.
Oh, thank the best friend gods, there Amanda was, fighting her way through the crowd, her eyes on him and wearing a secretive smile.
What. The. Hell?
“You better explain that and you better do it right now!” he insisted as she settled into the seat next to him.
“Should I say hello to my spawn first?”
“No!”
Amanda laughed. “So, what do I need to explain?”
Teddy circled his hand in front of her face. “That look you’re wearing, like you know a good secret. You need to share that with your BFF.”
“Okay, I will...” Amanda leaned forward and called out to Leah. “Hey, Leah!”
A loud gasp escaped Teddy.
“Hey, Amanda!” Leah called back, unaware of the drama unfolding at their end of the group.
“Baby good?” Amanda asked. She shot a wicked look at Teddy.
Leah gave her a thumb’s up. “She’s good. I don’t know about me.”
“That wasn’t funny,” Teddy hissed. “BFF means best friends forever. That means it’s for-ev-er. You are stuck with me.”
“Damn,” Amanda muttered.
“Okay, dish, girl. What was with the secretive smile?”
Amanda leaned back in her folding chair, unfolding the blanket that had been left on it and