Page 17 of Hawke Family Christmas

I clap him on the shoulder. “It’s only been a day. Give him some time.”

Byron gives me a tight smile and nods.

“You and Luca are doing the right thing, the best thing for him.”

Byron tenses slightly. “You guys know how I feel about Luca”—he swallows thickly—”doing anything that might drag him back into that life. But in this case”—a muscle in his jaw tics—”it’s more than warranted.”

He probably went too easy on that fucker…

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask exactly how Luca “took care” of Jude’s father, but I’m sure I’ll get all the dirty details later. Right now, all that matters is that the kid is safe here with us as well as in Luca and Byron’s home—even if I would have ensured the man suffered a lot longer than the time Luca had with him.

Nana appears in the entryway to the kitchen with Jude at her side. He peeks toward the living room, his gaze darting to the floor almost immediately before he follows her down the back hallway.

“Where’s Nana taking him?”

Caroline glances that way. “I think Pope, Isaac, and Allie are in one of the bedrooms playing. She must be going to introduce him.”

Byron releases a heavy sigh of relief. “If anyone can get through to the boy, it’ll be Allie, right?”

I grin at him. “That child is pure sunshine. So, yeah.”

Luca comes out of the kitchen, staring down the hallway after Nana and Jude before he makes his way over to us.

I raise a brow. “How did he do meeting Nana?”

Knowing how welcoming that woman has always been to all of us, I can’t imagine she wasn’t the same with him.

A sigh slips from Luca’s lips, and he gives a shrug that tells me he has no idea. “About as well as could be expected, I guess. He went with her. So…”

Byron reaches out and wraps his hand around Luca’s arm, squeezing it. “Do you want to leave? Go back home? Is this too much for him?”

Luca shakes his head. “I think we give it a little bit of time, see if we can stay to eat. If he looks like he can’t handle it, we’ll go.”

Caroline motions to a stack of presents under the tree. “Skye brought a few gifts for him, if you think he’d want to open them.”

Byron and Luca share a look that makes unease tighten in my stomach.

“What is it?”

Luca rubs a hand across his jaw. “We got him a bunch of new clothes. Shoes. He had literally nothing. But he seemed uncomfortable with it. So, I don’t know how he’d feel about gifts.”

I nod. “I get it.” I let my gaze wander over everyone gathered in the room, soaking up the warmth Antonia Hawke’s house and the people in it always hold. “It was hard for me to accept when you all opened your arms to me.”

Byron and Luca share a knowing look.

It seems like such a basic concept to be welcomed by a family, to be brought into the fold. But for some of us, it was never that simple.

Byron showed up here in New Orleans without anything or anyone and found a home at the Hawkeye Club. Luca’s father forced him out of New Orleans when he was only Jude’s age and basically disowned him to force Luca to build his life on his own. Caroline found a job and best friends here with Danika, and when I came to the U.S. at sixteen, searching for better opportunities than what Jamaica had for me, I never imagined I would now control over one hundred security personnel who work for the dozens of Hawke Enterprises businesses.

I’m the one keeping all these people safe, ensuring our businesses are never threatened. They’ve put this trust in me, and I need to ensure they know it transfers over to the newest addition as well.

“You guys know if you need anything for him, security-wise, to let me know”—I quickly scan to ensure Nana and all the kids are out of the room, then look to Luca—”or if you need any help cleaning up.”

Luca’s dark eyes lock with mine. “I took care of it. It won’t be a problem. But I appreciate the offer. As for security, I told Jude last night that he could lock his door to the guest bedroom.”

“Did he?”

The corners of his lips twitch. “Immediately. I think it made him feel safer, and I’m all for that. I don’t know if putting in additional security or having people around more would just scare him, though. He’s already terrified of his father.”

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