Page 45 of Donner

Jax's strained relationship with his dad also had strained his relationship with work in general, and I recognized his reluctance to accept his coworkers as equals, let alone friends, as an offshoot of that. It wouldn't change overnight, but I had hope. "I think you need to give your coworkers a chance to be your friends, too."

He met my gaze and then glanced over our shoulders at the commotion as several newcomers joined the party. They were all wearing green sweaters with red pants, the same getup I'd laughed at Jax for wearing earlier. They were a ragtag bunch, though the one with red hair was shorter than Jax and two of the others were as wide as me, and taller.

I shook their hands and mumbled pleasantries as Jax introduced us.

"We, um, got you something," Rudolph, the one with red hair, said. "For the twins."

Jax's jaw dropped when he saw the double-wide baby stroller already put together. It was something we hadn't even added to our wish list yet because we couldn't decide which one we wanted.

"The seats are removable! And they buckle into the bus seats." Jax studied the design as he walked around it. He'd learned a lot about car seats, while I was still trucking along on my alpha book.

"Yes," Comet said. He was one of the older members of the team, and one of the taller, broader guys. "My omega loves the single version, so I thought—"

"It's perfect!" Jax gushed. "Thank you so much! I love it!"

I pulled him to me when I noticed the unshed tears in his eyes. I had a handful of tissues in my pocket for tonight, and I handed him one when the others were distracted by Comet's demonstration of how to remove the seats from the stroller one at a time.

"So Beau," Blitzen said once Comet had the stroller put back together and pushed up against the wall so no one would trip over it while we danced. "How did you and Donner meet?"

Several stuck around for my retelling of the Miami nightclub accident. Somewhere around the night we'd first marked each other, Melody came around with cups of hot chocolate and wrapped candy stir sticks for everyone. I took the opportunity to skip right over that night. I talked about meeting Nick and Brian the next morning instead.

I was just getting to the morning Jax got sick when Derek played his first song mix of the night. Jax's whole body seemed to vibrate with the music. It was time to cut the story short.

"I mean, how could I resist this?" I asked them. "Look at him dance."

From their smiles, they didn't mind missing out on the rest.

"Oh, look," Melody pointed to our stir sticks, which were both yellow. "You're dance partners! Time to show us how it's done."

I spun Jax away from his friends and coworkers to a vacant spot on the dance floor.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," Jax whispered in my ear. "Usually, they're a bunch of standoffish jerks."

His lie was apparent in the way he sniffled and blew his nose into his tissue while hiding against my chest. I had a feeling he was the standoffish jerk, and they were afraid of him. I hoped this was the beginning of a new chapter for Jax and his team.

Still, while we danced beneath the flashing Christmas lights, I realized my Christmas wish had come true. I had Jax, and through him, I had so many friends here, all around me, all wanting the best for our little family.

Chapter 27

Jax

I had the usual nerves on Christmas Eve, but it was nothing like in years past. I trusted my team now, something I'd never dared to do before. Trusting them made the night easier and far more fun. I couldn't believe we'd already completed our circuit when we returned home at dawn.

I was excited to see Beau waiting in the hanger with the rest of our friends and family. I was surprised my dad and papa were standing with him.

After they removed our harnesses, Santa 30's staff had thick Christmas robes ready for us once we shifted from our reindeer forms. I quickly shifted and wrapped myself in the robe before approaching my family.

Beau greeted me with a hug that knocked the breath out of me for a moment. "You made it!"

"We had an easy flight, thanks to all our preparation."

"Welcome home, son." Dad was the next to hug me, which I hadn't expected. I couldn't remember the last time my dad had hugged me, honestly. Graduation, maybe? Papa must have said something to him after we visited for dinner. Dad wasn't a touchy-feely person. This felt like I'd discovered a cure for cancer rather than returned home in one piece.

"I'm so proud of you," he whispered in my ear. "Santa told me how well you've done as a strategist for the team."

I took a step back and stared at him, looking for signs that this wasn't my dad. It had to be someone else.

"He also said you were under a lot of stress this year. Stress I probably caused. I'm sorry. I only wanted the best for you."

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