Page 218 of Redeemed

“Whoa there, I haven’t even taken my coat off yet.” But I kiss my little sister on the top of her head anyway. God, I’ve missed her.

“Did Lucas come with you?” she asks.

“You know he didn’t, kiddo, but I brought some friends with me. They’ll be inside in a sec.”

She pouts, but I bop her on the nose. “None of that. Not at Christmas.”

“I just wish Luc’s mom never married that evil man.”

With a laugh, I set her down. “He’s not evil. Greg helped the Wilsons out a lot.”

“He’s the reason you left.”

“I left to be with Lucas. And…”

And because I couldn’t stay.

“Let’s just be happy that we’re together right now, okay?” I tell her.

She lets out one of her dramatic sighs. “Okay.”

My dad is hovering a few feet away, smiling. I step around Rachel and right into his arms.

“Missed you,” I whisper.

I’m not one of those guys who pretends not to have feelings. My family means the world to me, minus my mom and her crazy religious bullshit. My dad was the only adult who believed in me when I was a teen. And Rach? She’s only ever seen me as a hero.

I’d do anything for these two.

“Missed you, too, son.” Phil squeezes me, and when we pull away, his eyes are glassy. “Do you need help bringing anything in?”

“Nah, I’ve just got this.” I shrug my backpack off my shoulder. “Packed light.”

It’s a reminder that I’m not staying long, and that Christmas has felt colder ever since Lucas and I had to be hours apart from each other.

“I’m sorry it’s only for a few days,” I say quietly.

Dad shakes his head. “Like you said, let’s just make the best of what we have.”

The front door opens, and we all make room for Colt and Haven as they step inside. Haven’s bag is slung over Colton’s shoulder, along with his own.

“Guys, this is Colt—”

“Ohhhh, she’s so pretty,” Rachel gasps.

Haven’s cheeks are already pink from the cold, but now they turn an even brighter shade. “Thank you.”

I clear my throat. “As I was saying, this is Colton, and this is Haven. They’re some friends from school.”

Rachel jumps right into giving them both hugs. Haven takes it gracefully with a little laugh, but Colton is so stunned that he freezes. It strikes me as oddly comical until I realize I haven’t seen Colton get a proper hug since... since we were still friends with Haven.

Shit. No, it can’t have been that long.

It’s not like his dad would give him one, and him and Haven aren’t really on hugging terms yet. He’s held her, and there have been times when she wrapped herself around him, but it was always out of fear or panic. Never to show him affection.

Why haven’t I ever given him a hug?

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Dad says before doing the same as Rachel.

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