Page 113 of The Evening Wolves

“Is there more?” John-Henry asked as he accepted a kiss on the cheek first from Cora and then from Rebeca.

“This is it,” Cora said. “Happy birthday, merry Christmas. Also, we need to have a talk because Evie told my mom, ‘Merry fucking Christmas’.” And without missing a beat, she drifted inside.

Noah had a huge grin on his face.

“You realize that’s not my fault, right?” John-Henry said.

“Happy birthday,” Rebeca said with a smile.

“And merry fucking Christmas,” Noah said.

John-Henry waved them inside. “Maybe this is what Emery’s always complaining about. Everyone wants to be a comedian.”

He was about to shut the door when a truck came grumbling up the street, followed by a small, silver sedan. The truck parked first, and Ashley dropped out of the back of the cab, followed a moment later by his parents. Brendon and Anais Boone hadn’t always been thrilled with Ashley’s relationship to Colt, but they’d been supportive, and the fact that they were here said more than John-Henry could put into words. The silver sedan found a spot, and Emery’s mom got out and began to rummage around in the trunk.

“We’ve officially got a full house,” Emery said as he joined John-Henry at the door. “What are you—hello, Ashley. Why are you inside my house?”

John-Henry opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Ashley wrapped Emery in a hug and started to cry. Not big tears, but the boy was shaking as he tried, over and over again, to say, “Thank you.”

The look on Emery’s face was priceless. After a moment, though, his eyes softened, and he rubbed Ashley’s back. “You don’t need to thank me,” he said quietly. “Everything’s ok.”

John-Henry got a hug from Ash too—a noticeably damp one—and then Colt said from the opening to the living room, “Everybody’s hungry. Can we—Ash!”

Emery responding to Ashley’s hug had been cute, John-Henry decided as he revised his opinion. Emery’s thundercloud of an expression when Colt kissed Ashley, however, was priceless.

“All right,” Emery snapped. “Enough.”

For whatever reason, that made both boys laugh, and when Colt said, “Bruh, they brought cheese fries,” it apparently made everything better. They darted toward the kitchen.

Anais tapped lightly on the storm door as she opened it, and she and Brendon stepped inside. Unlike their son, Ash’s parents seemed to have difficulty meeting Emery and John-Henry’s gazes. Then Anais seemed to brace herself and offered a smile. “I can’t believe I’m saying this again, but thank you for saving our son’s life.”

Brendon was getting teary-eyed, and John-Henry thought maybe he, like Ashley, was a crier.

“I’m sorry,” John-Henry said. “We had no idea GLAM—”

“Nobody did.” Brendon shook his head. “And we’re sorry, John-Henry. We knew those stories about you were lies. We should have—we should have done more.”

For a moment, John-Henry didn’t know what to say.

“There was nothing anyone could do,” Emery said gruffly.

And John-Henry wondered if they knew how hard he was trying, for Colt’s sake.

“We heard those men are trying to make a deal,” Anais said. “Everyone knows you were framed.”

John-Henry managed a smile. “I’ll be happy when it’s all behind us.”

If they heard what he didn’t say, they gave no sign of it. Brendon wanted to shake their hands, and then they moved toward the happy voices in the kitchen.

Aileen Hazard came through the door. She set a big bag on the floor and was already smiling as she took Emery into a hug. “Merry Christmas, muffin.”

“Merry Christmas. Why are you here?”

“John-Henry, do you hear this?” she asked as she hugged John-Henry in turn. “He’s terrible to his mother.” She squeezed him extra tight, and John-Henry’s eyes stung. “You sweet, sweet boy,” she whispered. “Are you ok?”

“He’s not particularly sweet,” Emery said. “Shall I remind you of the time he gutted my rock-collecting budget? His exact words were ‘But you don’t even do anything with them.’”

Aileen’s gaze was fixed on John-Henry, though, and he managed a nod to her question. She squeezed his hands in hers and then looked at Emery and said, “Don’t be awful. I’m here because it’s Christmas.”

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