A Christmas Wish: Dane Read Free Page B

he stood with hands on hips as his breath labored in and out of his chest.
    He’d forgotten a hat. I ce crystals clung to his damp strands of hair and the stubble of beard on his face. He’d almost forgotten how cold Montana could be in the winter—almost. There were some things that stuck with a man, and there were plenty of times when he was sweating his ass off in Afghanistan in 110 degree heat, wearing BDUs and equipment that added another twenty degrees, when he dreamed of a good Montana snow.
    That seemed to be a recurring theme in his life—not realizing what he had until it was too late.
    He heard the screen door on the front porch creak open, but he kept his back turned so his brother couldn’t read his face. The screen door slammed shut and footsteps echoed across the porch and stopped.
    “I just got off the phone with Cade ,” Thomas said. “Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim won’t get in until tomorrow night. Their flight was delayed. Cade said he, Grant, and Darcy will be over as soon as she takes the cookies out of the oven, but he recommends we don’t eat them considering all the smoke that’s coming from the kitchen.”
    Dane huffed out a laugh at that and scrubbed his hands over his face before going to pick up the snow shovel.
    “What about Shane and Declan?” he asked.
    “They’re both out of country and Cade hasn’t heard from them in a couple of weeks. If they can be here they will, but I wouldn’t count on it. What time are Charlie and Jayden supposed to be here?”
    Dane was the only person to ever call Charlotte by her full name. Every one else, including her father, had always called her Charlie. Apparently Mr. Munroe had been sure he was going to have a son instead of a daughter.
    “Any time now. They’re going to spend the night here and open presents in the morning. Make sure you pass the word along for everyone to watch their language around Jayden.”
    Thomas chuckled and Dane saw him bend down to pick up a handful of snow. He was the youngest of the brothers, and he had the same piercing blue eyes as most of the MacKenzies, though his hair was dark brown.
    “Are you kidding me? That kid is the spitting image of you at that age. He knows more words than we could ever teach him, and I’m pretty sure he’s been teaching Cooper a thing or two on the side. The kid’s got a mouth on him that I adore.”
    “At least he uses it with you.” Dane took the shovel back into the garage and hung it on the wall. He’d shoveled enough for Charlotte to park her car. More than likely the rest of the family would ride their sno wmobiles since his cousins lived just on the other side of the lake. “He barely says a word to me.”
    “You’ve just got to give him some more time to get used to you.”
    Dane turned around to look at Thomas, suddenly furious. “Wh y has he gotten used to you, Riley, and Cooper and not me? He comes over to hang out with you guys, and the moment he sees me he stops talking and tries to look anywhere else. When I talk to him, he answers in one-syllable words. What am I doing wrong? How do I reach him?”
    Thomas sighed and Dane could see the sympathy on his brother’s face, but he didn’t want sympathy. He wanted answers.
    “Like I said, Dane. You and Jayden are a lot alike. Think back to when you were nine years old. What did you like to do or talk about? You and Jayden keep dodging each other, neither of you knowing what to say or do. You’re a new authority figure in his life and he’s still trying to figure out what your place is in the world he’s built for himself. It’s always been just him and Charlie. They’ve been looking out for each other, and maybe he resents that you’re there to look out for both of them now.”
    Guilt arrowed home at Thomas’s words. “I would’ve been there if I’d known.”
    “I know that. And deep down Jayden knows that too. But there’s nothing you can do to change the past. You just have to make the future as good as