“Yeah. Of course.” He laid Jessie on the bed. Wes had already gotten her into her pajamas, and he was in sweats and a T-shirt. Braden kicked out of his shoes as Wes covered Jessie with the blanket.
“Do you want to go change first?” Wes asked him, but Braden just shook his head. No hesitation, he climbed into the queen-sized bed in his jeans and shirt, next to Jessie. Wes inhaled a deep breath, and lay on the other side of her. She was the only one under the blankets. He knew they’d get cold, but it didn’t matter. Reaching over, Wes clicked the light on the table. The room went dark except for a light shining through the window from outside. A porch light, maybe, but it was enough that he could make out both their facial features.
“Does Mommy get presents where she is?” Jessie asked.
“Yeah, she does,” Wes replied, his heart pulling from his chest. He rolled to his left side, looking at her. Braden laid on his right side, facing the middle of the bed, too.
“Night, Uncle Wes. I love you.”
He kissed her forehead. “Good night, baby girl. I love you, too.”
“Night, Uncle Braden. I love you.”
Wes held his breath at Jessie’s words, but not Braden. True to who he was, the man who didn’t hesitate, who gave anything he could to help someone, who was maybe the best man he’d ever known, opened his mouth and said, “Night, Squirt. I love you, too.”
Jessie’s eyes closed and she fell right to sleep. But not Wes. As he and Braden looked at each other over Jessie’s sleeping body, he realized he’d lied when he texted Braden. It wasn’t just Jessie who’d needed him. Wes needed him, too.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Braden awoke to the sound of whispering.
“Shh. We should let him sleep, Jess.”
“I don’t wanna let him sleep. It’s Christmas! Santa came.”
“It’s early, kiddo. Just because you’re an early bird,” Wes told her playfully. Braden tried not to smile. “The rest of the house might not be awake yet.”
“But I wanna play with him. Don’t you wanna play with Uncle Braden?”
Wes was silent for a second before replying, “We can play with him later. He’s still sleeping.”
Braden pretended to snore loudly.
“Shh!” Jessie giggled.
“You fake.” Wes pushed Braden’s arm and he let his eyes pop open.
“Who can sleep with you two around?” he teased as he sat up in the bed.
Wes and Jessie did the same. Wes scratched the back of his neck, looking over at Braden through the bend in his arm. Christ, the man was sexy as hell. More than that, he made Braden’s pulse speed up, made him want to smile bigger, because he could get used to waking up like this.
Braden jumped out of the bed. “Are you guys always in bed so late on Christmas? Let’s go open gifts, even if we have to wake up the whole house to do it.”
“Yay!” Jessie started jumping on the bed, jumped right off the edge and ran for the door. She was out it before Wes even stood.
“Hey.” Wes grabbed his arm as Braden tried to walk past him. “Thanks for last night. It means a lot to me.”
“Anytime. Anything. Come on.” Braden slid his hand behind Wes’s neck, pulling him close. “You gotta know that by now, don’t you?” He wasn’t sure he could deny Wes anything he needed. Wasn’t sure he wanted to.
Wes didn’t speak. He didn’t pull away, either. His lips pressed to Braden’s in a brief kiss.
“You’re welcome.” Braden gave him another kiss. “Plus, she’s a great kid. I’m honored as hell to be ‘Uncle Braden’ to her.”
Wes pulled away and gave him a small nod. “Come on. We better get out there before she opens everyone’s gifts.”
Excitement skittered through Braden. Crazy as it was, he’d always loved Christmas. He felt like a kid himself. And he couldn’t wait for Wes and Jessie to see what he’d gotten them.
He heard voices as they took the stairs. Apparently everyone had made it down to the tree before he and Wes. His sister Lizzy was playing Santa. They rotated, each of them being the one to pass out gifts each year.
Jessie sat in the middle of the floor with the rest of his nieces and nephews.
“About time you got down here!” Lizzy teased. “I wasn’t sure how long I could hold them off.”
“Dig in,” Braden chuckled as he watched Wes sit down next to Jessie. She was already ripping into a gift before his ass hit the ground. His parents got her a doll. Wes got her a gift card for the pet store back home, where they would go pick out their own puppy. Santa brought a sled, and Braden got her a life-sized brown lab stuffed animal.