Thanksgiving Day . . .
Aiden glanced at Shelby as he pulled into the driveway of the homestead. She’d met most of his siblings before, but this would be her first time meeting the entire crew. Well, most of them anyway. Reed was working today and so was Tarin. But Tarin’s wife, Joy, would be there and so would the newest member of the Finnegan family, Colleen Finnegan, Rhy and Devon’s daughter.
“Ready?”
She slanted him a look. “Should I be worried?”
“Not at all. They’re going to love you and Eva.” He glanced back at the little girl who was playing with a new doll, one that cried when tilted a certain way. Eva loved making the dolly cry, which made for a long ride.
Not that he was complaining. He hoped one day to adopt Eva as his own. Well, once he convinced Shelby to marry him.
It had only been two and a half weeks since their lives had returned to normal. Or their new normal. Jane Fordham was being held in a psychiatric facility after the jammer was found in her car, linking her to the attack outside the homestead. She was getting the care she needed and was still facing charges for reckless endangerment. He and Shelby prayed for her often, for baby Emmitt’s sake.
Parsons was being held in Leavenworth without bail.
Aiden had found an apartment in Oshkosh, sold his cherry red truck for a family friendly SUV and spent every minute he wasn’t working for the National Guard with Shelby and Eva. They had become incredibly important to him in a very short amount of time. Similar to the way his siblings had fallen in love, he’d thought with a wry smile.
“Let’s do it.” Shelby pushed her door open.
He opened the back passenger door to unbuckle Eva. The little girl lifted her arms so he could carry her. Every time she did that, his heart somersaulted in his chest.
As they headed up the walkway to the front door, it opened revealing Elly. “Aiden! Shelby! Eva! We’re so happy you’re here!”
“Give them some room, El,” Alanna said. Because of their different schedules and the hour-long drive, his twin hadn’t met Shelby yet. “Hi, Shelby and Eva. Welcome to the Finnegan homestead.”
“Thank you for inviting us to spend the holiday with you.” Shelby held out her hand to Alanna. “I recognize you from Aiden’s description. You’re just as beautiful as he said you were.”
“He said that?” Alanna cocked a brow. “Usually he’s not that nice.”
“Hey, what do you mean?” He protested as he set Eva on the floor. She clung to his leg in a moment of shyness. “I’m always nice.”
“You gave Reed the nickname Clark,” Alanna retorted. “That wasn’t nice.”
“Better than Penguin,” Kyleigh said, joining them. “Although Bax loves penguins now, go figure.”
Shelby waded farther into the room, where even more Finnegans waited. Once they’d taken off their winter coats, he brought Shelby close to his side. “I’ll introduce you but don’t feel obligated to remember everyone’s names. It’s a lot.”
“Oh, I think I can handle it.” She surprised him by pointing them out, going through the group that had gathered together. “Rhy, Devon, and their new daughter, Colleen. Joy who is pregnant and married to Tarin, Bax and Kyleigh, Brady, Grace, and their son, Caleb.” She paused, then continued. “Sami and Quinn, Colin and Faye, Alanna who is engaged to Reed who is also not here, and Elly.”
There was a long moment of silence before his siblings broke into wild applause. “Wow, Aiden, she rocked it!” Quinn said in awe.
“Did you quiz her the entire ride down from Oshkosh?” Colin demanded. “I think you must have.”
“I didn’t!” Although he was impressed Shelby had thought to memorize everyone as he’d described them. Having met many of them also helped.
“I think it’s sweet how Shelby took the time to get to know us,” Elly said. “She’s a keeper, Aiden.”
He’d asked Rhy not to put too much pressure on his showing up with Shelby and Eva, explaining briefly how she needed time before committing to anything. Apparently, Elly didn’t get the memo.
Or more likely, she ignored it. Elly had a sweet, kind heart, and he knew she hoped he and Shelby would get engaged.
At this point, he was just grateful to be seeing Shelby and Eva on a regular basis. No matter how much he loved her, he wasn’t going to push for anything more. Not until she was ready.
Maybe by this time next year they’d be able to announce their engagement.
“Welcome to the craziness, Shelby,” Alanna said with a smile. “It’s nice to know how well you fit in with the Finnegans.”
He shot Rhy a helpless glance, silently asking him to tell the sibs to back off.
“Thank you, Alanna.” Shelby gazed around the room. “I want each of you to know how much I love Aiden. And that I hope someday we can eventually move back to the area so that he isn’t separated from all of you.”
Wait, what? Aiden gaped. “Whoa, when did you decide this?”
“Which? That I love you or that we should eventually move back here?” Shelby’s eyes twinkled. “After meeting just a few of your family members, I knew it wouldn’t be right to keep you so far from them. But I need to finish off the school semester in Oshkosh.”
“Hey, there’s no rush, remember?” A weird wave of panic hit hard. Had Elly reached out to Shelby without his knowing about it? Or maybe Alanna? “I promised to give you time.”
“And you did.” Shelby stepped closer and slipped her arm around his waist. “My feelings for you aren’t going to change, Aiden. I love you.”
“I love you too.” He lowered his mouth to kiss her.
“I knew it!” Elly exclaimed. “I knew they were perfect for each other.”
He reluctantly lifted his head to find everyone’s eyes on them. Colleen started to cry, which broke up the poignant moment.
“Excuse me,” Devon murmured. “I think she’s hungry.”
“So am I,” Colin complained. “Isn’t it time for turkey soon?”
“Watch out, or I’ll stab your hand with a fork again,” Aiden warned. That made everyone laugh.
Grace introduced Caleb to Eva, and they were soon playing together with several toys Grace and Brady had brought along.
“You chose well, Aiden,” Rhy said in a low voice.
“I’m very blessed,” he agreed. Then he glanced at Elly. “Eight down and one to go. What do you think, Rhy?”
His eldest sibling scowled. “Elly’s too young to be thinking about settling down. I’m not even convinced she likes her job as an EMT. I’m glad you’ve found Shelby and Eva and that you have a new career path in mind. But I’m still worried about Elly. We need to convince her to do something else with her life. If that’s what she wants.”
Aiden nodded. “I agree, Elly deserves to be happy too.” And as he watched the youngest Finnegan, he caught a glimpse of happiness intermixed with longing in her eyes. But then it was gone as Elly laughed at something the kids were saying. She plopped down beside them, picking up an action figure and joining in.
Shelby came back to stand beside him. She stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. “I love your family,” she whispered.
“And I love you.” He pulled her close and silently thanked God for bringing Shelby and Eva into his life.
The family he hadn’t even known he’d wanted.
I hope you enjoyed Aiden and Shelby’s story in Strategic Threat. Are you ready for Elly and Joe’s story in Christmas Crisis? Click here!