Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
He nodded and gave me a small smile.
Breath puffed from my lungs because I’d needed that smile, needed to know he was okay.
I let go of him, walked toward his father, and held out my hand. “Camden Burke. It’s nice to meet you, sir. I can’t thank you enough for this. It means a lot to me.” I still had no idea how this had even happened, and apparently my family must have known ahead of time.
“Raymond Sandoval. Please, call me Ray. It’s a pleasure to meet you too. No need to thank me. Coming meant a lot to Jude, so it meant a lot to me as well.” We shook hands. I wanted to hug the guy, find some way to thank him properly, but I could also tell he was slightly uncomfortable with the attention.
“Well! Now that the whole family is here, shall we open gifts?” Mom asked.
“Hell yeah!” I replied. Everyone either rolled their eyes at me or laughed.
Ray was quiet most of the time. He and Jude apologized for not having gifts for everyone, but then, no one had any for them other than me for Jude, which I happened to have with me. I didn’t know what made me put it in my suitcase while packing, but I had.
I got my parents a canvas of their wedding photo from when they were eighteen and nineteen years old. For Sawyer I got a first edition of a book he loved and for the both of them together, a plaque that said Sawyer & Carter for their apartment.
Jude opened his last. I went to the room to get it, and when I came back, I handed him an envelope. Those familiar wrinkles appeared between his brows as he took it from me.
“This is a lot of pressure,” Jude said, everyone watching him as he opened it. “It’s a certificate that’s good for three classes at Fever Falls Community College and…” Jude pressed the paper against his chest, obviously not wanting to read out loud the part I added about blowjobs, rimming, and thorough fuckings. “You got me college classes?”
“Prepaid art classes.” I sat on the coffee table in front of him. “If you’re not interested, we can do something else, but I was thinking you could take some…hell, I don’t know. Digital art or graphic design or whatever. Even if it’s just for fun.”
“You’re drawing again?” Ray asked, and Jude nodded without turning away from me.
“You deserve to have your passion, whatever that ends up being. I do what I love, and I want that for you too,” I told him.
“I can’t believe you did that.”
“You wouldn’t have done it for yourself.”
“I…” Jude started but shook his head. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Boyfriend.”
I smiled. I really fucking liked Jude calling me that in front of his father. “You’re welcome, Beautiful.” We both knew we’d talk more later. There was a lot to say, but now wasn’t the time for it.
Carter said, “Swoon,” just as Sawyer began making fake-vomiting noises. Carter swatted Sawyer’s arm and griped, “Sawyer!” as Mom, Dad, and Ray laughed. I tackled my brother, knocked over a glass of water, and held him down until he said uncle. You know, a typical family holiday.
“Camden, you’re in charge of cleaning up the mess,” Mom said.
“But Sawyer started it!” I teased.
“Are you twelve?” Sawyer asked.
“At heart.”
After letting Sawyer up, I did as Mom said and cleaned up the mess. We always had donuts for breakfast on Christmas morning because obviously my family loved sweets and didn’t want anything too heavy before the big meal.
Mom played holiday music, and the house began to fill with the scents of turkey, stuffing, and all the other goodies. I’d discovered that Jude had called Sawyer, who gave them our address and assured them it was okay to come there.
Ray was quiet, sort of keeping to the sidelines.
At one point, I noticed he had disappeared. Jude was busy talking with Carter and Sawyer about something or other. I kissed Jude’s temple and went off to find him. This couldn’t have been easy on Ray. I knew how uncomfortable he was around people, so I wanted to make sure he knew how much this meant to me.
I found Ray on the sun porch. He looked over his shoulder toward me when I walked out. “I don’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s fine,” he replied with a warm smile. “I’m sure Jude told you I don’t do well around a lot of people. Keep to myself.”
“He did. That’s, um…why I wanted to come out and thank you again. This, having you both here, means a lot to me. I’ve never felt this way, and I wanted to share it with him. I want to share everything with him—my family, my life.”
“I was never good at giving him family.”