Harlequin Love Inspired January 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Marie E. Bast

Author:Marie E. Bast
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

It wasn’t until the Christmas Eve candlelight service that Spencer saw his brother again. He didn’t know for sure how Samuel had been occupying himself while staying at the Cadwallader Inn, but the few times they’d spoken by phone that week gave him the impression Samuel was using the holiday downtime to do some hard thinking.

Maybe one of these days his twin would open up about whatever was weighing on him—if only Sam would ever stick around long enough. With busy lives and a big chunk of Texas separating them, staying in touch got harder all the time.

Samuel walked in five minutes after worship began, which spared an immediate confrontation with Dad and Tito. That didn’t stop either one of them from shooting him annoyed glares, but with Spencer and his mother as buffers, they made it through the service without an unpleasant scene.

Christmas morning was another story. Mom had just taken her cranberry-walnut scones out of the oven when Tito, speaking in rapid-fire Spanish, lit into Samuel about being a traitor to the family.

“Stop. Right now.” Mom leveled her index finger at Tito’s nose. “If you can’t put away your bitterness even on the day celebrating our Lord’s birth—”

“You don’t have to defend me, Mom.” Samuel pushed away from the breakfast table. “The old man can say whatever he likes about me. I’m leaving.”

“Sam, no.” Spencer grabbed his brother’s arm. “It’s Christmas. Come on. Both of you,” he added with a pointed stare at his grandfather.

Hand pressed against the center of his chest, Tito inhaled slowly. “All I have ever wanted,” he began, his voice oddly quiet, “all I have ever worked for is to secure the Navarro legacy for my heirs.” His gaze shifted between Spencer and Samuel. “For both my grandsons.”

Spencer slanted a brow. His grandfather surely hadn’t meant to exclude Aunt Alicia and Uncle David’s son? Six years older than Spencer and Samuel, their cousin Mark had grown up in Montana, closer to where Uncle David’s family was from. He hadn’t spent much time at the ranch, but he was as much an heir as Spencer and Samuel.

Tito must not be thinking clearly, that was all. Dad had expressed concern about the elderly man’s health lately. Probably not the best time to bring it up, though. Spencer’s immediate priority was keeping his twin from storming out before they could spend what was left of the Christmas holiday together.

“Sit down, Slam, please?” He offered his most persuasive grin. “You know you love Mom’s Christmas scones as much as I do.”

With a sidelong glance at their grandfather, Samuel relaxed into his chair. “Okay, Spiny, for you and Mom,” he muttered. “But one more—”

“There won’t be,” Mom stated. “Hank, honey, if you’d offer grace...”

Dad’s typical short and sweet breakfast blessing seemed even pithier than usual, as if the tension around the table had short-circuited his thankfulness and his Christmas spirit.

Spencer could relate. Something was definitely different about this Christmas. Yes, they’d had more than a few tense holidays over the years, especially when Samuel made one of his intentionally brief visits.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.