4. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

E nzo Galloway could smell the promise of snow in the air. The white sky suggested it too. It was as if the ozone had come down to earth for a visit. Fall was a pretty time of year until the leaves died and fell from the trees. Then it was stick season. Gray and drab, it was the space at the end of fall, but it wasn’t quite winter yet. Wingspan had been stuck there for a while. A whole month already. He’d welcome some color, even if it was puffy white snow on the pine trees.

His closest neighbors had put up Christmas lights outside too. They’d covered a small pine tree in colorful lights and added a giant blowup Santa and his sleigh.

Enzo watched the frozen mist collecting on the blades of grass. He’d wound lights around the thick porch railings but managed to avoid crushing them as he leaned against it. His coffee steamed almost as much as his breath, but the warmth of the cup helped reminded him how blessed he was.

Being a dragon shifter made him resilient to the cold, but his wool sweater helped as well.

Early mornings were always his favorite time of day. He had a perfect view of the sunrise. When he’d built his house, he positioned it with the view in mind. He took advantage almost every day, barring any cloud cover or bad weather.

His son pulled into the driveway. Raylee smiled upon seeing Enzo and then waved. He shut off the engine and then nearly ran to Enzo, hugging him.

“Good morning.” If Raylee was here so early, it meant he had something he wanted to discuss. Since he knew Enzo was a morning person, he didn’t think Enzo would like whatever it was.

Enzo held Raylee close, kissing the top of his head. “And here’s another blessing. The gods must be smiling upon me.”

Raylee chuckled. “I’m a blessing?”

“You’ve been one from day one.” Nothing would change Enzo’s opinion.

“Don’t start counting your blessings yet. I have something to ask you.” Raylee was guileless. He never tried to manipulate a situation beyond visiting when he knew Enzo would be in a good mood.

“I already guessed that.” Enzo kept an arm around Raylee as he guided him inside. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

“Not yet.” Raylee hung his coat on the rack next to the door and took off his shoes before following Enzo through the house into the kitchen. “What was the first blessing?”

“A hot cup of coffee.” Enzo poured Raylee a cup and mixed in the creamer he liked before sliding it across the kitchen island.

Raylee lifted the cup to his nose and breathed in the steam. “Thank you.”

Enzo grabbed the eggs from the fridge. “Where are your mates?”

“Home. Sleeping.” Raylee smiled at the mention of them. “Daruss was awake when I left, but Jude isn’t really a morning person. He likes to sleep in.”

The silence was comfortable. Enzo cooked scrambled eggs and toast and enjoyed the contentment that came with having one of his kids home. An empty nest had never been comfortable.

Maybe his house was too big. He’d built it with Jazlyn and Raylee in mind, halfway expecting them to stay long-term, although he wasn’t sure why he thought they would. Still, he’d built them each a suite inside his house, complete with a full kitchen. With Jazlyn, his plan had worked. She lived with him, but in her own space. He hadn’t seen her in a week, which was the point of the apartments inside his house, he guessed. But the suites hadn’t worked out the way he’d wanted. His kids were too independent to live with him on a permanent basis, even though Jazlyn paid rent and half the utilities. She also came and went through her own private entrance.

Enzo sighed.

His children had their own lives. It wasn’t their responsibility to fix his loneliness, and that was what it was. Enzo was lonely.

The family coming for Christmas would help.

“Grandma will be here in two weeks.” Enzo looked forward to seeing his mother. He talked to her about once a week, but she liked to travel, which meant she was difficult to pin down.

Raylee blushed. “I hope she likes Daruss.”

Enzo chuckled. “She’ll have a few things to say either way. You know how she is.”

“I called her the other day, and do you know what she asked me?” Knowing his mother, it was probably something inappropriate. “She asked me about sex. Like how it worked with three people. As if I would want to have a conversation about my sex life with my grandmother.”

“The gods help us all if she met the Dragon Skulls.”

Enzo’s mother would have a field day with the lot of them. Knowing her the way he did, she was already compiling a list of questions.

Raylee blushed. “She said she wanted to go to the club.”

Enzo placed eggs and toast on a plate before giving the plate to Raylee. “Bad idea. Best keep her away from there.”

“But what if we didn’t? What if we had the family Christmas party at the club?”

He shook his head before Raylee finished talking. “Grandma is one thing, but Aunt Tianna would be a disaster.”

Raylee sighed. “But does Aunt Tianna even have to come? She always complains about everything. Every year. The pasta is too cold. The pasta salad isn’t cold enough. Why don’t we have Christmas fudge? Every party deserves fudge, Enzo. You know I’m allergic to gluten. Why is there bread?”

Enzo couldn’t help but laugh. Raylee had pegged her perfectly. Not that it was difficult. His sister Tianna was unique in that she was difficult to get along with.

“Not that dragon shifters can be allergic to gluten. Or any of the other things she’s claimed to be allergic to.”

“She has to come to Christmas, Raylee. She’s family.”

Raylee huffed. “Fine. But can we combine the families? Please.”

Enzo filled his plate, pulling a stool around so he could face Raylee as they ate. “Your mother is coming. Did she tell you that?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you think she’s going to react to meeting someone like Daruss? Have you thought about that?”

Raylee’s expression hardened. “What do you mean by ‘someone like Daruss’?”

“The Dragon Skulls are a group of criminals who ride around on motorcycles.”

“They rescue people, Dad. The human trafficking problem in this country is off the charts. The authorities don’t do anything about it because their hands are tied in red tape and bureaucratic bullshit. Pardon my language, but it’s true.” Raylee sighed. “The Dragon Skulls are as much my family as you, Mom, and Jazlyn. You need to wrap your head around that because Daruss and Jude are my everything.”

Enzo shook his head. “Your mother will not like Daruss, son. You know that.”

“She’s going to have to learn. Just like you.” Raylee took a bite of his eggs. “And besides that, Daruss and the rest of the Dragon Skulls might be criminals , as you so eloquently put it, but they save lives. Just like mom. And just like you.”

“I’m retired.” Not that he couldn’t or wouldn’t save a life if it came to that. But he hadn’t been a practicing doctor in several years. And it wasn’t the point, anyway. “I’m not saying yes. I still think your aunt’s head would explode if she saw sexy Santas and people making out in corners.”

Raylee opened his mouth and then closed it. He couldn’t lie worth a damn, but Enzo knew his son very well, so he knew Raylee was trying to work up a denial at the very least. He managed to say, “I can promise none of the sexual stuff would happen.”

“But you can’t guarantee the sexy Santa stuff, right?” So the rumors about what when on in the Dragon Skulls Club were true. Enzo didn’t want to know what his son got up to with his mates. And he didn’t care where they did it either, public or not.

Raylee deflated. “It’s the Dragon Skulls, Dad. You know I can’t. I can talk to Daruss. See if he might talk to them.”

“Do that first and then we’ll revisit the conversation.” Enzo held up a hand when Raylee opened his mouth to speak. “It’s the best I can do, Raylee.”

But Enzo already knew the likelihood of the Galloways and the Dragon Skulls mixing in any sort of cohesive way was almost hopeless. It wasn’t impossible, but it was very improbable.

“If I promise no sexy Santas?”

“Until you can promise everyone keeps their clothes on and that nothing illegal happens, including dragonshine.”

Raylee gave him an incredulous look. “Dragonshine is socially acceptable, Dad. Even you’ve drunk it.”

“Maybe so, but it’s still illegal.” And what was with the “even you” comment? Enzo wasn’t as Polly Perfect as Raylee seemed to think. He’d done his fair share of rebellious stuff. Not that he wanted to tell Raylee that.

“All the cousins are older now. They can handle adult stuff.”

“Max is seventeen.”

“He’ll turn eighteen before the party.” Raylee sipped his coffee. “I’ll talk Daruss into talking to the guys. And then you’ll say yes, right?”

“Then I’ll say maybe. Christmas is a month away. We have time.” But he already knew the answer. It wasn’t what Raylee wanted to hear.

They could argue about it all day and never reach a satisfactory conclusion. Enzo wasn’t changing his answer, and Raylee would accept nothing less than the families combining for Christmas.