Never Christmas Without You. Reese Ryan

should have been his birthright.

      That knowledge that his own father wouldn’t trust the Morrison legacy to him still burned, like a fire in his gut. It was what spurred him on. Prove the old man wrong. He’d always thought his father loved him. Then why cut you out? The fact that he could do that to him, shut him out without a word... The fact that Justin had to hear about it in the reading of the will, that was a special kind of hell.

      Justin tugged open the door to the fourth floor from the stairwell and ran down to room 406. He found Martin, his uncle Lester, his aunt Mary and a few of the household staff who had been with his grandmother for years all around his grandmother’s room.

      Grandma Lucy tried to push herself to sit straighter, but when she winced, he ran to her side. “I don’t think you’re supposed to move.” He turned his attention to Martin. “What happened? What did you do?” he yelled.

      Martin rolled his eyes. “I didn’t do anything. I’m the one who found her collapsed in her office. I called an ambulance to get her to the hospital in LA. Then I called you, her precious grandson.” The note of jealousy rang clear as a bell.

      From behind, a voice said, “If I were you two, I’d keep it down. Your grandmother needs rest. If you can’t give her that, I will have security escort you out.”

      Justin turned to find a petite woman in a white lab coat, her dark hair pulled back off her face into a bun, her expression solemn. Her name tag read Dr. Jesslyn Wells.

      “Are you my grandmother’s doctor?”

      She gave a brusque nod. “Yes, I am. Now, can you and the rest of your family please give me some space so I can check my patient?” Her voice was stern, clipped. It told Justin that she was well versed in dealing with difficult people.

      “I’m sorry.” The group backed away, but Justin moved to the foot of the bed. “I just don’t know what happened.”

      Grandma Lucy waved her hand. “What happened is your cousin overreacted. My blood pressure’s just low, that’s all. I’m fine. I do not need to be in this hospital. Matter of fact, if you can get these IVs out of me, I’ll be on my way. I feel like a damn pincushion.”

      Dr. Wells clucked as she checked his grandmother’s vitals, then wrote something on her clipboard. “Now, Lucy, we’ve had this conversation already. I’m not unhooking the machines. You need to stay for observation for at least a couple of days. You’re slightly dehydrated, and I’d like you to start eating a little bit more. Your blood pressure is low, and you’re fatigued. You really need to rest.”

      Justin’s grandmother was having none of that. “Listen up, young lady, I’ve had more years on this planet by three times longer than you have. I know how I’m feeling. I was a nurse when I was young. So I know that I’ll be fine. You don’t need to keep me in here. You just want to bill insurance.”

      Dr. Wells’s lips twitched. “Lucy, this is my area of expertise. I want to make sure you stick around to see any future great-grandchildren you may have. So I’m going to need you to listen to me right now.”

      Justin had never seen anyone handle his grandmother so effectively. Because Grandma Lucy did not offer an argument. She frowned, closed her mouth and sat back. Dr. Wells had used the magic words. Great-grandchildren. His grandmother had been after him, Martin and their other cousins to procreate as quickly as possible. Justin was in no hurry. Hell, he was only twenty-five. Martin was older by a couple of years. She needed to direct her energy at him. The rest of their cousins were scattered in age, but there were some who were over thirty, and Grandma Lucy really should have been focused on them doing the marriage-and-kids rodeo. Not him, never him. He wasn’t going to mess up some poor kid, like his father had screwed him up. No way, no how. Plus, children involved settling down and that was certainly not going to happen. He liked his women available, flexible and transient.

      Except Alex. Alex was different. She had been his best friend since college and was the most influential female in his life besides his grandma. And he liked her. There had never been anything between them. Which was their saving grace. Not that she wasn’t hot. She was. With those big brown eyes and dusting of freckles on her nose, Alex was gorgeous. In the beginning, he’d flirted with her, but she’d ignored him. Told him she couldn’t take him seriously. Best thing she could’ve ever done for the two of them. They were closer now than they would have been if she’d tried to explore the possibility of a relationship. He’d have slept with her, then run...very far away.

      “Dr. Wells, can you tell us what happened or what’s going on?”

      She sighed as she clicked her pen and tucked it back into her pocket. “Your grandmother is suffering from exhaustion. She’s been doing too much and taking on too much stress. Her blood pressure is all over the place. It was low and that’s why she collapsed, but since she’s been here...it’s spiked up, then shot down. I need to take a look at her medication. She will be fine, but she has to cut back from her daily activities and relax. That’s very important.”

      The steel bar constricting his chest since Martin’s call loosened, but only a bit. “Okay, so what do we need to do for her?”

      “Keep her relaxed, and her mind off the hotel business.” She put a hand up to stop his grandmother from talking and continued, “We don’t need her experiencing anxiety.”

      Justin nodded. “Yeah, we can do that.” The relief washed over him like a tidal wave. All they had to do was keep her calm. That was his new number-one mission. He resided in San Diego, but with his hotel up and running now, and profitable after only a year, he could take more time away to see her; Catalina wasn’t far. He’d make the drive to LA, take the ferry over to the island and put in the quality time with her.

      It sounded simple enough, except for one little fact... He never went home. Hadn’t gone home in a long time. But for Grandma Lucy, he could do it. He could put up with Martin and the rest of his family. For her, he’d do anything.

      “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to continue making my rounds. Visiting hours are over in ten minutes, so now might be a good idea to say your goodbyes.”

      As soon as Dr. Wells was gone, his grandmother started tugging at her IVs, and Justin put a hand over hers to halt her. “You heard the doctor. And you agreed. So stop that.” She grumbled but sat back, crossing her arms. “Now, Grandma, tell me what you need.” Whatever she wanted, he would make it work.

      “I want everyone out.” Martin looked like he was going to protest, but she set her lips, and he knew better than to argue. When Justin made to go as well, she reached out an arm and held him back. “Not you.”

      With everyone gone, he turned his attention to her. “What’s up, Grandma?”

      “I didn’t want to go embarrassing you in front of the rest the family. I know how difficult it is for you to be around them. Especially Martin.”

      And that was why he loved her. She would always go out of her way to protect him. “It’s okay, Grandma. Whatever you need.”

      “Well, the doctor’s right. I do want to be around to see my future great-grandbabies. And given what’s happened, we can’t keep procrastinating things. I want my family around me. You haven’t been home in a long time. I want you to come for the holidays.”

      Shit. That was last thing he wanted to do. Checking on her from time to time was one thing, but a big old holiday-family-dinner type thing? Not his bag. But it was for his grandmother. And she never did ask for much. “Okay, I’ll make that work.”

      She nodded with satisfaction. “Good. I may not be able to travel for a while, so our trip up to Hawaii and my surf lessons will have to wait.”

      He laughed. “Okay, I’ll take a rain check for now. But I think you’re gonna love it.”

      “I don’t doubt it. Oh, and, Justin, make sure you bring that girlfriend of yours. I can’t believe I still haven’t met her. After all this time. I’d like to see the woman who’s going to be getting