Merry TREXmas (TREX) #9

  Kaylee sat at the table with Hunter, petting Buster and rolling her eyes as insult after insult flew from the lips of TREX agents scared of a kid. Give them guys with guns, weapons of mass destruction, terrorist threats. No problem. Give them one little boy they couldn't reach with threats and they were out of their element.

  "Buster thinks it's too noisy in here. Why is everyone yelling?" Hunter asked as he kept his focus on the dog.

  "Because they're all dumb."

  He nodded. "Were they always dumb like me?"

  "You?" Kaylee blew out a breath and smiled to play down his comment even though deep inside she seethed. So, his mind may not work like everyone else's. So, he needed a dog to help him communicate. That didn't make him dumb. She hated labels. "You may be the smartest person in the room."

  "I'm not smart."

  "You're not dumb," she countered sternly. "Adults turn dumb when they grow up. That's why you're the smartest one here."

  "What happens when I grow up?" His mouth fell open as he blinked rapidly. Just the thought of growing up, growing dumb, clearly terrified him.

  "Don't grow up."

  His jaw dropped lower as his eyes rounded. "Is that possible?"

  "Anything is possible. Look at me. I'm never growing up." And she meant it. Age was just a number. She refused to turn into Mrs. Apron and Pearls. If she ended up with a house on the hill, it would be turned into an animal shelter. She embraced her future of being the neighborhood crazy cat lady. And dog lady. And any other four-legged-friend lady.

  It irritated her to no end how society labeled Hunter as dumb or an idiot simply because he didn't learn at the same pace as someone else. Fish couldn't climb trees. Monkeys couldn't swim. Forcing them to do something so unnatural made no sense, but swap the two scenarios and they were animals in their element. That was Hunter. He was a monkey who just needed to find the right tree instead of being forced to swim.

  If only humans were as compassionate and tolerant as animals.

  "I'm never growing up," Hunter repeated her words and followed his statement with a nod. More yelling, this time from Bailey as she called her on-again, off-again boyfriend several four-letter words. She stormed off and slammed a door, the phone firmly plastered to her ear. Hunter stared at the door. "Everyone looks mad."

  "They're always mad."

  "At me." It didn't come out as a question, which only irritated Kaylee more. This kid had zero self-esteem, more than likely due to person after person labeling him as dumb, slow, or an idiot all because he learned differently. She hated people.

  "Nope. They were mad before you got here."

  "Why? It's Christmas. Buster thinks being mad on Christmas is like hating your own birthday."

  "Because of the presents?"

  He shook his head and rubbed the beagle's chin. Buster sighed contently and closed his eyes. "Presents don't matter. They get lost or stolen. Not family. Sisters still hug you after you break the new TV. You still get a piece of pie even if you didn't eat all your dinner. That's because it's Christmas. That's why no one should be mad."

  "See?" Kaylee smiled wide, absolutely head-over-heels for this kid. "You really are the smartest person here."

  He grinned and nodded sheepishly. "I'm just Hunter."

  Her brother Seth joined them, followed by her brother Logan. Seth sat closest to the kid. "Looks like someone was hungry." Hunter didn't respond. Kaylee knew he wouldn't, not until he had something to say. "Hunter, do you know what Asperger's is? Or High-Functioning Autism? Has anyone ever used those terms with you before?"

  Oh, hell no. Kaylee was fine until Seth started in with the terms to define Hunter. It immediately ticked her off. Who was he to slap a label on anyone? Sure, he was a doctor, but that didn't give him the right. It didn't give any doctor the right.

  Doctor after doctor had tried to define what caused her to not speak until she was almost five. She didn't pick up on social cues as any normal child would. She hated to be hugged. She hated to be touched. Period. That didn't make her any less normal.

  When the doctors diagnosed her with Asperger's, her mother refused to let it define anything. Not a damn thing. Kaylee hadn't received any special treatment growing up and didn't expect any as a TREX agent. Years of behavioral therapy, of all the doctors telling her to do more of this and less of that, still drummed in her brain after all this time.

  And still she wasn't anywhere closer to normal.

  It was unfair, the labels society placed on anyone outside the acceptable norm. She refused to let another kid go through too many years of being told he wasn't normal, that something was wrong with him. They'd put him in special classes instead of teach him the way he learned. They'd write him off as mental all because they couldn't understand him. Asshats.

  "He may not understand what's really going on," Seth explained.

  She'd had enough and snapped, "How would you know?"

  "This isn't the same thing as what you have."

  "Again, how would you know?" She stared him down, something she'd always been able to do. What she had? Pahlease. He had no idea what it was like growing up and failing every social encounter. Everyone loved Seth. Everyone thought Kaylee was weird. "You've said like two dozen words to him. That's hardly enough for a diagnosis."

  "Come on, Kaylee." Logan defended Seth. Of course. "He's just trying to help."

  "Sure," she laughed hollowly and rolled her eyes. "By labeling him?"

  "It's not a personal attack," Chris explained after joining them at the table. "This has nothing to do with you or what your doctors said. Seth isn't labeling anyone. He's not that kind of doctor. Do you remember what I call normal?"

  She eventually nodded and dropped her attention to her lap. "It's just a setting on the dishwasher."

  She might have a great stare down, but Chris owned it. That stare also calmed her down enough to realize she'd missed yet another social cue.

  "That's a big tree." Hunter asked and nodded at the gigantic tree in the corner of the living room. "Lots of presents."

  "It's Christmas," Chris explained. "Do you celebrate Christmas?" Hunter nodded slightly but said nothing. "Have you ever had a tree?"

  He shook his head. "Buster is scared of squirrels. They hide in the trees like in that movie."

  "What movie?"

  Hunter didn't answer.

  "It's okay," Kaylee urged. "You see all these big, ugly guys sitting at the table with us?" Hunter quickly scanned and nodded. "They're my brothers. That guy off in the corner pouting is also my brother. The woman with the curly hair is my sister."

  "Her babies look the same."

  "They're twins. I'm a twin. So is that one." She nodded at Chris. "In fact, he's my sister's twin."

  Hunter twisted his expression as he studied Chris. "He's a boy."

  "Boys and girls can be twins, too. They don't have to look alike."

  Hunter looked up, holding her gaze for a few seconds. It was the longest he'd looked at anyone so far. "Is yours a boy?"

  Kaylee grinned. "Nope. I have another sister."

  "Seven," he muttered. "Big tree for a big family. Ten aren't family. Even more kids." Hunter smiled. "Need a bigger tree."

  They all laughed, causing Hunter to grin even more. The McKoys got what it was like growing up with a special needs sibling. Kaylee had struggled, but with the help of her brothers and sisters, she'd had all the support she needed.

  She nodded, understanding Hunter a little more every time he talked. Most people with Asperger's had at least one thing that set them apart, at least one thing that scored off the charts. For her, it was protective instincts. For Hunter, it looked like the power of observation. He didn't talk much and didn't need to. He was too busy watching.

  "Well, that's awesome. There's no vacancy anywhere," David announced as he paced in front of the tree. "I'm half-tempted to drive back to Montana tonight."

  "You'd be driving by yourself." Charis sat cross-legged in the playpen and helped her boys build with
blocks. "We aren't going anywhere."

  "Charis, sweetheart."

  "Don't sweetheart me," she sang and set a block on top of the stack. "You lost your temper. You fix it. Don't drag us into it."

  David set his jaw. "You don't know what Wayde said."

  "I don't care what he said," she countered. "We are guests in his house and will remain that way until we leave the day after tomorrow. Find a way to kiss and make up."

  "That's not going to happen," Mitch grumbled. "Snyder doesn't ever admit when he's wrong."

  "Because I so rarely am."

  That comment earned groans and eye rolls all around.

  "You were in the wrong," Chris said to David.

  "I was defending you, asshole."

  "Doesn't make what you said to Wayde anywhere closer to right."

  David muttered something about ungrateful bastards and blew out a long breath before joining his wife and kids in the playpen. He immediately smiled when one of his boys backed up into his lap. That was more like it. Kaylee preferred happy humans to what so many had turned into tonight.

  Dan stormed up the stairs, his wife on his heels. The director didn't look happy. "We're not leaving, JT. That's final."

  "You're not listening."

  "You're right." He stopped and whipped around. When she ran into him, he grasped her shoulders. "I'm not going to break up the team."

  "We're not a team. David is being a complete ass."

  "I'm right here," he growled and narrowed his eyes at her.

  JT ignored him as she continued to vent to her husband in front of everyone. "I think we should go."

  "Not happening," Dan snapped and stormed off into the den. She followed him and slammed the door.

  "The adults don't sound happy." Hunter pointed out the obvious when the tense silence grew too much.

  "I don't think any of the adults are happy," Mitch commented.

  "Are you an adult?"

  He wiggled his eyebrows. "Only when I have to be."

  Hunter grinned. "Buster has to pee."

  "I'll take him out," Logan offered as he stood. "I could use some air."

  "I'll take Hunter," Mitch added without skipping a beat. "Come on, little man. Let's hit the can."

  Hunter tensed and leaned toward Kaylee. She nodded in reassurance. "He's my brother, remember? And he's a cop, which means he's one of the good guys."

  "Do you know Officer Edwards?" he asked Mitch.

  Mitch frowned. "I don't think so. Who is he?"

  "She," Hunter corrected. "She lets me call her Max. She's nice to Buster. Sometimes she walks us home when we stay out too late." He sank lower. "I wish she was here."

  "Don't worry." Kaylee smiled. "We can ask Wayde to find her. We're TREX. It's what we do. In the meantime, we'll all still be here when you get back."

  "Promise?" He shot her a quick look, pleading with her to not leave him. It broke her heart.

  "Promise," she whispered, not trusting her voice.

  "Carmen promised and she's gone now."

  That comment broke her. She dropped her gaze before the emotions swelling in her eyes gave her away.

  "We're not going anywhere, buddy." Mitch nodded for Hunter to follow. He'd always been able to talk to Kaylee, too. Tolerance and patience must go with the badge. "Except to the bathroom. Come on. You can clean up a little, too. Sound good?"

  Hunter went with Mitch while Seth went with Logan to take the dog outside, leaving Chris at the table with Kaylee. He studied her before saying, "You connect with him."

  "Because I'm not scared of him." She related with him. She knew how terrifying it was to not understand when to say something and when to remain silent. She knew the struggles of not comprehending social cues or when someone was joking. She knew what it was like to grow up being the weird kid no one wanted to pick for their group. If she could make a difference in Hunter's life, make sure he felt wanted if only for the here and now, she'd do it.

  "I'm not scared," Chris defended quickly. "Why would I be scared of a kid?"

  "He's different. God forbid you relate to that." She glanced at the crutches leaning against the chair.

  "Low blow, brat."

  She smiled sweetly. "I only speak the truth."

  "One of your many annoying traits," Bailey teased as she sat next to her twin and leaned her head on Kaylee's shoulder. "He asked me to be his plus one again."

  "And you turned him down." She didn't have to ask. Her sister was her own worst enemy with her rigid rules and the way she pushed people away. Jason loved her. Everyone knew it, even Bailey. It was the thought of being with a field agent that scared her. Too bad. They were actually great together. He didn't put up with her shit.

  "He knows better," she whined in a huff. "We agreed to keep it casual. No strings."

  "Sounds like he wants strings. Who knows? Maybe you'll use them to string a guitar and make beautiful music together. Would strings be so bad?"

  "Yes." Bailey was the only one Kaylee didn't mind hugging her. Being stuck in the womb together for nine months and out for twenty-five years had gotten her used to her sister's touch. "I can't get serious with a frontline agent."

  "What's wrong with a frontline agent?" Chris asked, offended.

  Bailey lifted her head and stole a quick glance at the crutches. Shaking her head, she dropped her gaze behind a curtain of hair. Chicken.

  "It's fine." Wayde spoke into his phone as he walked out of the kitchen. "Mia wants Hunter to stay. Trust me, Lawson. She gets whatever she wants. Happy wife?"

  "Happy life," Chris and David finished along with Wayde. They all chuckled.

  Wayde went on. "I've got a house full of TREX agents. Hunter will be safe here for the next day or two. Give the social worker the night off. Who? I've never heard of Miles Anthony. Is he someone famous? No kidding? Right here in Seattle?"

  "Miles Anthony?" Charis perked up. "What about him?"

  "You know who that is?"

  "We have several of his prints." David glanced up as well. "He's right up there with Ansel Adams with his black and whites. It's too bad he doesn't do them much anymore. I guess he owns a modeling studio now. Still shoots in black and white, which is weird since all the model crap is in color."

  "It's not crap," Bailey defended. "Miles Anthony is all about capturing the inner beauty. He dresses down his models. Makes them plain. Which, in turn?"

  "Makes them even more beautiful," Kaylee finished. "He cuts out everything fake, leaving the raw image."

  David stood and brushed a half-eaten cracker off his backside. "Why do you ask?"

  "Apparently Hunter's sister was a model at the Miles Anthony Studio downtown." Wayde nodded at something the caller said. "Right, that's the angle I'm thinking, too. It just got too much for her. Yeah, I feel for the kid. Okay. Thanks, Banks. Merry Christmas to you, too." He ended the call and met the eyes of everyone now watching him. "That was Greg Banks in homicide. ME preliminarily ruled it a suicide. No sign of foul play. No forced entry. He'll determine whether to officially rule suicide as COD tomorrow, but he's pretty sure it is."

  "Selfish," Kaylee muttered through clenched teeth. When Chris and Bailey both glanced at her, she shook her head, disgusted. She was done socializing and wanted to find a corner to hide in. What kind of sister was Carmen Ramirez to leave her kid brother, especially by killing herself? "I need some air."

  "Don't run away," Hunter said from behind her. She jerked her head up, surprised to see him there. He shook his head as he kept his attention on her. He never looked at her for that long. "Never run away."

  "Isn't that what you did?"

  "Kaylee," Bailey reprimanded.

  "What?" Of course, she'd missed yet another cue. Seeing that look of disappointment in her sister's eyes twisted in her stomach. She dropped her gaze and delivered the one word in her vocabulary she used more than any other. "Sorry."

  "Buster ran," Hunter explained. "Not away. Never away. I told him to find help. He found you."

&n
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