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Brody let out a deep breath. “I needed the money.”
The Fox’s eyes widened. Of all the things he expected the other man to say, that wasn’t it.
“Money? You needed money? Don’t I . . . don’t I provide everything you need?”
He thought that was something he excelled at, providing them with whatever they needed or wanted.
“What do you need money for? That limited edition Star Wars Lego set? You put that on your Christmas list to Santa, didn’t you?” the Fox asked.
“What? No! I don’t need money for things for me,” Brody told him.
“Then what for?” Autumn asked.
“How could you need money?” the Fox muttered as he started pacing back and forth across the room.
“It’s for my mom,” Brody told them. “My family.”
His family? His family needed money? The Fox thought about his mother’s house. Where his sisters lived. They were all safe with food in their cupboards. “I went through their finances. There’s money in all of their accounts. They don’t have a lot of debt. Do you want your mother to have a new house? Why did I not think of that? Is the house too small? I shall find her a new one immediately.”
“What? No, Fox!” Brody jumped to his feet and rushed over to him. “My mom’s house is fine. She loves it there.”
“Then what is it?” Autumn asked.
“I just . . . she raised all us herself. She sacrificed so much. And a few years ago . . . she got cancer.”
Autumn gasped. “What?”
“There were a lot of bills. She had insurance, but it didn’t cover everything. I used all my savings to help pay for everything. So did all my sisters. She beat it and we paid it all off. She’s all right, Tutu.”
Autumn nodded, looking slightly tearful. “I’m so sorry, Brody.”
“I didn’t discover this in my research,” the Fox muttered, upset with himself. “I obviously did not go back far enough. That is not good enough.”
“Has the cancer returned? Are there more bills? I have some money saved, I can give it to you,” Autumn told him.
“No. She’s fine.” Brody kneeled next to her, taking her hands in his. “I promise, she’s all right. But I wanted to do something nice for her this year. So I was saving to send her on a cruise.”
“Ink pays you well, though, doesn’t he?” Autumn asked. “Why did you need to work so much overtime?”
“Um, well, I also wanted to send my sisters with her. And there was another reason I was spending more time at the office. I was, um, making your gifts.”
“Making our gifts?” Autumn asked, surprised.
“Yes, it was too tough to do it here. I didn’t have anywhere to hide it from you both.”
“What is it?” the Fox asked.
“I can’t tell you,” Brody exclaimed. “It’s a surprise.”
“I don’t really like surprises.” The Fox frowned.
“Ooh, is it a macaroni collage? I am excellent at those. I made one in school once for my grandmother. She didn’t really appreciate it though. But is it?” Autumn asked.
“No, it’s not,” Brody said with a sad smile. “But we could make one of those together.”
“Yay!” Autumn smiled up at him.
“So this was over money and a Christmas gift?” The Fox shook his head. “Why didn’t you just ask me for the money? And you could have worked somewhere here on your gift without us seeing. In your gaming room, perhaps.”
