Christmas so far had been a little rough. Amy's cousin and her family had come over as well. The adults and two teens had taken one room, and they had taken Amy's old room. The one nice thing had been sleeping cozied between Niko and Amy. She didn't think that she would ever like to be one of those people who slept in bed with their parents but was finding it to be one of her favorite things.
They had opened up Santa presents. She was excited and grateful for the makeup, face cleanser and all the clothes and shoes that she had received. She had played with Niko and his new toys until it was time to get ready for church.
That's when the trouble started. She came down the stairs in a green dress with one of the new pairs of boots she had gotten from Santa.
"Oh, Honey no." Jane, Amy's cousin said.
Emma looked over confused at Amy and Hunter. "What's wrong?"
Hunter frowned, "I don't know."
"You don't think that dress is a little short?" Zach asked, causing their kids Gigi and Cody to look up from their phones.
Hunter's frown deepened. "We bought that dress for her last week." Amy said. Hunter needed to have a talk with his wife about her recent spending for sure.
Right now, he was focused on his embarrassed teen standing on the steps. "Do you feel comfortable?"
Emma blushed even deeper with all eyes on her. "I did." Emma's eyes scanned the people looking at her.
"Hey, look at me." Hunter commanded. She obeyed and slowly brought her eyes over to his. "Do you feel comfortable?"
"Yes Sir." Emma said, her eyes starting to roam again.
"Hey." Hunter commanded firmly. "Do I like repeating myself?"
"No Sir." Emma said, locking her eyes back on his face. Her bottom was still sore from yesterday.
"Do you feel like this outfit dishonors God?"
Emma looked down at her dress then back up at Hunter. "No Sir."
"Then just like when you get in trouble you need to own your actions. If you are comfortable and you are not dishonoring God, then forget what anyone else thinks."
"Yes Sir."
The warmth in Hunter's voice and eyes were all Emma needed to feel confident in her choice. She walked down the steps, and he pulled her into a hug and kissed her temple. "For what it's worth, I think you look great and very appropriately dressed."
"Thank you." Emma whispered.
"Look, I know y'all are new to this teen thing, but you shouldn't be letting her go around like that." Zach drawled.
"Why not?" Hunter asked.
"Because she's gonna pull men's eyes. It's damn sinful." Zach snapped.
"First of all," Hunter said, starting to puff up. "The Bible says that if you are having a problem with lust that you need to pluck your eye out, not that she needs to be more covered."
"Hunter, you have to understand what Zach is saying...She's gonna draw the male gaze. Men can't help it, just have her put on some leggings like Gigi and let's go." Duke said.
Emma made a movement to leave, but Hunter kept a firm hold on her shoulder. "I can honestly say my gaze isn't ever drawn to teenagers. Why don't you guys go on ahead and we will meet you there." Hunter said, ending the conversation.
Duke and Zach left grumbling but soon the family of four was standing alone in the entry. "I'm sorry for their rudeness." Amy told Emma.
Emma wasn't totally sure how she felt about everything. She was seeing a different side of Amy this trip and wasn't loving it. Amy was usually the person who jumped to defend her, but she had left both Niko and her hanging at multiple points. "Should I go change?"
