The next morning, Marty was awakened by Gruff standing on top of her chest, kneading his claws in and out of her flesh. She groaned and rolled over.

"Get out of here you old reprobate." Geez, it felt like she'd just closed her eyes and here this evil cat was waking her up with the dawn. It hadn't helped that she'd lain awake crying half the night.

"Well, no more," she promised the orange tiger cat. "No more tears over that man. Onward and upward, and all that jazz."

Gruff looked at her doubtfully with his one good eye.

"Honestly, I promise."

He still appeared as if he had his misgivings, but Marty couldn't worry about that now. It suddenly dawned on her she was starving. They hadn't stopped for any supper last night and her stomach growled in protest. Time to get up, find something to eat, and get this day started.

She had just stepped out of Big Red when she saw a caravan of vehicles approaching up the drive. She watched as a minivan, a pickup truck, and a 57 Chevy all rolled to a stop, people piling out the vehicles like they were clown cars. Two men climbed out of the truck and three guys and a girl got out of the Chevy. A man, a pregnant woman, and four little children rolled out of the minivan.

Before she could move Jake was outside waving his arm in greeting at the horde of noisy people.

"Hey, ya'll. Good to see ya." She heard him hollering and watched him slapping the backs of the men and giving each of the women a big smacking kiss on the cheek.

"What the hell happened to you, Jake? Some angry husband come home and catch ya?" hooted a big burly redheaded man with a bushy beard.

Jake ran a hand over his face with its two black eyes. "Nah. I just wouldn't give into some horny broad and she clocked me."

"That must have been a hell of a woman. Damn, you should have sent her my way." He laughed and threw his arm around Jake's shoulder. "Any woman who can throw a punch like that sounds like a keeper."

Jake chuckled, his gaze suddenly drifting over to Marty. His face softened and Marty felt a quiver run through her.

"Hey, Marty, come on over and meet the band."

Marty hesitated but eventually walked over to the group.

"This big goofy looking guy is Ace, the best damn keyboard man alive." Marty recognized the redhead from the bachelor party.

She could tell by the abashed look on his face he recognized her, too. He moved forward and stuck his hand out, nearly swallowing her much smaller one in his.

"Howdy, Miss Marty. It's a pleasure to meet you the right way. I do apologize for the mistake I made last time I saw you. I hope you'll pardon me. I had a little too much to drink that night."

"It's okay, Ace. I don't hold a grudge."

"And this is Jason and Mike." Jake indicated two guys who'd also been at the bachelor party. At least those two had been quiet and held back. She smiled at them and watched a blush appear on their nearly identical faces. "They're brothers, if you hadn't guessed."

"I'm Mike, the big brother." Tall and slender, Mike tipped his black leather cowboy hat at her. "That there puny fella is my brother Jason."

Six-foot-five Jason didn't speak, simply nodded and reddened.

"And I'm Lane. I remember you, ma'am. And this is my wife Melinda." He reached out and pulled a tiny brunette towards him, her eyes aglow with love as she looked at her new husband.

"Hi, Lane, Melinda. Shouldn't you two still be on your honeymoon?"

Melinda giggled and Lane hugged her to him. "We just spent a few days in the mountains. We're back now so I can get to work on our new album."

"And this is my producer Rick Baldwin, and that guy there is Fast Eddie Edwards, our drummer, and his tribe." Jake held a hand over the head of each of the four little stair steps. "This is Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. And their lovely mother, Naomi."

"And this one is a girl," Naomi said, pressing her hand on her belly. "Finally."

"Well let's all get inside," Jake instructed. "Nora's got breakfast ready and waiting. Then we'll head down to the studio and get to work."

The crowd of people moved towards the kitchen, but Marty held back. She didn't belong with this group, these old friends. She turned and headed up the stairs to see if Bonnie and Brody were up so she could start work.

"Marty." She froze at the sound of Jake's voice calling her name, turning slowly to face him.

"Aren't you going to have breakfast with us?"

"Oh, no, I don't think so. I'm really not hungry. I had an apple in the RV." She wiped her sweaty palms on the seat of her denim shorts. "I'm good. I need to get started."

He held her there pinned under his dark-eyed gaze for a long moment. She squirmed, feeling like his eyes were accusing her, calling her a coward. Okay, maybe she was, but avoiding him was easier than being near him.

At last he spoke, his voice tight.

"Okay. Send Bonnie and Brody down to eat, please."

Her gaze locked in a silent battle with his for a long instant. Finally she managed to nod and turned and ran the rest of the way up the stairs.

 

She didn't accomplish much that day. At first she was distracted by the sporadic laughter drifting up the stairwell, then by a barrage of kids floating in and out of Bonnie's bedroom. Eddie and Naomi's boys were fascinated by her creation, asking a zillion questions.

Marty finally handed out big scraps of paper, brushes, and little cups of a variety of paints, letting the kids each create a masterpiece of their own. When Naomi climbed the stairs to check on them, she was amazed to see her little band of holy terrors each busily painting away.

"Oh my God, it's a miracle. They're all doing something together…and they're quiet." Her tone was almost reverent. "How did you do it?"

"It's the magic of art. Works every time."

"Well, however you did it, I'm glad. Maybe we can even get enough time to get to know each other while they're preoccupied."

Marty smiled, instantly liking the tall blonde woman with the big pregnant belly. Soon they were talking like old friends, laughing and gabbing as Marty continued to work and Naomi supervised the young artists.

Naomi, too, seemed fascinated by Marty's work.

"It looks so real."

"Thanks. It's important to me that the kids like it."

Naomi lowered her voice. "I know. Those poor babies. Thank God they've got Jake. You know they would have gone to foster care if he hadn't agreed to take them in. There wouldn't have been any choice. But Jake didn't hesitate. He wouldn't even talk about any alternatives."

Marty didn't speak, just nodded as she painted a jaunty mushroom with a polka-dot cap.

"He almost went crazy at first." Naomi still talked quietly, not wanting the kids to overhear. "He felt so guilty, so blind for not having seen the signs. He wanted to kill Bobby Hammond. He didn't know how to take care of the kids, how to change his lifestyle to accommodate two children. But he's doing it. He's jumped feet first into family life."

Marty didn't want to ask but she had to.

"What was he like before?"

Naomi pondered the question before answering. "He was driven. He wanted to be the best. He tried to live up to the image Rick Baldwin said he had to have. He dated beautiful women, took them to the awards shows, was seen in all the right places. Jake Stryker was a man obsessed with making it big."

Naomi paused for a minute. "That all changed the minute he learned his sister had died. He's thought about nothing but the kids since then. He's made them his priority. He's changed his life completely. He stays home, rarely making public appearances. His world is those kids now."

Marty thought about what she said. Had Jake really done a complete 180? Had he given up the high life for good?

Or would he go back to his old ways once the kids were truly settled? Would he be able to live the quiet life of a homebody after being such a big celebrity? Marty didn't think many men would be able to do it.

But maybe, just maybe, Jake could.