“I’M SO HAPPY to have you home, Irish,” Lacey gushed. “Have you any idea how much we all missed you guys?”
“Aw, sweetie,” Meghan countered drolly. “Nice of you to keep saying, but let’s get real. Alex and I are fine. We’re home. It’s all good. But I’m interested in hearing about you. Are you guys hanging in there? I was so worried and upset when Alex finally let me in on what’s been happening here. Lace. Sis. Tell me the truth. Are you okay?”
After quite a lengthy pause, Meghan thought the phone had gone dead. She looked at the screen to make sure they were still connected.
“Um, Lacey?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Just getting my ducks in a row. Wish Dylan felt better so I could come up to the house.”
Of course. Meghan smiled wistfully at the hint of anxiousness she detected. Lacey needed both of them.
“No. You stay put. We’ll come to you.” She laughed. “Guess we’re making the rounds, first thing. Sheesh! I’ve barely had time to catch my breath.”
“Life goes on even if we step away for a bit.”
Wow. It never failed to make her stop and think whenever Cameron’s ponytailed wife came out with an expression or sentiment that belied her youth. Sometimes, she was the wisest one of their whole group.
In the background, she made out the sound of the baby complaining. He was one grumpy little man and kept getting louder.
“Sounds like you had better go be the mom. We’ll stop by in a little while, okay?”
Lacey snickered. “Not going anywhere. That boy blows his daddy out of the water when it comes to being a big ol’ bear when he doesn’t feel well.”
It was good to be home.
“I’ve missed you. Missed Dylan too. Big hugs, sweetie. See ya later.”
The call ended and Meghan picked her way around the kitchen. Running her hands on the counters, she arranged the way a copper pot hung or an object was placed. She picked a few dead leaves off a potted spider plant and washed her hands using a pump of the organic almond hand soap she missed smelling. Betty mixed it for her special using a secret recipe she swore was a family hand-me-down—until the day she admitted, with gales of laughter, that it was actually something she found on Pinterest.
Humming lightly, she did a little twirl with her arms out right in the middle of the enormous kitchen. She remembered Alex shrugging off her astonishment at the custom-designed space the first time she saw it. It was true what they said—the kitchen was the heart of the home, and this one was the perfect setting.
Breaking into song because the acoustics were fantastic, Meghan danced from one end of the space to the other as if she was starring in a music video, belting out Shania Twain’s, “You’re Still the One,” with stage-worthy panache.
Applause startled her when she growled the last few bars. Completely surprised, she twirled around with such speed and determination that she had to stop herself by grabbing the counter when everything started to wobble.
“Whoa, honey. Easy does it, Shania,” Alex drawled like a sexy man-beast.
“You scared me,” she said in a rush. Waiting for her head to stop spinning took a few seconds longer than her response.
When she was able to focus, what she saw first was her husband’s face wearing a mask of intense scrutiny. What beautiful gold sparkles, she thought. Deep in the center of his eyes.
He’d asked a question. She tore her gaze away from his expressive eyes and blinked to clear her thoughts.
“Meghan. Did you eat something?”
He was such a good man. Always so concerned about her well-being. She twined her arms around his neck and clung to him.
“Yes. Carmen fed me. I think you’re beautiful,” she babbled nonsensically.
Her hunky alpha smirked. “I think you’re beautiful too. And I’m glad Carmen made you eat.”
She beamed at him. Lowering her voice to a husky murmur, she told him, “I told Lacey we’d stop by later. Maybe after we take a nap.”
“Oh”—he chuckled—“a nap? Is that what we’re calling it now?”
Shrugging, she did a little shimmy down his front and sighed. “My ma was always big on naps. Now, I know why. But if you want me to be direct, how’s this, Major? Make love to me. Right now. Pick a surface, any surface, and then please,” she begged with a giggle. “Please have your wicked way with me. Please.” She shimmied again and cried, “Please!”
Yelping with surprise when he gave her ass a hearty swat, he chided her for being a naughty wife as she picked at the buttons on his shirt. Every time she undid one, he’d follow along and button it right back up.
“Behave yourself, woman.” Her husband’s husky growl did absolutely nothing to cool her desire. That was until he informed her, “Blue steel is waiting for his auntie. Better get a move on and go grab him ‘cause the little bugger has gone mobile, and lemme tell you, the kid is fast!”
She shrieked with delight. “Why didn’t you say so?” Swatting him on the chest, she shoved him aside and smoothed down her dress. Two seconds ago, she had wanted to mount him like the stallion he was. Remind her one of the babies was down the hall, he was all but forgotten, and she was running.
Tori felt better for confiding in Alex. He loved Draegyn, sometimes more than a brother, but he wasn’t immune to his faults. He wasn’t ignorant of his good traits, either. To be fair, whatever was going on wasn’t one-sided. They were both equally responsible.
Telling him about the doctor was cathartic. Until she was saying the words, she more or less forgot that he knew better than most what post-anything depression was like. Pragmatic to the end, he focused more on what she needed to heal rather than how she got there. Maybe now that Big Daddy was home, he could help her and Draegyn get back on track.
“Where is he?” she heard a mellifluous voice cry out. “Where’s my nephew?”
She gasped. A shot of happiness, like the adrenaline rush of all time, propelled her toward the voice with a high-pitched shriek of delight.
“Irish!” Tori screamed joyfully.
They met right inside her office doorway—hugging and jumping up and down, their arms around each other, just like two teenage girls. After some tears and many more hugs, Tori led Meghan toward Daniel’s play zone, shooed Zeus aside, and gave her a little push.
“Go ahead,” she encouraged with a smile. “He doesn’t bite. Not yet,” she added sardonically.
Meghan just stood there, her hands clasped in the middle of her chest, staring at Tori’s son. She had tears in her eyes when she looked over and said, “Tori, he’s so beautiful. And big!”
“I know, right?” She giggled. “What a difference a few months makes, huh?”
Daniel seemed to understand he was the center of attention and watched them while destroying a squishy rubber teething ball as drool dripped from his chin. He was a sloppy, baby mess, but that didn’t stop Meghan from leaning over the pen and lifting him into her arms.
“Blue steel, indeed.” Tori heard her friend chuckle.
Looking at Meghan, she said pithily, “So I guess by now, we assume he’s keeping the blue eyes, hmm?”
Arching a brow to mock the answer she gave, Tori drawled, “At least, there’s no question who did the deed.”
“Good grief, Victoria! I forgot about that smart mouth of yours.”
She watched as her dearest friend threw herself into a total love encounter with her more-than-happy-to-take-it son. They kissed and snoodled. Giggled and yelled with happiness. Meghan danced around singing happily, and Daniel rocked and gurgled right along with her.
It was a perfect moment inside a shitstorm.
“Now it feels like we’re home.” Alex chuckled from the doorway. He winked at Meghan and gave Tori a half eye roll when his wife kept right on dancing around the room.
“Look at that,” he mocked. Holding up his watch, he tapped it for emphasis. “Relegated to second-class status in favor of another dude and it’s only been an hour. Guess the honeymoon is officially over.”
“Somebody needs his diaper changed,” Meghan cooed with a loud raspberry blown on Daniel’s neck. Her son giggled like she’d never heard him giggle before. “Does Uncle Big Daddy want to take a crack at it?”
“No way,” Alex boomed with his hands up. “Uh-uh. I gag at cleaning up after Zeus. Have to draw the line somewhere.”
Tori scooped her son from Meghan’s arms when she came by in another dancing circuit and laughed as the newlyweds bantered playfully. She was an old pro now at diaper changing on the go. Grabbing her bag, she laid out what she needed, plunked Daniel onto his back, and listened to their snarky back and forth.
“Well, this is a fine time to announce you’re boycotting diaper duty. When were you planning to tell me that? After I was barefoot and pregnant?”
“Pardon me, my dear,” Alex replied with a puffed up and full of himself air, “but the M-A-N plants the seed.” He brushed off his hands and snickered. “Mission accomplished. The rest is chick stuff.” He shuddered dramatically. “Shit no guy in his sane mind wants to even know about.”
Meghan was in full Irish diva mode. Her arms crossed, she was really and truly tapping her foot as she stared her husband down. These two were a crap ton of fun to observe.
“Oh,” she said in a long, drawn-out taunt. “I get it now. This is why guys complain their women stop putting out once they’re married. A couple of those mission accomplished boasts, and you can serve up your hand in the shower sooner than any sane woman is willing to.”
Tori bit her tongue to keep from roaring when she ended the snarky comeback by sticking out her tongue. Irish was the perfect match for Alex.
They continued hurling hilarious comments at each other as she zipped through a diaper change and got Big D presentable again. “He needs some juice,” she announced and left them going back and forth as she made her way from the far corner of the big hacienda and into the living space.
“Shut up, Major,” Tori heard Meghan snipe when they followed her a minute later.
“Got my smacking hand out and ready.”
Irish’s flippant, “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” struck her as riotously funny.
With a dry snicker, she looked at her boss. “What’s the current tally? Should I get a donut for her to sit on?”
“Victoria St. John,” Meghan bellowed with affronted outrage, “do NOT encourage him. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”
Alex shrugged and made a face. “Whaddaya want me to say?” He playfully pounded his chest, grunted, and made like an ape.
For the first time since forever, Tori felt relief. Felt like everything was going to be okay. Watching Alex and Meghan get silly and standing there with her growing son safe in her arms, she just knew whatever challenges lay ahead, she could face them now. She was surrounded by family or at least would be once Cam came back from who-knows-where. With them by their sides, she and Draegyn had a better chance of making it through the storm.