Emerson

The sun is just rising as Tia and the others wake up. I’ve been up for over an hour. Cleaning up and gathering eggs and fresh milk for this morning’s breakfast. The light in the farmhouse kitchen is on, and I know my mom has been awake as long as I have; most likely preparing fresh bread, bacon, and other mouthwatering treats.

Growing up, she was always the first to rise, making sure her boys were properly fed. We may have worked the fields, but there was never any doubt that she was the hardest worker of all of us.

“Breakfast time,” I say, sliding the barn door open and letting the cool morning air fill the barn.

“Shit,” Huxley mutters. “What time is it.”

“Time to get up.”

I help Tia stand, kissing her softly, before telling her, “I’m going to the house to help my mom with breakfast.”

“Do you want me to come?”

“No. Take your time getting dressed.”

She pulls me in for one more kiss, before letting go. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” So damn much. In fact, I’m starting to realize that I love all the members of my new family.

Even Banks is starting to grow on me.

Inside the farmhouse, I deposit the eggs and milk on the large wood island in the kitchen, then kiss my mom’s cheek.

“Good morning. Everything smells delicious.”

She swats my hand away when I reach for one of the biscuits she just pulled from the oven.

“If you want to help, start making coffee.”

I grab the can of coffee. “How was Mason last night?”

“Better.” She starts cracking eggs into a large bowl. “I think he’s beginning to understand why we kept the truth from him.”

“So, you’re really my dad?” A sleepy voice says from the kitchen doorway.

I swallow hard when I turn and meet my son’s gaze. “Yeah, buddy. I really am.”

He nods. “Okay.”

“I did what I thought was best for you.” I take a step towards him, but he tenses, so I stop. “I never wanted to hurt you. Just protect you.”

“So, does this mean I have to come live with you?”

My chest squeezes. “Is that what you want?”

His lips twist, and I can see him thinking. Finally, he says, “I want to stay here with Mom and Dad.”

Mom and Dad. That’s what they’ll always be to him. And while I wish I could be his father in more than just name, I know I’ll never have the same relationship with him as if I’d raised him myself.

“Okay, buddy. You can stay here.” As long as Helene doesn’t come after him. But Salinger is already working on making sure the woman has no legal rights to him, even if she shows up demanding a DNA test to prove he’s hers. “But if you ever need anything, I’ll be here for you. Understand?”

He nods, then his face lights up, and he says, “So, that means I’m going to have another six brothers.”

“Or sisters,” I say, a grin tugging at my lips.

“Can we visit your compound after they’re born?”

“Of course.”

With a smile, he darts off before I can say anything else, and I catch my mom smiling at me.

I smile too, knowing his innocence, his belief that everything will work out okay, is the kind of hope my family needs right now. It’s the kind of hope I used to have, but it feels like over the last few weeks I’ve lost some shreds of it. Especially, after seeing Saint Augustine’s. But now, seeing the light in Mason’s eyes reminds me that this fight isn’t over yet.

The cure won’t just mean a future for the unborn children. It means a future for young boys like Mason, who will one day need wives of their own.

“I told you everything would work out.” My mom pats my hand, then turns back to the stove.

“You’ve done a good job with him. I just hope I can be as good a parent as you when the time comes.”

“You will be,” Tia says as she comes into the kitchen, looking as beautiful as ever, a flush to her cheeks.

The other five husbands come in behind her, along with my dad, taking their seats around the large oak table. Smiles stretch across their faces as they dig into my mom’s food. And the conversation flows easily, my parents accepting my new family like it’s just as natural as their traditional one.

Banks and my mom are in a deep conversation, and once the meal is finished and we’ve helped clear off the table, he approaches me.

“I’d like to go with you to collect the flower samples.”

“Sure.” There’s still some unease between us.

The man is the opposite of everything I am, but I’m starting to think that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially as we hike the hills towards the west coast of the island, and he starts opening up to me.

“You’re one lucky bastard, you know that?” He grunts as I give him my hand to help him up a ledge on the rocky outcrop.

“Why’s that?”

He straightens when he’s up on the ledge. “This. Your family. Everything you grew up with. It’s rare in this world.”

“Thought you hated my backward upbringing.”

He grunts again. “I think I was jealous.”

My brows raise involuntarily. It’s probably the most open he’s ever been with me.

“A hundred college degrees and no amount of money in the world can buy this.”

I glance out at the ocean in front of us, then slowly turn, taking in the lush rolling, green hills, and I know he’s right.

He sits down on a rock and steeples his fingers against his mouth, dark eyes thoughtful. “Who owns this land?”

I follow his gaze. “I guess I do.”

“You?” It’s his turn to raise his brows.

“My grandfather owned this side of the island. My brothers weren’t born when he passed, and he left the entire plot of land to me in his will.”

“And you never thought to mention that before?”

I shrug. “It’s not worth much. The old house he and my grandmother raised my mom in is long gone.”

“It may not be worth much financially, but...” He shakes his head, his gaze roaming across the landscape, then falling on a small white blossom that’s growing out of a crevice in the rocks. He plucks it and twists the stem between his thumb and index finger. He mutters, “Maybe...”

“Maybe what?”

He glances up at me, a rare smile pulling at his lips, and hope flaring in his eyes. “When Tia gives birth; when she has a daughter, she’ll be free. We’ll be free. The rules state that we won’t have to live in the compound.”

I frown, not knowing what he’s getting at. “It’s safe there.”

“In some ways, yes. But is that how you want to raise our children? Surrounded by walls and men with guns fencing them in. Fencing you in.”

“What are you suggesting?”

He raises his hands, stretching his arms and motioning to the expanse. “This.”

“You want to move here?” My throat tightens.

“Yes.”

I blink at him, wondering if he’s playing some kind of a joke because this is Banks we’re talking about. Cold, aloof, all about work and books. But I see in his expression that he means what he says.

“We could build a house right over there...” He points to the highest point on the hill. “And a barn, with chickens, and sheep, and maybe even a pony...”

I chuckle, still shocked by his words.

“The others would never go for it. What about their jobs?”

“It’s only a short boat ride to the mainland. And hell, with this much land we could build a small airport. Have Fallon fly us in.”

The temptation he’s offering is almost too much because it’s a dream that I haven’t let myself think about.

“You really think it’s possible?”

“I do. And I don’t think it will take much convincing of the guys or Tia. We could make a real home here.”

We’re both lost in our thoughts for a long time. And when I finally look at him, I can tell his thoughts have turned dark, can practically read the fear in his eyes. And I know that as beautiful a dream it is to move to the island, build a house, and create a home here, we first need to save our wife and babies.