Chapter Six
Six Months Later
Sawyer and David pulled up to the house. It was so good to finally be home. Connecticut wasn’t that far away, but he’d missed the kids. Harry and Mo ran out the front door and straight to the car. Harry plastered his face to the back window to stare at the twins, as Mo ran around the car barking. Sawyer got out and stood beside him, peeking at the two newest additions.
“You’re finally home,” Ryder said, running for David. “I missed you.”
David hugged him, watching Sawyer smugly. “You see who he missed the most, right?”
“Oh, I see how it is,” Sawyer said with a smile. His kids fucking loved David and weren’t shy about showing it.
“I missed you the most, Dad,” Harry said, then mouthed I love you more to David.
“Why are the babies still in the car?” Sadie pushed Sawyer and Harry out of the way. “Where’s Penelope? She’s my only hope.” Sadie took the infant from her seat and cradled her close. The little girl had her daddy’s dark skin and hair. She wore white leggings and a yellow tutu. A little white headband stood out against her dark curls. “You and I will take over the house, peanut,” she whispered to her little sister. “I love your tutu, and now I need a matching one.”
David and Ryder took care of Penelope’s omega twin, Phineas. “It’s okay, Finn. We’ll protect you from the girls,” Harry said, running around the car with Mo. Phineas looked just like Penelope, but his hair was more brown than black. The baby boy looked dashing in his green overhauls set and striped bow tie. David made cute babies, but Sawyer was surprised at the amount of hair the two had. His three had been little baldies.
“Come on. Let’s get them inside. I take it from all the cars out here that we have company?” Sawyer watched Harry run back and forth between the babies.
“You’ll see, Dad. Don’t ruin the surprise,” Ryder said, gently carrying Finn. Sawyer had a feeling his older omega son was going to spoil his younger omega son. He’d have to make sure Harry didn’t get left out. His sweet beta boy was used to being the youngest.
They walked in the house and were met with half the town. The Wilson family was there, of course, but so were all their friends. Ray and Carter waved from the kitchen door. They had plates of food in hand. A very pregnant Elijah rushed forward, making grabby hands. “Hand her over, Sadie.” Sadie gently transferred Penelope to Elijah.
“Why, hello, Elijah darling,” David said, giving the man a peeved look. “It’s good to see you too.”
“Oh hush, you,” Elijah said. “I’m busy with this beautiful little girl. Look at her Olive,” he said. He looked around for his daughter. “You have to see her, Olive,” he bellowed, pushing into the crowd to find his daughter.
“Welcome home,” Gramps said, his arm around his wife. “I’m sorry for the intrusion, but we couldn’t wait to see the babies.”
David hugged the couple. “You two are never an intrusion. The others here?” David shrugged. “It just depends.” The whole Wilson clan had easily transitioned from friends to family. These two loving people had spent more time with Sawyer’s kids in six months then their biological grandparents had their whole lives.
“You love us,” Grey said, pressing a kiss to David’s cheek. He carried Rue and a plate of tamales. “Remember, I’m the one who told Ray your sad backstory and asked him to find Sawyer.”
“I’ll forever be in your debt, Greyson darling,” David said, shooting Sawyer a flirty look. “I love my boo.”
“We’re going to have so many play dates,” Elijah said, returning empty handed to grab Rue from Grey.
“Where did Penelope go?”
“She’s being passed around the room. Last I saw, Carter was cooing over her. I love it when my man turns to mush,” Elijah said.
“Here’s Finn, Gramps,” Ryder said, handing his little brother over. “I held him just like you taught me, but he feels a lot different than Daisy.” He turned to Harry, wrapping his arm around his younger brother. “Let’s go make sure the nursery looks good. Then we can get some more tamales.”
The two ran through the crowd and Sawyer let a little of his worry go. He had some good boys and he shouldn’t underestimate Ryder. He wouldn’t let Harry feel left out. He watched Gramps and Grammy fuss over Phineas. David kissed his cheek and linked their fingers together. They wondered through the room, talking and laughing with their friends. It was damn good to be home.
***
Later that night, Sadie piled on the couch with the boys, Mo, and Daisy to watch a movie while Cadbury cuddled in the cat bed with Chunky. David came down the stairs, exhaustion in his eyes. “The babies are finally down. I don’t think they’ll stay asleep, but we can hope,” he said.
Sawyer pulled his man into his arms, burying his face in David’s neck, relishing his familiar scent. “I love you, David,” he said.
“I love you too, honey buns.”
“Can we go upstairs? I need to talk to you a minute,” Sawyer said.
“Talk, huh? Is that what we’re calling it now?”
Sawyer laughed. “We’ll do that too.” He peeked into the living room. “Kids, we’re going to bed. Don’t stay up too late, alright? You all promised to help Grammy pick tomatoes tomorrow afternoon, and Gramps is coming by to take you to Uncle Grey’s for the morning, remember?”
“Yes,” Harry shouted. “I like riding the ponies.”
“Uncle Harper said I could help him in his workshop,” Ryder said proudly. Harper had a woodworking business, and Ryder loved it. He had even made three little carved figures – a horse, a rabbit, and a dog.
“I’ll bring Cadbury, so he can visit the other rabbits,” Sadie said. “He needs to learn that Chunky is not his mama. He’s a rabbit, but he thinks he’s a cat.”
“He can be a cat if he wants to, Sadie,” Harry said. “Leave him alone.”
David shook with silent laughter as the kids argued about whether Cadbury could be a cat or not. Sawyer shook his head and pulled him upstairs to their room. The past six months had been the happiest of his life. He loved his kids but having David at his side made all the difference. He even enjoyed his job now. Not that he had hated it before, but he liked it now instead of merely tolerating it.
“What did you want to talk about,” David asked, holding Sawyer’s hands and spinning them around in circles, grinning like crazy. “Do you want more kids? I admit, the little stinkers are adorable, but I think we’re about to become sleep deprived zombies.”
“I think we’re okay on kids,” Sawyer said, pulling David to a stop. “Stay right here.” He ran to the dresser and pulled open his sock drawer, digging around for a minute. He found what he needed then ran back to David, dropping to his knee in front of his man. He held up the open ring box. “Will you marry me, David?”
David’s mouth dropped open, and he stared at the vintage, single diamond, ornate engagement ring. “Is that a Tiffany ring? Oh, my god.”
“Yes, it is. Someone kept e-mailing me the link to the Tiffany & Co website, plus the links for different rings. This specific ring was featured quite a bit. The mystery person’s e-mail was [email protected]”
“Oh, imagine how creative that person must be. He has really good taste too,” David said, grabbing the ring out of his hand. “It’s beautiful,” he said, slipping it on his finger. “I love it,” he squealed, spinning around happily.
“So, does that mean you’ll marry me?” Sawyer tried not to laugh when David stopped spinning to give him a guilty look.
“Oh, that. Yes, of course I’ll marry you. I love you Sawyer,” he said, kneeling with him and kissing him.
Sawyer deepened the kiss and pushed David back, covering him with his body. David’s legs wrapped around his hips and he arched up. Crying came from the baby monitor sitting next to the bed and Sawyer groaned. “Cockblockers.”
David started laughing and slapped his chest. “You’re such a good daddy.” The two got up and straightened their clothes. They hurried down the hall, splitting up to each take a baby. Sawyer changed Penelope’s diaper and absently noted that Carter and Juan had done an excellent job on the nursery.
The walls were wide grey and white stripes. There were pink accents spread throughout the room with a fuzzy pillow on the rocker, a thick rug on the floor, and a pink elephant picture on the wall. Harper had built a double changing table, so the babies wouldn’t have to take turns. It was certainly coming in handy.
Sawyer lay Penelope back into her bed and watched David snuggle Phineas in the rocker. His fiancé slowly fell asleep, a snore escaping him. Sawyer picked up Phineas and put him back into his bed. He watched David sleep and thought about the last six months. A year ago, he’d been stressed and lonely, thinking he’d lost David forever. Now, his life was full of love and laughter. He needed to remember to thank Ray again for his Christmas call. Sawyer knew that David and he had found their happily ever after.