“I’m fine. It was a bad one, but we managed to get it under control. Were you worried?”
“Yes,” I admit easily. “Knight said you’d be fine, but…” I trail off because I can’t say what I want to. I can’t tell him that I was terrified he’d get hurt before I could tell him that I love him.
“Oh, amore mio. I love that you care about me, but I don’t like that you’ve been worried. Did you remember to eat?”
I nod, then realize he can’t see me. “I had the breakfast casserole and then some of the noodles.”
“Are you okay that Octy and Knight stopped by? I didn’t ask them to check up on you,” he says, sounding wary.
“I know you didn’t, and yes, I’m okay.”
“As much as I miss having my brother on my team, it makes me feel better leaving you alone, knowing that Knight is literally two minutes away. When we build our house, he’ll be even closer.”
“Build a house? Where?” I question, wondering what he means.
“When Knight decided he planned to stay in Rockhead Peak permanently, he bought a parcel of land on the other side of the Barnetts’ property. It’s hundreds of acres, amore mio. He built his place for him and Octy, then offered chunks of land to all of the rest of us so we could continue to live together even if we’re not working together.”
“Oh,” I breathe, not sure what else to say.
“Buck and James, Nero and Tori, and Oz and Etta are already working with Cody Barnett’s construction crew to get started on their places. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to live there, but now that I have you, the idea of building a home and raising our family right next door to my brothers and their families sounds pretty damn perfect. Once I’m off shift, I’ll reach out to the architect, but in the meantime, you need to start thinking about what you want our forever home to look like.”
My eyes feel so wide they actually hurt. He must surmise something from my silence because he chuckles softly. “Switch to video.”
Pulling the cell from my ear, I press the screen and switch the call from audio to video, watching Warrick’s dirt-streaked face appear on the screen.
“Fuck, I miss you,” he exhales.
“I miss you too,” I admit quietly.
“Are you freaking out?” he asks.
I nod.
Smiling, he nods back. “I love you, Verity. I might have only just found you, but I’m not a stupid man. I don’t plan to ever let you go. So I’m going to marry you, then build you the most beautiful home and spend the rest of our lives making babies and raising them surrounded by the other people I care about the most.”
I’m not sure if the whimper that falls from my lips is want or fear. The dream he’s selling doesn’t make me want to run, but that doesn’t mean I can have it. Not yet anyway. Maybe in a year or two, when we really know each other. When I have a job and can show him I have more value than what’s between my legs. He knows that I was a stripper, he knows that I used my virginity to make money, and I’ve never sensed any judgment from him. But I can’t marry him while I’m still mooching off him. I can’t tell him I love him until I can show him that I’m more than just the doormat he found in the woods.
I plan to tell him all of that, but instead I ask, “You want kids?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“How many do you want to give me?”
I shrug. “I’ve never really thought about kids.”
“Well, considering I’ve been filling you with my cum every chance I’ve got for the last four days, you might need to give it some thought. When was your last period?”
Horror and fear make me go numb. I’m not pregnant. No one gets pregnant the first time they have sex.
“Amore mio.”
“Sorry,” I whisper.
“If my baby is growing in you right now, I’ll be over the moon, but if it’s not, and you don’t want to start our family just yet, then we should make you an appointment and get you on some birth control once you’ve had your period. So when are you due?”
“Next week,” I admit, shell-shocked.
