Crone entered, dropping kisses on both their foreheads. “My two favorite ladies.”
“How’s your day been?” Sienna asked, adjusting Hope’s bottle.
“We’re making amazing progress.” His eyes lit up with enthusiasm. “The new Merlot seedlings are showing incredible potential. The soil composition is perfect for?—”
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Looking down at Hope’s drooping eyelids, he smiled softly. “Let me take this outside. Someone’s about ready for dreamland.”
When he returned, his face had lost all color.
“Crone?” Sienna’s heart clenched. “What’s wrong?”
“That was... that was Lisa, Denise’s sister.”
“Carter’s aunt? What happened?”
His voice cracked. “Denise is dead. She was working in a conflict zone last week and… she got killed by a stray bullet.”
“Oh, Crone…”
“There’s more.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair. “They just read her will. She... she gave me Carter, Sienna. Full custody. My son... he’s coming home.”
“Coming home?” Sienna’s voice was barely a whisper. “Here? To us?”
“Yes.” The fierce Dom’s touch turned gossamer-soft as he traced Hope’s dark curls, a giant of a man undone by love and joy. “We’ll have two beautiful children, my love. Both a son and a daughter.”
“When?” Sienna could barely breathe watching the joy on her husband’s face.
“Lisa’s bringing him next week. He…” His voice caught. “God, Sienna, he was so brave on the call just now. Trying to be strong, asking when he could come to Daddy’s house. He remembers the vineyard from our video calls.”
“Of course, he does. He always gets so excited showing you his drawings during your Sunday zooms.”
“He asked if his new baby sister is as pretty as in the photos I sent.” A tear slid down his cheek. “Lisa says he keeps showing everyone pictures of Hope, telling them about his little princess sister.”
“Oh, my love.” Tears filled Sienna’s eyes as she reached for his hand. “You’re already the father he needs. He adores you.”
“I just... all those years when I could only see him a few times. The visits were so short. Now he’s lost his mother, and everything’s changing for him…”
“No negativity, my love. Remember what you told me when I didn’t want to leave Hope to go on a honeymoon? We now live by our motto of positive manifestation and living life with passion.” She squeezed his fingers. “Carter has you. His daddy, who never misses a video call, who sends him care packages full of silly things that make him laugh. He knows how much you love him. How much we love him.”
A small smile curved his lips. “Our broken souls somehow made something beautiful, didn’t they? A family.”
“More than beautiful.” She looked down at Hope, then back at him. “I never thought I’d be a mother, and now... now I get to be mommy to two precious children. Though I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. What if Carter doesn’t like me when we meet?”
“Are you kidding? He already likes you. Remember how he made you tell the dragon story three times last zoom call? And he keeps asking if you’ll teach him to bake cookies like the ones we sent in his care packages.”
“Those were Heaven Leigh’s store-bought cookies,” she chuckled.
“He doesn’t need to know that. Yet.” He winked. “We’ll learn together.”
Her smile turned sultry. “Well, since we’re about to have a curious almost-six-year-old and a baby in the house, maybe we should make the most of our alone time. Especially since this little angel is sound asleep.”
“Ah, my hot little wife,” he growled, carefully lifting Hope from her mommy’s arms. “You always know exactly how to kickstart my engine.” After settling Hope in her bassinet, he stripped off his shirt, reaching for Sienna’s sweater.
“Crone!” she squealed. “Not here!”
“Why not? It’s just us three, one of which is sleeping and besides, our bedroom’s too far. I need you now, wife.”
“Now?” One eyebrow arched as she lifted her hips, helping him with her clothes. “Like in… right now?”
“Right. Now.” He settled between her thighs, then snapped his hips and thrust balls deep inside her.
“Ahh… yess,” she purred as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“That’s it. Hold on tight, kitten. It’s gonna be a rough ride.”
Her laughter turned to sighs of pleasure. “I knew marrying you was the right thing to do,” she giggled. “You give the best sofa sex ever.”
The End
