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Thankfully, Shell had been there, too, and had a better way with words than Izzy did. “What she means,” Shell said, whacking Izzy’s arm, “is that you need to trust him and what he’s telling you. Does he act like he wants out? Like being around your siblings bothers him?”
“No, not at all,” Mak had said. “He loves them.”
“Then stop waiting for disaster and enjoy what you’ve got,” Izzy had said.
Toni had rolled her eyes at that. “She speaks like she had no issues when she and Jig got together. Trust me, Mak, she was as hardheaded as anyone.” She’d sipped her wine. “Though she does have a point.”
So Mak had taken their advice and stopped looking for disaster around every corner. Listening to their counsel had brought her here. To a home where the kids had more space both indoors and out to live and play. To a carpet picnic complete with four pizzas, garlic knots, her salad, and a circle of happily munching family members.
To sharing a home with the man she loved and who she truly believed loved her back.
And loved her crazy family as though they were his own.
Of course, she hadn’t been able to sit next to him. As usual, Emmie and Kara monopolized him during the meal, sitting on either side of him and vying for his focus. He took it in stride, as he always did, expertly juggling their bids for attention and affection.
“This house is awesome,” Amy announced around a giant mouthful of pizza.
Mak didn’t bother to remind her she shouldn’t speak with food in her mouth. Moving day had proved to be too special to mar it with everyday scolding.
“I know!” Kara butt in. “We can all fit in a circle on the floor! It’s so great.”
With a chuckle, Thunder used his napkin to wipe sauce from Kara’s mouth. “This house is bigger, but once we get the furniture set up, we may not be able to sit like this. There are a lot of you.” He tweaked her nose.
“That’s okay,” Kara said, undeterred. “We can do it outside instead.”
“Now that we can definitely do,” Mak said. “We’ll have to get a grill so we can make hotdogs out there.”
“I lub hotdogs,” Emmie called out.
After her father’s death, the club had a contact monitoring channels for her name. Some computer whiz named Acer out in Arizona who knew Gumby, apparently. Copper had explained to her how they wanted to make sure she or the kids weren’t listed on any missing person lists or police reports.
They hadn’t been, thank God. But there had been an attorney searching for her. Apparently, her mother had some money in an account set up by her family. They’d tried for years to get her to leave the community to no avail. Somehow and at some point, someone, maybe the grandparents she’d never met, had listed her as a beneficiary.
Well, they’d left it to Delilah.
Acer had been able to perform some sort of internet magic, most likely of the highly illegal variety, and got the money to her. It’d been enough to make a really sizable dent in the cost of a huge house with six bedrooms, a huge backyard, and a kitchen that had made her weep when she first saw it. And one of the best parts—she could see Shell and Copper’s place from the front yard.
It was perfection and she had to pinch herself daily to make sure she hadn’t gotten lost in a beautiful dream.
Thunder glanced up from his food as though he’d sensed the serious direction of her thoughts. He winked and smiled the smile that still charmed her every time he flashed it her way.
Her heart swelled until her chest felt full to the max. This man had come to mean everything to her. He’d taught her how to enjoy her life, to be playful, and how to find pleasure in every day. He loved her and never failed to show it.
Thunder was a priceless gift she tried to repay in her own actions each day.
His grin disappeared and he tilted his head as though to ask if she was all right.
Holding his gaze, she nodded.
“I love you,” he mouthed.
Emmie patted his leg with greasy fingers leaving an oily handprint on his jeans. He didn’t even seem to notice, let alone mind. The man truly loved her family as much as he loved her.
Suddenly, overcome with emotion, Mak’s eyes watered. She pressed a hand to her heart and mouthed, “I love you, too,” back at Thunder.
His own eyes looked suspiciously wet as if he felt the significance of the simple moment as well.
But then every minute spent with him was important. Because they’d chosen each other and against some pretty impressive odds, found a perfection neither of them had dared to wish for.
