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Veronica was close enough that she’d heard what he said, and in a firm voice, she said, “I’m not your sub, Brent. And you’re not a Dom. You’re an abusive bastard.”
“Yeah, Brent,” Hank said with a satisfied grin. “But Veronica is most definitely a sub, and we’re her Doms.”
* * * *
“So Ace and Kemp paid Brent a visit?” Jack asked and then burst into laughter at the full dining room table on Thanksgiving afternoon. Everyone joined him, including Veronica.
Hank held her hand underneath the table and he glanced at her, enjoying the way her cheeks flushed while Travis told the story as he sat on her other side.
“Yeah. When I told Ace what had happened, he told me that he considered it his duty to pay Brent Haygard a visit. They caught up with him when he arrived at the impound lot to pick up his truck. They took him for a little ride and had a heart-to-heart talk with him that involved him swearing to move out of the apartment and to never contact Veronica again. I’m not sure if that promise came before or after he pissed himself. Oh, sorry, ladies. Sorry, Grandma Kate.”
The wizened lady grinned and waved her hand as she rocked with laughter in her seat. “Sometimes it takes more than the standard means for pressing the point home. Was he able to walk away from the situation with a better understanding of how bullies are dealt with here?”
Travis said, “Not only did he have a better understanding, he swore that he would move out, he would clean the apartment from top to bottom, and he would repair any damage done in Veronica’s absence. They told him about two of Kemp’s friends who live in Montana—near Billings as a matter of fact. These friends have personally guaranteed they will check in regularly until he turns in the keys to the landlord, and that they will follow up in the future to make sure he understood that we we’re serious. Kemp mentioned also that it was a shame Haygard was as hairy as he was because duct tape hurts even worse when you pull hair out with it.”
Veronica choked on her wine and giggled with the rest of the group. “That’s disgusting!”
Grace suddenly lurched from her chair and made a dash for the hall bathroom. All was silent for a few seconds and then Grandma Kate nodded and shook a finger in the air and said, “I knew something was off the last few days.” The expression on her face was jubilant and matched the look that suddenly crossed Grace’s sister Charity’s face.
In confusion, Hank looked at Jack, Adam, and Ethan, and noted the incongruous grins on their face.
“What?” Veronica asked as they chuckled.
Little Rose Marie craned her neck and looked down the hall. “Where’s Mama?”
Grace returned to the table a minute later and looked apologetically at her men and the rest of her group. “I guess there’s no need to make an announcement anymore, huh?”
“You’re pregnant!” Charity jubilantly crowed. “I’m gonna be an Auntie again. When’s this baby due?”
Rose Marie’s jaw dropped open and she shrieked, “Baby? I’m the baby!” Her little lip trembled and then the gigantic tears began to fall. “I’m the baby!”
Grace smiled and stroked her little girl. “Rosie, honey, you’ll always be my baby.”
Rose Marie slid out a big poochy lower lip and looked at her daddies. “I’m the baby.” She climbed into Grace’s lap, accidentally putting her knees in Grace’s middle. Grace flinched and suddenly turned a little green as she tried to hold it together.
Poor Grace.
Ethan pushed his chair back and softly said, “Rose Marie, come here, please.”
Rose Marie’s eyes widened and she sucked her lip as she climbed down and slowly went to Ethan. He lifted her into his lap and spoke softly. “Mommy feels sick, so I’m going to hold you for a bit. You will always be our baby. Always. But you are going to be a big sister, too. No more fussing.”
Rose Marie took a deep breath as Ethan spoke in that steady, controlled tone, which Hank recognized as the tone of a Dominant. She leaned against his chest and looked up at him with big green eyes. “Is it a girl baby?”
Ethan stroked her little cheek with a fingertip. “We don’t know yet, but whether it’s a boy or a girl, they’re going to need their big sister to watch over them.”
