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Annabelle:Yup!
Nattie:Damnit. I’m gonna have to find something cuter to wear.
Chloe:You guys are all little lemmings. Wear what you want.
Nattie:GTG. I see Coop.
Might as well wear this dress tonight. I don’t know how much longer it’s going to fit. Once my outfit is sorted, I walk into Tommy’s room and lay out his jeans and a “Declan shirt.” He started calling his Henleys “Declan shirts” because he wears them so often. I was just impressed that he was aware enough to notice that. I mean, come on, it’s not like it has dinosaurs on it. Of course, I lay out a flannel shirt with dinosaurs on it to go over the Henley and tell him to get dressed.
I’m zipping up my brown leather riding boots when I hear the alarm disengage. We started arming it as soon as Declan started spending the night. He insisted. So now, as soon as we walk in the door, the alarm gets armed to “Stay.” No getting in or out without turning it off.
I hear Declan drop his bag moments before I hear, “Belles, baby? Where are you?”
“I’m in the bedroom, babe.” I smile to myself. I’ve been trying out the nickname thing on him. He’s called me “baby” for a while, and even though I didn’t love it at first, it’s grown on me now. Something about the way he says it, and the way he looks at me when he does, just melts my insides.
When he steps into the bedroom, carrying a bouquet of daisies, I may actually swoon. “Declan... What are these for?”
He hands me the pretty pale-purple vase before his hands cup my jaw and his lips brush over mine. “I finally get to tell our family tonight that you’re gonna marry me. I wanted to celebrate, and you’ve mentioned daisies are your favorite.”
I place the vase on my vanity and wrap my arms around his waist. “I love you, Dec.”
He squeezes me tight as Tommy bounces into the room. “Do you think Rocky will have the babies tonight?”
He hasn’t stopped talking about this all week. Rocky is due December twenty-seventh, and I swear Tommy is going to make me drive over there every day during the entire two months that his new puppy has to stay with its momma.
“Little man, the puppies are coming soon. I promise. But you have to be patient. We’ve got to wait two whole months after they’re born before they can leave their mommy.”
His face falls like it’s the first time he’s hearing this instead of the fiftieth.
When we pull into Coach and Katherine’s driveway a little later, there are cars and SUVs scattered everywhere. The beautiful brick house looks so pretty with white Christmas lights dotting the roof and lovely, red-ribboned wreaths hanging in each window. There’s landscape lighting illuminating the whole house, and it looks so festive, I want to cry.
Jesus. If my hormones are this bad at just over two months, what will they be like a few months from now?
We follow Declan in the side door and hear Christmas carols playing through the speaker and laughter echoing throughout the house. The smell of fresh bread and Christmas wafts through the air. At one time, I loved this time of year, but that was a long time ago. Thanks to Dec, I’m starting to get some of that back.
When we enter the kitchen, it looks like we’re the last ones to arrive. The whole gang’s here, and all conversation comes to a halt when Cooper sees us.
It’s only been three months since we’ve seen him, but he looks so different. His bleach-blonde hair that he always wore a little too long and a little too shaggy was shaved off for boot camp and is currently a buzz-cut close to his head. It grew in darker than it used to be and is now closer to Declan’s brown than Nattie’s blonde. He’s filled out too. He was a muscular kid before he left. Now he’s a muscular man in his jeans and button-down black shirt.
He and Dec meet each other in the middle of the room and hug. Dec actually bear-hugs Coop and picks him right up off his feet. He drops him back down, saying, “Missed you, little brother.” They do the back-pound thing, and Coop hits Dec’s arm.
“Missed you too, man.” Then he turns to Tommy and me. “Tommy boy!” He raises his arms for a high-five, and Tommy surprises the whole room by running over to Cooper and throwing his arms around his waist. Coop looks at me, bewildered, and I know I look the same.
“You came back,” Tommy exclaims.
This giant of a man bends his knees a little to get eye level with Tommy. “I promised you I would.”
Tommy’s arms circle his waist again. “Not everyone comes back.”
Oh my God. I quickly cross the room and wrap my arms around my brother and Cooper. And cry. Because seriously, how could anyone not cry now? Luckily, Rocky comes over and rubs her body up against Tommy’s leg, and that quickly diverts his attention.
Cooper gives me a gentle hug and whispers, “I think my brother just growled, Belles. Should we fuck with him?”
“No, asshole, you shouldn’t. We’ve had enough of that this week,” Declan answers him.
These are my favorite nights. Everyone is together and happy. Laughing and telling stories. Cooper brought his battle buddy, Linc, home with him for the next two weeks. He’s a little shorter than Cooper, closer to Murphy’s height, maybe six-foot-two or three, with close-cut blonde hair and eyes the color of a blue summer’s sky. Not to mention that sexy Georgia twang. This southern gentleman has had a lot of fun, listening to all our stories and filling us in with a few of his own.
Coach and Katherine pass out flutes of champagne. Coach holds his glass up high before saying, “A toast to my son and Lincoln. We are so proud of you for choosing this path and—”
