AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You could give it to me now!” Maggie cupped her hands around his face and stared deep into his eyes. “Please?”
Jackson groaned. “Stop trying to use your magical powers on me, little girl! You can’t have it until we get to the house. Where’d you learn to pout like that, anyway?”
69.
***Memphis***
Wells leaned close and kissed the shell of my ear. “How about we shove the kids off on your brothers and have a little fun of our own?”
A shiver worked its way down my spine. “I love that plan. They love babysitting. And I love your thing.”
“I thought it was my turn to babysit.” Jake leaned down and kissed my cheek, while holding a drooling Elizabeth in his arms. He wiped her drool away with his shirt and never even batted an eye. “I guess I could join them. They’re not getting this one from me, though.”
“Want to bet?” Jackson grinned at Jake. “I don’t get to see them like you do, so I think it’s my turn.”
“Move back here. I won’t be punished because you want to save Georgia.” Jake lifted his eyebrows at my little brother. “I will join you, but one attempt to leave me childless will be met with force.”
Monica chose that moment to rejoin us. “Sounds kinky.”
I watched in shock and surprise as both Jackson and Jake blushed and looked away. I looked at Knox, who seemed to be pretending to be oblivious, and then at Wells, who was suddenly very interested in his shirt sleeve. Tilting my head, I studied my little brother and my best friend. They’d both moved farther apart and looked ready to book it at any second.
Boone bounced William into my line of sight and narrowed his eyes. “We should go, right? We have the dinner still.”
Remy grunted his agreement. “Yep. Dinner. Bea and her family are meeting us there. She’s still furious that she didn’t get to come today, so everyone, watch out.”
“Not our fault that she and her husband got permanently banned from campus after starting a campfire on the front lawn. Not to mention the public indecency.” Boone shook his head. “I’m still surprised that campus security chose to tase first and ask questions later.”
I giggled and looked around at my family. It was so much larger and happier than I’d ever allowed myself to dream and it was all real. My brothers were happy and healthy. Around the time Jackson was celebrating five years of sobriety, Knox was celebrating his fourth full year of work at Remy’s company and his second anniversary with Monica. I wondered if there was something going on between Jake and Jackson, but I trusted Jake with my life, so trusting him with my brother would be a no-brainer.
My husbands were still crazy in love with me and couldn’t keep their hands off me. Every day was even sweeter than the last and I never forgot to stop and be grateful for the life I’d conned my way into. The guys still sometimes made fun of me for the lies I’d chosen to tell on my application all that time ago. Their favorite was the fact that I’d claimed to be an award winning swimmer. When they had a pool put in, they hadn’t realized that I’d been lying about that part, too. They found out I didn’t know how to swim the day they finally told me about the pool, but it was too late. Since then, I’d taken lessons as often as possible because the idea of not being able to save the kids if something happened was nightmarish.
We were still living in the guest house, waiting for the main house to be finished. It was cramped and most days someone tripped over something and had to catch themselves to avoid complaining too much, but it was home. The main house was only six months away from being finished. The guys had found several more of their mother’s diaries in the attic and one of them had included her vision of the main house if Don hadn’t taken over and made it look dark and unwelcoming. The guys ran with the ideas immediately, turning Don’s dark abode into something bright and airy, something almost as wholesome as the guest house.
Pete and I were already planning magical gardens for the front of the house, gardens that would be full of color and life almost year round. He’d taken a two-month long, way overdue honeymoon and I received pictures and texts from him almost daily of the plants he was finding on his adventures. He’d already sent back several boxes of bulbs that I was in charge of planting until he got back and took over again.
Everything and everyone in my life had come so far in the almost six years since I’d lied my way into the Hawke brothers' lives. I still sometimes felt like I had to be conning them for them to be as obsessed with me as they were, but they loved when I had those thoughts because they got to spend their time showing me how wrong I was to question my worth. They usually did it with their mouths, hands, and other impressive appendages.
Later that night, when our group had moved to the restaurant and eaten our way through the menu, everyone seemed a bit calmer. Maggie was still awake, holding out for her gift from Jackson, but William and Elizabeth were out. William’s blonde hair was sticking out in every direction and I loved it because he looked just like all three of his dads when they woke up in the morning. He had Remy’s bright blue eyes, but I thought his smile was one hundred percent Wells. Elizabeth, like Maggie, looked just like me. I was glad that at least William looked like them.
Putting my hand over my stomach, I hoped the twins looked like them. I knew the guys didn’t care one way or another, but I loved the idea of dressing the kids up for pictures and making the guys dress just like their mini-mes.
We’d just been given our dessert when I stood up and looked around at everyone. My heart was in my throat, but I knew I was safe and couldn’t have been in more supportive company.
“I just want to thank each and every one of you for helping me get here. All of you mean so much to me. Six years ago, I thought I’d never have anything better than what I had right then. It wasn’t about money or things, but family. Being raised with just Knox and Jackson, I got used to being pretty alone. Today, though, I’m surrounded by loving people who I’m lucky enough to call family. My dreams have come true.
“I’m going to be working for a charity that the guys introduced me to when we first met. The kids in this program will finally have access to a library, on location, and I can barely wait to start. I want to help someone the way I was helped when I was a kid. It’s going to be hard, though. Balancing the kids, the husbands, the friends, the pregnancy. I know I can do it, though, because I have a support sy-”
“What pregnancy?” Remy looked at my stomach and then back up to my face. “What pregnancy, sweetheart?”
I grinned and held my belly. “Turns out, birth control is no match for y’alls swimmers.”
Knox groaned. “Memphis Mae! Come on. We’re eating!”
Boone stood up so fast his chair tipped over. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yeah. A little over three months.” I winced. “And you know how I said twins would be fun?”
Bea screamed and jumped in place. “I spread the twin curse! I spread the twin curse!”
