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I scanned the great room,taking in the insane number of people. This was seriously overkill. Five guys inside and six guys outside. Maybe more. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few were hiding in bushes or behind cars, ready to jump out when the boogeyman appeared. I tried not to roll my eyes. Our neighbors were going to think the president was here, because these private security guys looked like secret service. Not to mention the not so subtle black cars that lined our street.
But Kyle was adamant that Hattie could not come see her brand-new niece without protection, since the stalker situation had still not been resolved. Naturally, he was always thinkingabout every possible bad outcome. I just wanted everyone safe. That was all I cared about.
But again, this was a bit much. Unless this guy was invisible or something, he wasn’t getting anywhere near our house.
“Can I hold her?” Hattie nodded to the bundle wrapped in a pink blanket in Kyle’s arms.
“Yeah, I guess it’s okay.” Kyle’s gaze bounced around the room, his eyes narrowing on each man he surveyed. “I need to go warm up her bottle.”
He transferred the sleeping newborn to Hattie, and as he stepped away, his whole body was wrought with tension. I wished I had a magic solution that would stop him from stressing and worrying about every worst-case scenario.
“Can I feed Emma?” Teddy asked as he followed Kyle into the kitchen.
Callie, hot on his heels, piped up. “It’s my turn, Teddy. You did it last time.”
Kyle, as patient as ever with them, explained to Teddy it was his sister’s turn.
“Does she look more like Teddy or Callie when they were babies?” Hattie gingerly sat in one of the large armchairs across from me, wearing a serene smile and cooing at our baby girl.
“Callie, I think.” Though so far, Emma’s temperament was far different from colicky Callie’s had been. “But she’s definitely more chill like Teddy was.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised she’s still zonked out like this with so much commotion around her.”
The dark-haired guy standing off to the side watching Hattie hold our baby caught my attention. The longing on his face instantly explained why heaven and earth had been moved to allow Hattie to visit with us today. Anyone who went through this much trouble to make the woman he was protecting happy had to be invested in more than what his job called for.
I shook my head and chuckled. I couldn’t wait to see where that situation led.
“Aunt Hattie, did you want to give Emma her bottle?” Callie asked, padding back into the great room.
“Sure. Maybe I can start it, and then you can take over?” Hattie patted the spot next to her in the oversized chair. “We can’t stay too long.”
Kyle stepped up behind his sister and crossed his arms, looking out the window behind me where I sat on the sofa. He glared at the bodyguards who were gathered and chatting outside in our front yard. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went out there and ordered them around.
But really, what were they supposed to do? Unless this stalker was a complete idiot, he wasn’t coming anywhere near Hattie today.
An hour later, when the last of Hattie’s entourage had left, I could finally breathe easy. It still baffled me that sweet Hattie would need bodyguards. If I had to pick a Williams sister who’d find herself in a situation like this, hands down, I would have chosen Savannah.
The scene that greeted me when I stepped back into the great room from the kitchen was enough to take my breath away. Kyle had settled at one end of the sofa, a bundled Emma in the crook of his left arm. Callie sat nestled against his right side. Teddy sat on the floor at Kyle’s feet, and the three of them were laughing at the movie playing on the TV.
With a now familiar warmth blooming in my chest, I brought the bowl of popcorn over and placed it on the table in the middle of the open space. When I sat on the other end of the sofa and Teddy immediately crawled up and rested his head in my lap, I’d never felt more content.
After the chaos of the day, the peace felt even sweeter. Now we could enjoy being a family of five again.
At least until tomorrow, when Kyle would stressall over again at the number of visitors we would likely have. Hopefully this time, no one showed up surrounded by bodyguards.
