“The night that we went dress shopping after Sawyer took you and the girls home safely, I went and picked it out. I realized that night that I would be lost without you. I got back to that dress shop, and you and the girls were gone, and all I could think about was how stupid I was for not staying by your side. I worried that your ex got to you three, and when I found out that Sawyer took you out of there and got you all home safely, I knew right then and there that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, baby?” Tana sat staring at the ring and finally looked up at him.
“You know that it’s just not me? I’m a package deal with the girls.” She looked worried, and he wanted to laugh.
“Honey, I love your girls as if they were my own. Hell, I’d like to adopt them if you’ll let me. I want all of you, all three of you.” Tana slid off the sofa to kneel with him on the floor, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I will marry you, Torren. I love you so much.” She covered his mouth with her own and pulled him down onto her body. Tana acted like she wanted to devour him, and honestly, he felt the same way. It was as if he was waiting for her and the girls his whole life, and she was finally here. He didn’t want to waste a single minute with her. He slipped the ring onto her finger and admired how perfect it looked on Tana’s hand.
“It’s beautiful, Tor,” Tana gushed.
“You’re sure you want this, baby?” he asked, pulling her up from the floor and back onto his lap. “I was afraid that you would think it’s too soon.” Tana smiled up at him, and she was so fucking beautiful that he felt his heart stutter.
“Yes, I’m sure, Torren. Are you sure?” She bit her bottom lip in worry. Torren freed it with his thumb and kissed it into his mouth.
“I’m sure. But I do have one question.” She looked up at him, waiting for him to ask. He was almost afraid to say the wordsas if he was already asking her for too much, but he needed to know.
“Do you want more kids?” Torren asked. Tana’s face lit up and she started laughing—not the response he was hoping for. He wasn’t lying when he said that he wanted to adopt her girls, but since meeting Tana, the thought of having a few more kids with her seemed right.
“Sorry,” she breathed, “I just didn’t expect you to be the one asking that question. I have been wondering if you wanted kids.” Torren nodded, deciding that honesty was the best way to go. If Tana laughed herself silly at the thought of having more kids, he would understand and find a way to be content with the little family that they already had.
“I do want kids with you, honey. Hell, I never wanted them before, but meeting you and seeing how great Beth and Sarah are, I want a whole bunch of kids.” Tana stopped laughing.
“Oh Torren, I want that too,” she cried. How did this woman go from laughing hysterically one minute to sobbing the next? He was having trouble keeping up.
“I can’t stop thinking about it. When we were at the wedding tonight and I touched Piper’s belly, all I could think about was being pregnant with your baby.” The thought of Tana’s belly swollen with his baby made him hard, and he couldn’t seem to keep his hands to himself. He rolled her underneath his body and kissed her until she was panting with need. The radio crackled from where he tossed it on the kitchen counter across the room. He heard a faint voice trying to come through, and he cursed. Tag was trying to reach him, and that couldn’t be good.
“Sorry, baby, but if that’s Tag, something is up. My brother wouldn’t call on that thing unless there was an emergency.” Tana sat up, worry etched on her face, and Torren hated that their night alone was going to be cut short. He grabbed the radio and sent Tag a signal letting him know that he was switchingto another channel. He and his brother used hand radios for so long that they had a system down for every emergency.
Tag’s voice came through loud and clear over the radio waves, and Torren could hear his panic. “Pipe’s in labor. We need you guys to come back down the mountain so I can get her to the hospital.” Torren could hear Piper’s moans in the background and Sadie’s cries. The girls must be terrified. Torren radioed back that they were on their way, and he grabbed all their gear, happy that they didn’t have time to unpack. Tana took a last look around as he put out the fire and turned off the generator.
“We’ll come back soon, and next time we’ll bring the girls. They will love going for hikes up here and there is a river that runs through part of the property about a quarter-mile down. We can go fishing,” Torren promised.
Tana smiled and took her bag from him, following him to the truck. “I know, I’m just worried about Piper giving birth to a baby that’s half-giant,” she teased.
Torren barked out his laugh. “Well, if we do have kids someday, you’ll find out firsthand just what that’s like.” He helped her up into the cab of his truck and didn’t miss her smirk.
“Let’s see how Piper does. I’d like to reserve my decision until after your niece or nephew gets here.” Tag nodded and rounded to his side of the truck. He couldn’t believe that he was going to be an uncle. Hell, he was going to be a husband and a father soon if he had his way.
“Let’s go get the girls so Tag and Pipe can go birth a half-giant.” He took Tana’s hand in his and started driving back down the mountain. His plans for a little family trip were going to have to wait. He would convince Sawyer that getting Tana and the girls out of town was the best way to go. He had a feeling that Matt wasn’t going to wait around forever to take his chance, andhe didn’t want to allow that asshole to get anywhere near his family.
Matt watched as Tana and that giant oaf loaded his daughters into his truck. He couldn’t believe his luck in finding that they had left the twins to go off on their own. Bile rose to his mouth when he thought of his wife alone with that guy. Now, they were acting like the perfect little family, and that made him sick. They were his family, and if he couldn’t have them, no one would. He was going to have a little fun, and then he would make sure that there would be no witnesses to testify against him this time. He would finish what he planned on doing to Tana and the girls, and then he would take care of the asshole who was trying to steal his family. No one took what was his—no one. He trailed them back down the mountain, staying far enough back not to garner any suspicion. The last thing he needed was to deal with unwanted attention. They had so many cops and bodyguards watching Tana and the girls, he wondered if he would ever get his chance to make his move. All he needed was to just get close enough to grab one of the girls, and then his wife would pay some attention to him. That little bitch would beg him to let her baby go, and he was willing to bet that she would even trade places. Then, when she showed up, he would make sure that none of them walked out of there alive. He’d show her for walking away from him—he would show them all.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tana sat in the hospital waiting room, hoping to hear some good news. They went home and got some rest, but Torren was too excited to meet his new niece or nephew to sleep. So, after breakfast, they got dressed and headed to the hospital. Poor Piper was in labor for almost twelve hours now, but the nurses said she was close to being ready to push. Torren looked a little green every time someone mentioned anything too personal, like Piper pushing a baby out of her body. Tana almost wanted to laugh, but then she remembered how she felt waking up after she had the twins, and that was no laughing matter.
Lorna and Henry showed up, and Sawyer spent the night guarding Piper’s room, making sure that no reporters or photographers got to her. Sunny’s mom picked up Sadie since Sunny and Aaron were on their honeymoon. Tana brought coloring books and snacks for the girls, but they were getting restless. She hated asking Torren to leave the hospital, but she wanted to take the girls to their dance class to let them work off some energy. Torren brought her a coffee, and she decided to take her chance.
“I’d like for the girls to go to their dance class. They haven’t been for two weeks now, and they both miss it.” Tana knew that she wasn’t playing fair, but she was loud enough that the girls could hear her. They chimed in, begging Torren to let them go to their class. She knew that he’d never be able to tell them no, but she also felt bad that they were asking him to leave the hospital.
“I can get an officer to take us so you won’t have to leave before the baby is born. Besides, they won’t let the girls go back to see Piper or the baby right away.” Torren looked worried as he seemed to weigh the pros and cons of letting them go. “We can’t just stop doing everything that makes us happy, Tor. We can’t let him win. At some point, we are going to have to move on with our lives and try to live as normally as possible.” She crossed the waiting room to wrap her arms around Torren. Tana kind of felt bad that she was asking so much of him, but she also knew that keeping her girls cooped up wasn’t fair to them.
“You’ll stay with the officer? No going off by yourself?” Torren seemed hesitant, but she was hoping that he would see that she was right; they had to live their lives.
“Yes, cross my heart and—” Torren covered her mouth with his big hand.
“Don’t finish that sentence, honey.” Tana kissed his palm and pulled him down for a quick kiss. “Thank you, Torren.” She smiled up at him.
“I’m not convinced that this is a good idea, baby. I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to any of you.” He looked over to where the twins were coloring and went back to Tana.
