Her words settle on me, and my heart warms. “I’m talking to Calvin in the morning, aren’t I?” I ask, knowing all too well the answer.
“You can bring Gage with you if you’re worried about it,” she says with a grin. “Or Emmett.”
Linnea squirms in her sleep, kicking my ribs again.
“Maybe,” I say as I move my free arm to wrap around her shoulders. I pull her close, and her head lands in the crook of my neck on the opposite side.
Feelingthis, my girls like this…it’s more than I could have ever dreamed of. I didn’t think I could ever have this. Love. A family. I love it. This feeling, this bond between us. Auryn purrs against my neck. It makes me feel whole.
“But that’s a problem for tomorrow,” I say.
A moment later, the room turns to chaos. Riley and Kendal dive bomb onto the bed, shaking us apart, and Emmett falls into the center of the bed between them. I sigh, rolling my eyes as I shift Linnea, if only so they won’t wake her.
Just like that, the peace and tranquility disappear.
“I’m hungry,” Riley whines. Kendal cries in unison as Auryn groans.
“I’m sure dinner will be ready soon,” I say as I get up, not bothering to give Linnea back. Just as Auryn opens her mouth, Gage appears in the doorway.
“Dinner’s ready,” he says with a wide grin. “And if you’re both good and eat your whole plate, I have ice cream.”
The kids holler with excitement, and I turn to see Emmett is wrapped around Auryn like a second skin now.
“Better be rocky road,” I drawl.
Gage smirks. “I made sure to pick up some rocky road for you and cherry chocolate chip for Emmett.”
“Sweet!” Emmett says with excitement. The kids barrel out of the room, and I follow suit. Gage shoots me a grin.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” I say, and he nods.
I can hear Auryn and Em talking as I head down the hall to the nursery. When we renovated the dorm quarters and built the new nest, we knew the twins weren’t going to be it for us. Auryn and Gage both voiced their opinions on wanting a big family, so we made sure the nursery and the boys’ rooms were adjusted, too.
With one hand I turn the light on while the other holds my daughter’s tiny butt.
She’s still pretty small, despite being three months already. Size alone would be an indicator for an omega, but being as Linnea’s got a lot of variables in her blood, it’s not enough to say she is or isn’t. Only time will tell.
I carefully lay her down in her crib and turn on the star projector on her nightstand. The sounds of laughter and voices carry down the hall like a symphony all of their own.
“You coming?” Emmett’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. I look up, turning around to see him standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets. I notice the thickness of his beard, a testament to how long he’s been gone. My gaze settles on the way his eyes light up and I get a heady whiff of burnt cherries with the faintest hint of vanilla. It’s so faint, it’s barely noticeable, but it’s always there, along with the campfire and smoke. It’s not a bad smell, though. It’s bitter, it’s sweet…It’s undeniably Emmett. And I always miss it when he’s not here.
“Yeah,” I say as he pushes off the door frame. I turn back to look at Linnea, her tiny fist resting by her head.
“We can grab our ice cream to go,” he says softly as he comes to stand beside me.
“Huh?”
“After dinner. We can grab it to go. Then we can hang out with our little princess. Sound good?”
I turn to see the warmth of his smile, his mischievous grin.
My heart swells with pride. “Sounds great.”
His shoulders brush mine as he nods for me to follow him. I do without question. All annoyance has faded from earlier. He shuts the light off as we exit the room.
“And I might have a favor to ask you,” I say plainly. Emmett chuckles.
“Of course you do.”
