Damien shiftedthe box of food in his arms and knocked on the front door of Austin and Lacey’s house.Softly.Just in case baby Samuel was sleeping.
Harmony held another box in her hands.Damien ordered enough food for the four of them plus leftovers for a few days for Lacey and Austin.At Harmony’s recommendation.
The door swung open, and Austin laughed.“Did you buy everything they sell?Let me take that.”Austin reached for the box Harmony was holding.“I’m Austin.Nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” Harmony said, following Austin into the house.
Damien followed behind them, kicking the door closed behind him.“Harmony said you guys might need some leftovers.Having a baby sounds about like getting your Ph.D.”
“No sleep, lots of tears, and feeling like you have no fucking clue what you’re doing?”Lacey asked from the hallway.
“That’s exactly how I’d describe the last few years of my life,” Harmony said, making all of them laugh.“Thank you for letting me join you guys tonight.”
Lacey walked over to Harmony and hugged her.“I’m so happy to meet you.I need another female in this house.It’s all males all the time right now.”
Harmony chuckled.
“Hey!”Austin and Damien cried.
“I love you, but I need some female time, too.And some time to not feel like I’m only useful for reproductive reasons,” Lacey said.
Damien snorted, taking in the look on Austin’s face that said just how enamored he was with his wife.“Where’s Samuel?”
“Sleeping,” Austin said.“Should be up soon, though.Lacey’s great about creating a schedule for him.I keep fucking it up.”
Damien noticed Lacey didn’t contradict him.“I know nothing about babies, so don’t expect me to support you.”
“Neither do I,” Austin said.“She’s the one who reads everything.I have a hard time putting him down and walking away.”
“It’s only going to be worse when you come back to work full time,” Damien said.
“Don’t remind me.The few times I’ve come in, I felt like I was cutting off a limb.”Austin shook his head.“All the years I tried not to love her, and this could have been my life.”
“But you have her now.And Samuel.”
Austin nodded, swallowing roughly.“I will always regret my son not knowing his grandfather.”
“I have a feeling you two will make sure that baby knows how much he is loved, and how much Samuel would have loved him,” Damien said.The house was full of pictures of their family, including countless pictures of Samuel with both Austin and Lacey.The loss of him brought them together, a loss the entire team was still feeling nearly a year later.But knowing something good came out of it made it easier to take.
“So, what’s the deal with you and Harmony?You look like I did a year ago.”
Damien snorted.“Feel like it, too.”
Austin’s eyebrows shot up.“Yeah?”
Damien nodded.“I… It’s sudden, I know.But?—”
“I’m not going to tell you how you feel.I tried not to love Lacey for years.I failed miserably.”
“And look at you now,” Damien said.
Austin’s lips turned up in a wide smile.“Couldn’t be happier with that failure.”
Damien chuckled.
A cry pierced the air, followed almost immediately by a knock on the door.
“That must be Claudia and Lance,” Lacey said, heading for the door.“They texted after you guys did and said they wanted to stop by.”
