“He went between my legs, but because he isn’t short, his head hit my dick,” Vincent growls and Caleb winces and whispers, “Sorry Vinny,” using Aisling’s nickname, and the man melts on the spot, and I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing.
Hook, line and sinker, where Caleb is concerned, fuck, all the brothers are trying not to laugh at how quickly the prospect folded.
“Caleb, what’s going on?” Dirty asks with concern, knowing he wouldn’t have come into church unless it was an emergency, but anger soon radiates from him when his son states, “I invited Ms. Robins and Lyra for dinner, we need to go now so you can make your chili!”
Oh shit.
I wince at the look on Dirty’s face while the brothers all look elsewhere, knowing he's about to blow, something he rarely does with his son.
“Come on, Dad!” Caleb whines, the now seven-year-old not picking up on his dad's anger, and I clear my throat.
“Brother?” I question, and he vibrates.
“Caleb Scott Lee!” he snaps, his voice sharp and Caleb’s blue eyes widen in shock as he takes a step back. “I have told you several times, it was a no for you to invite them over. What on earth were you thinking?!”
I wince at his tone.Shit.
Caleb, despite the tears in his eyes, lifts his chin. "I was thinking I wanted my friend around for dinner with my teacher who you haven’t even bothered to meet! So get off that chair and come on! They will be here at five!" he replies.
That said, Caleb turns on his heels and storms out of church, and my eyes widen at his gall.
Damn, the kid is seven going on seventeen.
“Alex?” his blood brother Ace says lowly while Dirty vibrates next to him and demands, “The gavel, Doc!”
Uh oh…
Doc clears his throat and says, “Church tomorrow afternoon to finish going over the business's finances, church dismissed,” and bangs the gavel before Dirty’s chair scrapes, and he storms out of church.
“Oh shit, Caleb’s done it now,” Ace mumbles, and we all nod in agreement watching him leave with shock while Stone says, “We’ll jump in if Caleb gets too big for his boots, Tank, go get your girl,” and I lock eyes with him.
I give him a nod and stand before saluting the brothers, then I leave the church and head for the front door, knowing Jasmine kept Ais at home so she could figure out what she wanted to do with her life now that she’s home, and I ignore everyone in the common room, my focus – getting to my girls.
***
I walk through the front door five minutes later and, as I hang up my cut and drop my keys into the bowl near the door, I call, “Buttercup?” but frown when I don’t get an answer.
I walk into the living area, and worry hits me seeing the room empty, and just as I’m about to head upstairs to check the closets and Aisling’s room, instantly believing she’s run making my heart pound with fear, I hear a squeal from the backyard, and I sigh, my body relaxing.
“Fuck me, we really do need this talk…” I mutter to myself as I walk through the open living area, kitchen and dining combo, and go straight to the sliding kitchen doors.
I notice Jas sitting on the steps while Aisling swings, the dogs staying close by her and I smile as I envision our second child in Jas’s arms.
I could get used to this, I really could.
I open the door and walk to my girl and Aisling squeals, “Hi, Daddy!”
I grin and wave before taking a seat on the steps, wrapping my arm around Jasmine and pulling her close. Her head on my shoulder melts me as we watch our daughter play on her new, expensive outdoor set, which was worth every cent.
“Where’s your cut, buttercup?” I ask Jas after a few minutes of hearing Aisling, and she replies, “In the wash, Ais accidentally got paint all over it…”
I chuckle and kiss her head, making her sigh and grip my tee.
She knows we need to talk, and, just like me, she’s reluctant. But to move past everything, she needs to hear how I felt, and I need to hear how her mind was back then.
“Six years is a long time, Logan,” she whispers, and I hum because yeah, it is.
“I love you, Jasmine,” I say. “I love you so much, I want my ring on your finger and three kids with you, as we planned. Am I hurt you didn’t trust me? Yeah. Am I hurt that I missed Aisling’s milestones? Fuck yes. I resent you a little, but you need to give me some leeway, buttercup. It’s been two and a half months, and you act as if I’ll never get over this.”
