“Thanks, Nick. You’re so good to me, and you’re like a big brother. I appreciate you so much.” Every chance he got, he told Nick that because he really thought Nick was lonely and a little adrift, and that sucked. Nobody needed to be that way. Everybody deserved to have family around them. He got that now because he had it, and he wasn’t going to let go of it.
“I love you,” Laird told him. “So much.”
He knew that particular “I Love You” was as much for Nick as it was for Laird. Laird was really grateful for how much Devon cared for Nick and he knew it.
He was so honored by all of this. Everyone had been so kind, and he loved that he could count the babies that he’d delivered. He could see the reflection of their brand-new, tiny faces in their growing visages.
“This has been an amazing party, everyone. Thank you so much.”
Nick handed him his cake, and he hummed happily. “This looks so good.”
He’d been exhausted, and now he was just hungry.
He dug in, sharing a bite or two with Laird on the way.
“Thank you for this, love.”
“Anytime.” Laird winked at him. “Well, I mean, maybe we should get through having this baby before we start talking about the next one…”
He cracked up. “Don’t make me hurt you. I could, you know, this baby and me? We’re tough.”
“I know. But you don’t have to be that rough and tumble, I promise.”
Devon just grinned, the cake perking him up a bit. No, he didn’t have to be so tough that he could go it alone. He had people who loved him, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
“Ithink we should go away for the weekend, baby.”
“What?” Devon blinked at Laird, and Laird grinned at his confusion.
“Well, I know you’re working less right now, but you’re not quite off your feet full time yet. Even if we just go over to Hot Springs Junction and stay at that cute little hotel Hank says is so nice, it will be great.”
“Oh, I would love that. They say there are some super cute shops over there. Like old school, like it used to be here before all you alphas started moving in and making babies.”
Laird hooted at the teasing. “Secret Springs can only get so big, baby. The mountains and rivers make it that way. But yeah, it’s supposed to be as cute as Silverton.”
“Without the cool railroad.” Devon winked. “But they do have a bunch of haunted stuff.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. Did you know that the Bad Badger has a ghost too?”
“Really?” Devon blinked over, obviously surprised. “No shit?”
He nodded, tickled to share something about thetown that Devon hadn’t known. “That’s what Jeb says. There’s some kind of an entity in there. It’s been a tavern for God knows how long. I think it actually predates the hotel.”
“Oh wow, that’s neat.” Devon stretched up tall, his back popping. “Well, make sure when you go in there and have your beers that no spooky creature tempts you away.”
Laird rolled his eyes. “It would have to be a pretty damn amazing spectral form, one that looked exactly like you.” He said that last bit before he got himself into more trouble. “One hundred percent.”
Devon snorted at him, and rolled his eyes. “That is kind of cool about the bar. These little towns are just full of exciting, interesting things.”
“They are. I know the hot springs is mostly off limits at this point in your pregnancy, but the Junction is a tiny town, so it’s an easy walk on Main Street.” Laird just wanted Devon to get away from work stress, as Raven said he was wearing himself out too much.
“I think it sounds great. You just let me know when we’re going, as I’m assuming that you’re talking to Raven about it.” Devon yawned and winked. “Are you able to take off a couple days?”
“Yeah, Nick said he’d even come feed the cats.”
