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YakCal slid a beer to Yak. “I’m glad you don’t need an attitude adjustment.”
Yak shifted his three-year-old daughter, Evanna, to his left side, grabbed the beer with his right hand and took a long swig. “What are you talking about?”
Squeals of children laughing pierced the air. Yak fought to keep hold of Evanna in her wet swimsuit. His daughter loved the water as much as her mother, add other kids into the mix and she never wanted to leave the pool.
Cal grinned and nodded at Evanna. “I don’t think you’ve stopped smiling in the past three years.”
Yak took another pull of Yuengling – at Cal’s house it was the only beer on tap, unless a brother brought something else. “I won’t argue with you, since you and Mallory are hosting my son’s first birthday party.”
Mallory bustled behind the small patio bar to grab a bottle of white wine from the mini-fridge. “That’s because at your house all the kids would be swinging on that hammock of yours. It’s a hazard.”
Volt perched on the bar stool next to Yak. “Yeah, but it’s your daughter who starts that shit, Mallory. If you and Cal would get your own hammock she wouldn’t be such a troublemaker.”
Yak choked on laughter. Cal and Mallory’s daughter, Alexandra, was far from being a troublemaker… though she dug the dragon-crested hammock in a big way.
Mallory aimed annoyed side-eye at Volt, but slid behind Cal. He stopped her with an arm around her waist and kissed her.
From outside the screened-in patio, Simone yelled, “Eww! Uncle Cal, leave Auntie Mallory alone!”
Cal watched Mallory stroll back to the pool deck, then he looked at Volt. “Your daughter’s just as much of a troublemaker, Volt. She acts like she’s never seen two people kiss.”
Volt shook his head. “It’s that age, man. She’s twelve and has boy-fever, but thinks kissing is gross.”
Yak took a deep breath and caught Volt’s gaze. “Is it still the best decision you ever made?”
Volt’s eyes widened a touch. “Don’t ask stupid questions, Yak. Of course it is. Not that it matters since what’s done is done, but don’t you feel the same way?”
When Nora gave birth to Evanna, Yak had never felt so many emotions. He loved his daughter so much his chest clinched with pain. At the same time, he’d never been so damned scared either. The number of things that could happen to her overwhelmed him.
If having Evanna had filled him with love and fear, Grant’s arrival served to remind him there was no end to the love he had to give… and no end to the amount of worry he had for his kids.
His thoughts were cut short the moment Evanna arched her back. “Down, Daddy!”
He wrapped both arms around her. “No, ma’am. You need a break.”
“Me swim, Daddy,” she whined.
Cal put a juice pouch on the bar. Yak grabbed it and offered it to his girl. “Drink up, mermaid. You can’t get dehydrated.”
Evanna slurped down her juice, struggling to keep her eyes open. Yak glanced at Volt. “To answer your question, Prez, yeah. Having kids was the best decision I’ve ever made. Can’t believe I almost convinced myself it was a bad idea.”
The sliding glass door opened. Nora stepped onto the patio carrying Grant, her lips twisted with a scowl. “Don’t let her fall asleep, Noah. She needs to be awake when we sing Happy Birthday to her little brother.”
He pressed his lips together to hide his smile. “Princess, neither one of them are going to remember this.”
Nora’s green eyes widened. “They can still look at pictures. And those won’t happen if she’s conked out on a chaise lounge.”
Cal cleared his throat. “Give us some credit, Nora. Mal and I would put her on a couch inside. She’d get sun burned on a lounger.”
“Elenora Rose, this is no time to dawdle,” Cheryl called from behind Nora.
With a long, quiet exhale, Nora moved closer to Yak, clearing the way for Cheryl to bring out the smash cake. Gary followed his wife carrying paper plates and a box of plastic utensils.
“Yo, biker bro!” Sydney yelled from the side gate.
Sydney looked ready to burst even though she was only seven months pregnant. Fred had one arm around her shoulders, and a humongous glittery-blue giftbag in his free hand. The two of them made their way across the pavers.
Evanna set her juice on the bar. “Sydie!”
It struck Yak that he had more family than he ever could have asked for – possibly more than he deserved. In less than two months, his best friends were going to be parents – and they’d been even more adamant than Yak about not wanting kids. Yet, fate or Mother Nature (or both) had other ideas and Yak couldn’t wait to meet Syd and Fred’s little one.
As though he could read Yak’s mind, Volt slapped him on the back. “Yeah. You got all the best life has to offer, brother.”
A week later, Yak swung a leg over his bike and stared at the front doors to Platinum’s. For once the club had closed on time and he was leaving before sunrise. That idea reminded him of when he met Nora which brought a smile to his face. He slid his key in the ignition and fired up his Harley. The headlight cut through the inky darkness. Every morning he fought the urge to race home. At four a.m. JSO loved to pull people over.
He parked his bike next to the carriage house and swung off. As quietly as he could, he entered through the side door to the main house – away from the kids’ rooms. Evanna had sleeping through the night down pat, but Grant still struggled.
“You always take your time climbing the stairs. Every single morning,” Nora said, standing at the top of the staircase, holding Grant on her hip.
He smiled. The day he didn’t take those stairs slow was the day he’d need his head examined. As a wedding gift Nora had given him four framed photos. The four pictures he’d taken to “steal the moon” for her.
“With these pictures you stole my heart, so hopefully you’ll know that’s what I’m giving you,” she’d said with watery eyes.
Since he wanted to see them every day, he’d carefully hung them along the stairs. Each night, those pictures reminded him of how damned lucky he was to have Nora in his life, and all the blessings she gave him.
“Dada,” Grant said, reaching for Yak.
“Everything good at Platinum’s? I told you Punc and Tundra could handle it,” Nora said.
He took Grant from her, marveling at the heat babies produced. “Yeah, they did all right since Turk was there to help them… though I still don’t think we need four managers.”
Nora led him to the bedroom. “Don’t you though? Four managers gives all of you two consecutive days off. And it’s the only reason we were able to go to Evan’s wedding two months ago without running some other brother ragged.”
He kissed his son’s cheek before laying him on the king-size bed. Grant rolled over and crawled across the bed to Nora.
Yak sat on the bed and tugged off his boots. “Yeah, but having been there since the beginning, it feels like overkill, woman.”
A strange expression crossed Nora’s face as she scooped Grant off the bed.
“What’s wrong, babe?”
She straightened and Yak recognized her expression… she was nervous. For a moment she pressed her lips together, then said, “Well, I don’t think you’re going to consider it overkill for much longer.”
He stood and wandered toward her. “What do you mean, princess?”
She shifted from one foot to the other while rubbing circles on Grant’s back. “Well, I’m not sure if it was that one time in the hammock, or that night in the pool, or—”
At the mention of the hammock, overwhelming excitement hit him. “Baby, are you saying what I think you’re saying? It doesn’t matter which time it happened, are we gonna be outnumbered soon?”
She laughed. “I guess you might say that, but yeah, we’re going to have another family member. I know we didn’t plan on it, but–”
Careful of Grant, Yak wrapped her in a fierce hug and gave her a ravenous kiss. He broke the kiss and stared into her gorgeous green eyes. “Nora, it doesn’t matter what we planned. We’re adding another Spencer, and it’s the best news you could give me!”
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