We laugh, knowing it’s not likely.
Brielle says something to the girls, and then she lowers herself into a seat as Raven and Victoria make their way to us, warm smiles on their faces.
They felt the same loss my brothers did without me here, without us here, and they’re happy we’re whole once again.
I see everything so much clearer now, our purpose. And not just the three of us, but all of us as a unit.
Our girls and their roles alongside us, the power they hold on their own, it’s unmatched.
And Brielle, she was the missing link.
She is the pull, the venom others can’t wait to drown in.
Victoria, she’s the preface, the discoverer. She sees what others can’t.
Raven, she’s the endgame. The heavy push to the edge.
Together they can stand as a team with unbreakable strengths and equal roles, and that’s without us.
With us?
Now that’s an entirely different story.
Our family has never been stronger.
And that strength will only grow with time.
Speaking of growing...
“So.” I clap my hands and turn toward Maddoc and Captain, to Raven and Victoria. “How many times I gotta come inside her to put a mini-me in there?”
They gape at me, and all at once, the three of us start laughing and my body eases.
This is it.
This is where it’s at.
Brielle
Phoenix and Zoey have been sleeping for the last hour, his little bassinet set up directly beside her bed—she wouldn’t lay down without him by her side—and Rolland’s just announced he’s done for the day as well, so it’s just the six of us. The boys are sitting around the mini bonfire at the end of the deck, waiting for us to return with drinks and snacks in hand.
I spin, snagging a box from my bag on the counter, and when I turn back around, I meet Raven’s outstretched hand.
I look from hers to mine and we both laugh.
With a heavyhearted sigh, she sets down the box she was about to give me, looking to the same exact hot chocolate as in my grasp.
She smirks, turns and goes back to grabbing whatever it was Maddoc asked for.
Only after I’ve got the hot water poured into two mugs, and I’m tearing into the cocoa packets does my gaze snap to hers. “You knew we’d come.”
Victoria smiles into her mug, looking between the two of us and Raven laughs, turning to face me with a shrug.
She sighs with a smile. “Yeah, I did.”
“How?”
She comes closer, takes the cups from my hands and shocks me when she hugs me, her words hitting my ear. “’Cause you’re absolutely fucking perfect for him, Brielle. For us and this place.” She pulls back. “Thank you for... loving him like no one else could. For pushing back when he pushed good and hard.”
“You don’t have to thank me for any of that.”
She smiles, grabs her cups, and walks ahead of me. “I know, now come on. Our boys are waiting.”
She leaves and Victoria steps in front of me, but her mouth freezes open when a sweet, sleepy, little voice sounds from the bedroom.
“Mommy, I’m thirsty,” Zoey calls.
Every muscle in Victoria’s body goes limp and she shoots a hand out, allowing me to steady her, to hold her up.
Her eyes are wide and on mine, instant tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Did I... did you hear that?” she dares to whisper, swallowing hard and afraid to look away.
“Mommy...” her daughter calls again.
She squeezes tighter, and my eyes cloud. “Yeah,” I whisper. “I did.”
She gasps through a laugh, spins around to grab a bottle of water and looks back to me.
I smile, reach up and wipe her tears away and she nods.
Off she goes to give her little girl what she needs.
I stare until she disappears, and then grab the mugs off the counter, but before I can spin with them, a heartbeat that matches mine, that knows mine, beats against my back.
His lips bury in my neck as he holds me from behind.
“Baby girl.”
“Baby boy.”
He hums. “That could be fun.”
I chuckle lightly, spinning in his arms and he brings his finger up, now covered in whipped cream. He slips it between my lips, taking them with his in the next movement.
I smile. “I brought the chocolate syrup, too.”
He groans, tugging me closer. “My sweet baby,” he whispers. “I want you.”
“You have me, and you’ll have me tonight, but first...”
“Cocoa and candy?”
I laugh. “And a night under the stars with your family.”
He drops his forehead to mine, his hand coming up to subconsciously trace my scar as he does at least four to five times a day now. “Under our stars with our family.”
Our.
My chest rises and falls quickly, a slow smile finding my lips, because he’s right and I feel it.
The acceptance.
The care.
The love.
What once was five is now six.
The circle now full.
Until the littles grow... then who the hell knows what’ll happen.
But now isn’t the time to think about that.
Now is the time to enjoy what we have... front row seats to watch as the boys of Brayshaw High grow into the men of the Brayshaw mansion.
“I love you, Tink.”
“And I love you.”
I stare at my man.
My world, it will be painted black and sooner than it should, but I can say now with complete honesty that I’m okay with that, because Royce Brayshaw will be my light.
My night.
My everything.
He’s my kind of king.
Epilogue
Brielle
Six months have passed since the day Royce and I came home from the hospital, and the beginning of near every night has looked exactly the same.
Royce takes me onto the balcony he had built outside our bedroom window, and we lie back on the large, round couch or sit tall in the king and queens’ chairs he refused to pass up that are placed beside it, staring up at the stars. Two of which now belong to us.
My baby bought me my own star and named it Tink. Of course, he said I couldn’t be anywhere he wasn’t, so he bought himself one two, and named it Lost Boy.
He says we’ll forever fly together...among so many other dirty, dirty things.
Tonight though, I’m beyond nervous as a surprise is in the works, one I’m more anxious about than anything ever before.
I always knew the good would one day come, but never expected to feel so eager for the days that follow.
I’m eighteen, graduated early, and will start college in the fall as a second semester freshman, study youth counseling and be the first Brayshaw to go to college. Though, I’m pretty dang sure the others are this close to deciding to join me, especially since the boys would have a chance to play basketball again. They’ve been asking so many questions and grow more curious by the day, everyone minus Raven. She hated school and is more than happy at home with Phoenix, and the work she’s doing to her faster kids around our state – even if it’s not something she talks about.
It’s so crazy, how my life has changed so much so quickly.
I have a family who watches out for me and will forever be here to help the second I need it.
I have a man whom I love, who loves me, and is only missing one thing in life, something that only I can give him.
After tonight, he’ll have it all.
It’s not uncommon for the family to join us on our balcony, so he’s clueless as to what’s to come.
Right now, Maddoc and Raven sit on the couch, Victoria and Captain lean against the ledge, and Phoenix is crawling around their feet, Zoey following his every move. Rolland is perched against the door at our backs, and Royce doesn’t know it
, but Maybell is on the grass way down below us, waiting.
In exactly two minutes, she’ll release two dozen balloons that will travel this way with the help of the nights breeze and reveal my greatest secret.
Zoey is now three, and Captain has already decided to keep her home an extra year so that Phoenix and she are close in grades.
Maddoc says he’s working on another bodyguard for Zoey – I’m positive he’s already accomplished this, but it hasn’t been announced yet and I know why.
For his brother.
After tonight, I’m sure they’ll share it with us, because tonight, Royce will find out he’s going to be a father.
If someone asked me a year ago if I wanted kids, the answer would have been a solid yes, and quickly followed with ‘in ten years or more’.
I felt I needed time to live before I could possibly care for someone else, especially since I spent so many years avoiding life. But then Royce happened, and this place and I realized I could do it, and more, that I wanted to. I wanted to be for someone what my brother was for me, as I tried to be for others as I grew up. As I hope to be for so many more once I finish school and as I try to be now for the girls that come through the home – the light in their darkness, as Royce likes to put it.
I want to be a mother, so there was no question when Royce shared what he wanted for his kids – a bond with their family as tight as the one he shares with his– and asked me if I was ready.
When it comes to him and anything he might want or need, the answer will always be a quick and instant yes. I forever want to give him all of me, as he gives himself the same.
We didn’t know how long it would take or how quickly it could happen, but he would have been okay with it taking forever. He was happy knowing we were on the same page, sticking to the Brayshaw way of the last several decades and starting young so we could be forever strong for them, until they grew and took over, becoming strong for themselves and what will then be their world.
I didn’t know what to expect outside of the obvious I’ve seen, so Raven and Victoria realized it first, and when they insisted on taking me to the doctor, the three of us went together.
That day was full of surprises.
As tonight will be.
Because my man isn’t only getting what he wants, he’s getting double.
Royce stands then, dropping to the ground beside his niece and nephew.
Zoey climbs into his lap while he puts a hand out for Phoenix, who pulls his little self up on wobbly knees, his gummy little smile wide and showing the two teeth that have broken through the bottom.
“Look, Zoey Bear. You see that star, the big bright one?” he whispers.
“I see it.” she smiles, dropping her head onto his shoulder.
“Yeah, it is. If you ever get scared, you find that sucker and think of all the bright places it could lead, yeah?”
“I got you, Uncle Bro.”
The rest of us chuckle, and Royce’s eyes find mine with a wink.
I can’t cover the emotion in mine and his narrow suspiciously, but then Zoey’s little gasp draws him right back to her and I’m safe...for a couple more seconds.
Zoey jumps up and runs to the railing, gripping it tight. She smiles wide and points. “Balloons!”
My stomach flips as I watch Royce’s brows furrow.
He lifts Phoenix into his arms and climbs to his feet, moving to the edge and right as they reach eye level.
Baby blue and pink, little feet stamped along the sides and tiny lights inside them to make sure the imprints aren’t missed.
Maddoc steals his son as Royce spins around, those eyes crashing into mine.
“Baby girl?” he rasps, the hand on the railing tightening.
“Or boy...”
The air leaves his lungs on a heavy, broken laugh.
I stand, and he heads for me, but then behind us, Rolland steps up, two tiny basketballs in his hands and Royce freezes.
His eyes move from the items, to me, and back. “What...” he looks to Raven with a grin. “He knock you up again?”
She laughs but doesn’t confirm. “That’s not for us.”
Confused he looks to Cap, his grin widening. “Yeah, brother?”
Cap smiles, wrapping his arms around Victoria as he shakes his head.
Royce’s face falls, his head snapping toward me and I know that look.
My skin heats, boils and his family laughs, all of them making their way out of here, Rolland setting the basketballs on the now vacant chairs.
Royce rushes me, grips my face in his hands and lifts it toward him.
“Say it,” his command is shaky but strong.
“I’m pregnant,” I whisper instantly. “With twins.”
He slams his mouth into mine, owning me with his lips as he does every morning, all day, and each night.
He kisses me hard but soft, slow but ravaging and then we’re on our bed, the walls now soundproofed so my man can forever be his wild, untamed self.
He has my clothes off in seconds, my body laid bare for his eyes only.
He kisses down my neck, breastbone and doesn’t stop until he’s reached my stomach.
His palms flatten there, spreading wide as his fingers glide over my piercings.
“We were meant for this. For two,” he whispers. “We were two lost and lonely souls, we died together, as two, and came back as two, stronger than before.”
Something cold meets my stomach and I look to his hands, where a neckless now hangs.
It’s not dainty, but a thick braided silver to match his only thinner, and there is no heart hanging from it, but a perfect circle, identical to the one that hangs along his neck.
He reaches for me, so I slip my hand in his and he pulls me into a sitting position.
He lays it in my palm, flicking it open to show me the inside, both the right and left sides empty.
“I bought this for you months ago. I wasn’t even sure you’d like it, or why the second I saw it I had to have it. I spent hours, fuckin’ days even, drove my brothers nuts asking them for help and trying to figure out what to put inside, but nothing seemed like enough, and now I know why.” His brown eyes meet mine. “It was meant for them. For twins.” A low laugh leaves him and he swallows, his free hand resting low on my abdomen. He bends, his eyes closing as his forehead falls to my belly button.
“Twins.” He speaks, but not to me. “Not even while you grow strong enough to meet the world, will you be alone.”
My chest swells.
My lonely, lost boy.
Now found, complete, and given exactly what he needed to keep peace inside his heart – affirmation that no matter what, no part of him will ever feel alone.
Not even in the womb.
His eyes hit mine.
My crazed, impatient man.
My rough and ready Brayshaw.
The look in his eyes says he’s about to serve me hard, then tender, and I’m so ready for it, but he surprises me when he lifts his head with an arrogant smirk. “I knew my sperm would be the strongest.”
I laugh and he swallows it with his lips, but the second I try to undo his jeans, he jerks away, frantically searching for his phone and keys.
“What are you doing?” I trail him with a grin.
“Sorry, Tink, no time for dick dazing. Clothes back on.”
I laugh. “Why not, where we going?”
His grin is mischievous, and he tosses a duffel bag onto the bed. “This requires a face-to-face drop in.”
My eyes narrow and his smirk grows wider.
“Royce...”
“Up. Now. I gotta tell the others.”
“Royce!” I shout, and he jerks around.
He rushes me, quickly getting in my face, tilting it up to his.
“Don’t be gettin’ cray, baby girl,” he tells me, fighting a grin. “Wouldn’t wanna blindfold ya again.”
I scoff a laugh. “Liar.”
His eyes soften, his thumb coming up to
skim along my temple.
We’ve had four visits with a specialist on the East coast, the best of the best according to Rolland, who went searching the second he learned I had optic nerve damage.
The specialist confirmed for Royce what I already knew, there was no fixing what I had, no outrunning the inevitable, but he did say I had more time with my sight than expected, which was good. And even better, the doctor shared there may be a way to prolong it with experimental medicine, so after the babies, we’ll do what we can to try.
“Didn’t you torture my brother enough last time he was here?”
“Nope. I wanna piss in a fresh cut right now.” He tugs me closer. “Let me.”
He grips my wrist, bringing it to his lips before flipping it over to look at my ring.
He’s remembering the day he tricked me into marrying him.
I walked outside in one of his hoodies and a pair of leggings ready for what was supposed to be movie night to find the entire family, my brother included, sitting on the grass at the edge of Zoey’s garden, Royce and a freaking priest a foot in front of them.
I was shocked, and then I was married.
Let’s not forget how I almost passed out when Royce slipped the ring on my finger, and not just any ring, but a custom white gold one.
A silver one.
Spearing from one side to the next are two stars that almost meet in the middle, one slightly raised over the other, each with small diamonds trailing their path, designed to look like shooting stars in the sky.
It’s perfect, more meaningful than anyone else could understand.
We were lonely souls, floating around in the dark sky, and like shooting stars, we fell.
And right into each other.
I might not make sense in logical terms, but the sentiment behind it does where we’re concerned.
So, yeah. I’m a married, knocked up eighteen year old college student and I couldn’t be happier about it.
But hold on...
I pull back, studying Royce. “How do you know where to find Bass? He still hasn’t told me where he is.”
“Come on now, Tink. I know how to find a man.”
Suspicious, I narrow my eyes. “How?”
“Follow the puss, and it shall lead to the punk,” he grins proud.
Break Me Page 40
