Unmissable: Haven Falls (Novella 7.5)

by Sheridan Anne

  Some might say that I’m being just a little overcautious, but I see it more of being prepared for anything, and by anything, I mean the apocalypse.

  I scoop the boys up into my arms and walk down to the living room.

  Holding them in this way the first time was terrifying, but I've quickly learned how to hold them both with confidence. I'm not afraid of dropping them while walking around the house anymore.

  I put them down on their playmat despite the fact that they’re not yet capable of playing, but they do enjoy watching their mommy and daddy making fools of themselves as they try to work this whole parenting thing out.

  My brows furrow as I look over at Noah. “What the hell are you doing?” I laugh as he struggles with the double stroller.

  Noah grabs the handle of the stroller and pushes down before losing his shit and letting out a frustrated groan. “I’ve been trying to put this fucker down for half an hour and I can’t work it out.”

  I choke back a laugh as I watch him get on his hands and knees and flip the stroller over before searching for a button or a lever or any tiny little clue as to how the hell it works.

  I puff out my chest as though I’m the king of this fucking castle and stride over to my court jester husband to show him how the professionals do it, only on closer inspection, it’s a lot harder than it looks. I mean, how the hell did Tully figure this shit out? Though, to be fair; Tully’s stroller is one of those normal ones fit for a single baby, this contraption before me looks more like a torture device created to fuck with the minds of sleep-deprived parents.

  It gets to the point where I have to Google the stroller and we both sit back and stare at it in wonder when we realize it’s as easy as lifting a lever and pressing down on the handles. It simply folds itself up and we laugh at what a waste of time that was.

  Noah grabs my diaper bag and lifts the stroller before heading to the door so he can start packing the car. I rush ahead of him to get the door when an almighty fart comes tearing out of one of the boys. Noah and I spin around in silent shock, well I’m in shock, I think Noah is a little more on the proud daddy train.

  We stare at them. “Which one was it?” Noah whispers as I begin to fear for what else could have come out of that tiny little baby ass.

  I shake my head in horror. “I’ve got no freaking clue.”

  “Go check,” he says in fear.

  “Nope. No way,” I breathe, slowly backing out of the open doorway, only to be stopped by my husband with a firm grip on my ass.

  He looks across at me. “It was just a fart, right?”

  I shake my head again knowing damn well that Elijah hasn’t shit since last night and I’ve been waiting for it to happen all morning, but Noah doesn’t need to know that. “Definitely just a fart.”

  “Alright, fine,” Noah says, putting the stroller down and handing me the diaper bag. “I’ll check, but then we need to get going, otherwise Tully’s going to start the party without us.”

  I smile wide. “You know I love you, right?”

  Noah rolls his eyes as he starts creeping towards the babies, though the way he seems to hold back tells me that he can certainly smell that it was more than just a fart. I find myself creeping in beside him, as curious as ever to see the damage.

  We look down at the boys and we’re instantly relieved. Maybe it was just a fart after all; a stinky one though. Noah crouches down and instantly goes for Elijah and I realize that he must have realized that it’s him I’ve been waiting on. Maybe my husband is a little more clued in than I thought.

  There’s absolutely no sign of shit leaking from the sides of his diaper. Elijah looks just as handsome as the day he was born. So, with that sorted, Noah scoops him up into his arms and hands him up to me to save me having to get all the way down there myself.

  I grin down at my little boy as Noah grabs Ethan and we work on getting out of here. Only as Noah straightens himself out, wrapping his arms securely around Ethan to keep him safe, the realizations hits.

  It wasn’t Elijah at all.

  Baby shit soaks through the back of Ethan’s shirt and out the sides of his diaper with shit literally running out the bottom of his shorts and down his legs.

  Noah’s eyes widen in horror as he’s able to feel the warm and gooey wetness on the back of his arm. “No,” he begs, looking at me wide-eyed, hoping that what he’s feeling isn’t true, but as he looks down at the playmat and sees the evidence for himself, his whole world comes crumbling down.

  I hold back a grin. I never thought I’d see the day where my strong as fuck, inked husband would be taken down by a bout of baby shit. Noah has always been larger than life in my eyes and he still very much is. I’ve never seen him scared, but in this particular moment, he’s absolutely terrified.

  “So…” I say slowly, taking a few discreet steps back with Elijah, “We’re just going to go.”

  “Don’t you dare take another step, Spitfire,” Noah warns as the grin finally rips across my face. He somehow manages to get Ethan in his other arm while avoiding his poo explosion. “What do I do?”

  “Well, I’m just going to put it out there that there’s no way on this green earth that you’re going to get anywhere close to me until you’ve had a shower. In fact, I think you should both have a shower while I pick out everyone's new outfits and clean up this mess,” I say, pointedly looking down at the shitty playmat.

  “Everyone?” he questions through narrowed eyes as he puts Ethan back down on the safe side of the playmat and starts undressing him.

  “Well…yeah. The boys need to match.”

  Noah rolls his eyes. “I should have known.”

  Ten minutes later, Noah and Ethan are in the shower and I find myself constantly barking out sharp laughs at Noah’s commentary. I haven’t had the pleasure of showering with either of the boys yet, but from what I can hear, it seems that it can be a little slippery.

  I get Elijah dressed in his new outfit before setting him up on a new playmat and grabbing a towel. I head into the bathroom and do my best to tackle my clean little man out of my husband’s arms and fifteen minutes later, we’re all in the car ready to go.

  We get to Tully and Rivers' place and I can’t help but smile up at their home. They’ve been living here for nearly a year now, but every time I see it, absolute joy tears through me. I’m still so happy for them that they’ve been able to figure it out. It was rough for a while and I thought that Tully was never going to find her happiness, but then Rivers came back and healed her heart before filling it with all the right kinds of love.

  We make our way down the driveway and a blast from my past stares back at me. Rivers’ Firebird. Only, it no longer looks like the crumpled metal mess that it was the last time I saw it. In fact, it looks brand freaking new.

  “Holy shit,” Noah laughs, looking it over as he walks past. “The fucker did it. He actually finished it.”

  “How do you know that he finished it?” I ponder, looking through the windows to check out the interior.

  “Because Rivers is just as proud as I am and there’s no way he’d have it out here, on display for the world to see, if there was still work to be done.”

  “Good point,” I say with a slow smile spreading across my face as the pride in my brother grows. I mean, he’s only been talking about fixing this thing up for five years. I guess it was about time he got around to it.

  “No,” Noah says, shaking his head. “Don’t be so happy about it. I bet him five hundred bucks that he wouldn’t do it and now I’m going to have to pay up.”

  Laughter tears through me at the thought of the boys making such a ridiculous bet. "Don’t stress. I’m sure he’ll let it slide.”

  “Bullshit. You’re screwed up in the head if you think Rivers is going to let it slide. He’ll hold it over my head every single day until I pay up. He’ll tell me it’s his way of keeping me an honest man. Besides, I’d dare say the thought of taking my money is what motivated him to finish it in the fi
rst place.”

  I shake my head at my moronic husband and calculating brother. “Yeah, I think you’re right. You’ve got no chance.”

  We let ourselves through the door to find a room full of people. Tully and Rivers are busy rushing around being the perfect hosts. Well actually, that’s not exactly accurate. Tully is being a terrible host and Rivers is picking up the slack yet somehow does it in a way that makes Tully look like she’s doing all the work. He’s such a good boy. It’s incredible to see how far he’s come since our high school days. I’m so proud of him.

  Tully squeals out in excitement as she notices us struggling through the door with our big ass stroller and within the blink of an eye, both my babies are gone.

  Violet holds Elijah before wrapping me in her other arm and checking in that I’m doing okay, but really, I’m just as perfectly fine as I was when she asked me yesterday and the day before that. Satisfied with my answer, she moves onto Noah and pulls him into a warm hug. “Happy birthday,” she tells him, looking up into his eyes with pride.

  “Thanks, mom,” he murmurs, but truth be told, I don’t think she notices as her attention falls back to the sleeping baby in her arms and before I can even blink, she’s disappeared with him, never to be seen again.

  Tully does the same with Ethan, not bothering to stop for a birthday hug, obviously having her priorities in place. So with that, Noah and I welcome ourselves in knowing that no matter how badly we may want to, we won’t have to lift a finger all day where our babies are concerned.

  I find Aiden and Barker bickering at the table over who the hell knows what, but when their eyes fall on my twins, all conversation ceases and they make their way over. They’ve met them once over the past week and they fell just as hard for them as the rest of us have.

  I find Eddison standing between Gina and her new boyfriend, Randall, and laugh as Noah finds Rivers. Together they stare down Randall as though just his very presence is offensive to them and I roll my eyes. It’ll be a while before they can relax enough to see that Randall is an awesome guy, perfectly suited for Gina.

  With everyone occupied and happy, I find my dad and his wife, Jackie, before walking over and falling into dad's welcoming arms. Aria is chatting endlessly about some boy at school that is too cute for his own good, which totally explains the grimace on dad's face right now.

  A few moments later, Jared shows up with his little brother, Byron, and I have to laugh at the way Byron beelines for Aria. Since becoming step-siblings they have that strange 'want to be best friends, but you're the opposite sex so it's kind of gross' thing going on. It's absolutely heart-warming to watch.

  Before the door can even close behind the boys, Spencer shows his handsome face with Lacey standing happily beside him. Everyone comes in and I smile as all of the people I love stand in this very room before me. What could possibly be better than this?

  I make my way over to Spencer and Lacey as they move to stand with Rivers and Noah. The five of us stand in a circle as Rivers draws Lacey in for a warm hug. “How’d your appointment go?”

  Lacey rolls her eyes. “Fine,” she says with a groan before giving Rivers a warm smile. “I’m still clear of any sign of leukemia, just as I was last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. You know, one of these days, you’re going to have to stop worrying about me.”

  “That’s not possible,” he tells her as Tully walks up behind with my little Ethan.

  Spencer points her out instantly and draws her into his arms. “Hey,” he murmurs fondly as she hugs him back. “How are you doing?”

  Tully glances across at Rivers with adoration shining brightly in her eyes. “Better than I could have ever imagined.”

  “Good,” he tells her, looking at Lacey in a similar way, reminding me for the millionth time that everything turned out exactly as it was meant to. “Where’s Lily?”

  “Fast asleep,” she explains. “She had a rough night. She’s just started teething and it’s been a little uncomfortable for her.”

  “That sucks,” Spencer says before looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms in awe. “I’m proud of you, Tully,” he tells her. “You had it rough for a while and I’m sorry I couldn’t make it better for you.”

  “You were perfect, Spence. You held me together and I’ve never been so grateful for that.”

  They smile fondly at each other before Eddison announces that lunch is ready and everyone starts finding their seats.

  Conversation flows from one end of the massive table to the other and back up again with everyone wanting to speak over one another. I’ve never been at a table so damn loud before. I’m surprised Elijah and Ethan are sleeping through it, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  It’s a perfect day for Tully and Noah on their birthday.

  Violet asks Tully about the wedding plans and she instantly gushes, “My dress arrived on Wednesday,” she says with stars in her eyes, making Rivers' head whip in her direction.

  I went with her on Wednesday afternoon to her fitting while Noah stayed home with the boys and it was honestly the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. It fit her like a glove and I was instantly jealous as I had about twelve fittings before my dress would fit perfectly. At one point, I was nervous that it wasn’t going to be finished before the wedding, but my seamstress pulled it together and made it happen.

  Tully tells Lacey all about it while talking in girl code to ensure Rivers doesn’t understand what the hell she’s trying to say, and honestly, it works like a treat. I’ve never seen Rivers look so lost in my life.

  The girls get overly excited that Tully and Lacey throw themselves out of their seats and hurry down the hallway with Aria rushing behind. I don’t doubt that Tully is about to show off her dress and I roll my eyes. So much for the whole surprise thing, but then there’s absolutely no comparison at seeing the dress on a hanger to seeing her as a beautiful, blushing bride.

  I absolutely cannot wait. It’s going to be an incredible day.

  With the girls gone, Eddison steals Rivers' attention and they start talking jobs. Rivers loves being in the military and with his particular skill set, the military have asked if he’d be interested in taking on a short term teaching role, but at this stage, he doesn’t know if he’ll accept it as it would mean brief times away from his family.

  But truth be told, we all know that eventually, he will. The training facility isn't too far away from here. He could go and do his job, come home for a month or two and then repeat when the new students come through. It would honestly be perfect for them as Tully and Lily could go too.

  As Rivers chats about his options, Noah looks to Spencer. “So,” he says. “Looks like you’re next.”

  My attention swivels around to Spencer to find him holding back a grin. “What?” I question, narrowing my eyes on him as a smile rips across my face. “Please tell me that you’re about to say what I think you’re about to say.”

  Spencer’s gaze flicks toward the hallway before looking back at me and Noah while the rest of the table falls into silence, wanting to hear his response. Spencer cringes before the excitement takes over and he gives in. “Yeah, alright,” he says, digging in his pocket and producing a little black box that gets handed across the table to me. “I guess you’ll find out sooner or later, but I’ve been planning on proposing for a while.”

  I bite down on my lip to keep myself from squealing as Noah booms out a laugh and stands. He leans across the table to slap a hand on Spencer’s back as I tear into the little black box with Violet looking over my shoulder.

  The ring is beautiful and to be honest, I was kind of expecting to see the same old ring that he’d proposed to Tully with a million times, but it’s not. Spencer pulled his socks up and did the right thing, getting Lacey a brand new one.

  I grin at Spencer from across the table as the boys discreetly congratulate him. He’s been with Lacey for a year and a half and their relationship has blossomed into something incredible. I
was hoping that they were heading down this path and I'm elated to see that he's finally made this decision.

  There’s no doubt in my mind that Lacey will accept his proposal and that knowledge has me wanting to throw myself up on the table and start dancing. Spencer is finally getting the love he deserves and nothing in this world could make me happier.

  How did this day become so extremely incredible?

  I hear Tully, Lacey, and Aria in the hallway and everyone scrambles for their seats as I practically throw the ring across the table at Spencer.

  He collects it and buries it in his pocket just as the girls appear around the corner. They take their seats while everyone continues on as though nothing had happened.

  Minutes turn to hours and the sun begins to set on Noah and Tully’s birthday before we even realize what’s happening. Noah and I get our babies home and found ourselves standing in their bedroom, watching as they settle into their nightly routine. Noah’s hand slips around my waist and I lean into his side as his lips press down on my temple. “I love you, Spitfire,” he murmurs.

  My eyes close at the satisfaction of his words and lips on my skin. “I love you too,” I tell him as a thought occurs. “Did I remember to tell you Happy birthday?” I ask, looking up into the eyes that have completely captured my heart and soul.

  “Nope,” he grins. “But I didn’t want to be the ass who points that shit out.”

  I press my lips together to keep me from laughing as I drag Noah away from the boys’ bedroom. “I’m sorry,” I tell him, as we head to bed. “I’m such a bad wifey.”

  “That you are,” he grins, pulling off his shirt and putting that magnificent body on display, making me drool. “What are you going to do about it?”

  My eyes light up in excitement. It’s still going to be weeks before we can have sex, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t make it up to him in other ways and besides, being pregnant with twins didn’t exactly make me feel like the sexiest woman on earth and now that is over, I’ve got some lost time to make up for.