“After everything that’s happened, like you said, it’d be spitting in the face of good fortune not to welcome them as family.”
“That seems to have become a common theme lately.”
“Forgiveness.” He sighed. “I spent a lot of years unable to forgive myself for what we did. Anything I can do to make it up to you…” He didn’t finish.
“Yeah, but I forgive both of you. I didn’t understand for a lot of years why, but now, I do. And it’s okay. Past is past. We have now and the future.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “My kids have two granddads again. They have two grandmothers. They have aunts and uncles and cousins out the whazoo. I consider that a blessing and I won’t waste another minute dwelling on the past.”
* * * *
The long holiday weekend went far too fast for Nevvie’s liking. She made the decision to shoo Tyler home with Tom, Kyle, and Jacob. There was another tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, and she wanted Tyler there to help Tom, Kyle, and Jacob with the shutters for their house as well as Pete and Eddie’s. Unlike the last storm, this one was already growing to a monstrous size and would likely affect the Tampa Bay area. How badly was yet to be determined.
“Call us as soon as you finish with the doctor, love. Understand?” Tyler kissed her.
“Understood. I promise.”
Tom grabbed her and kissed her. “Be safe, baby girl. We’ll be back up soon, probably next weekend.”
“Okay.” The men hugged their sons, and Nevvie hugged Kyle and Jacob. “You two stay safe. If you need to evacuate here, do it.”
“We will,” Kyle assured her.
“I’ll make sure they’re safe,” John said. He pointed at Laurie. “You behave yourself, young lady.”
“Yes, Daddy.” She smiled up at Nevvie.
Nevvie hugged John and Kelly. They would be caravanning back with the others. The RV would stay there at Peggy’s for now.
Once all the good-byes were said, Nevvie stood next to Peggy, waving as the cars disappeared down the drive.
They all trooped inside. Adam and Laurie went into the living room to play a video game. Nevvie put Mikey down for a nap and joined Peggy and Andrew in the kitchen. She noticed how they stopped talking when she entered the room.
“Oookay. What’s going on?”
Andrew blushed, but Peggy smiled. “Nevvie, would you mind if Andrew and I went out this evening?”
“Not at all.” A slow smile spread across her face. “Okay, spill it.”
Andrew appeared flustered, so Peggy took over. “Well, I’ve asked Andrew if he would consider moving in here.”
“Move in?”
She nodded. “With me.”
Poor Andrew’s face had turned a lovely shade of beet.
Nevvie grinned, squealing with delight. “That’s fantastic!” She hugged Peggy, then Andrew. “So are we doing a double wedding?”
“Not yet.” She smiled at Andrew. Her tender expression made Nevvie want to cry with happiness. “But you never know.”
* * * *
Tom and Tyler dropped Kyle and Jacob off at their apartment before heading to their own house. The men would be over the next morning to help with the shutters, along with John.
To Tom, their house felt eerily quiet with just the two of them in it. “I miss everyone,” he said to Tyler.
“Me, too, love.” He rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling. “Can you believe we’re going to be fathers again?”
“Yeah, I know.” He slung an arm around Tyler. “Now all we need is Bob to tell us that asshole’s been apprehended and life’s perfect.”
The next morning, Kyle and Jacob showed up a little before nine. John made it there minutes later. It was organized chaos, but with his leg hurting like a sonofabitch, Tom was grateful for the help. Overnight, Tropical Storm Edgar had been upgraded to a strong category 1 hurricane. It wasn’t just the wind speed, but the storm’s enormous size, that had forecasters on edge. With the garage wide open, Tom started directing moving the shutters to their proper positions.
Once they were all distributed, Tom started with the back of the house, showing them how each panel interlocked and attached.
* * * *
Alex LaRogue waited for them all to exit the garage. From the sound of it, they were in the backyard. He darted from his hiding place in a stand of azalea bushes next door and ran into the garage. He’d been watching the house for three days.
When the two fag boys arrived home the night before, the cunt hadn’t been with them. The house had sat empty and dark until their arrival. He didn’t know who the other men were, but he knew damn well he was outnumbered.
He carefully opened the door leading to the inside of the house and looked around. Ducking down, he made his way to the back of the house and where he remembered the bedroom was.
No Nevvie.
He explored the house, keeping an ear out for any of the men. No Nevvie anywhere, but an interesting addition. One of the bedrooms was now a nursery.
Fucking cunt. Breeding with those goddamn fag boys.
But she wasn’t there. From the snippets of conversation he overheard, she and her little snot brats were visiting family out of town.
Fuck.
Then again, if he could find her, if her fag boys were here, they couldn’t be there to defend her this time. He could take care of her and hitchhike his way back to Louisiana. He still had a couple of cousins there who would take him in.
He stayed low as he worked his way back to the kitchen. On the counter, he noticed a bunch of credit card receipts. Flipping through them, he saw a lot of them were from the Savannah area. With them all showing dates from the past few days, he knew he was onto something.
Then he spotted the address book on the counter by the cordless phone.
He grabbed it and stuck it in his shirt. When he heard someone out in the garage, he raced for the front door and cracked it open. He watched as the two younger men walked out of the garage and headed back around the corner of the house. He ducked outside through the front door and, after listening again to make sure no one was coming, bolted.
He was six houses away when he finally slowed and stepped off the sidewalk into a wooded area where he’d stashed his bag. That was when he sat down and started flipping through the address book.
When he reached the letter K, he smiled. “Gotcha, you fucking cunt.”
* * * *
Karen and Peggy both went with Nevvie to the doctor. Nevvie nervously lay there on the table as the doctor performed an ultrasound. She’d eased Nevvie’s mind by telling her the small amounts of alcohol she’d consumed and the over-the-counter drugs she’d taken wouldn’t cause her baby any harm.
As Dr. Fagen concentrated on the screen, Nevvie asked, “Can you tell how far along I am?”
“Yes, it looks like ten weeks, maybe a little more.” She clicked a button and the machine beeped. Then she continued maneuvering the ultrasound wand on Nevvie’s belly.
“Any chance you can tell what sex it is?”
“No, it’s still too soon. Do you want to find out?”
“Yes, as soon as we can.”
The doctor smiled. “I can tell you something you might find interesting.”
“What?”
The doctor turned the screen so Nevvie could see it. She froze the picture, then used the cursor to highlight one shape…and then another.
Peggy gasped.
“What? What’s wrong?” Nevvie asked.
“So far,” Dr. Fagen said, “nothing looks wrong with them.”
Nevvie blinked. “Them?”
Karen burst out giggling. “Oh, crap.”
“Them?”
Dr. Fagen nodded. “You’re going to have twins.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tymber Dalton lives in southwest Florida with her husband (aka “The World’s Best Husband™�
��), son, and too many pets. She loves to hear from readers! Please feel free to drop by her website and sign up for her newsletter to keep abreast of the latest news, views, snarkage, and releases. (Don’t forget to look up her writing alter egos Lesli Richardson, Tessa Monroe, and Macy Largo!)
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Love Slave for Two: Reunions [Love Slave for Two 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 25
