Noah's Journey (Sawyer Brothers #3)

by C. A. Harms

  Four Years Later

  Ryan

  “Daddy!” High-pitched squeals rang out the moment I entered the house. Each time I heard the happy shouts of my twin boys, Rory and Rogan, I swear I fell in love with them all over again.

  I bent down just in time to catch Rogan as he leaped into my arms. He was my linebacker—at least he felt like one when he collided with you. If he kept eating the way he did, he would be twice the size of his brother. Rory was smaller, but you couldn’t let his size fool you—he was a little trickster. On more than one occasion, I found my keys in the refrigerator, or, hell, even the bottom of the dirty clothes basket. And as I was rummaging around through the house with Amber trailing behind me, that boy would sit on the couch as if he had no clue what was going on.

  I ruffed Rogan’s hair as I stood with him in my arms. “Hey, buddy, you been a good boy for your momma?”

  “Yesh,” he said is his tiny, little voice as he bobbed his head. I looked up to see Amber enter the living room, holding Rory in her arms. He looked freshly bathed, and his hair was sticking up in all directions. She appeared disheveled and worn out, even though she smiled when she saw me standing in the doorway. “Hey, Daddy, you’re just in time.”

  I arched a brow in question, because I knew that tone. She was about to pass a task on to me that she must have been dreading.

  She lifted her hand and pointed to Rogan. “You get to bathe the stubborn one. I’ve spent the last hour trying to convince him the scent he’s sporting is not an appealing one.” She wrinkled her nose in the cutest way as she turned toward the kitchen, giving me the perfect view of her cute ass.

  Almost five years later and I still couldn’t get enough of her. She walked around wearing the tiniest shorts and tanks, and I swore she only did it to torture me.

  I shook my head to clear away thoughts I should not be having about my wife, at least not when the boys were awake. I leaned in and sniffed Rogan, and he giggled. “Damn, boy, you do smell.”

  “Ryan,” Amber scolded me for my choice of words.

  “Sorry, baby,” I offered as Rogan looked up at me with a big grin on his face. “Don’t you dare repeat my words.” I narrowed my eyes at him as I found an expression on his face I knew well.

  Those little wheels were turning.

  How I got two kids that were just as crazy as my brother Jackson was beyond me. I think it was a curse. Either that or some sort of punishment for giving him shit for all these years.

  I slipped off my boots and walked toward the bathroom. Rogan began wiggling to try and escape, and I gripped him just a little tighter.

  “Let’s get a bath, and then we’ll convince your momma to make us something sweet.”

  At the idea of his mother’s baking, the boy instantly relaxed. We were all hooked on Amber’s baking—hell, the whole damn town was.

  I worked fast to get Rogan clean and was just lifting him from the tub when Amber appeared in the doorway. “Liv called. I told her when you got home, I would have you call her back.”

  I spun around with Rogan, who was now wrapped tightly in a towel and leaned in to give her the kiss I had yet to give her since I got home. With two toddlers, sometimes our time alone was limited. I would give just about anything to have twenty-four uninterrupted hours with my wife.

  “Mm,” she moaned against my lips.

  “I didn’t get the chance when I first got home. I was beyond desperate to feel those sweet lips.” I winked as I passed Rogan to her, and she narrowed her eyes.

  “You just buttered me up so my defenses would be down,” she protested as she took our son.

  Rory poked his head around Amber’s legs and smiled up at me. “Hey, little man, you wanna go call your sissy?” I asked him.

  Rory adored Olivia; he had always been so fascinated with her. They’d bonded in the months after the twins were born because Rogan was colicky and required so much attention from Amber and myself. We would always find Olivia rocking Rory, and he was content to just be close to her.

  Offering Amber one last kiss to smooth away the scowl she wore, I took Rory’s hand and we went to call Liv.

  Hearing her sweet voice fill the phone made me smile wide. It was hard to believe my little girl was all grown up. She was now twenty years old and attending Texas A & M University, and I could not have been more proud of her.

  “Hey, Dad.” I could tell by the tone of her voice she was smiling.

  “Hey, sweetheart, how’s school?” I asked as I settled back in the recliner, holding Rory in my lap.

  “School is great. My roommate, on the other hand, is a nightmare. But you know that already.”

  It was the same thing every time we talked. She truly wanted me to get her an apartment off campus, but I liked knowing she was inside a building that was secure.

  “Yeah,” I said with a chuckle, “I sure do, darlin’, but you make sure you remind me each time.”

  “You know I wouldn’t have to remind you if you would just get me that apartment we talked about.” And there it was.

  “Not happening, Liv,” I told her once again, feeling as if this conversation was a repeat of last night’s. “You still coming home during break?”

  “Uh, yeah,” she said, and I was grateful she’d let go of the apartment talk. “I miss my little men and their slobbery kisses.”

  “Speaking of little guys, I got someone here that wants to talk to his sissy,” I said as I tickled Rory’s stomach and he laughed.

  I held the phone out so Olivia could hear his giggles, and she immediately knew who it was. “Rory! Hey, bud.”

  It was amazing to watch his reaction to her voice. He grabbed my cell phone from my hand and started to babble away as if he was truly having a full conversation with the sister he adored.

  Within minutes, Rogan came barreling into the living room and joined his twin brother on my lap. For the next ten minutes, Amber and I watched as they passed the phone back and forth, offering Olivia the baby-brother fix she had been lacking.

  ***

  Amber

  Tammy was truly a godsend. Without her, I’m not sure how I would get through the day. She was now surrounded by grandchildren and loved every minute of it. Every day she would watch the kids while Baily and I got the bakery open. Then Bailey would rush off to the ranch to help Jackson while I ran the bakery with Beth, a young single mother I had hired to help me while her daughter was in school. After we locked the doors for the day, I would rush off to get the boys and get dinner going just in time for Ryan to walk in the door.

  I loved my little guys, but I craved some time alone with my husband.

  I slipped away to take a shower as Ryan was reading the boys a bedtime story. I had become so relaxed with the sensation of the hot water rolling down my body that I must have missed the click of the bathroom door. It wasn’t until the shower curtain scraped along the rod that I knew Ryan had entered the bathroom. I looked back over my shoulder just as he stepped in with me.

  Ryan had never been a bulky man, but his lean body was fit and mouthwatering. He had the ability to make me go from calm to full-blown panting in seconds.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said in the sultry voice that had a direct connection to my lady bits. He slid his hands along my hips with ease and brought them to rest on my stomach. “The boys are down, I have the monitor, and now I need my wife.”

  I turned in his arms and looked up at him. “What do you have in mind, Officer?” I placed a kiss against his jaw and rubbed my slippery body against his.

  “Oh, sweetheart, I just may scare you if I tell you everything I have in mind. I’ve been running all sorts of ideas through my head from the moment I walked in the door today and found your sweet ass walking around in those tiny, little shorts of yours.”

  I smiled at his words, because he had told me on more than one occasion just what those shorts did to him. I’ll admit I wore them just to get a rise out of him, literally.

  He slipped his hand around my bar
e ass and squeezed, pulling me against him. His hardness rested against my stomach. “You have got the sweetest ass, Mrs. Sawyer.”

  My nipples hardened as they rubbed against his chest, making me moan. “And you, Mr. Sawyer, have an unbelievable effect on my body. So I must admit, whatever you have rolling through that head of yours, I am more than game for.”

  “You sure about that?” He brushed his lips over mine, teasing me, taunting me to accept the challenge.

  My mind was racing so fast, I could only nod. “I think we need to move this to the bedroom, baby,” he whispered, and I didn’t argue. My legs were already growing weak with anticipation.

  We stepped out of the shower, and Ryan dried himself before running the towel over my body as he scanned my every curve. Never once had he made me feel anything but beautiful. Ryan was the kindest, gentlest man, and every touch from him was perfection. Without speaking, he led me to our bedroom. As I lay back on the bed, he spent just a few moments admiring the view. The heat in his eyes made me blush.

  “I love you, darlin’,” he whispered as he crawled over me and lowered his body against mine.

  “I love you,” I said breathlessly.

  “I want more kids, Amber.” He hovered above me, staring down at me. His words shocked me. We had once talked about filling our home full of the laughter of kids and used to tease Olivia that she would have ten brothers and sisters, but that was the extent of the conversation.

  “You do?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “I know our time is limited, and I know at times we feel like we’re going crazy with the hectic days and nights. But every time I look at Rory and Rogan, I just get this overwhelming need to have more. I want a little girl with your eyes and your smile. I want Olivia to have the experience of having both brothers and sisters.”

  “You do know we don’t have a say-so in the sex of the child?” I asked as he continued to watch me. “I mean, we could have another boy.”

  “I know, but then we’ll just have to keep trying.” He wiggled against me, and I parted my legs.

  “Is that so?” I said before I bit down on my lip.

  He began rotating his hips, pressing his hardness against me. “That’s so.”

  I was just about to keep teasing him when he lifted his hips and thrust forward. My back arched, and I closed my eyes tightly.

  “I’m ready, baby,” he whispered against my throat, his voice strained and husky. “And I think tonight we should get a good start on that baby-making goal.”

  I was too far gone to protest, not that I would have, even if I’d had a clear mind. The idea of carrying another one of Ryan’s children made the love I had for him grow even stronger. I hadn’t thought that was possible.

  ***

  Jackson

  “Woman, you are asking for it.” I swear, to this day Bailey still tested me at every turn.

  “Just move, you stubborn ass. I said I got it,” she argued, and I wanted nothing more than to bend her over my knee and swat that plump ass of hers. Just the idea was making me hard.

  “Yeah, I know you said you got it. That doesn’t make it any better.” I grabbed the hammer from her hand and held it high above her head. She glared at me, and fucking hell if it didn’t have the opposite effect she was hoping for.

  I took a step closer and grinned when she took in a deep breath. I knew she was feeling it too.

  “You may want to prove me wrong. I also know you feel the need to be independent, which is fine, sweetheart. But over my dead body am I gonna stand back while my very pregnant wife attempts to climb up on a chair to hang a damn picture on the wall.”

  My determined, hardheaded wife placed her hands on her hips, and her nostrils flared with irritation. “You, Jackson Sawyer, are a stubborn fool. I’m only pregnant, you ass, and in no way does that mean I can’t fend for myself.”

  I tried not to laugh, because that would only make matters worse. And let’s not forget the last time I pissed her off. Hell, sleeping on the couch sucks when you have a sexy woman sleeping in the next room. That was the longest three days of my life.

  “Baby, I am not saying you can’t do it,” I assured her in my best forgive-me voice. “I just don’t want to see you slip, sweetheart. The safety of you, and our son, means more to me than some picture on the wall.”

  The hardness in her eyes softened. I, of course, took things one step further and placed my hand over her protruding belly. She was just over seven months pregnant with our second child, and seeing her carrying my child always gave me this sense of domineering possession. She belonged to me, and every man in town knew that.

  The front door opened, and the giggles of Isabella, our three-and-a-half-year-old, filled the house. My ma followed close behind, wearing a smile that only her grandkids seemed to bring out. She truly loved every moment she had with each of them.

  “Hey, baby girl, did you have a good day with Granny?” I bent down to wrap my arms around my blonde-haired beauty. She looked just like her momma.

  “We made cupcakes,” Bella announced proudly as she held up a small container. The cupcakes had tipped sideways, leaving icing smeared along the side.

  Being a father had really changed something in me. Yes, I was still a knucklehead, and I still had wild, random sex with my gorgeous-as-sin wife whenever the mood struck. We still got caught getting busy around the ranch, or, hell, even in our own backyard, but that was unavoidable. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t act like a horny teenager when they had a good-looking woman at their side? Bailey was my happiness, and I wasn’t about to let anything or anyone change that.

  No, what had changed was I now understood that need to protect. I had watched Ryan struggle with it for years when it came to Olivia and wondered why the hell he felt the need to smother his daughter, keeping her from going out and enjoying her teenage years. But now that I had a daughter of my own, I understood it. The thought of someone hurting my family ignited a rage inside that scared me. Hell, thinking about Bella being old enough to date made me want to tuck her away in a safe, secluded spot and stand guard at the fucking door. No little punk boy was getting anywhere near my sweet angel.

  “Those look real good, Bella,” I told her before I placed a kiss on her forehead. “You staying for dinner, Mom?” I looked up at my ma, and she nodded. Between all of us, she was rarely alone. She was surrounded with enough grandkids to keep her busy, and the rest of us filled in any downtime she may have been blessed with. I was sure my ol’ man was looking down from above with a huge grin on his face. He was watching her enjoy the next generation of Sawyers, and he was proud of them all. I had no doubt about that.

  ***

  Bailey

  “My feet hurt, my back aches, and my hands are swollen,” I whined as I tried to get comfortable.

  “But you are still the most gorgeous woman I have ever laid eyes on,” Jackson said, and I knew he was just biased. He had to say those things; it was his fault I was fat and cranky in the first place. The man was always horny.

  I smiled to myself as the thought rolled through my mind. Who the hell was I kidding? I was always horny too. Jackson had that effect on me. He always had. Since that first kiss in the bar that night, I was hooked. The man had one lethal tongue and the dirty mouth to support it.

  “Do you want me to rub all the sore spots?” he asked with a grin.

  “Yeah, because that worked out so well last time.” I lifted my head, daring him to argue.

  “Well, sweetheart, any action that leads to you naked and writhing beneath me I would say is definitely a win.” His smile grew wider, and those perfect teeth of his shined in the dim lighting of the bedroom.

  I was getting closer to the eight month mark, and this pregnancy was so different from Isabella’s. My sweet little boy growing inside me had me feeling nauseous more often than not. I had spent the first four and a half months barely able to keep down ice chips. It was more sporadic now, but when it hits me, it’s miserable. Thankfully, I h
ad only gained just under twenty pounds this time around, but with Bella, I gained three times that.

  But carrying Jackson’s babies was worth it all. He was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Yes, the road to our happiness was not a smooth one. We fight, and we are both stubborn as shit, but we are passionate. That passion kept everything between us so fresh and intriguing.

  “I won’t argue with you,” I whispered as I let my head fall back against the pillow. “You have a way of making all the yuck turn to yum.”

  His chuckle filled the room, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Baby,” he said through his laughter, “not that being inside you doesn’t sound like heaven, but I think I should stick to helping you relax.”

  He slid his hands down my legs and brought them to rest on my feet. “You do too much during the day, babe. You need to stay off your feet more.” I didn’t have time to argue, because he began massaging my feet then.

  “Mm, that feels so good,” I mumbled between moans.

  “You keep moaning like that, beautiful, and I’m gonna need a cold shower.”

  I bit my lip to stop the pleasurable sounds. Not that Jackson being turned on wasn’t pleasurable in so many ways, but this felt too good to interrupt.

  “I love you, darlin’,” Jackson added, and my body began to relax from him rubbing my aching muscles. “You and our kids are my world, and making you happy is all I’ll ever want.”

  “I’m so happy, Jackson,” I assured him as I began to fade. “I love you too, cowboy.”

  ***

  Noah

  I stood in the spare bedroom of my cabin, which had been converted into a nursery full of purples and yellows as I nuzzled Nora, my four-month-old daughter, close. She loved when I placed her against my bare chest. I think it made her feel safe.

  Over the last few years, Alena and I went through some pretty dark times, and I wasn’t so sure we would make it, but I refused to let her give up. We found out she was pregnant just a few months after we were married, close to three years ago. But before she reached the twelfth week, she had a miscarriage. She fell into a depression shortly after, and I too was hurting from the loss.