Indulge With Me (With Me In Seattle Book 10)

by Kristen Proby

  “Well, you got it,” Sam says. “And I love the rustic farmhouse style, with the exposed beams and reclaimed wood.”

  “I do, too.” I grin. “I might have driven Mark nuts with all of my Pinterest boards and constant texts to show him photos of ideas that I liked. But I think it paid off.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Leo says with a smile. “Now, I think I’ll go outside with the guys and the kids.”

  “That’s the other part I love,” I say as I walk with them down the stairs. “Mark built that house that’s a tiny replica of this one, along with the jungle gym and swings for the kids, and I think it’s perfect for get-togethers like these.”

  “It definitely keeps them all busy,” Sam says with a laugh.

  We step outside to find utter chaos.

  Wonderful chaos.

  Children are scrambling about, laughing and chasing our golden retriever, Lady, and Dom and Alecia’s new puppy, Cabernet.

  “These BLT cups are just delicious,” Gail Montgomery says as she takes another bite of one. “So clever and perfect for a party like this.”

  “Thank you. They’re a favorite around here.”

  “Aunt Meredith,” Stella says, “We want to go see Lucy’s room.”

  Stella’s standing with Sophie, Olivia and Lucy, along with their cousins, Michael and Liam.

  “Okay, but no food in the house, okay?”

  “Okay!”

  “They probably want to get out of the heat for a bit,” Nat says, fanning her neck. “And I can’t say that I blame them.”

  “It’s been a hot summer,” I agree. We’re sitting under the covered patio, out of the sunshine, and it’s still warm. “I’ll turn the fans on.”

  “I need to install fans on my patio,” Sam says, looking up at them. “What a great idea.”

  “I read a thing somewhere that the fans help keep flying bugs away because they don’t like the breeze.”

  “Even better,” Sam says.

  “Please save me from surly teenagers,” Brynna pleads as she plops down next to me and wipes her brow in exhaustion.

  “They’re not thirteen yet,” I reply with a laugh.

  “Well, they act like they’re thirty,” she says with a scowl. “They’re both grounded from their phones for the weekend, and you’d think I just cut both their arms off.”

  “What did they do?” Jules asks.

  “They switched places in class so Josie would pass her math test. She struggles with math, but Maddie loves it.”

  “I wish I’d had an identical twin to help me with math in school,” I mutter, earning a glare from Brynna. “Not that it’s the right thing to do.”

  “I know that Mad thought she was helping,” Brynna admits with a sigh. “And it’s kind of funny, really, but I can’t let this slide. If I do, they’ll do this all the time, and that’s not okay. Josie has to earn her own grades.”

  “Agreed,” I say. “But it sucks when they’re mad at you.”

  “Basically, I think this is just how it’s going to be until they graduate from college.” Brynna shrugs and takes a bite of the artichoke dip, then sighs. “Thank God for food therapy.”

  “I’m with you there,” Jules says and takes a bite of a BLT cup.

  “Um, Aunt Meredith?”

  I glance over to see Olivia standing at the patio, her eyes wide. She’s biting her lip, and looks nervous.

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “Um, I think I need to show you something.”

  “Is everything okay?” I ask as I jump out of my seat and hurry after Olivia, who’s hurrying through the house and up to Lucy’s room.

  “We didn’t mean to.”

  Those words never started a fun conversation.

  “Mean to what?”

  I stop cold when I get to Lucy’s room. Stella’s holding one of my new white towels, scrubbing my brand-new carpet with it.

  One of the pans of huckleberry delight is sitting empty on the floor a few feet away.

  And there, in the middle of the floor, is a three-foot by three-foot purple circle of berries and whipped dessert and graham cracker crust.

  “What happened?”

  They all start to talk at once. Lucy’s latched on to my leg, like she always does, and is crying.

  I can’t understand a thing anyone is saying, so I take a deep breath and say, “Stop talking. Olivia, what happened?”

  “We wanted dessert.”

  “And I told you no food inside.”

  “I know, but we were going to be careful, and we weren’t ready to go outside again,” Stella says, her blue eyes filling with tears. “But the boys were fighting over the pan, and it got dropped, and it all fell out. I tried to clean it up.”

  “All of you, with me. Now.” I spin at Nate’s voice. I hadn’t heard him follow me up. “I’ll take care of the kids.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Lucy,” Nate says, holding his hands out to her. “Let’s go downstairs, sweetheart.”

  Nate’s a kind man. Intimidating as all get out, but kind.

  He takes the kids downstairs, and I can only lean against the doorjamb and take in the mess.

  Brand-new carpet, with huckleberry stains.

  “Have kids, they said,” I mutter. “It’ll be fun, they said. They are dirty liars.”

  “Who’s lying to you?”

  I don’t turn at his voice. I heard him coming up the stairs. I’d recognize my husband’s footsteps anywhere.

  “Everyone who said having kids would be fun. Look.” I point to the stain and he flinches. “Yeah. Less than a month of being settled in and I already have to replace the carpet.”

  “To be fair, I suggested hardwood in here.”

  I glare at him. “Really?”

  “Okay, bad timing.” He holds his hands up in surrender. “Go downstairs, M. I’ve got this.”

  “We can leave it for now. I’ll shut the door and we can take care of it later. We have guests. I refuse to ignore them.”

  “You don’t worry about this. I’ll handle it.”

  I sigh again and lean into him when he holds his arms out wide.

  “It’s been a hell of a day.”

  “Go enjoy the family,” he says, his lips in my hair. “Don’t worry.”

  I stare up at him, press my lips to his, and then nod.

  “Let me know if you need my help,” I offer.

  Mark

  “Isaac.” I gesture to my friend and business partner, someone I’ve come to think of as family. “I need your input.”

  “What’s up?” he asks. He’s been chatting with Will and Caleb, and all three turn their attention to me.

  “There’s been an incident.”

  Three pairs of eyebrows raise.

  “Follow me.”

  We climb the stairs to Lucy’s room and I open the door.

  “Shit,” Will mutters. “What happened in here?”

  “It looks like someone wrestled in grape Jell-O.”

  “Close,” I reply, shaking my head. “The kids brought a pan of dessert up here and it ended up all over the floor.”

  Isaac spies the discarded towel. “And someone tried to clean it up with a white towel?”

  “Seems so,” I confirm. “So my question is, how do I clean it?”

  “Scrap it,” Caleb says. “Get new carpet.”

  “It’s brand new,” I reply grimly. “Mer loves this carpet.”

  “You can steam clean it, but it’s still going to stain,” Isaac says. “But you could put a nice area rug over it.”

  “I thought of that,” I say with a nod. “That might be the way we go for now. I wanted hardwood, but Mer wanted carpet in the bedrooms.”

  “And our girls get whatever they want,” Will adds with a grin.

  “Damn right.” Caleb nods, surveying the mess. “And I’m assuming Meredith has seen this?”

  “She might have been on the verge of a panic attack,” I confirm. “I told her to go enjoy her day and I’ll
worry about it.”

  “Where do you keep rags that you don’t care about ruining?” Isaac asks.

  “In the garage.”

  “You get those and we’ll clean this up. I’ll go get our steam cleaner, and see what kind of magic we can work here.”

  “We have an industrial steam cleaner,” Caleb offers. “With lots of kids and a dog, it gets used a lot. Plus, I live closer. You guys get started on this and I’ll be back.”

  “He just doesn’t want to do the dirty work,” Will grumbles after Caleb has left.

  “I can’t say I blame him,” I reply with a laugh. “Let’s get this cleaned up.”

  It takes two hours, two dozen rags, and six passes with the steam cleaner, but by the end of it, most of the stain is gone.

  “It’ll never look new again,” Isaac says with a shrug. “But it’s not too bad.”

  “We can at least live in here until Mer decides what she wants to do with it,” I reply. “Thanks for your help, guys.”

  “Dad! Dad!”

  Liam comes running up the stairs, his eyes full of panic. Isaac cups his son’s shoulders and bends down on his level.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Josie fell,” the boy says, his chest heaving. Caleb immediately sprints down the stairs to get to his daughter. “She was balancing on the roof of the playhouse, and she lost her balance and fell. She says her leg hurts.”

  “Shit.” We all race downstairs, the stain in the carpet quickly forgotten, to get to the young girl.

  By the time we burst into the back yard, Caleb has a crying Josie in his arms, wiping her tears.

  “Where does it hurt, jellybean?” he asks.

  “My ankle,” she cries. “Dad, if it’s broken, I won’t be able to dance. I have to dance.”

  “It’s okay,” he croons as Meg, the nurse of the family, checks Josie out.

  “Jose, I’m going to ask you to try to stand on it, okay?” Meg asks. Josie shakes her head no, but Meg takes her face in her hands so Josie listens. “We have to see if it hurts too badly to walk on it so we know if it’s broken. It might just be badly bruised.”

  “Okay,” Josie whispers and with Caleb’s help, she stands on her good foot, then gingerly tries to take a step. She doesn’t crumple to the ground. “It’s not too bad.”

  “I don’t think it’s broken,” Meg says to Brynna as she sits back on her haunches. “But you’ll want to take her to the ER, just in case. Get an X-ray.”

  “Let’s go, guys.”

  “Oh, man,” Michael, their youngest, says. “I was having fun with Liam.”

  “He can stay,” Stacy offers with a smile. “The boys can play together. I’ll bring him home later.”

  “Thanks, Stace,” Brynna says to her cousin, kisses her cheek, and then Brynna, Caleb and the girls are out the door to the ER, after promising to let us know what the X-ray shows.

  “Never a dull moment around here,” Meredith says with a sigh. She’s holding our sleeping son to her chest while Lucy plays with Olivia and Stella. It never fails to steal the breath from my chest when I see my wife holding one of our babies. This life with her is a dream come true.

  A dream that I was never brave enough to think of for too long before she and I rediscovered each other a few years ago.

  She’s everything I’ve ever wanted in my life, and the fact that she’s mine, along with these amazing kids, is a blessing that I’m sure I don’t deserve, but I’ll never question.

  I don’t know what I would do without her.

  “Why are you watching me like that?” she asks softly.

  “Like what?”

  “All mushy like,” she says with a laugh.

  “I’m pretty mushy whenever I’m around you, M.” I press a kiss to her cheek, near her ear. “Because I’m so fucking in love with you.”

  “I’m sorry I’m late!”

  Jax, Meredith’s best friend, rushes out the back door, a frown on his face. “I tried to get here earlier, but I ran out of gas. I mean, how does that happen to a man over thirty?”

  “You said you put gas in the car,” Logan, Jax’s husband, grumbles as he follows him outside and heads straight for Mer and the baby. “I’m sorry. It’s Jax’s fault. Now, let me at that baby.”

  With a chuckle, Meredith passes Hudson to Logan while Jax marches back inside.

  “I’m getting food,” he announces.

  “He’s been an ass today,” Logan says, settling in a chair with Hudson on his shoulder. “Seriously, did you fire him or something?”

  “I can’t fire a partner,” Mer says with a laugh. “I’ll go talk to him.”

  She saunters into the house, and I can’t take my eyes off of her.

  “I hope Isaac still looks at me like that,” Stacy says, catching my attention.

  “Like what?”

  “Like he can’t wait to get his hands on me.”

  “He does,” Isaac replies as he joins us. He pulls his wife out of her chair, then sits and tugs her into his lap. “I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”

  “Good answer,” she says with a laugh.

  “I just got a text from Brynna,” Meg announces. “Josie’s ankle is not broken.”

  “Thank God,” I say.

  “What happened to Josie?” Logan asks.

  “She fell and hurt her ankle,” I reply. “But it sounds like she’s okay.”

  Jax and Meredith return, with Jax carrying a loaded plate.

  “Did you bring me some?” Logan asks.

  “No,” Jax replies with a frown. “I don’t like you right now.”

  “Nah, you love me,” Logan says confidently and reaches over to steal some of Jax’s food. “What would you do without me?”

  “I wouldn’t have run out of gas today,” Jax mutters.

  “You said you got gas,” Logan repeats, making the rest of us snicker.

  “Well, when you got in the car and saw the gas gauge was on E, that was probably an indication that I didn’t.”

  “I didn’t check it,” Logan replies calmly. “And we’ll discuss this later.”

  “Ah, marital bliss,” Meredith says with a happy smile. “I’m glad you don’t take any of Jax’s crap, Logan.”

  “I don’t give anyone crap,” Jax says, looking offended.

  The rest of the afternoon passes without another incident of injury or destruction. The kids are exhausted, and go down easily after their baths.

  It feels like I haven’t been alone with my wife for days when we finally collapse on the couch next to each other, staring straight ahead in an exhausted stupor.

  “So, today was an adventure,” I begin.

  “It was a shitshow,” she says with a sigh and rubs her hands over her face.

  “No, it wasn’t.”

  “How can you say that?” She stares at me with wide eyes. Her hair is a mess. Her makeup is smudged.

  And I’ve never seen anything as beautiful in my life.

  “Josie is hurt, our carpet is ruined and I forgot dessert. I never forget stuff like that.”

  “Mer, cut yourself a break.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and tug her against me. “It’s been a busy few months.”

  “Few years,” she mutters and I nod in agreement.

  “Exactly. Josie’s fine, the carpet can be replaced, and you figured the dessert out. Everyone had a great time, and they got to see our new digs, which is exactly what our goal was. We have a huge family. Things are going to happen.”

  “I know. I guess I’m still getting used to it,” she admits. “I mean, I thought I was used to being a part of the family, and there are many days that I am. I love them all, you know that.”

  “I know.”

  “But for a lot of years it was just me and Mom, and Jax. Now that Mom’s gone, there are still days that I feel lost, even though your family has been amazing about making me feel welcome and a part of them.”

  “You are part of them,” I reply. “Is Jax okay? What did he say when you w
ent in the house to talk to him?”

  “He and Logan have been fighting.” She shrugs. “They’re going to be fine, but I think they’ve been wearing on each other’s nerves.”

  “When do you two go to LA to work with Starla?” I ask.

  “I don’t have to go,” she begins, but I press my finger to her lips, hushing her.

  “Yes, you do.”

  “I don’t want to leave you and the kids.”

  “We’re going to be great. You’ll only be gone for a week. As you know, I have an army of women at my disposal if I need help, which I won’t because I’m the dad of the year.”

  “You really are,” she says with a soft smile. “You’re the best daddy, M.”

  “See? I got this. When do you go?”

  “In two weeks,” she says. “Maybe it’ll be good for Jax to get away for a few days.”

  She sighs, leaning into me even harder. “I’ve been in a funk this week.”

  “I know,” I say, kissing her head. “It’s okay.”

  “I miss my parents and Tiff,” she says softly. “They would love this house. And they would love being with the rest of the family.”

  She swallows hard. I hate that my wife has been through so much pain in her life. I wish I could wipe it all away. I wish that she was still surrounded by her family.

  “Yes, they would,” I reply.

  “I can picture it, you know?” She swallows again. “Tiff with a husband and little ones, and my parents so proud of us, chatting with your parents and the others. I hate that we were all robbed of that.”

  “I hate it too.”

  “Do you think they know?” She pushes away so she can look up hopefully into my eyes. “Do you think they know how happy I am? That they can see us and our kids?”

  “I do,” I reply with a soft smile and wipe the tears from under her eyes. “And they’re so fucking proud of you, M.”

  She gives me a watery smile and leans into me again. “Yeah. I think so, too. I guess I just get melancholy when good things are happening for us. I feel almost guilty because things are so good, and they will never have that.”

  “They did have it,” I remind her. “Your parents were very happy, and they loved you girls. Your mom told me that a lot back in the day. And Mer? They’d be pissed as all get out if they knew that you felt guilty for being happy. They would want you to be happy.”