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"Dude, you're gonna need some more practice. Or in nine months' time, you’re gonna be in over your head," Louie teased as he lined up his shot.
"Practice all you want, you're still going to be in over your head. Nothing prepares you for fatherhood," Andro said.
We seemed to have made a complete one-eighty if they were joking about me and their brother making babies together.
My chest warmed, and a sense of longing filled me. After last night, it was almost guaranteed that Jeremiah and I would have a child on the way. That was the way of things.
I didn't have a job, and he hadn't even graduated yet. We were wholly unprepared for fatherhood. Yet that didn't quell any of the excitement that blossomed within me.
"I've seen that look before. It’ll all work out." Andro patted my shoulder, startling me. "I can't say that I knew what I was doing when I kidnapped my omega and married him without either of our families' permission. But nine months later, we had a child, and I had new enemies to deal with. It's terrifying no matter what you do."
I scoffed as the baby gripped my finger with his tiny fingers. "That's reassuring.”
“I think it should be," Andro said, squeezing my shoulder. "All I’m trying to say is that you have family around. Families help each other. You and Jeremiah will not be left on your own to deal with this. You’re welcome here in this house, and if you wish for your own place, we can make arrangements for that. As soon as it’s safe.” He paused for a moment and blew out a deep breath. “And if you wish to work within the family, we can always use a lawyer. I don’t know if Jeremiah will want to use his degree at all or if he just wants to paint for the rest of his days. Either way, you guys can do what works best for your growing family."
"You'd let him do that?" I was shocked to hear him say that. I’d always assumed they needed him to have his law degree.
"Of course. We only want our brother's happiness. Even if most days it seems that we don't get along at all.”
“I want to make sure he doesn't take over as number one uncle. But other than that, yeah, he can be happy. We want him to be happy.” Orsino shrugged as if trying to convince himself as much as the rest of us.
“I don't know that he'll be happy just painting, though. Even before this weekend, he mentioned that he's always wanted to be more involved in the business. He didn’t tell me what that business was, of course."
Andro seemed to contemplate that for a moment. “Father insisted that omegas weren't to be a part of the discussions. I don't have a preference either way. In fact, I constantly look to my mate for help because he offers a unique perspective. That being said, I'm not taking him to any sort of gunfight. The same would apply to Jeremiah. I have a hard enough time putting these two in danger." He nodded back toward his younger brothers.
It was oddly sweet from such a tough guy.
Louie let out a long whistle. "Yeah, zero out of ten, I don't recommend being in a gun fight with your mate, man. Keep your omega home when shit goes down."
"I take it you've been there?" I asked.
“That’s a story for another day. But yeah, I’ve been there. Andro, too.”
"Y’all could just take a page out of my book." Orsino cleared his throat and looked at us with a smug smile. "Don't have any omega at all. Problem solved."
"Perhaps." It made sense, considering the shit they saw, but having Jeremiah in my life was a thousand times better than not.
Now, my only priorities were to regain his trust fully, convince his brothers I was serious, and live happily ever after. Easy enough.
13
JEREMIAH
Once again, we found ourselves sitting in the large playroom that had been set up for the babies. The room was massive, though right now, it wasn't overly full of children's things. I could imagine that, in time, it would be filled to the brim with toys, especially as the family grew and we all fought for the position of greatest uncle.
The only one in the family who wasn't in attendance was Orsino. According to Andro, he was taking care of something to do with one of our casinos. I didn't ask for details because I had enough family business drama to tide me over until after graduation.
Andro and Louie sat on the couch while their mates sat on the floor with their babies. The two little ones played side by side, grabbing each other’s toys and squawking with their adorable noises. Theo was walking now, though he still seemed to prefer to crawl. Matias was doing some sort of bum shuffle where he dragged himself along with his arms and his butt scooched around on the floor.
It was hilarious. In the time that I had been home, I’d already taken over twenty videos. I couldn’t get enough of them.
"You used to do that," Andro said, pointing at little Matias.
"I did?"
He chuckled as he thought back on the memory. "We might have a video on one of those old camcorder things they had to use back in the day before cell phones. Dad would get so mad at us. We would put candy on the floor, and you would shuffle toward it, and we would just keep moving it farther away." Andro smiled fondly with an expression I rarely saw these days.
I rolled my eyes. "Such kind brothers you were."
