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“So we have you all to thank for keeping Evie safe?” Livy asked as she looked between Harris, Kailan, and Aleks.
“You don’t need to thank us for anything,” Harris said as he grabbed my hand and held it between us. “There’s nothing we wouldn’t do to protect her.” Harris and I shared a look filled with so much emotion. My heart skipped a beat and I knew I was coming dangerously close to the ‘L’ word where these guys were concerned.
“Let’s head through to the dining room and get ready to eat. Dinner about ready, son?” Dad asked, looking to Matt for an answer.
“Should be. I just need to serve it up.”
“I’ll help you,” Livy offered as she stepped towards Matt and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Thanks, Cariña,” Matt said as he leaned down to kiss her. Thankfully they kept it short. Livy and her guys still loved each other just the way they had when they were teenagers, and it was plain to see very time you walked in on them sharing a passionate kiss, or just by the way they touched and looked at each other. They had exactly what I had always wanted and now, for the first time ever, I dared to believe I may have found it. I glanced to my guys and smiled a little when I thought of us all having what Livy and my brother’s had.
“I should check on Nick and Zack,” I said as everyone started for the kitchen.
“I’ll go. You go and sit down. You look shaky and exhausted,” Kailan told me. I would have playfully slapped out at him for his honesty, but I knew he was right. It seemed like days since we fled from the guys home the day before and I was running very low on energy.
“Thank you,” I said instead, then I reached up and kissed his cheek. Kailan being Kailan, he cheekily turned his head so my kiss landed square on his lips, then he was grinning happily as he walked off to find Nick.
“You doing okay?” Harris asked as he wrapped his arm around me again and walked me to the kitchen.
“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “But this helps,” I added as I grabbed his hand and pulled his arm even tighter around me. He pulled me in closer and when I looked up, he kissed me just briefly.
When we got to the kitchen my family were already sitting around the huge dining table, all except Livy and Matt who were in the kitchen. I took a seat, purposely leaving one clear either side for two of my guys. I wanted them close and was relieved when Aleks and Harris took the spare seats.
“Where are the kids?” I asked as I realized how strangely quiet it was.
“We thought they’d be safer with Linc, Emilia, and the guys for now. They’re gonna stay a few nights while we work out next steps,” Cole replied.
“Because of me?” I asked, feeling guilty. “We could stay at your place, or a hotel, right? I mean we’d be safe enough on the top floor of a decent hotel.” I looked to Aleks for an answer, but didn’t wait for him to give one. “My friend, Faith, she’s the assistant manager at that big hotel in the city. I could call her and she’d….”
“Evie!” Kade barked, cutting me off. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re safe here and the kids are fine where they are. Linc’s family has a ton of space and the kids love being with Emilia, Park, and Jax and playing with little baby Harlow. Everyone is fine. Stop worrying so much.”
“How is Harlow?” I asked. Linc was Kyle’s half brother and growing up he became like a surrogate brother to me too. He was in a relationship with Emilia and two other guys – Parker and Jax. They’d just had their first baby before I was taken – a beautiful little girl called Harlow.
“Small, but doing great otherwise. She just started walking,” Kyle told me.
“Why is she small? Is she okay?”
“The doctor said it’s nothing to worry about. Emilia is tiny, isn’t she? Either Harlow has those genes and will always be on the small side, or she’ll catch up in time. Either way she’s just in the right percentile for her age, so she’s fine,” Kyle assured me.
“Who’s Linc?” Aleks asked.
“He’s Kyle’s half-brother. They found each other when I was five and ever since he’s been like a brother to me, I guess,” I shrugged. Our family was a complicated one to explain briefly.
Nick and Kailan came walking in with Zack between them. He was clutching one of each of their hands and walking on his own, a huge smile on his face as he went.
I got to my feet and rounded my seat, crouching so he could see me, and unable to stop myself from smiling at how adorable he looked.
“Look at you, clever little guy,” I told him happily. I held my arms out when he was just a few feet away, and the guys let his hands go so he could walk the last few steps on his own. He squealed excitedly as he held his arms out and hurried as much as he could into my arms.
“Yay! Clever boy!” I cried as I scooped him up and blew raspberries on his cheeks, making him laugh loudly. I held on to him as I got to my feet and moved back to my seat. Holding him and seeing how happy and carefree he was, felt like therapy and I needed it in that moment. He was everything that was pure and good in the world and I needed a reminder of that.
Nick and Kailan followed me and took seats alongside Harris. As I looked between them, they all looked as completely worn out as I felt. They were in the clothes from the day before, just as I was too, and we all needed long, hot showers. We had left the house with nothing but Zack, his blue bunny, and Aleks laptop, so we needed to buy more clothes for all of them. I had clothes upstairs in my room, or at least I hoped they were still all there. As we left Denver the guys had grabbed things from a store for Zack, but not for themselves. I needed to do something about that, but first we all needed to eat.
As if on cue, Matt and Livy started carrying in a ton of food and placing it into the middle of the table. As soon as Zack saw and smelled it, he was reaching for it and chattering away excitedly in his own baby language.
“I didn’t think about you, little buddy. Can you eat enchiladas?” Livy asked as she smiled affectionately at Zack.
“He’ll eat anything,” Nick laughed in reply.
