AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Um...because it’s true? Because I don’t socialize hardly at all and most of my friends are really just colleagues that I see at work and my closest friend is in the hospital on hospice. So...yeah. Depressing.”
He took a step toward her. “Sienna, I didn’t mean for any of this to make you feel bad about your life. I just thought...”
She was still feeling oddly emotional and knew it wouldn’t take much to make her cry again. “Look, no more talking about this, okay? This trip has been wonderful. All of it. Meeting all these people has been beyond refreshing, and I can’t wait to have lunch with Hugh and hear more about his family.”
Laughing, Mick walked toward the bathroom to wash his hands. “I don’t know if there’s enough time in the day to get caught up on all of them.”
“Only one way to find out!”
Twenty minutes later, they were seated in the hotel restaurant and being told that Hugh had taken care of the menu for them. Sienna was mildly uncomfortable because this man didn’t know anything about her likes or dislikes, but she decided to do her best to go with the flow.
“So we saw your brother a few days ago and it felt like all we did was talk,” Mick was saying, “but he really only caught us up on what him and Savannah were up to. How’s the rest of the family?”
Leaning back in his chair, Hugh grinned, and that’s where Sienna noticed the family resemblance. It wasn’t strong, but it was there.
“Okay, um...where should I even begin?” he said with amusement. “Aidan and Zoe are doing great. They’ve got three kids now—Lily, Caroline, and Zander. My nephew is definitely the hellraiser of the group and he loves trying to do anything his big sisters are doing.”
“And how old is he now?” Mick asked.
“Three.” He chuckled. “I love watching Aidan try to keep up with him.” Then he looked at Sienna. “My older brother is known for being a little uptight, so we’re all getting a kick out of seeing him try to rein in a wild toddler.”
Laughing softly, she nodded.
“Uh...Quinn and Anna just had baby number four,” he went on. “And I’m beginning to fear Quinn’s joke about wanting his own baseball team wasn’t really a joke!”
“Holy cow! Poor Anna!” Mick laughed.
“Nah, she seems just as happy to keep adding to their family, so...more power to them.”
“And Owen and Brooke?” Mick prompted.
“Two sets of twins—the first were two girls, the second was a boy and a girl—and then they just had a baby girl three months ago. I swear to you, I get tired just thinking about it.”
“Two sets of twins?” Sienna asked. “That’s incredible!”
“Well, Owen and Riley are fraternal twins, so they sort of run in the family,” Hugh explained. “But it’s highly unlikely to have two sets by the same parents like that. Owen’s a genius—and I’m not just saying that. He’s an astrophysicist and before he met Brooke, he was practically afraid of his own shadow. She really drew him out of his shell and I swear, it all just agrees with him. I love seeing the transformation.”
“Wow...I can imagine,” she said.
“Darcy and Ben have two kids now—two little boys. They’re still out in Washington and we really only get to see them once or twice a year, but they’re incredibly happy. Ben’s doing some wood sculpting for a big resort up there and it’s keeping him very busy.”
“Nice,” Mick said. “I remember the first time I saw his work and was blown away to know how he does it all by hand!”
“Yeah, he’s beyond talented,” Hugh agreed. “Bobby and Teagan are doing well too. They’ve got three kids now and Bobby’s back on the police force—actively on the police force—again.”
“And Teagan’s okay with that?” Mick asked.
Nodding, Hugh replied, “I think since Bobby sort of eased his way back onto active duty, she had time to get used to it.” He looked at Sienna. “Bobby is Anna’s brother, and Teagan is my cousin. Her fiancé was killed over in Afghanistan when she was pregnant with their son. She moved to North Carolina and met Bobby—who is a cop—and she had no interest in dating someone with a dangerous job ever again.”
“I can’t say I blame her,” she said. “But she must love Bobby a lot to take that leap of faith.”
“She does. And to be honest, Bobby’s one of the best guys I’ve ever known and if it had been that big of an issue, I think he would have quit the force for her.”
All she could do was nod because she couldn’t imagine making that big of a sacrifice for someone.
Mick hadn’t made it for her all those years ago and she had no idea if it would be an issue now. Or if when their vacation was over, if their careers were going to be a deciding factor on whether they continued their relationship.
“And what about you and Aubrey?” Mick asked, interrupting her thoughts.
