Leo moves onto the twins, too busy on their phones to comprehend what’s happening. About a year ago, Linc and Liam uploaded a YouTube video about their feelings on bullying, and get this—it went fucking viral. Now they just post random videos on their channel doing all sorts of mayhem, and they get over a hundred thousand hits every time. They’re earning a pretty penny as well as multiple marriage proposals daily. Assholes.
Lachlan… is still Lachlan. Only now he’s started his own collection of medals and trophies for running track. The hundred-meter sprint is his specialty, of course. The little punk’s already telling me he’s going to break my high school record, and I want him to. But not as much as I want him to destroy he-who-shall-not-be -named’s record. It’ll be glorious watching a Preston erase that dick from the record books.
Laney rests her head on my now tear-stained chest, her hand on my stomach. We watch Dad and Leo get in the truck, wave a final goodbye before they’re off.
“I need to get home to feed Preston,” Misty says.
“Which one?” Cam asks, chuckling to himself. He’s the only one of us not sick of that joke.
Lucy rolls her eyes. “Let’s go, Dad-Joke,” she says, taking his hand. They walk off toward their cabin while Brian and Misty get into Misty’s car.
I look to my left, to my other brothers, but they’re already gone. People around here disappear just as quickly as they appear. Then I look to my right, to my beautiful girlfriend who’s now the official holder of a realtor license. She’s had it about six months, helps Dad and me find properties to buy and flip, and she sells them. She loves her job, almost as much as I love her.
I sigh, happy and content with my life… until…
Until she fucking kicks my shin and points a finger in my face. “Are you cheating on me?”
“What?!”
“Are you?”
“No!” I rub my leg. “What the fuck, Lane?”
She crosses her arms, breathes through her nose. Crazy Laney. “Yesterday you left your lunch at home and I went to the site to bring it to you, and the guys said you hadn’t been there in over a week!”
Shit.
“Where the hell have you been?” she screams.
“Laney, calm down!”
She does the opposite. “Oh, my God! Do you have a baby mamma?”
I shake my head, laugh loudly. “Babe. Don’t ever say baby mamma again.”
“Are you in love with her?” she yells.
“I don’t know!” I yell back, trying so damn hard to keep it together. “Are you insane?”
“Where have you been, Lucas?”
I try to come up with a lie. Quickly. But I can’t. So I cross my arms, lift my chin, revert to the age we first met. “I’m not telling!”
“You will so,” she grinds out.
“Will not.”
“Will so.”
“Will not!”
And then she looks at me with those eyes filled with tears, and those lips now trembling, and she whimpers, and I feel like an asshole. “Baby, I’m not cheating on you.”
“So why won’t you tell me?”
I tell her the truth. “Because it was supposed to be a surprise.”
She frowns. “That you have a baby with another woman?”
“Stop,” I say through a chuckle, hugging her to me. “It’s so silly that that’s the first place you go when you think I’m keeping a secret. There’s no other woman and there never will be. You know you’re the one for me, Lois Lane.” I rub her back, treat her like Lachlan, because right now, she’s acting like him. I rear back, look in those eyes. “Wait for me by my truck, okay? I’m going to get the keys from the apartment. Just don’t leave me. Please?”
She nods.
“Promise?”
She smiles. I win. “Promise.”
I run up the stairs, quickly grab the keys, and run back out. Then I unlock the truck, help her into the seat. As soon as I’m behind the wheel, she starts on me again. “Are we going to meet the baby? Is it a boy or girl?” At least, this time, she’s kidding. I think.
I start the engine, head toward the same place I’ve been going to for the past week without her knowledge.
“Where are we going?”
“Remember our first date? When you kept asking questions, and I told you to stop?”
“Yes.”
“Stop.”
We don’t leave the property, but we go as far out as you can get. I park at a clearing on the edge of the lake that up until two weeks ago was covered in trees and bushes. Then I get out, open her door for her. “Are we still on your property?”
“Just,” I tell her, helping her down. “I’m going to do that cute thing where I come in from behind and cover your eyes, okay?”
“Okay.”
I remove her glasses, pocket them. Then I stand behind her, cover her eyes. They’re still wet from her tears, but I ignore them, knowing it won’t last long. I walk her through the yard, onto the concrete slab, tell her when to take a longer or higher step and when to duck. Then I let her go. “Open your eyes,” I tell her, and she does.
I give back her glasses and she puts them on. “The lake?” she asks. “I’ve seen the lake before.”
“No.” I laugh. “Look down and around you.”
She looks down at the concrete slab, then the beginning of the outer frame of a house. She turns to me, her eyebrows drawn. “You’re building a house here?”
“I’m building our house here.”
Her gasp is soft, those eyes wide. “Our house?”
I nod. “It’s far enough away from the main house that we’ll have our privacy, and I got a permit to build a driveway to the street so we don’t need to come in through the main gates. It’s three bedrooms, two baths, office and craft room—”
“Lucas,” she cuts in, turning to me. “You’re building me a house?”
I nod again.
Her mouth parts, but she doesn’t speak. And those eyes, those eyes are staring at me, disbelief and shock and then glee and shock and then, “You’re building me a house!” she repeats. “And there’s a craft room?” She reaches for me and I take her in my arms. She whispers, “My heart… it’s… I think I need to sit down.” She’s crying now, her tears of pain replaced with tears of joy.
I release her just long enough to grab the cooler from what will one day be the bathroom. I set it next to her, help her sit. She covers her mouth, her eyes locked on mine. She’s shaking her head, laughing, crying, laughing some more. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
I motion for her to move over so I can sit on the cooler with her. She melts into me, and I hold her close, look out at the lake.
“You’re building me a house,” she says. Again. She takes my hands. “With these two hands—you’re building me a house. Why?”
I shrug, too overwhelmed by her reaction to speak.
“You have to take care of me, don’t you?”
I look back at her, nod slowly, and I tell her, my voice cracking with emotion, “When I was growing up, I’d see the way Dad treated my mom and Lucy. It was so different to how he treated us boys. I didn’t know what it meant then, but I do now. And I know it might sound sexist, and maybe it is, but when I watched Dad, it was like his sole purpose in life was to take care of his girls, and I feel the same way. I nearly lost you once, Laney. I’m not going through that again. I’m going to take care of you for the rest of our lives. No matter how short that might be.”
Lachlan… is still Lachlan. Only now he’s started his own collection of medals and trophies for running track. The hundred-meter sprint is his specialty, of course. The little punk’s already telling me he’s going to break my high school record, and I want him to. But not as much as I want him to destroy he-who-shall-not-be -named’s record. It’ll be glorious watching a Preston erase that dick from the record books.
Laney rests her head on my now tear-stained chest, her hand on my stomach. We watch Dad and Leo get in the truck, wave a final goodbye before they’re off.
“I need to get home to feed Preston,” Misty says.
“Which one?” Cam asks, chuckling to himself. He’s the only one of us not sick of that joke.
Lucy rolls her eyes. “Let’s go, Dad-Joke,” she says, taking his hand. They walk off toward their cabin while Brian and Misty get into Misty’s car.
I look to my left, to my other brothers, but they’re already gone. People around here disappear just as quickly as they appear. Then I look to my right, to my beautiful girlfriend who’s now the official holder of a realtor license. She’s had it about six months, helps Dad and me find properties to buy and flip, and she sells them. She loves her job, almost as much as I love her.
I sigh, happy and content with my life… until…
Until she fucking kicks my shin and points a finger in my face. “Are you cheating on me?”
“What?!”
“Are you?”
“No!” I rub my leg. “What the fuck, Lane?”
She crosses her arms, breathes through her nose. Crazy Laney. “Yesterday you left your lunch at home and I went to the site to bring it to you, and the guys said you hadn’t been there in over a week!”
Shit.
“Where the hell have you been?” she screams.
“Laney, calm down!”
She does the opposite. “Oh, my God! Do you have a baby mamma?”
I shake my head, laugh loudly. “Babe. Don’t ever say baby mamma again.”
“Are you in love with her?” she yells.
“I don’t know!” I yell back, trying so damn hard to keep it together. “Are you insane?”
“Where have you been, Lucas?”
I try to come up with a lie. Quickly. But I can’t. So I cross my arms, lift my chin, revert to the age we first met. “I’m not telling!”
“You will so,” she grinds out.
“Will not.”
“Will so.”
“Will not!”
And then she looks at me with those eyes filled with tears, and those lips now trembling, and she whimpers, and I feel like an asshole. “Baby, I’m not cheating on you.”
“So why won’t you tell me?”
I tell her the truth. “Because it was supposed to be a surprise.”
She frowns. “That you have a baby with another woman?”
“Stop,” I say through a chuckle, hugging her to me. “It’s so silly that that’s the first place you go when you think I’m keeping a secret. There’s no other woman and there never will be. You know you’re the one for me, Lois Lane.” I rub her back, treat her like Lachlan, because right now, she’s acting like him. I rear back, look in those eyes. “Wait for me by my truck, okay? I’m going to get the keys from the apartment. Just don’t leave me. Please?”
She nods.
“Promise?”
She smiles. I win. “Promise.”
I run up the stairs, quickly grab the keys, and run back out. Then I unlock the truck, help her into the seat. As soon as I’m behind the wheel, she starts on me again. “Are we going to meet the baby? Is it a boy or girl?” At least, this time, she’s kidding. I think.
I start the engine, head toward the same place I’ve been going to for the past week without her knowledge.
“Where are we going?”
“Remember our first date? When you kept asking questions, and I told you to stop?”
“Yes.”
“Stop.”
We don’t leave the property, but we go as far out as you can get. I park at a clearing on the edge of the lake that up until two weeks ago was covered in trees and bushes. Then I get out, open her door for her. “Are we still on your property?”
“Just,” I tell her, helping her down. “I’m going to do that cute thing where I come in from behind and cover your eyes, okay?”
“Okay.”
I remove her glasses, pocket them. Then I stand behind her, cover her eyes. They’re still wet from her tears, but I ignore them, knowing it won’t last long. I walk her through the yard, onto the concrete slab, tell her when to take a longer or higher step and when to duck. Then I let her go. “Open your eyes,” I tell her, and she does.
I give back her glasses and she puts them on. “The lake?” she asks. “I’ve seen the lake before.”
“No.” I laugh. “Look down and around you.”
She looks down at the concrete slab, then the beginning of the outer frame of a house. She turns to me, her eyebrows drawn. “You’re building a house here?”
“I’m building our house here.”
Her gasp is soft, those eyes wide. “Our house?”
I nod. “It’s far enough away from the main house that we’ll have our privacy, and I got a permit to build a driveway to the street so we don’t need to come in through the main gates. It’s three bedrooms, two baths, office and craft room—”
“Lucas,” she cuts in, turning to me. “You’re building me a house?”
I nod again.
Her mouth parts, but she doesn’t speak. And those eyes, those eyes are staring at me, disbelief and shock and then glee and shock and then, “You’re building me a house!” she repeats. “And there’s a craft room?” She reaches for me and I take her in my arms. She whispers, “My heart… it’s… I think I need to sit down.” She’s crying now, her tears of pain replaced with tears of joy.
I release her just long enough to grab the cooler from what will one day be the bathroom. I set it next to her, help her sit. She covers her mouth, her eyes locked on mine. She’s shaking her head, laughing, crying, laughing some more. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
I motion for her to move over so I can sit on the cooler with her. She melts into me, and I hold her close, look out at the lake.
“You’re building me a house,” she says. Again. She takes my hands. “With these two hands—you’re building me a house. Why?”
I shrug, too overwhelmed by her reaction to speak.
“You have to take care of me, don’t you?”
I look back at her, nod slowly, and I tell her, my voice cracking with emotion, “When I was growing up, I’d see the way Dad treated my mom and Lucy. It was so different to how he treated us boys. I didn’t know what it meant then, but I do now. And I know it might sound sexist, and maybe it is, but when I watched Dad, it was like his sole purpose in life was to take care of his girls, and I feel the same way. I nearly lost you once, Laney. I’m not going through that again. I’m going to take care of you for the rest of our lives. No matter how short that might be.”
