Seventh Heaven (Allendale Four 4)

“There’s another option,” Jackson said.

I glanced up at my partner. “What’s that?”

“You could split the winnings. I doubt Heaven would mind.”

Hayden leaned against the bars. “He’s probably right.”

I stood and walked over to Anderson, offering him a hand. He took it and lifted himself off the bench. “We’ll give her the choice. She may tell us both to fuck off.”

Jackson snorted before walking out of the room and down the hall. We always hit the sauna after our workout—a little time to decompress before the rest of the day.

Again, it was a private area—for our most exclusive clients. We quickly changed, wrapping clean, white towels around our waists, and took a seat inside, everyone finding a spot to sprawl out on the benches. The heat felt good against my sore, overworked, muscles.

“So, Jackson,” Hayden said, cradling the back of his head with his hands against the wall, “I got up to let Sadie out last night and passed your room.”

“Oh yeah?” Jackson’s eyes were closed but he slowly opened them.

“Thing’s sounded…rowdy.”

“If that’s what you want to call a surprise visit by Heaven, then okay.” Sweat dripped down his face. “But seriously, she showed up in the dark and just…I don’t know. She was ready.”

Anderson nodded. “That was her in the bathroom the other night at the baby announcement. No complaints, but I didn’t see that coming.”

Their eyes swung to me. “Nothing unusual here other than her being pretty adamant about me taking time off to meet up with her.”

I glanced at Hayden but he shrugged. “I haven’t been on the receiving end of such treatment.” He leaned over placing his elbows on his knees. “But we had a weird talk a few weeks ago—it see

med like something was bothering her. She was talking about ’saddling’ people with her baggage. At the time I thought she was talking about us, but after the other night…”

“What?” I asked.

“She knew Amber and Ginger were trying to have a baby,” Jackson said. “She mentioned it the other night.” He looked at Hayden. “Is that what you think she was talking about? Passing her baggage onto a kid?”

“Maybe. She mentioned her mom and dad, her anxiety and depression—all things that would be hereditary. I just didn’t get it at the time.”

“Do you think that’s what she wants? A baby?” Anderson asked.

“Or doesn’t want, is more likely.”

The four of us grew silent, taking in all that information. I had a strong, personal reaction that I kept to myself. I knew I wanted kids—with Heaven—with this family, but I also knew that was a decision I couldn’t make on my own. From the looks on the others’ faces there was no doubt they knew that, too.

“This is something we’ll have to talk about, don’t you think?” Jackson asked.

“Yeah,” Anderson agreed. “I knew the day would come, I just didn’t realize it would be so soon.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Hayden said. “We’re not Amber and Ginger. We don’t have to make a choice like this now.”

“You don’t think we need to at least know where everyone stands?” I asked. “Because this…this is the kind of shit that could be a deal-breaker. It could change everything.” All three of them gave me a dirty look and I held up my hands. “I’m not trying to be a dick, but ultimately this is Heaven’s choice, and then we have to decide if we want to go along with it.”

Despite the heat of the sauna, every muscle in my body tensed with the realization of what this meant if Hayden was right. In one moment the trajectory of our lives shifted, one topic, one decision. We walked into that room one way and left feeling uncertain about the future. What did Heaven want? And would her desires line up with our own?

13

Heaven

“Babe, it’s my turn.”

“In a minute.”