“I’m running to the restroom,” Autumn said. Robert nodded, turning his hand to fully grip Landon’s. This moment right here, holding his precious niece in his arms with Landon by his side… Perfection.
“Of course, you know you have access to it all.” Rodney’s attention shifted to Landon. “Robert was just telling me your plans for street fare. Does that mean you’re leaving the military?”
“No, sir. I’ve got four years until retirement. I’m sticking it out.” Every time Landon spoke of his military career, his tone dripped with pride.
His mister was proud of his accomplishments. Robert was too, but if given a choice, he’d vote for Landon to quit or deny orders—however the Air Force did their thing. Robert was ready to take off with their new lives, but Landon dug in his heels, holding them in place.
“I work second shift. I can lend a hand every day, but Robert does all the heavy lifting. He keeps saying it’s a we deal. It’s not. It’s a he deal.”
Robert grinned, tightening his grip. “You do all the heavy lifting—literally. We did a test run last week. Landon’s expert-level good at lugging things around. He had us setup in record time without breaking a sweat.”
“Like that matters.” Landon squeezed his hand, drawing Robert’s gaze up to see Landon peering down at him, making his heart sputter. “He’s happier here in Minnesota. He’s different here. Less weight on his shoulders.”
“They grew up here—right here in this restaurant. The Adamses are the first family of Minnesota. They’re all our children,” Rodney stated proudly, winking at Robert.
“All right, guys. It’s almost nine o’clock. She’s passed out, so I need to do the same,” Autumn said, carefully taking the sleeping baby from his arms.
“I’ll walk Autumn out then give you a tour. I’ll be back.” Robert got to his feet, kissing Landon on the way up before he grabbed the diaper bag and Autumn’s purse, helping Autumn and Kylie out to the car.
Landon stood transfixed, committing every detail of this restaurant to memory. How Robert kept saying their honeymoon hadn’t officially begun was in direct contrast to his views. For Landon, they had started the minute they’d stepped off the plane in Minnesota. To have such a tour of all the places Avery Adams had spoken of inside his books, and the tour guide to be his son, who also happened to be Landon’s husband, just made everything more special.
From the picture of Paulie hanging on the wall in the kitchen to the place where Avery had dropped down on one knee and proposed to Kane—Landon was seeing where it all happened and mentally committed each place to memory.
“We had a nursery in this room.” Robert pushed open the door. Stacks of boxes now filled the space. “We spent all day here when we were children. My fathers hired a caregiver, Patty, who would watch us all day in this tiny room. It seemed so big at the time.”
“You didn’t stay home?” Landon asked, sticking his head inside the room. The walls were still painted in primary colors, in patterns Paulie had chosen and painted.
“No, not after those first six months or so. In the beginning, they tried to take care of us themselves while running the restaurant and my dad’s law firm, but they said we were a handful. We double teamed them, so we started coming here so my granddaddy could keep an eye on our nanny. My dad would come here after work and help out then we’d all go home together.” Robert flipped on the light and pushed through the boxes. “Come in and shut the door.”
Landon entered as Robert pushed along the back wall until he found what he was looking for. A door opened under his pressure. “We had a bathroom in here. I’d wondered what they’d done with it.”
Landon followed Robert into the dark bathroom and flipped on the light. The bathroom was dated with its metallic blue wallpaper and gold marble sink.
“Through there was my dad’s office.” He pointed to a side door along the opposite wall. “One time Autumn flooded the place. She was mad at me and tried to flush one of my action figures.” Robert bent at the sink, tapping the side boards until one popped open. He pulled out an old, three-quarter used bottle of lubricant and laughed. “They thought they were sly, hiding this in their secret place. I think we found their hiding place long before they realized it. Maybe they never knew.” Robert reached for the toilet paper, carefully picking up a very outdated, cumbersome looking butt plug. “I couldn’t imagine what this was used for when we found it. During my residency, I pulled something like this out of a man’s ass in the ER.”
“You did not.”
Robert gave a devious grin. “Oh, I did. That was the longest rotation of my life. I’ve pulled many, many things out of men’s asses.” Robert placed the butt plug next to the lube before turning back to the cubby.