Cross My Heart (The Devil's Riders 8.50)

“Your house, your rules,” I said, taking off at a jog towards the house. “They are gonna stain those pretty concrete floors, though.”

“Good point. I’ll tell them to bleed outside.”

I let myself in quietly, sliding my boots off and walking swiftly towards the soft sound of a baby crying. I peaked my head into the room to see Candy Cane, as everyone called little Candace, standing in her toddler bed, complete with safety grate, staring at me. She cooed and giggled the moment she saw me.

It was funny. My wife teased me endlessly about it. But somehow, I did seem to have a way with the ladies. Young, old, it didn’t matter. It was most likely because of my long hair, I told her. My wife just shook her head and laughed at me, calling me ‘pretty boy’ and ‘lady slayer’.

Well, either way, little three year old Candace seemed to love her Uncle Nick-Nick. In fact, my name was one of her earliest words.

I grinned at the cute little redhead and scooped her up, giving her a little bouncing walk around the nursery. She was alone in here, though I knew the other kids had shared rooms with bunk beds. Between the twins and all the others, they had at least six.

I paused, trying to do the math.

I thought they had six, anyway. I could name most of them. But sometimes I got confused.

There were a whole lot of red haired hellions at family gatherings, that much was true.

“Jack?”

“It’s me, Nick,” I said, glancing over my shoulder. I was relieved to see Janet was in a nightie with a big fluffy robe over it. I didn’t want Jack to get mad at me if his wife had wandered into the hallway in a t-shirt or panties. Not that I would have enjoyed the view, gorgeous as she was. She was like a sister to me.

Hell, she was a sister to me. All the old ladies were.

And I only had eyes for my woman. It had been like that since the first day I noticed she had grown up to be a stunner. I had tormented myself for months before I gave in to the impossible lure.

“It’s okay. I’m decent,” she chuckled, clearly knowing what I was thinking.

“How you doin’, Nettie?” I asked, using one of her many nicknames. She stood by my side and shrugged. I looked from the sleepy angel in my arms, to her mother, and back again. The turquoise eyes, the button nose, the shiny copper hair.

“It’s uncanny,” I said in wonder.

“I know. This one looks even more like me than the rest,” she said with a sad smile. “Sometimes I wonder if God was making a carbon copy. Just in case…”

“Oh, Jan. Don’t say that.”

“You’ll look after him, right Nick? I know you have a family of your own. And everyone will pitch in. But you’re special. You and Mac are the quiet ones. You notice things. You’ll notice… if he needs you, right?”

“Of course. I would do anything for him. But it won’t come to that. No way this thing is going to win. Look at you. You are the one and only Janet. You are a force of nature. But,” I added, jerking my head towards the door. “Even forces of nature need to rest sometimes.”

She smiled at me sadly, then pressed a kiss on her daughters head.

“Okay. I am glad we got to talk, Nick. You are a good friend and a good dad.”

“Thanks, Jan. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I stood there in the faint light of the nightlight. It was shaped like a ballerina in a frothy pink tutu, one leg held high in the air. I couldn’t help thinking how fragile the tiny dancer looked.

When Candy Cane let out a soft little snore, I realized my job here was done. I put her down in the cradle and left, quiet as a mouse.

But my heart was heavy. I wanted to hope. But Janet’s words had spooked me. She seemed so certain that she was going to go.

Please, I prayed silently as I joined the guys in the workshop. Please let her be wrong.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Becky

“Was this really necessary?”

“I couldn’t let them kill each other,” my husband grumbled as I wiped iodine over his chewed up knuckles. He was in rough shape, though nowhere near the kind of shape that Drake and Tank were in. And all of the big, foolish oafs had refused medical treatment.

Every single one of them.

Even though we were literally in the parking lot of a hospital.

“Well, this proves it once and for all. Men are idiots,” I muttered as Kaylie came over to grab more bandages from my car. I had a massive first aid kit. But it was going to need a serious restock after the boys and their shenanigans used up my supplies.