The Company You Keep

Becca tilts her head and stares before she blurts out, “Wait. Piper, as in your assistant Piper?”

“Yes,” I respond, hoping she behaves herself. I’ve never even had a date, but I expect her to be nice.

A broad smile spreads over her face and cheers, “I knew it.” She spins around to look at Rob and points. “We’re getting a dog.”

“You bet on us too?” I exclaim.

“Well, I’m sorry, but you were obvious.”

Then she closes the distance and hugs Piper.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Piper says when they pull apart.

“It’s nice to meet you too. James has worked a lot over the years, but I never thought he’d work that late.”

“Well, I couldn’t give her time to find someone else,” I confess, getting a little nudge from Piper.

“I didn’t want anyone else anyway,” she admits.

“Well, let’s not stand outside fucking freezing,” Rob says through chattering teeth.

“Whose fault is it that you refused to layer up?”

I reach inside the trunk and grab the last round of bags.

We all go inside, and Becca is the first to say something about the mound of bags and boxes littering my foyer. “Wow, what’s with all the stuff?”

“It’s a long story, but Piper and I are having a family over for Christmas, and we want to make it nice for them.”

“I need details,” she demands. I go into the details which sends her into a pissed off attitude. “When the fuck were you going to tell me about it?”

“I just did. It only happened yesterday. Damn, I can’t believe it was just yesterday that everything changed.”

“Well, we’re going to make it nice for them too. We’ll help you wrap, and if you need me to cook, I can come over before we have Rob’s parents over.”

“No, it’s okay. We’ll be making food.”

“You are going to cook? Why did you bother buying all this stuff if it’s going to burn down?”

Chapter 14

Piper

“I will be doing the cooking. He told me about the toast,” I tell her, hoping to break the tension.

She places her hand on my arm and laughs, “That is just the start. Why don’t you come with me to set Ryan down and change him and I can tell you about his fiery meals?”

She walks us up the stairs with the diaper bag over her arm and the baby in her arms.

“Do you want me to take the bag?” I offer.

“No, I’ve got it,” she says, hurrying up the stairs.

“Wow, you make this look easy.”

“The stairs or the baby?” she asks as we go into her old bedroom. Nothing in the room has changed except she took her personal belongings.

“Ha, both.” She lays the baby on the bed and unwraps him to change his diaper. I watch silently.

“He’s three months now, and this is the easy part. He’s so good at this point. He does have his moments when he’s fussy and that can be rough. The rest is yet to come,” she remarks forebodingly.

“I suppose that’s true. James wants a little army of babies.”

“He does?” she ponders. “Well, do you?”

“Yes, I do. My grandparents raised me, and I have no siblings, so it’s kind of exciting.”

“My brother seems different.”

“Yes, it’s been a strange twenty-four hours. He went from telling me it wasn’t right that we worked late together to telling me that he loves me. I can’t say how wonderful that has been,” I choke out, shedding a tear or two. “Sorry, I just felt like this was all one-sided for so long. And now he’s made me absolutely and truly happy.”

“That does my heart good.” She picks up the baby and pulls him close to her chest and sniffs his hair.

“It does good for mine now too,” I admit.

A knock at the open door gets our attention. “Are you girls okay?” Rob says, coming into the room and reach out for the baby. I see a look of longing cross James’s face until he looks at me and his expression twists.

“Why are you crying?” James asks, snarling practically at his sister and coming up to me with his need to protect.

“Oh, nothing. I’m just happy that you’re mine. Even if you’re a bit crazy.”

“I told you that you haven’t seen anything. I’m crazy obsessed with you. I promise as soon as they’re out of here, I’ll be putting my kid into you if I didn’t already do the trick.”

Chapter 15

James

By the end of the night, all the presents are wrapped, and we’re waving bye to my sister, Rob, and the baby. The gate barely closes before I throw Piper over my shoulder without a word and carry her like a warrior up the stairs. “It’s been a long day. We need a shower and a couple of orgasms.” I swat her ass, getting a giggle.

“Keep that up, and I’m going to come before we get in the shower.”