Amber Eyes (Wild 2)

“I’m tired. I think I would like nothing more than to go to sleep with my mates.”

Jericho raised his head and stared into her eyes. “Your mates would like that very much.”

Hunter ran his fingers down the curve of her arm and around the swell of her breasts. “And who says we have to sleep all the time?”

She caught his lips with hers. “I like the way you think.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“How long is it going to take?” Hunter asked with a scowl. “And why the hell did she ask us to wait out here?”

Aliyah smiled at him and patted him on the arm. “I imagine the poor midwife was thoroughly intimidated by you and Jericho hovering over Kaya like you’d cut off the arm of the person who dared touch her.”

“We aren’t that bad,” Jericho muttered.

Duncan snickered but didn’t move from his perch against the wall.

“Like you’ll be any better when Aliyah is pregnant,” Hunter said in Duncan’s direction.

“You two have lost any and all good sense,” Duncan said in disgust.

Aliyah checked her watch again. “Mama and Papa should be here soon. Oh, I can’t wait for them to see her. I don’t think Mama has stopped crying since I called her.”

Hunter wished he could share Aliyah’s enthusiasm, but the fact was he wasn’t as excited over Kaya’s parents’ arrival, and he knew Kaya was scared. He would have honestly preferred for the reunion to take place after the birth of their child. Until then he wanted to keep her as happy and as stress-free as possible.

Jericho sighed impatiently and dug his hands into his pockets. “Do you think something’s wrong? This was supposed to be a routine exam. Shouldn’t be taking this long.”

Hunter frowned. They’d arranged to take Kaya to a midwife after much argument from her. They’d sworn the midwife would do nothing more than examine her, offer advice, make sure she was as healthy as she needed to be. Her secret would be safe, and moreover, they’d never allow anyone to take her from them.

It was a vow they gave often in an attempt to reassure her. Though she’d forgiven the circumstances that kept them away from her for so long, she hadn’t forgotten the terror she’d lived.

Finally the door to the tiny exam room opened and Kaya stepped out, her cheeks blooming with a smile. Her gaze instantly found Jericho and Hunter, and her smile widened as she hurried over to them.

“I got to hear her heartbeat,” she exclaimed. “Oh, Jericho, it was wonderful. The midwife had this little machine, and she put it on my stomach, and it made the most amazing sound.”

Hunter smiled at her excitement and reached out for her hand, unable to keep from touching her. She responded by leaning into him. He didn’t even know if she was cognizant of doing it, but it thrilled him all the same how she instinctively sought him out. Somehow, he and Jericho hadn’t lost her trust. God knew they’d deserved to. They’d made mistakes with her, mistakes that almost cost them everything, and yet her trust in them was whole.

“Is everything okay with the baby?” Jericho asked anxiously. “And with you? She told you that you should be eating more, didn’t she? She probably thinks we’re not taking very good care of you.”

Kaya laughed and reached up to touch Jericho’s cheek which immediately halted his tirade. “I’m fine. Our daughter is fine.”

“Is that all?” Hunter asked, directing her attention back to him.

“Well, she did mention my weight.”

“I knew it,” Jericho muttered.

“But she said I was strong and healthy and that she couldn’t foresee any problems with the pregnancy.”

“Good,” Hunter said in satisfaction. “Jericho and I can certainly fatten you up.”

Kaya blushed and squeezed his hand, her fingers curling around his in a little flutter. Her gaze went to where Aliyah and Duncan stood across the room, and her hand began to shake in his.

“Relax, honey,” Hunter murmured soothingly. “You don’t have to do this, you know. We can go back to the cabin. You don’t have to see them at all.”

She shook her head. “No, I want to see them. I’m just scared.”

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t be scared. Jericho and I will be with you the entire time.”

She looked up at him, her eyes shining. “I know. I love you.”

He dropped a kiss on her lips then turned her toward the door. It had been agreed that the reunion would be held at Duncan and Aliyah’s. That way if Kaya needed to escape, they could simply leave and return to the cabin, and there would be no awkwardness of expecting her parents to leave.

Jericho took her hand as they walked outside to get into their vehicles. The breeze blew over them, lifting her hair at the ends. She turned her face into the sun and closed her eyes, and Hunter was struck by how utterly beautiful she was. And she was his.

He found himself praying when he thought he didn’t believe in prayer anymore. Just a whisper to God to help him to love and keep her and their daughter from harm. If the sun shone a little brighter over her upturned face, he was sure it was a coincidence.

A brief memory flashed across his mind. Rebeccah smiling, her face soft with love. For a moment he grabbed on and held tight…and then gently let it go, watching as it was carried away on the waves of his past.

It didn’t hurt so much anymore. The shadows slowly dissipated. For the first time he looked to his future with such hope and joy that his heart positively ached.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and felt the tight bands around his chest loosen and fall away. Freedom was such a sweet, sweet gift. Love? That he be granted a second chance to love and be loved was more than he could have ever asked for. He was going to grab it and hang on for all he was worth.

Kaya paced the interior of Aliyah’s living room despite repeated pleas from Jericho and Hunter to sit down. They worried, she knew, but she positively could not sit down. Not when her stomach bubbled like a cauldron. It was all she could do not to go to the bathroom and be violently ill.

“They’re here,” Aliyah said softly.

Kaya froze, her legs trembling. Jericho and Hunter were immediately beside her, their touches light and reassuring.

Aliyah went out, closing the door behind her. Kaya appreciated the buffer because she was terrified. These people were strangers. And yet they were her parents. They loved her. Aliyah had told her how they suffered, how they all suffered after she’d disappeared in Alaska.

“Are you all right?” Jericho asked.

She nodded then stiffened all over when the front door opened.

A young-looking woman with long, dark hair stepped hesitantly into the living room. Her gaze locked with Kaya’s, and tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

Kaya stared in wonder. She knew this woman. It was the woman from her vision, the one who had placed Kaya’s daughter in her arms. Her mother.

“Mama,” she whispered.

“Kaya!”

With a broken sob, her mother moved forward, her arms outstretched. Kaya stumbled into them, absorbing the warm feeling of homecoming. She inhaled deeply, comforted by the familiar scent.

Her mother stroked her hair as Kaya’s face lay buried in her neck. Oh, there was nothing better than a mother’s hug. So much love, unfettered acceptance. So much that she had missed over the long years.

“Kaya, my daughter,” her mother whispered softly against her hair. “At last, you’ve come back to us.”

Kaya pulled away to stare at her through watery eyes. “I tried. I came back as soon as I could. I waited and waited.”

A strangled noise came from behind her mother, and she looked to see a large man standing just inside the doorway, tears streaking unabashedly down his face.

“Papa?”

He held out his arms for her and she ran forward, suddenly spurred by memories of doing the same thing when she was a girl. He’d catch her and whirl her around, a huge grin on his face. Only now he gathered

her against his massive chest almost as if he were afraid she’d disappear.

“My baby,” he said brokenly. “I’m so sorry we weren’t there, little one. You don’t know what it did to me when Aliyah told us what had happened. I’ve died a thousand deaths knowing my little girl needed me and I wasn’t there.”

Any anger or sadness lifted and was carried away as love filled her heart. “You’re here now,” she whispered.

He scooped her up in his big arms and hugged her tight against him. When he finally put her down, she was once more enfolded into her mother’s embrace.

“How beautiful you’ve grown.”

Her mother’s words hummed gently over her hair, and Kaya closed her eyes as she stood between the two people who had given her life.

Her father cupped her cheek and kissed her before pulling away and turning his attention to Hunter and Jericho. His gaze held both curiosity and concern. Kaya stepped back into the shelter of the two men and smiled tentatively at her parents.

Her father held out his hand to Jericho. “I’m Lawrence Carver, Kaya’s father. This is my wife, Merry.”

Jericho returned his shake. “Jericho Hartley.” He nodded at Merry when she offered a smile.

Lawrence turned to offer his hand to Hunter as well.

“Hunter Caldwell,” Hunter said grimly.

“Our family is growing,” Merry said, her eyes glistening with tears.