They checked the room methodically, and Ellis didn’t move a muscle the whole time as he glared at the hand unit of the monitor, until Hogan made a new suggestion. “Maybe she’s in the bathroom? Or Ellis’s room?”
Standing up with Liv still in his arms, he stalked over to the doorway and yelled, “Yo, old people, she’s here. As much as we’ve enjoyed listening to you both, if you go into my room and start turning it upside down, you’ll never hold her again.”
Loud footsteps quickly made their way back to where we were, both of them holding their hands out as they cleared the door like they were going to hug their son, but heading for Liv instead. “There she is,” Rissa cooed, ducking down so she could give Liv a kiss, getting one back for her efforts. “You want to have cuddles with Nana Rissa?”
Nana Rissa, I loved that!
Liv looked tempted, but then she looked up at the man holding her and curled her fingers in his t-shirt tightly. “’Lis.”
“But he smells, Livvy loo,” Hogan argued, looking like she’d just committed a sin. “Nana Rissa and Grandpa Hogie have non-smelly loves for their princess.”
I was standing behind Liv, so I watched as her head turned to look from one of them to the other, but her mind was made up. Shaking her head, she stuck her face in Ellis’s armpit and held on tight.
“What did you do?” Hogan growled, glaring at his son. “Yesterday she wanted those loves, but today she won’t even let us hold her. What did you say to her?”
Snorting, Ellis turned and walked back to the chair he’d just vacated and picked up his cup of coffee. “You guys lose, deal with it.”
Giving him a final glare, they both walked up to me and gave me a hug before getting themselves a cup of coffee and sitting down. Following suit, I got comfy and was just taking a mouthful from my cup when they asked a question that made me choke on it.
“So, what did y’all get up to last night?”
Patting my back to help me right the wrong that had just happened and get oxygen into my lungs, Ellis shrugged. “Liv puked all over both of us, and the shower in the spare room cut out.”
That’s it? That’s all we had to say? I would never have been able to keep it that simple, I was a horrible liar. I’d have started with the word nothing, then built up to Liv being sick, needing to sterilize the house, washing her off, walking to Colorado because she wouldn’t sleep, being mauled by bears, running through Canada, and then ended up with us being on the Bering Sea fishing for King crab. This was why I never lied, because it always came out as an epic journey that was as believable as finding a diamond the size of a football in your backyard.
“I’ll help you fix it,” Hogan offered, smiling when Liv squealed and clapped her hands together. “You gonna help us, Liv? You can tell us what we’re doing wrong.”
“Or she can stay here with her nana and tell me all about her dreams last night,” Rissa argued, holding her hands out to Liv.
Any conversation and arguing that was going to follow was stopped by someone hammering on the front door. This time it turned out to be my sister with some huge news. In fact, it was life altering news – for her.Chapter 14Ellis
Two weeks later…Watching Jose as she walked up the aisle to where I was standing was a huge moment, then again everything about this was a huge moment. The flowers, the suits, the pastor standing beside me, the rings in my pocket, the people who were sitting watching it all… It was crazy, and it had happened at a speed I didn’t even know was possible, yet here we all were – watching DB marry Tabby.
When she’d come barreling in to tell us they wanted to get married ASAP, we’d all thought she meant in a matter of months. In fact, truth be told, she had meant months, but she let slip to Hurst and Linda about it all, and fifteen days later here we were.
A quick glance to the side showed Liv sitting on Linda’s knee as she watched Jose walk down the aisle. She looked beautiful in a dress that was the color of bluebonnets, tight around her boobs and waist, and then flowed down to the floor in a long swathe of fabric. I knew there was a technical name for it because she’d told me it, but I was a guy and I wasn’t waxing lyrical over a damn dress style. All I could say was, she looked fucking awesome in it, I couldn’t take my eyes off her, and I couldn’t tell you what else was going on because of how beautiful she was.