My Father's Boss (The Family Affairs)

“Don’t worry about me, buddy,” Beau reassured him as he flashed him a grin over his shoulder. “I can handle your mama just fine all on my own.”

“Mm-hmm,” I hummed. There was no use denying what was very true. Beau knew exactly how to handle me, and that included the apology orgasms he was no doubt going to give me later on. Sometimes, I wondered if he pushed my buttons on purpose, just to get me riled up so he could make it up to me in bed.

“Sorry for taking you by surprise like this.” Beau slung his arm around my back and tugged me against his side. “Jeff was working with Buttercup in the paddock when we came out to check on the hoglets. As soon as he saw her, he ran straight to the fence and couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Then he turned those puppy dog eyes of his at me and begged to get up on her back. Since it’s so close to his birthday, I gave in.”

I figured it had been something like that since he’d told me when they were headed out to check on the newborn hoglets and their mama hedgehog. After I’d gotten our other two down for their naps and realized how long they’d been outside, I’d gone searching for them. “That’s okay, babe. Just remember…paybacks are a you-know-what.”

Beau’s head reared back, and his gaze dropped to my rounded belly. “You better not be thinking about getting on top of Buttercup too, because no way in hell is that happening. Not until two months after you deliver.”

I winked at him. “That’s not the ride I’ll be most interested in being cleared for after I give birth.”

“You’ll get that kind of ride tonight and plenty more times before the baby comes.” He bumped his hip against mine. “But first, you need to put me out of my misery and tell me what you meant, sweet girl.”

“My mom brought over a flyer for a gymnastics class to show me, but Sylvie saw it first. It was all she could talk about while I was trying to get her to go down for her nap.”

Beau’s stance on our daughter—our youngest until the new baby came—starting gymnastics when she was only three was about the same as mine when it came to Sammy learning how to ride. But Sylvie was a bit of a hellion. My parents laid the blame for her daring ways firmly at my feet, insisting I was just as fearless at her age. Which apparently was how I’d gotten into cheerleading in the first place. After I had seen a flyer soar in the air on a television show, I’d tried to do the same move…using the back of the couch as my base. It hadn’t ended well for me, and my mom had to take me to the doctor to get an X-ray for my arm. Luckily, my injury was only a sprain and not a break. The doctor had suggested she enroll me in gymnastics classes so I’d learn how to do things the right way—and burn off some of my excess energy.

“My baby girl isn’t old enough for gymnastics,” he grumbled.

“Just like my baby boy isn’t old enough to be on top of a horse by himself,” I retorted. “Besides which, all they’re going to do is run, jump, and learn how to somersault. She’ll be safer doing that than Sammy is during his lessons. And either my mom or I will be there the whole time, watching over her.”

He bent his head low to stare at the ground as he heaved a deep sigh. “Fine, but I’m going to be there too.”

I had no doubt he would be. Beau had more than upheld his promise to make time for his family, handing over the reins of the managing partnership to my dad before we got married and taking a big step back on his billable hours as soon as Sammy was born. He’d made all my dreams come true and then some.

Our next release is Two to Tango! Lisa Morisette, the heroine, is a ballerina in Dance with Me, Baby.