chapter 21

Blakecalledtocheck on me after I left and told me that Julian was staying around, so I could take the afternoon off. Any other time, I would’ve insisted on going back to work, but I just wanted to hold Hank and pretend like nothing was happening in my world. I picked him up from Kara’s office and took him home to give him plenty of attention.

We played on the living room floor for hours, had an early dinner and bath, and then settled in to watch Casey and Taylor play on the swing outside while we picked at the grass. Tyler was at a doctor’s appointment and Kara got home from work late, so it was just me and the kids hanging out for a while. When Kara did get home, she showed up with a pizza and fed us all on the back porch. It was a nice quiet evening that made me almost believe I’d imagined everything that had happened.

I eventually settled on the couch with Hank in my arms and talked with Kara. She was exhausted from a long day of worrying about Tyler’s doctor appointment and seemed to need a distraction.

“So, you stayed over at Isaac’s for a while last night.”

I groaned. “Let’s not have this conversation.”

“No, we should have it. I still want all the details.”

“Do you think I’m horrible for leaving Hank here at night and going out?”

Scoffing, she shook her head. “No way. I think you’re having your needs met, and you can’t do that with Hank there. He’s sleeping and doesn’t even realize you’re gone.”

I sighed. “I still worry, you know? I’m being selfish.”

“No, you’re not. You’ve been consumed with taking care of him by yourself for a year. Now, you have help. You get to live your life now. If you weren’t going over to Isaac’s and letting him bone you, I’d be worried.”

“Bone? Really?”

“Yeah, bone. What? Is that not a cool word anymore?” She looked up and grinned when she saw Tyler standing in the doorway. “Is bone not a cool word?”

He came in and held his hand out for hers. When she took it, he pulled her up and into his arms. “Sorry, Mal, we’ve got business. The kids are locked in their bedrooms for the night, and you’ve got Hank. We’ve got to go talk about boning.”

“Ew.”

Kara kissed Hank’s head. “See you tomorrow, I guess.”

Before they could slip away, the doorbell rang. I looked back at the door, even as Kara giggled and hurried towards it to answer it. My stomach fluttered with nerves as I found myself hoping it was Isaac or Blake. I stood up so I could see who was at the door, but I could’ve saved myself the trouble. Before I saw anything, Kara was already yelling for me.

“You’re a wanted woman, Mal.” Her voice was tinged with confusion, and I saw why as soon as I got closer.

Balancing Hank on my hip, I looked out and saw both Isaac and Blake. I felt my face go hot and found myself flustered beyond words. There were the two men who’d both been in me at the same time the night before, standing on my sister’s doorstep.

“We came to check in.” Blake took in Hank and grinned. “This is Hank, huh?”

Hank reached for Isaac as soon as he saw him and then looked at Blake and reached for him. I grinned at his response to them and handed him off to Blake. “This is Hank. He’s heavy.”

“How weak do you think I am?” He took Hank and tucked him into his chest, eyes instantly going soft. “Man, he’s cute.”

“So, you’re just checking in on my little sister? Both of you?”

Isaac nodded. “Just checking in. And seeing if she and Hank want to come over to watch a movie.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was really trying to ease me into dating them. Or him. I wasn’t sure.

Tyler appeared from behind me. “I packed Hank’s bag. Here you go.”

Isaac took the bag and laughed. “Thanks.”

“You packed his bag? You’re just sending us away?” I hid a grin as I pretended to glare at Tyler. “Just the first man, or men, who come knocking get us?”

Tyler pulled Kara into his arms. “We have plans.”

“Looks like you have to come over now. You’re being kicked out.” Blake bounced a happy Hank. “Plus, I’ve got the kid.”

Kara kicked me in the butt, pushing me out the door. “Bye! Have a lovely night, you three.”

“I need—” It didn’t matter what I needed. The door was already shut behind me. Sighing, I turned to Blake and Isaac and put my hands on my hips. “What the hell?”

Isaac pulled me into his arms and kissed me. “We’re dating, so we came over to check in.”

“I don’t date.”

Blake leaned in and kissed the side of my head. “I told him about Julian. We wanted to see how you were feeling. Also, we wanted to see you.”

I pulled away from them and talked to them over my shoulder as I went to get Hank’s car seat. “You two are about as subtle as a rocket to the face.”

“Subtle isn’t our thing; you’re right. We’re much more into sharing and pleasing.”

Isaac grunted. “Lots of sharing and pleasing.”

I got edged out of the way as he took over grabbing the car seat and taking it to his truck. I snuck in under his arm to hook the seat in and turned around, still pressed against him, and tilted my head to look up at him. “I bet you didn’t plan on getting a mom and her kid tonight.”

He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me softly. When he pulled back, his eyes were happy. “Guess we just got lucky.”

Blake handed me a slobbering Hank, and they both stood back and watched as I strapped him into his seat and adjusted the straps over his chest. Both men were quiet as they looked on, and when I looked back at them, they looked almost studious.

I climbed into the backseat next to Hank and took his bag from Isaac. Smiling out at them, I raised my brows. “Coming?”

They drove to the ranch in silence; the only sound filling the truck was a soft rock song on the radio and Hank trying his best to talk to me. When we parked, I took him out and carried him inside, wondering how he was going to fit into Isaac’s house.

To my complete surprise, I watched as both men went around the house, preparing it for Hank. Things were moved and hidden, the TV was turned to cartoons, and Isaac even did a quick sweep before putting a blanket on the floor.

Noticing my mouth was hanging open, Isaac shrugged. “He has to be safe.”

My chest tightened at watching the two of them take precautions for my son. It made me melt a little more than I should’ve, but I couldn’t help it. They were sweet men, from what I’d seen so far, and when I was dating, sweet men weren’t typically the men I found.

I sank onto the blanket with Hank and pulled his favorite little stuffed toy from his bag. “Thank you.”

Blake settled across from me and chuckled when Hank instantly crawled to him. When Hank pulled himself up on Blake’s strong thigh and bounced his little butt to the music playing on the TV, I watched Blake’s heart swoon. His eyes went soft as Hank took his fingers to stabilize himself. “God, he’s a beautiful baby.”

I bit my lip and leaned back against the couch. I was playing with fire, bringing Hank around them, especially with Julian hanging around. I needed to gather some dignity and self-control and leave them alone.

“Have you eaten?” Isaac stroked my hair away from my face and smiled down at me. “I’m going to throw something together.”

I leaned into his caress and found myself longing for more of his touch. “I ate earlier. I’d take something sweet if you have it, though.”

He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. “I’ll figure it out.”

I sighed happily and turned back to find Blake holding Hank and smiling at me. “What?”

“I think you like us.”

I frowned. “We’re not dating. Also, of course I like you. Enough, anyway.”

He laughed, but it quickly turned into a groan as Hank leaned down to chew on his fingers. A string of slobber hung down from his hand and he shook his head at me when he noticed me laughing at him. “You taught him this, didn’t you?”

“It’s all natural.”

“How does he produce this much liquid? He’s making a puddle.”

Still laughing, I grabbed a wipe from the diaper bag and crawled over to them, to Hank’s pleasure. He started chewing faster on Blake’s fingers, making even more drool. “Okay, little man. That’s enough of that.”

Blake reached over and kissed me, his warm lips moving over mine softly until I let out another little sigh of happiness and smiled. “You’re so beautiful, Mal. It sucked not seeing you at your desk today.”

“I won’t make a habit of taking time off like that. I would’ve fought you more on it, but I was happy to get an afternoon with this little man.”

“It’s fine. It gave Hannah a chance to build her pile back.”

My jaw dropped and a wave of frustration built in me. “Are you kidding me?”

He laughed and nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

I finished wiping up Hank’s drool and stayed there, close to them. Hank grabbed the end of my hair and played with it, a yawn erupting from his little body. “He won’t make it much longer. We played a lot today.”

“You could bring him to the office if you wanted. I’m sure you miss him.” He grunted. “And it might actually give Hannah something to do. She loves kids.”

“It wouldn’t be a problem?”

“Of course not. Vicki already has plans to bring her kid to work with her, too. Although, I don’t think Hannah will enjoy that kid as much. She’s convinced that Vicki is the devil.”

I grinned and leaned into his side. “I’d really like that. To try it, anyway. He’s usually a pretty good baby, but he has his days.”

Blake cradled Hank to his chest and gently rocked him. “Seems like a perfect baby to me.”

Isaac came back in and settled against the couch. “Come here, Mal.”

I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Please.”

Smiling, I closed the distance between us and let him pull me between his thighs. Sitting with my back against his chest, I enjoyed my time with them. Hank fell fast asleep in Blake’s arms, but Blake still held him. Isaac held me, nearly rocking me to sleep. It was nice to talk to them and listen to them talk to each other.

There was the elephant in the room, Julian, but no one brought him up. Not until the sound of a motorcycle coming up the drive sounded outside. I stiffened against Isaac and he wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to my ear.

“If he’s rude to you, we’ll just murder him and bury him out back.”

I tried to laugh, but I was panicking. He was going to see Hank. He probably wouldn’t realize anything, but he wasn’t supposed to see the son we’d made together. He was never supposed to see him. “I think I should go home.”