by Keary Taylor
I transfer every penny of this bonus. I give a satisfied smile as I see the amount owed drop nearly in half.
I should be able to pay the rest off within two years. And my home will be mine, free and clear.
I quickly look over all my recent bank charges. Keeping a close eye on my finances is something I tend to be terrible about. When you always know you have plenty in the bank, you don’t worry about it so often.
There are two deposits into my account in the last two weeks, both coming in on the same day. One is my bonus. The other is a smaller deposit, still a huge sum.
It’s roughly twenty percent more than my bonus last year. I assume this is the addition Mr. Maxwell talked about. Odd they came from two different sources.
The clock reads twelve thirty when I log off and close the laptop. I brush my teeth and change into silky pajama pants and a cotton tank top. I slip into the sheets and turn the lamp off. I grab my phone, hoping to find a message from Julian, but there is none.
Just as I lay the phone face down on the nightstand, I hear something out of place. The slider onto the deck that overlooks the lake is quiet, but I absolutely recognize it when I hear it. For a second, I am terrified. Kale would never come back in through that door. And no one else ever comes here.
The alarm cuts through the silence.
I leap out of bed, my heart hammering in my throat. What to use as a weapon? I can’t find anything to use except for the seven hundred dollar lamp beside the bed.
“It’s just me!”
I ball my fist and am about to swing it just as Julian’s face appears in the dark.
“It’s just me,” he repeats.
My breathing comes in sharp, quick pulls and I am frozen.
My phone starts ringing.
I swear as I pull out of my shocked state. I grab my phone and answer it as I pass Julian and start disengaging the alarm system.
Someone introduces themselves from the security company but I can’t hear them over the sound of the alarm. Finally, I turn it off.
“No, I’m fine,” I say, glaring at Julian who is standing in the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest. “A friend just came over, I forgot he was coming.”
“Have a nice night then,” the voice on the other end says. I hang up the phone. I fix Julian with intense eyes as I walk past him and climb back into bed.
“You’re in luck,” I say as I adjust the covers over me. “My brother is out with a girl right now. If he’d been home and someone broke into the house…”
Julian crosses the room and climbs onto my bed. He kneels with a leg on either side of my body and supports himself with his hands placed to either side of my head. “I have a deadline to meet Wednesday morning,” he says as he looks intently into my eyes. “But I will go into a catatonic state if I don’t take at least a few hours off. And I needed to see you.”
“Good to know you follow up on your threats,” I say, trying to suppress a smile.
“Always,” he says. He rolls to the edge and stands to the side of the bed. I hear him kick his shoes off and I can see his form slightly silhouetted against the window with a few lights across the lake to highlight his better features. Meaning all of him. He pulls his shirt over his head and lets it drop to the floor. My heart somehow does not explode when he next takes his pants off.
He pulls up the blankets and slips in next to me. Instead of immediately snuggling up to me, he props his head up on one hand and looks at me.
“What?” I ask, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
“Nothing,” he says with a smile. “I just…”
When he doesn’t continue, I urge him. “You just what?”
“I just get so damn tired of not being with you.”
I’m grateful for the nearly full dark when moisture surprisingly springs to my eyes. I bite my lower lip. The urge to kiss Julian is killing me. This is what? Our fourth perfect moment, at least, to share a world rocking kiss?
But I know I cannot trust myself with him in my bed.
So instead, I scoot closer and tuck myself into his side. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and I rest my head on his chest. I let my other hand rest on his stomach, and his other hand covers mine.
As Julian’s breathing quickly slows and he drifts off to sleep, I realize that what I feel when Julian is around is more than like or enjoyment. And grasping that both thrills and terrifies me.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Auntie Sage!”
A high pitched voice cuts through the Saturday morning quiet.
I jerk upright in the bed, only to be weighed down by the arm that is lying across my stomach.
I remember that Julian is in my bed at the same time Paisley bursts into my bedroom. I feel Julian twitch awake.
“EW!” Pay screams when she sees Julian. “Sage has a BOY in her bed!” She then turns and runs from the room.
I swear. I’m about to scramble from bed and slam the door closed when I hear heavy boots walking my way. And then Lake is standing in the door.
“What is going on?” he and I ask at the same time.
“Lake!” I bellow before he can start. “What are you guys going here?” And then of course Lucian comes barreling into the room. He takes one giant leap and lands on the bed between Julian and I. “Who’s you?” he asks innocently.
“Who’s this?” Lake echo’s with a scowl. He’s staring daggers at Julian who has rolled to the side of the bed and is pulling a shirt over his head. He gets his pants on in less than two seconds.
“Julian Dohring,” he says as he crosses the room and extends a hand toward Lake.
“What are you doing in my sister’s bed?” Lake says, completely ignoring Julian’s hand. And then of course Kale is in the door too, with a horrified expression on his face when he sees Julian.
“Did he sleep over?” Kale asks with disbelief on his face.
“Everyone just calm down!” I bellow. Lucian gives a scared whimper. Feeling horrible for ignoring him and then flipping out, I grab him and cuddle him up into my arms. He wraps his arms around my neck and buries his face into my chest.
“Okay, first off, I’m a twenty-seven year old woman, so if I want a man in my bed, that is my business,” I say harshly but trying to keep it even for my nephew’s sake. “Not that you deserve to know, but nothing happened. We slept. End of discussion.”
I meet Kale’s eyes and even though he still looks tense, I can tell he at least believes me.
“Now that I had to unnecessarily explain myself, what are you doing here Lake, and where are Drake and Kaylee?”
Lake still looks ready to punch Julian, but his eyes finally shift to me. “Kaylee started having bad contractions this morning. They asked me to come take the kids so she could go to the hospital.”
“What?” I ask, instinctively hugging Lucian tighter. “They don’t even know the gender of the twins yet. It is way too early for them to come. They wouldn’t make it.” I whisper this last part. Just then Pay’s little face appears between Lake and Kale’s legs.
“I don’t know,” Lake said, shaking his head. “But I picked up the kids right away and they tore out of there. All the kids wanted to do today was go to Aunt Sage’s house.”
Pay pushes her way past the boys, leaps onto the bed, and snuggles up into my side.
“That’s because we love Aunt Sage the most, huh guys?” I say playfully.
Pay gives a big smug smile and nod of the head. Lucian scrunches his nose up though. “But Sage a girl! I only love mommy!”
Everyone smiles and laughs at that.
“Have you guys had breakfast?” I ask the kids. They vigorously shake their heads no. “Well, let’s see what we have to make!”
They scramble off me in two seconds flat and charge out the room. I shoo the guys out, including Julian, and attend to the bathroom for a moment. I change into a more covering sleep top and then join everyone in the kitchen.
“Do you know how to cook?” I say quietly to Juli
an. He is standing in front of the open pantry. There isn’t much to be found in it.
“I haven’t made myself much more than a bowl of cereal in years,” he mutters back. I chuckle and cover my mouth, looking back at my brothers who are seated at the bar alongside the kids.
“What’s for breakfast, Auntie Sage?” Kale asks, batting his bright eyes.
“Well,” I say, moving over to the fridge. I find a box of egg whites and a grand total of three regular eggs. “How do scrambled eggs sound?”
“I wub eggs!” Lucian declares, pumping his fists into the air dramatically.
“Eggs it is then!” I say, pulling what little there is out.
“And, how about some bagels?” Julian says. He’s unearthed a bag of them from the freezer. I scrunch my nose. Nuked bagels don’t sound appealing, but I know the kids aren’t going to care. I grab a package of cream cheese from the fridge.
“This is going to take me a few minutes to make, so do you guys want to watch cartoons for a little while?” I’m being a bad aunt, I know, for letting them watch TV, but Kale and Lake are practically drowning me with the questions in their eyes.
“Yes!” Pay squeals as she scrambles off her stool and takes off toward the living room. Lucian is in hot pursuit. “Mom never lets us watch TV in the mornings!”
I may get an earful from my sister-in-law later, but it’s easier for the moment on this unexpectedly chaotic morning.
After very nicely telling them to not touch anything besides the couch—because they’re obviously lava and very hot, also breakable—I turn on the first show I find that looks colorful and bright. They instantly zone in.
When I get back to the kitchen, the air is swelling each moment with the awkward silence. Julian is rifling around for something to cook the eggs in and the bagels are on a plate in the microwave thawing. Lake and Kale are still sitting at the bar.
“Let me have it,” I say as I round the bar and reach into a cupboard for a pan. I hand it to Julian, grab him some non-stick spray, and turn to face my brothers.
“Where’d you guys meet?” Kale first asks.
“My work banquet, the one about a month and a half ago?” I say, looking at Kale to see if he’d remember.
“And you two have been dating this whole time without saying anything?” he asks. I can tell he isn’t sure if he can trust me right now, not after our conversation Wednesday on our way to pick up Lake. “That was like…a month and a half ago.”
“Things have been a little hectic lately,” Julian says as he pours the egg whites into the pan. “We’ve been seeing each other around, more like it.”
We meet each other’s eyes, and there’s an unspoken agreement made then and there. We will never tell my brothers about Toronto.
“So you’re not dating but you feel fine sleeping in my sister’s bed?” Lake says. He crosses his arms over his chest. He really is intimidating looking. Lake is by far the biggest and most fit in our family. Crossed with his military cropped hair and the dog tags around his neck, he isn’t someone to mess with.
“Lake,” I say in exasperation.
“It’s okay, Sage,” Julian says as he sets the spatula down and turns and folds his arms over his chest as well. “I think very highly of your sister. I like pretty much everything about her. As much as I want to be dating her in a more official capacity, time has yet to allow it. So for the time being, we’re improvising in any way we can find.”
“Which means sleeping together, but not having sex?” Lake raises an eyebrow at us.
“I respect Sage’s boundaries,” Julian responds. His tone is even and calm. I’m impressed with his ability to not get defensive considering the way my brother is attacking him.
Lake stares him down hard for a few long and heavy moments. Finally, his arms relax slightly. “So you know this is the part where I have to say if you hurt her I will kill you, right?”
“And there are two more of us that will kill you two times again once he’s done with you,” Kale pipes up. He’s looking at Julian, but he’s fighting a smile and one of his eyebrows is raised in a way that tells me he’s fine now and Julian has passed into the cool range.
“I’d expect nothing less,” Julian says with a nod.
“You boys are so dramatic,” I say with a roll of my eyes. The microwave beeps and I pull the bagels out and stick them into the toaster. “I’d think all of you would know by now I can fend for myself against any man.”
“Seriously, Julian,” Kale says with a chuckle. “You have my respect if you can hold your own up against the likes of my sister.”
I look over at Julian and he meets my eyes. A genuine smile spreads on his face and I can’t help it when I smile back. “Who, Sage? She’s a peach.”
This finally makes both Kale and Lake laugh.
All the adults pass on the food that none of us know how to properly make, but the kids are called in two minutes later and I set plates in front of them. They dig in like ravenous wolves.
“Who wants some real food?” I say quietly so the kids don’t overhear.
Lake and Kale both raise their hands. “I’m starving,” Kale adds.
“I could eat,” Julian says.
I duck into the mud room and grab my keys from my purse and walk over to Julian. “Would you mind grabbing us some stuff for breakfast? There’s a coffee shop just down the street.”
Julian looks from me to my brothers and back again. Finally, he stands, takes the keys from me and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “I’ll be back in a few. Don’t let them plot my demise in too heavy detail while I’m gone.”
“Only the bloody parts,” Lake says as Julian walks toward the garage. Thankfully, he says it with a smile, or I’d be really worried.
“Lay off,” I say just as I hear Julian walk out and close the door. I’m actually genuinely nervous about handing the keys to my very expensive car to Julian, considering I have never once seen him drive and have never seen him behind the wheel of his own.
“I’m just having fun, Sage,” Lake says with a chuckle.
“You’re a little scary when you get like this,” I say with a shake of my head. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
“Fine, I’ll quit,” Lake says. “But I need more intel. What does he do for a living?”
“Seriously,” I say, glaring at him from under my eyelashes. “Are you going to grill me all morning?”
“You’re the only girl in a family with three boys,” Kale says. “You may be a pain in everyone’s ass sometimes, but we still don’t want the wrong guys in your bed.”
“I’ve made some pretty good life decisions up to this point,” I say, even though my sourness is starting to fade. It’s hard to be annoyed when my brothers are trying to protect me out of love. “Pretty sure I can be trusted on this one too. But, if you have to know, he’s some kind of a computer tech guy. I don’t know a whole lot of details, but he works on his own and his schedule gets pretty hairy sometimes. Like right now. He shouldn’t be taking time off right now, but we wanted to see each other.”
“Aw,” Kale mocks. “How adorable.”
“Shut up!” I hiss. “You who is out until who knows when with some chick!”
“Shut up is a bad word!” Pay yells louder than all of us.
“Sorry, Pay!” I say, feeling my face flush. Nothing like getting reprimanded by a four year old.
Tired of the grilling and defensiveness, I leave my brothers at the bar and go to sit with the kids at the table. Paisley keeps me entertained with her grandiose stories of her adventures at preschool. Lucian starts babbling as well, and I can only understand about half of what he says. But it is adorable.
Julian gets back twenty minutes later. He’s brought an enormous green smoothie for me, three breakfast sandwiches for him and my brothers, a huge orange juice and two coffees.
“You’re my savior,” Kale says in awe as Julian hands him the orange juice. “I drank the last of my stash last night and I’m already go
ing through withdrawals this morning.”
Julian smiles and hands a coffee to Lake. “Sage mentioned something a while back about you being an addict.”
“It’s a serious condition,” Kale says as he swallows a huge swig. “But I haven’t gotten sick in any form since I was in seventh grade. I am an ox.”
“It’s true,” I say. “He may be immortal now.”
Lake’s phone starts vibrating on the bar and he snatches it up.
“It’s Drake,” he says, waving a hand for us to be quiet. “Hello?”
We are all dead silent as we try to discern anything from this one-sided conversation. “Okay, I’ll let everyone know.”
He hangs up and everyone looks expectantly at him.
“The twins are fine for now,” Lake says, his face serious. “Apparently this isn’t uncommon with twins. The doctors gave her something to stop the contractions and they’ll be sending her home this afternoon if everything looks good. She’ll be on bed rest for at least a week. If things go well, she can go back to normal, if not, she’ll be on bed rest for a while.”
“What a relief,” I say with a huge expel of breath. “I’m glad they’re all okay for now.”
“Drake also said they did an ultrasound,” Lake says, a smile starting to curl on his lips. “The twins are girls.”
“I’m gonna have sisters?!” Pay squeals so loud my ears actually hurt.
“Looks like it sweetie!” I say as I wrap my arms around her and squeeze her tight.
“Aw!” Lucian whines. “I wanned broders.” He then bursts into tears.
Everyone gives a sympathetic laugh. Lake walks over and grabs Lucian and swings him up onto his shoulders.
“Sisters aren’t so bad,” he says. “And if you ever get sick of them, you just call one of your uncles for some boy time, okay?”
“Otay,” Lucian says, his lower lip quivering. He wipes his eyes with his pudgy hands.
“Hey, uh, thanks for breakfast,” Kale says as he stands. “I got to get to work. We’ve got a shoot today. Something for some romance book cover, I guess.”
“Sounds scandalous,” I say with a wink.
“And seriously, thanks for the OJ,” Kale says as he tips his drink toward Julian.