A Bundle of Mannies

by Lorelei M. Hart

  “When’s our date?” I blurted out, needing to know. Our date was much like the other house being finished. There was always some excuse. But with the end of the semester and juggling the kids around, it was tough for us to find a day that worked.

  “Tomorrow night. Janice is coming over, and I’ve got reservations. It was going to be a surprise after your last final, but you’re so impatient.” He chuckled, but really he had no clue exactly how impatient I was for him and alone time with my alpha.

  I became so damned excited with his announcement that I jumped onto his lap and squealed into his shoulder, trying not to wake the kids.

  “If I knew this was the reaction you’d have, I’d have told you earlier. Damn, omega, you feel good in my arms.”

  He wrapped his arms around my torso and let one of his hands glide down to my ass. I rocked my hips into his groin, and he moaned against my neck. “Gods, omega. You’re killing me. I know how it feels to be inside you and I need it again so badly.”

  “I want that, too. We have to be careful, though.”

  He pulled back and looked at me. “Why?”

  I chuckled and nipped at his chin with the perfect cleft in it. “Because we have enough kids around here.”

  His gaze flicked down to my stomach, and his hands went to my hips, kneading them. “We do, but none that are ours. Is it so bad to think of our children?”

  I shook my head. It was certainly not. “No, but we have three little ones under five years old already. It might be a bit...hectic? Wild? Sort of like gremlins if you feed them at night? And I’m talking about me being the gremlin, not the kids.”

  He chuckled and it vibrated both of us on the chair. “No way. I bet if we had a dozen children, you’d still be this cool, calm, and collected dad.”

  “I doubt that very seriously.”

  “We need to go to bed,” he said and rubbed my waist up and down.

  I waggled my eyebrows. “We?”

  “Yes. I would ask you to come sleep with me, but I don’t trust myself.”

  “I do—trust you. I bet I could sleep in your arms for months and, if I asked you to, you wouldn’t try a thing.”

  He bit down hard on his bottom lip. “If you asked me to, I’d do just about anything, omega.”

  “Then take me to your bed—just to sleep.”

  “Yes, omega.”

  He didn’t carry me because of exhaustion on both our parts, but he took my hand and led me upstairs to his room where I watched, leaning against the wall while he stripped down to his boxers. “Come on, sweetheart. I’m so tired.”

  I nervously nodded and shucked my pants and shirt and took my socks off. I hated sleeping in socks. He pulled back the covers, and we crawled in. I stayed on my side of the bed, and he groaned. “Get over here before I come get you.”

  Laughing, I scooted over, and we fell naturally into an embrace where my ass was pinned against his groin and I was enveloped in his warm embrace.

  “This is how it should’ve been since you moved in, Beck. Good night, love.”

  And with his voice in my ear, I fell deep asleep.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Carter

  Waking up with Beck in my arms had me not wanting to leave our little cocoon. And had it not been for my need to be at the university three hours earlier than normal, thanks to finals scheduling, I’d have nestled in until the telltale sound of Hannah’s door opening. Instead, I kissed the back of Beck’s head and stealthily extracted myself from my bed. There would be time enough later.

  “I’m up,” he grumbled as he stretched his arms out and sat up simultaneously, the sheet falling from him and having me want to climb back in even if it meant losing my job.

  He had hinted more than once that it was good I checked on the rules as it came to dating students, especially after the blowout with Professor Ray, a blowout that still had the entire university on edge and the reporters salivating. But the truth was, I was checking on all of that for him. He’d worked so hard in school then given everything up, including his scholarship, to care for someone he loved greatly. This was his second time around, and the compulsion to make things go as smoothly for him as possible rode me hard.

  He was going to be an amazing nurse. His ability to assess a situation and attend to the needs at hand was not only innate but also impeccably on the money. He’d leave me then, and while it already hurt my heart, I knew it was the best for him and therefore something I tried not to perseverate on too much.

  “I’m going to take a shower and head out to work—no breakfast today. Good thing I had you all night long or else that would be unbearable,” I confessed. It had been hard to share what I’d been feeling that first time, but to see the way his eyes lit up had me wanting to share it with him whenever possible. If his love language was words of affirmation, I was going to write him an entire book—heck, an entire library.

  “I better get back into my room before the kids wake up.” That was not something we’d discussed, although I’d been thinking a lot about it. If we were together, then it wouldn’t be right to hide it from the children. Secrets have a way of backfiring. But, on the other hand, they were children and didn’t need to be thinking about our dating status. And the whole where do we sleep thing—yeah, that was another matter altogether.

  But those things would have to wait until another time and probably another house to decide. If our house was ever finished. I liked Frank—a lot—but he had me ready to scream with his calls. Stan said always count on double the money and triple the time on home improvement. I hated to think that he might be right. The money I would find. As Joey used to say, it’s just dirty paper. But having the kids settled in their permanent from-now-on home felt monumentally important.

  “See you in a little.” I went over and kissed his cheek and then dragged my tired ass to the bathroom for a hot shower. I was ready to head out the door in twenty minutes, which was so outside my normally leisurely morning routine. I didn’t like it.

  “See you tonight.” I leaned into the kitchen on my way out. “I plan to stay until all my papers are graded and final grades submitted so that when I come home, it is for the summer. I’ll be home by date time. Have no worries there.”

  There were of course tons of meetings and random busywork things over the summer, but I had officially deemed it family time and had told Janice as much. She agreed and even found someone to replace me on a couple of committees I usually sat on. There was never enough I could do to thank her for all she’d done for us. Nothing.

  “I made you this.” Beck strode over with a travel mug and something wrapped in a napkin. “I had to make the egg over hard so you don’t get it on your tie.” He leaned in and kissed me softly. Too softly. He was gonna kill me long before I ever got him naked again.

  “You didn’t need to. Thank you.”

  “Can’t have my alpha going hungry during the longest day of the semester. Can I?” He straightened my tie and kissed me again and smacked my ass playfully. “Now get to class, Professor.”

  Yes, he was most definitely trying to kill me.

  As I ate the wonderful egg sandwich on my way to work, my mind kept going through the checklist for our date. I’d booked a table at the last sitting of the town’s new fancy shmancy restaurant already. I had my suit picked out. I even had tickets to the planetarium in case there was time. Sure, there would be time, but were we willing to give it up to do an activity requiring all our clothing? That was a different thing altogether. And after moderating my final exam but before I graded them, I would be picking up the gift I’d ordered for him the day after our date was planned. I was ready for the day.

  Or so I thought until I arrived at my desk to discover work had decided to throw a monkey wrench into my plans. I booted up my computer only to be denied access—repeatedly. I took out my phone and dialed the one person I knew could help—Stan.

  Come to find out, Stan couldn’t help because it wasn’t a computer problem—it was a
hacker problem. Someone had broken into my webpage, my internal emails, and my grade book and locked me out. On finals day.

  The day improved when Stan contained the mess, and finals went much better than planned, but the underlying stress of who had done it and why still sat there in my belly like a rock.

  Thank goddess it was date night. I needed Beck.

  Chapter Twenty

  Beck

  I’d done a little butt-wiggling dance after my final, which had gone well. I’d studied until I was blue in the face but still got nervous every time I took a test.

  Plus, some of my dance was for my date tonight with Carter.

  But first, home to the kids.

  Janice looked a little frazzled when I got in, and I quickly let her go. As good as she was with the kids, we all needed a day off now and then. We’d hired a legit sitter for four hours that evening. Didn’t sound like quite enough time with Carter to me, but I hoped we could extend our date to the bedroom later on.

  “Where’s Unc?” Jase asked while he made Vroom sounds with his toy truck along the living room table.

  “He’s working, little one, but he will be home soon. Did you guys have lunch?”

  “No lunch,” he answered. “Goldfish!”

  Hannah climbed into my lap, and I read her and Chelsea a book about unicorns while Jase continued his assault on the roads of the table.

  “I hungry,” Chelsea said, tugging on my earlobe. She tended to do that when something was wrong with her.

  “Lunchtime, then. Let’s go.”

  They gathered at the table and colored in coloring books while I plated up a bunch of different things from the fridge. Each plate had some grapes, cut in fourths, cheese, roast beef, and each got a little cup of yogurt. Not the best thing I’d ever made, but it got the job done.

  By the time Chelsea finished her yogurt, she was tipping over in her high chair. I got her out and with Hanna gripping my pants leg, I led us upstairs to their bedrooms. They were both out before their heads hit the pillow. Back downstairs, Jase was picking at his food, which was not normal for him. His little-boy appetite was alive and well most of the time.

  “Dude, what’s up? My lunch is kind of boring, huh?”

  He shrugged, and I noticed his little chin quivering.

  “Come over here. Let’s have a talk.”

  He got down from his chair and came toward me. I picked him up and sat him on the table in front of me, his legs dangling over the edge, kicking my chest. “What’s wrong, big boy?”

  Another shrug. Not like him at all.

  “Are you missing your unc?” A shake of the head. “Come on, you’re making me so sad.”

  He reached out and touched the tip of my nose. “I miss Daddy. He used to play trucks with me on the table. We had races.”

  This kid, this sweet, wonderful kid was finally mourning. I knew it would come eventually.

  “That sounds like fun. I’d love to have races with you.”

  “That’s okay. Can we look at pictures of Daddy?”

  I bolted upstairs quicker than I had run in years, and brought down the photo albums Carter and I had found and put at the top of the closet in his room. “Here, let’s get comfy on the couch. Did you want to bring your lunch with you?”

  He nodded an lunch and photo album in hand, we sat on the couch, and he began to cry as we turned the first page.

  “Gosh, your daddy was handsome. He looks like your uncle Carter, huh?”

  Jase nodded, and a tear flowed down his face. I caught it before it splashed into his lunch. He popped a cube of cheese in his mouth and turned the page. “That’s when we went to the beach.” The picture showed the three kids with white sunscreen on their faces and posing proudly beside lopsided sand castles.

  “Do your sisters miss your daddy, too?” I knew they did in their own way.

  “I don’t know. Yes.”

  I chuckled and the little tyke nestled closer to my side. “You’re such a big boy. How about we keep this book right here on the table so you can look at your daddy anytime you want to. We need to remember him, right? He’s important.”

  Another nod and, before I knew it, not only had we gone through the entire book, but he had finished his lunch and was fast asleep next to my torso, holding my arm in a death grip. I pulled him onto my lap, and he laid his head on my shoulder. Usually I would’ve put him in his bed for his nap, but this time, I just wanted to hold him. The picking up of toys and cleaning up of dishes could wait.

  My boy needed me.

  An hour later, he was still tuckered out when Carter came through the door. He came to sit beside me and, after letting the events of the day crash down on me, I was in tears just like Jase had been earlier.

  “What’s wrong? Your final? I don’t understand.” Carter swiped some of the tears away from my face, and his brows furrowed in his concern.

  “He misses his daddy. He broke down today.”

  I watched Carter’s Adam’s apple bob up and down. He rubbed Jase’s back and placed kisses on his little arms. “I knew he would break sooner or later.”

  Carter snuggled us both against him and held us tight.

  “Carter, I have something to tell you.”

  He smiled down at me and kissed my temple. “What is it? I’ll fix it.”

  Precious alpha.

  “I don’t think I want to go out tonight. I mean, I do. I want to more than you know, but tonight, after he’s grieved, I think he needs us around. Leaving him tonight just doesn’t feel right.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Carter

  I’d been so excited to get out early for my date with Beck and ended up grateful I got finished with grades early so I could be there for the kids. It was the first time they’d been without Beck or me for longer than a couple of hours, and I had a feeling that had a lot to do with the timing of things. Beck and I were family, at least in their eyes, and, who was I kidding, in my eyes as well.

  “Hey, little man, it’s good to see you.” I knelt down and opened my arms for him, and he ran inside. I hugged him close as I rose and spun around, something my brother used to do a lot. “Beck here thinks we need a family fun night. What do you think?”

  “With a restaurant?” he asked, eyes brightening. It hadn’t been at all what I meant, but I was game.

  “Oh yes. Beck, what do you think?”

  “I think I want to go to a restaurant that has toys!” Beck clapped for emphasis.

  “Yes, Unc. We can go to Jack’s House. They have playhouses and a slide and balls and pizza.” They did have all of that and motorized puppets and all kinds of things that parents hated but kids adored.

  “I think that is a great idea.” I looked around, expecting to see the girls playing someplace only to find us alone in the room. “Still napping?”

  “Being naughty makes you tired. I not tired.” Jase’s eyes told a different tale. He was exhausted.

  “That’s too bad. The better naps we have, the longer we can stay at Jack’s House.” Beck didn’t skip a beat. I’d have never thought of that.

  “I could nap.” He squirmed, and I let him down. “Tuck me in, Unc?”

  I grabbed his hand and walked with him to his room, stopping for a potty trip along the way. He climbed in bed, and I tucked him in, offering him his favorite book which he declined, citing the need for a good nap. I kissed his little head, told him I loved him, and went downstairs to fix the catastrophe that was the living room.

  “I think I should call ahead and prepay the dinner for tonight’s reservations and surprise Janice with it.” They were amazing reservations, and her mate, Sally, loved any excuse to get dressed up.

  “That sounds like a great idea. I felt bad at how frazzled she was when she left.” Beck took the book I had just picked up out of my hand, set it down on the coffee table and then wrapped his arms around me. “I need this right now more than the living room needs cleaning and the reservations need changing.”

  I hugge
d him back tightly, inhaling his scent. “Thank you for being there for them and for being so understanding about all of this.”

  “There is nothing to thank me for. I love them.”

  I leaned back just enough to line our lips together for a long slow kiss, one that said thank you and I love you and I need you, and all the other things I couldn’t say just yet.

  “The girls will be up soon,” he said when our lips broke apart. “Let’s get this room ready.”

  “I say we eat a quick early dinner first. Have you eaten the pizza at Jack’s House?” I had with the kids and Joey, and it was nothing close to resembling edible. The kids didn’t seem to notice, though, scarfing it down like it was a perfectly grilled steak. Yuck.

  “No.” He was lucky. I still had nightmares about it.

  I scrunched my nose up and made the puke sign with my finger poking at my mouth.

  “That bad?”

  “They don’t use real cheese.” And did use enough sugar in the sauce to qualify it as candy.

  “Vegan?”

  “No. Worse, they are saving money with cheese food product.” And vegan food, as a rule, wasn’t bad, but vegan cheese—yeah, it tended to not be cheese-like, which was oddly similar to what they did use only much more expensive. Something Jack’s House frowned on for their overhead but loved in their prices.

  “I’ll whip us up a nice breakfast for dinner, and you can do the reservations. Deal?” I was not turning down his breakfast mastery.

  “Deal.”

  It was easy peasy to change the reservations, and Janice practically broke into tears at my offer. I was glad to give her something back after all she’d done for us.

  By the time I’d finished cleaning up the toys in the living room, which were far less abundant than they appeared, I headed into the kitchen to help Beck who was already plating dinner—breakfast—our food.

  “Smells good enough to eat,” I teased as I took my plate and sat at the breakfast bar.

  “Har har.” He walked around and joined me.