An Angel All His Own (The Gifted Realm Book 5)

by Jillian Neal

  “Well, not exactly. Rainer bought it for her when she made the Angels. It’s completely decked out, leather, Bose sound system, enhanced engine, the works. It’s probably the nicest H3 out there.”

  Lucas shifted uncomfortably to take in the scenery.

  “That’s Georgetown Hospital, where Ad works,” Logan pointed out the vast hospital as he made his way to the interstate. Lucas smiled and nodded.

  “How far is your family’s farm from here?”

  “Just about fifteen minutes, if traffic’s not too bad. It’s in an unincorporated part of Fairfax County. We own about a hundred and twenty acres.” He wasn’t certain why, but he felt the need to fill the uncomfortable silence.

  “It’s quite chilly here.”

  “Yeah, it gets pretty cold in Virginia in the winter.” Logan nudged the pedal a little harder. Relieved to have a distraction, he answered his ringing cell.

  “Hey, baby, we’re on our way.” He was delighted to hear his wife’s voice on the other end.

  “So, he brought his servant people with him?” Adeline sighed.

  “Yep,” Logan answered carefully.

  “I feel terrible. Your poor mom.”

  “It’ll be fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”

  “Hey, guess what? I delivered twins today without anyone but the nurses. That was the last thing I had to do before I can practice on my own.” Excitement lit her words, and Logan felt his face pull into a broad grin.

  “Really? Wow, I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you. That’s what your dad said, too!”

  Logan owed his parents quite a bit, where Adeline was concerned. It always made him grin when she was excited that she’d made them proud.

  “How’s the truck?”

  “It’s great. I can’t wait for you to see it. You were right. I like the navy blue.”

  “Oh no!” Adeline gasped.

  “What?”

  “Keaton is kind of in a mood tonight, and he just stuck his fist into every single pie your mom baked!”

  Logan could hear Emily and his mother scolding Keaton. He glanced at his father-in-law and his serving staff, seated in the cab of his truck, and thought about him being served pie with his little brother’s fist print in it. He promptly cracked up.

  “Logan, don’t laugh,” Adeline tried to scold him, but she quickly began giggling as well.

  “I’ll be there in just a minute, baby.” Logan exited into McLean.

  “Okay, I love you.” It still took his breath away whenever she said it.

  “I love you, too, Ad; so much.”

  Lucas looked impressed as Logan made the approach up to the house and entered through the lion crest gates.

  “Will we be staying here or in your guest facilities?” Lucas studied the barns set off by the rolling hills and the vast, picturesque Haydenshire land.

  “You’ll be staying here. We live in the guest facilities,” Logan gestured to the farmhouse and followed the well-worn path towards the warm, glowing light from his mother’s kitchen.

  As he opened the door, Keaton almost bowled him over. He raced out the door, wearing nothing at all and waving what appeared to be his diaper, in the air like a flag.

  “Keaton!” Mrs. Haydenshire screeched. “I’m sorry, but I cannot chase him.”

  “We got it, Mom!” Garrett, Rainer, Governor Haydenshire, Vindico, and Levi all took off after him. Henry had climbed up on the window bench seat and then made his way onto the center of the kitchen table. He’d pulled down his jogging pants and announced to Logan that he’d made pictures on his training pants.

  Adeline’s eyes goggled as Mrs. Haydenshire shook her head. “I told Stephen those were not going to work. They like getting them wet and making the pictures appear.”

  Emily and Fionna were frantically trying to make the five pies situated on the island not look like a two-year-old’s fist had been in the center of them.

  Lily Ana’s wails echoed off of the stone fireplace. Brooke, Will, Patrick and Lucy were all trying to soothe her. Connor was trying to catch Henry to change his pants. He and Adeline had him cornered, but Henry was contemplating his own escape.

  “Well, welcome to Haydenshire Farm,” Logan stated in disbelief as he moved and gestured Lucas and his assistants inside the large, chaotic kitchen.

  Mrs. Haydenshire patted her face with a kitchen towel. “Please forgive us. Things get a little crazy around here sometimes.”

  “Hi, Lucas; just one second!” Adeline called as she caught Henry as he leapt off of the kitchen table.

  “Here, I’ll clean him up.” Connor relieved Adeline of Henry. “Seriously, man, no girl is ever gonna go out with you if you don’t get this potty thing down.” He carried Henry up the stairs expertly, as Logan and Adeline laughed.

  Governor Haydenshire returned, carrying a naked, screaming Keaton in his arms. He was followed by all of the men who’d assisted in the take-down. They were all short of breath and red-faced from trying to capture one two-year-old.

  “Well, I warned you, Lucas. You might get lost in the shuffle. We have quite a brood,” the Governor joked as he extended his hand to Lucas.

  Lucas looked appalled as he shook the Governor’s hand, with Keaton’s backside on full display.

  “Here, Mrs. Haydenshire, we’ll get him dressed,” Fionna stepped in as she and Emily grabbed Keaton and carried him upstairs.

  “That kid is fast,” Vindico took a long sip from the glass of sweet tea that Mrs. Haydenshire handed him.

  “Nothing is faster than a two-year-old without their clothes on, except maybe a teenager without their clothes on,” Governor Haydenshire joked. Vindico, Rainer, Logan, Garrett, Levi, and Mrs. Haydenshire all laughed heartily.

  Brooke had finally gotten Lily Ana to settle down, and was bouncing her to sleep, which allowed everyone to hear themselves think.

  “Adeline, why don’t you introduce everyone, sweetheart,” Mrs. Haydenshire soothed sweetly.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Adeline nodded. “Well, you know Logan, Rainer, and Vindico, obviously. So, that was Connor who took Henry upstairs, and this is Patrick and his wife, Lucy. This is Levi, Will, his wife, Brooke, and their little girl, Lily Ana.” Adeline beamed at Lily Ana, who was sucking a pacifier fervently as she fell asleep. “That was Keaton that Emily and Fionna had, and this is Mrs. Haydenshire.”

  “I would apologize and tell you that it’s not normally quite so chaotic,” Mrs. Haydenshire chuckled, “but that wouldn’t be entirely true. So, I’ll just say how pleased we are to meet you.”

  “Uh… oh… well yes… uh, thank you,” Lucas managed to stammer. “I’m Lucas Nguyen, Adeline’s father, and this is my personal assistant, Fred, and my assistant liaison, Oliver.”

  “Assistant liaison?” Levi mouthed. Garrett and Vindico tried not to chuckle.

  “Thank you so much for having me. I hope we’re not intruding,” Lucas began glancing around the large home. Something about the size seemed to calm him.

  Fionna and Emily returned. Keaton, who was quite taken with Fionna, was batting his eyelashes at her coyly and beaming at her, before nuzzling his head in her chest. As she neared Vindico, he turned and narrowed his eyes. His little face screwed up in indignation.

  “No kisses. Juck!”

  “Hey, she’s my girlfriend,” Vindico teased.

  “No, no, no!” Keaton shouted and shook his head back and forth spastically.

  “Got a little competition there, man,” Garrett slapped Vindico on the back.

  “Yeah, and he’s awfully cute,” Fionna teased as Vindico feigned heartache.

  Lucas looked extremely out of place with everyone who was so comfortable in the farmhouse. “Perhaps my assistants could stay with your staff while we eat.”

  Mrs. Haydenshire choked back hysterical laughter. “Oh, sweetheart,” she tisked, “we don’t have a staff. They’re going to have to eat with us, which of course we’ll love. The more the merrier.”

  “No staff at all
?” Lucas sounded as if such a thing should be outlawed at once.

  “Nah, that’s why we had so many kids,” the Governor teased as he relieved Fionna of Keaton. He then proceeded to laugh at his own joke.

  Dinner was served, and everyone settled in. “Now, Lucas, I wasn’t certain what kinds of things you might like ,so I made my pot roast and potatoes, because I know it’s one of Adeline’s favorites,” Mrs. Haydenshire explained.

  “They’re not only Adeline’s favorites, Mom,” Patrick said. Everyone nodded their agreement.

  “I’m so pleased to try them, Mrs. Haydenshire,” Lucas hesitated. “I’m so sorry, ma’am, please forgive my confusion. Do you have a title?”

  Logan chuckled as his mother shook her head reassuringly. “Everyone here either calls me Mom, Mrs. Haydenshire, or Honey, depending on if I birthed them, raised them, or married them. Garrett and Levi are the only ones I’ve ever denied, whether I gave birth to them or not, although Keaton is quickly joining their ranks.” She glared at Keaton, who was smearing mashed potatoes all over his high chair tray with a great deal of focus.

  Garrett and Levi feigned shock, and hearty laughter sounded around the table.

  “Yeah, Keaton can get his clothes off almost as fast as Garrett’s dates,” Connor sneered and all of the Haydenshire boys, along with Rainer and Vindico, guffawed. Emily and Adeline tried hard not to giggle, without much success. Fionna gave Garrett a sweet smile just before she cracked up.

  Governor Haydenshire narrowed his eyes at Patrick. Mrs. Haydenshire shook her head vehemently.

  With an astonished stare, Lucas seemed to zero in on Adeline whenever he could. The large crowd at the dining room table overwhelmed him. He did catch the Governor’s attention long enough to announce, “Crown Governor Haydenshire, my father sent me with a cooler full of mud crabs, fresh. We’d heard you like them. We’ll need to get those to your chef before they go cactus.”

  Mrs. Haydenshire scowled. Governor Haydenshire looked faint. “He really shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble. And I don’t have a chef. I do have a wife who is a tremendous cook. In fact, everything she does is phenomenal. I am an extremely lucky man.”

  Lucas nodded his understanding rather uncomfortably. He lowered his head and continued to eat slowly.

  “What does that mean?” Mrs. Haydenshire queried under her breath.

  “That he sent a cooler full of the nastiest crabs I’ve ever eaten, and that they’re still alive and have to be cooked that way.”

  “Stephen!” Mrs. Haydenshire huffed furiously as she gestured to her very swollen midsection.

  “I know, I know. I’m so sorry.”

  With an annoyed sigh, Mrs. Haydenshire rose to retrieve the dessert plates and the pies. “I am sorry about the pies, Lucas. My little ones are just a little bit faster than I am these days.”

  “Nonsense, sweetheart; they’ll still taste delicious, won’t they, kids?” Governor Haydenshire insisted as he stood to help her. Everyone was quick to agree.

  “After dessert, we’ll get Fred and Oliver all squared away, and perhaps Logan and Adeline can show you their house,” Mrs. Haydenshire commented before she licked a bit of blackberry pie from her thumb.

  Lucas managed a nod but stared at her like she’d just committed a felony. Adeline and Mrs. Haydenshire shared a quizzical shrug and began cutting the pies. Adeline cut Logan a piece of apple pie much larger than all the others she’d cut.

  “Seriously, Miss Adeline,” Levi scoffed, “you’re gonna give him extra pie and let him hit that?” He chuckled as the Governor and Mrs. Haydenshire shot him looks that said for him to can it quickly. Everyone else laughed. Adeline blushed violently, but Lucas looked quite concerned.

  “That does not mean what you think it means,” Logan glared at Levi, who’d begun laughing hysterically when he realized that Logan’s father-in-law now thought Logan was going to physically hit Adeline.

  “This is really good, Mom,” Logan tried to steer the conversation away from Levi’s quip.

  “Thank you, sweetheart. It was fun to bake again. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it since I’ve been lying on the couch with my little Abigail Hope,” Mrs. Haydenshire slid her hand over her protruding stomach.

  “Emily told me the names you’d picked out. I think they’re lovely. I love what they mean,” Fionna grinned at Mrs. Haydenshire.

  “Well, thank you, dear. She certainly seems to like them,” Mrs. Haydenshire commented somewhat cryptically to anyone who wasn’t aware that the Governor and Mrs. Haydenshire talked to Abigail through Mrs. Haydeshire’s stomach almost every night.

  Logan was surprised that Fionna didn’t look confused. Her grin widened, and she nodded. Lily Ana began fussing again in her bassinet from the living room, just as Brooke was bringing a piece of berry pie to her mouth.

  “I’m finished. Can I get her for you?” Fionna asked, though it bordered on begging.

  “Please do. Zank you!” Brooke smiled at Fionna as she nearly leapt from the table.

  Logan studied Vindico. He wondered what he was seeing when Fionna returned, carrying Logan’s niece wrapped up tenderly in her blanket. Garrett chuckled as he and Logan both noted Vindico’s pallor.

  “If jou’ just hold her until I fineesh, zen I’ll go feed her,” Brooke explained.

  “I’d love to.” Fionna cradled Lily Ana tenderly.

  The Governor raised his eyebrows at Vindico with a goading smirk. Vindico shook his head and tried to hide his shudder.

  At that moment, Will and Fionna happened to look up and meet each other’s eyes. They both blushed and looked away, making Logan extremely curious.

  Vindico noticed as well, but didn’t comment. Instead, he draped his arm over the top of Fionna’s chair, clearly sending the message that she was his, even if he had no intention of starting a family any time soon.

  After the pies were consumed, and Brooke had relieved Fionna of the baby, everyone began clearing the table.

  “Logan, why don’t you and Adeline show Lucas, Fred, and Oliver to their rooms? Then you can show Lucas the guesthouse.”

  “Sure thing, Mom.” Logan took Adeline’s hand, but she shook her head.

  “We’ll help with the dishes, and put the twins to bed first.”

  “Well, I won’t turn that down. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  Lucas studied this exchange intently but didn’t comment.

  Vindico joined in and carried a stack of plates to the sink. “You go sit down, Mrs. Haydenshire. We can do this.”

  “Fionna and I will put the boys to bed, Mom. You go rest,” Emily instructed. Logan realized he wasn’t the only one who thought his mother looked weary and pale.

  “Well, thank you all. I think I will,” Mrs. Haydenshire declared, much to everyone’s delight. She moved slowly into the living room, and the Governor helped her sink into her chair.

  Everyone pitched in and it didn’t take long for things to be cleaned up for the night, and the twins tucked up in their beds.

  “Would you like to see our house? Logan and Rainer gutted it and rebuilt most everything,” Adeline nervously folded and unfolded her hands.

  “Hey, they had a little help,” Garrett reminded her.

  “That’s true. The whole family helped.”

  “Well I’d be honored, love. You really have an extremely talented family, Governor Haydenshire.”

  Governor Haydenshire chuckled and nodded his agreement. “They’ll do, I suppose.” Everyone watching him saw the pride that filled his eyes.

  His Baby

  Logan helped Adeline into the new truck. He was thoroughly enjoying her grin and her exuberance for him. Lucas climbed in behind Adeline, and Logan cranked the engine.

  “You love it, don’t you?” Adeline giggled as Logan waggled his eyebrows at her, enjoying the roar of the enhanced engine.

  “Well, not as much as I love you,” he caught Lucas’s eye- roll in the rearview mirror.

  Rainer and Emil
y followed behind them in the Hummer and the Porsche.

  “It gets a little bumpy in the back field,” Logan explained as he let the Ram show what it was made of, by going up and down the low-lying hills of his family’s farm.

  “Rainer offered to let me shift on the way home. He said that he’d teach me to drive a stick, but I was afraid I would break his Porsche,” Adeline explained. Logan chuckled and rubbed her leg.

  “I’ll teach you to drive a stick if you want, baby, but you might want to start out with one that only has one engine.”

  Adeline nodded her adamant agreement.

  “Are you planning on living on the farm for a while, or will you be moving or building again?” It seemed Lucas was bored with the talk of new cars.

  “Rainer and Emily are getting married in April, and they really want to buy a place in town somewhere near the arena. I was thinking that, since Ad loves the farm so much, we’d stay here. I want to pay Rainer back for fixing up the house, but if she’s happy, that’s all that matters.” He watched the broad grin spread across Adeline’s beautiful face.

  “I love it here. It’s perfect. I never want to move. I love the whole farm. It’s so peaceful and beautiful. It’s the first place I ever felt safe.”

  Logan squeezed her hand. Whenever she said something like that, his heart ached with regret. Longing to have done a thousand things differently pulsed in his shield. He should have asked her out sooner, insisted she move onto the farm, and had her mother arrested long before she was.

  He did realize that Adeline was sharing more with her father, sitting in the cab of his new truck, than she’d shared the entire time they were in Sydney.

  “Well, here we are,” Logan pulled into the driveway of the guesthouse. Lucas studied the tiny house by the moonlight and the outdoor lighting on the driveway.

  Emily and Rainer had been on the phone with each other on the drive home. Logan rolled his eyes as they hung up and continued their conversation.

  “All I’m saying is, if he buys the Ferrari, I really think I should get to drive it because I introduced him to Sam.”

  Emily laughed at him outright.