by Lucy Lennox
I looked around for Pippa’s car seat and found it on the floor by the front door. After snatching the backpack with her diaper supplies out of the nursery, I strapped the baby into the seat and loaded her up in my truck. I shot Nico a quick text, telling him I was running over to Grandpa and Doc’s so he wouldn’t freak out if he came home and found us missing.
When I pulled into the ranch, the same trio of goofballs came running out to greet me with their cacophony of barking. I unbuckled Pippa and told her she was in for a treat.
As soon as we walked through the door, they were on her. Both Grandpa and Doc were like kids in a candy store.
“There she is! Give her here,” Doc said.
“Where’s her bag? In the truck? I’ll go get it,” Grandpa interjected. I handed Pippa to Doc and pulled the backpack off my shoulders to hand to Grandpa. We made our way into the kitchen, and I was relieved to see coffee made. There was also a familiar face at the kitchen island—my brother Hudson.
And he wasn’t alone.
“Hi, Darci,” I said, waving my hand to the young nurse. She beamed and hooked her elbow through Hudson’s, leaning in to him and winking at me. Hudson lifted his hand in a wave and greeted me with a smile.
“We got volunteered to be guinea pigs for Grandpa’s chili,” Hudson explained.
Doc turned to face me, Pippa tucked into the curve of his arm. “Your grandfather is bound and determined to beat Clyde Ogilvie at the chili cook-off this year. I told him he’s fighting a losing battle.”
“Shut the hell up,” Grandpa grumbled, swatting at Doc’s ass with a dish towel. “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it. No one asked your opinion.”
Doc leaned over to kiss Grandpa with a quick peck on the lips. “I’m just teasing and you know it. Although, I’m not sure our sex life can take many more of your bean-based experiments.”
I groaned, and Hudson reached over to cover poor Darci’s ears.
“Oh my god, you two. Gross,” Hudson moaned. “There’s a lady present, if you don’t mind.”
At least Doc had the decency to look a little pink around the ears. “Sorry, hon.”
I walked over to Grandpa and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. “Grandpa, can I talk to you in private for a minute?” My brother looked at me funny but didn’t say anything, knowing I’d most likely tell him what he wanted to know later.
“Sure. Fix your coffee, and we can sit down in my office. You want Doc to join us?” he asked quietly.
“No, it’s fine. You can talk to him about it later if you want to,” I said, noticing Doc showing Pippa off to Darci. The nurse’s eyes were lit up with baby love, and I wondered if Hudson had finally found a new girlfriend.
Once we were seated in the comfortable sofa and chair in his dark-paneled office, I told Grandpa what I had found. “Was she buying the building from you? And if so, why? And why didn’t you tell me?”
Grandpa seemed to choose his words carefully. “Yes, she was. John told her he was going to sell and she had to either come up with the money to buy or find another retail space. It would have cost her a fortune. Her hope was to sell her house and move into the space upstairs from the bakery, but you and I both know she could never qualify for a commercial loan regardless.”
“Why didn’t she come to me?” I asked.
“She didn’t come to anyone. I heard about the situation from John at the Rotary Club meeting. He said he had an offer on the place from a developer from out of town. I talked to Doc about it, and we decided to buy the place to keep control of part of the historic downtown in local hands. Plus we had the money, so why not help her out?”
“But she was killing herself making payments to you. Why? Why didn’t you let her make smaller payments?” I knew my anger was coming out, but I was unable to hide it.
“West, take a breath and think for a minute. Do you really think that’s what happened?”
I thought about how my grandfathers hadn’t wanted a single dollar from me for the medical practice and Victorian home I lived in. I remembered countless people in town over the years Grandpa and Doc had helped financially. Grandpa had made a killing in cattle ranching while Doc had run a successful medical practice for years. They were some of the wealthiest and most generous people in all of Hobie, Texas. There was no way they’d ask her to pay more than she could afford.
“I’m sorry,” I said finally. “Please explain.”
“I didn’t know she was struggling to make the payments, West. Adriana is the one who set the payment amount, not me. I told her to pay what she could afford. Everyone in town goes there for breakfast, so I assumed she was doing well enough to afford what she was sending me. If she wasn’t, this is the first I’m hearing about it.”
I let out a huff and slumped in my chair. “I don’t know. I agree she should have been doing better. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Does it matter at this point? What is Nico planning on doing with the business?”
“Good question. I guess you’re right. I’m not sure Rox has any interest in owning her own business, and I think she’s been afraid to ask Nico what his intentions are. I’ll ask him when I get home.”
Grandpa raised his eyebrow at me, and I realized what I’d said.
“I mean, I’ll ask him when I get back. To drop off Pippa. Don’t look at me like that.”
“What’s going on between you and the new guy, Westie?”
Doc slipped into the office without the baby and came over to sit next to Grandpa on the arm of the couch. I assumed he’d left Pippa in Darci’s capable hands.
At the mention of Nico, I felt my fair skin heat up and betray me like a jackass.
Grandpa’s lip curled up in a grin. “Is that right, West? Care to elaborate, son?”
“No,” I said stubbornly.
“Has a certain someone we know and love been taking an intimate course in body piercings?” Doc chuckled as he realized what was going on.
Was it hot in here, or was it just me? I thought about the piercings I’d discovered on Nico and knew, just knew, the babbling was going to start if I didn’t get out of there soon.
Grandpa’s grin grew wider. “Just tell me one thing, West. Does he have a Prince Albert? I went through a period of time in the eighties when I begged Doc to get one.”
I sputtered and stood up, desperate for my escape, but Doc and Grandpa continued like everything was normal.
Doc put a finger to his lip as if in thought. “You know, now that I’m retired, maybe I’ll try it. I wonder if we know anyone who could do it for us. Think Nico would take a stab at it?”
The idea of Nico having to handle my grandfather’s junk made me ill.
“You two are disgusting. That’s… ugh. Stop. Please,” I begged.
“So does he?” Grandpa asked.
“Does who, what?” I muttered.
“Does Nico have any interesting piercings?”
Doc chimed in. “Or ink in private places? I’ve always been particularly fond of tattooed asses myself. Just seeing all that—” His hands came up to squeeze invisible butt globes. “Nngh.”
“Yes! Okay? Yes. All those… things. But— I mean, no. No Prince Albert. But other things and, well, the ink. Okay? Yes, there is ink. Lots of…” I took a breath that came out as more of a sigh. “Lots of ink. In places.”
Grandpa and Doc looked at each other with obvious amusement before Doc asked one more question. “What’s on his ass?”
I shot him a look.
“Pretty please? I’ve been sleeping with the same old saggy butt for almost fifty years. Let a man dream.”
Grandpa elbowed him. “It hasn’t always been this saggy. Need I remind you, there was a time when you thought it was downright bite—”
“Enough!” I blurted. “Fine. It’s ah… like, ah… big colorful peacock feathers on one side and a…” I blew out a breath, trying very hard not to get an erection in front of my grandparents. I looked up to the ceiling in hope
s there were angels who could deliver me from the conversation. “A coiled snake on the other.”
The hooting and hollering that came out of those two was enough to send me scuttling from the room.
Chapter 23
Nico
The cake painting went much better than I’d expected, and I lost myself in the rhythm of creating images from my imagination. By the time I got back to the house, it was time for West to leave for his shift at the hospital.
“I’m sorry I kept you so long. I didn’t mean to lose track of time like that,” I told him.
West’s hands came up to cup my face before he leaned in for a kiss. “It was fine. I slept when Pippa napped. You look happy and relaxed. I’m glad you stayed if that’s what came of it.”
I let out a breath and smiled. “It did. After I did the practice cake, I painted some cupcakes Rox had set out for me. Nothing special, just flowers and shit. But it was cool. I never knew you could paint on frosting that way.”
“You sound like your sister,” he said, running his hands through my hair. “She always had a sketchbook with her. You two had that in common.”
I felt my heart shutter at the thought. Why hadn’t I reached out to her? I could have at least done it when I was finally settled as an adult. But I knew the real answer to that question. I’d been ashamed. I knew she’d ask me about those intervening years, and there was no way I could tell her what I’d had to do to survive on the streets. She wouldn’t have been able to bear it.
West’s finger tilted my chin up so I was forced to meet his eyes. “Hey, where did you go?” he asked softly. “I lost you.”
I shook my head and forced a smile. “No, I’m good. You should get going though. It’s late.”
“Shit, Nico. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“No, it’s fine. Really. I promise. Thanks for watching Pippa for me.” I twisted out of his grasp and went to check on the baby in the nursery. I heard West sigh behind me, but he didn’t come after me. Why the hell was I disappointed by that? I had been in his arms already. If I’d wanted to be with him, I could have stayed in his arms instead of pulling my usual turtle routine.
What the hell was my fucking problem?
I didn’t want to be that passive-aggressive asshole. Before I reached the crib, I turned around and returned to the main living area. West had already walked out, so I hurried to the front door and swung it wide open.
“Wait!” I called out, my heart thundering. He stopped before reaching for the door handle of his truck. I balled my hands into fists and said what needed to be said. “I’m sorry. That was shitty and moody. Forgive me.”
I’d never heard such reasonable words come out of my fucking mouth, and it almost made me laugh. West cracked a small smile.
“C’mere,” he said, holding out his arms and walking toward me. I swallowed my pride and jumped off the porch, jogging the few feet remaining between us and throwing myself into his arms.
The move was weird and unexpected. We barely knew each other. Neither of us wanted a relationship with the other, but I wondered if that’s why we were both willing to cling to whatever this connection was. There was so much less at stake than a normal coming together that maybe we thought we could find in each other whatever comfort and fun we wanted in the short term.
West held me in a tight bear hug—my face naturally pressing into the curve of his neck. He smelled amazing, as usual. “What time do you get off work?” I asked into the warmth of his skin.
He leaned back enough I had to tilt my face up to see him. “Six in the morning.”
“Come over after? A little postwork relaxation sex maybe?”
His face relaxed into a beautiful smile, and my heart thudded harder than normal. “Yes. Fuck yes. I’ll be here at six-oh-five. Leave the door unlocked so I don’t wake you up.”
He leaned down and kissed me then—soft lips nibbling on mine until his warm tongue brushed the seam of my mouth. I opened for him and let him devour me to his heart’s content. Eventually he pulled away. His face was flushed, and his eyes looked semiglazed in the rosy evening light from the fading sun.
Suddenly I felt awkward. Unsure of what to do or say and unwilling to look like an idiot in front of the guy.
“Okay, well, uh… I hope things run smoothly tonight in the ER. See you tomorrow.”
“Pippa’s been asleep since half past three, so she’s probably going to wake up any minute starving to death,” he said with a wink.
I gave him a thumbs-up and backed toward the house, almost tripping on the stairs to the porch like a lovesick fool because I didn’t want to take my eyes off him.
What the fuck had I gotten myself into? Whatever it was, it felt strangely amazing.
And I wanted more.
Early the next morning, I was just falling back to sleep after the millionth middle-of-the-night Pippa wake-up call when I felt West’s cool body slide into bed. My body shivered in reaction, eliciting his low chuckle.
“You’re fucking freezing,” I mumbled against my pillow.
“And you’re nice and toasty. Roll this way,” he said, pulling my back against his chest. “Warm me up.”
I turned around in his embrace until my face was mashed against his chest. “How was work?” The minute the words were out of my mouth, I felt the domesticity of them and almost laughed. If any of my friends back home could see me welcome a man, a Texas doctor slash cowboy for that matter, into my bed so early in the morning just for sleep, they’d die laughing.
“It was fine until about nine last night when a four-year-old came in with a drug overdose. Apparently, he’d gotten into his grandmother’s blood pressure medicine. It was awful, but we got him stabilized.”
“Jesus. How scary. His poor parents must have been terrified.” I thought of what I’d do if something like that happened to Pippa. Just the thought of her in pain made my stomach cramp. “How did it happen?”
“Grandma didn’t have childproof caps on the bottle because she has arthritis. You should have seen her, Nico. She was beside herself with guilt. I finally had to give her a sedative and find her a bed.”
I ran a hand up to his shoulder and rubbed the tight muscles between there and his neck. “Lie on your stomach,” I said softly.
West leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead before doing as I’d suggested. I crawled over his ass and straddled him just below so I could rub his back.
“How was your night with the Pipsqueak?” he asked.
“Awful. She’s a menace. Takes after my bratty sister.”
West snorted and reached a hand back to squeeze my leg. “You sure it’s not you she takes after?”
I thought about how Pippa had my DNA also. Hell, those ears alone were proof enough. I wondered what other traits of mine she might end up with over the years.
I’d never know.
I’d be back in San Francisco living my life alone. Working, visiting Griff and his own little family. Watching my friends move on with their spouses and children. What would that be like? I already knew what it was like to watch my best friend fall in love and become closer to his partner than to me. Would the same happen with my other friends back home?
I had always been satisfied with my life. Proud of my tattoo shop and happy with the handful of friends I had. I was close to the big Marian family even though I wasn’t technically a Marian. But what would it be like if I had my very own family? What would it be like if I could stay with Pippa and be her family?
The idea was ludicrous. No one in their right mind would want me as a father. I’d make a terrible parent. And how would I ever balance work with having enough time for her? A little voice in my head reminded me that’s exactly what Adriana had been planning, so why wasn’t it okay for me to do it?
West flipped to his back to face me—the movement sliding our cocks against each other and forcing a groan out of both of us. My eyes lifted to his in question.
“What are you thinking about, Nico? You�
��re being awfully quiet,” he said, running his hands up and down my thighs.
Out of habit, I began to brush him off, but my gut told me to speak the truth.
“Do you think it’s unfair to deliberately raise a child as a single parent?” I asked.
West sat up and reached for me, sliding me off his lap so I was sitting next to him in bed. “What’s this about? Adriana? Are you upset about her having a child out of wedlock or something?” His brow was furrowed in confusion.
“No, god no. Never mind. It’s stupid. Turn back over and let me finish. I didn’t even get to the good parts yet. Namely, that glorious, fucking ass.”
“No distracting me with offers of fondling. Something is on your mind, Nico. What is it?”
I loved the way my name sounded when he said it. Surely the man could make me come just by saying my name over and over without even touching me. Maybe I should ask him to try.
“Huh?” I asked.
“Why are you asking about single parenting? If it’s not about Adriana, is it your mom?”
“No, not at all. Although, now that you mention my mom… she did an amazing job raising us on her own,” I admitted, remembering how I’d never once felt as though I was missing out after my father died and it was just the three of us. Maybe that was my answer.
I continued thinking out loud. “I just assumed Pippa was better off with the Warners than with me, you know? I mean, what kid would rather be raised by a perma-bachelor who lives above a tattoo shop in an urban commercial district? But then I think about family… biology. And it’s hard. The idea of the last living person connected to me by blood going to live with strangers… Never seeing her again…”
West reached out and pulled me into his lap again, wrapping his arms around me and running his hands up and down my back. “I know it’s hard, Nico. I mean, I can’t imagine what this is like for you. Losing your mom, Adriana, and Pippa all at the same time. But you have to think about what’s best for her and what all is involved in raising a child.”