by Sean Michael
“Home.” Logan reached out and squeezed his hand once.
He took a moment to smile at Logan before he got out and opened the side of the van, unclipped Melly, and helped her out. Then he climbed in, grabbed the closest car seat, took it out of its clips, and shut the van door. He went around to the other side to find that Logan was ahead of him, a car seat in each hand. Dirk followed Logan up to the house.
The front door opened before they got to it—Aiden, ushering them in. “I hope you don’t mind we let ourselves in.”
“Ourselves” turned out to be Aiden and Dev with their kids, Zack and his girls, and Sarah, too, along with a handful of strangers Dirk had never met that he assumed were friends and colleagues of Logan’s. The great room also boasted balloons and cake, a table laden with food, and a coffee table full of presents. Logan stood there, looking about as stunned as could be.
Dirk chuckled and patted Logan on the back. “You see? You don’t have to do this alone at all. Come on, let’s get the triplets uncovered and unwrapped. I think there’s about forty people who want their turn at holding a baby. It’s a good thing there’s three of them.”
“At least forty.” Logan seemed to shake himself off and headed directly for Sarah, still carrying two car seats. “Hey, baby girl.”
“Hi, Daddy. I helped Uncle Aiden plan your party. Do you like it?”
“Oh, you are the best big sister ever. Seriously.” Logan handed the babies to Aiden and Dev, who appeared quite insistent about getting their turns first, and drew Sarah into a hug. “I decided you were right about the names, you know.”
“They’re like mine? They start with S’s?” She looked excited about that.
Dirk smiled and held on to Melly’s hand as Zack divested him of the car seat he’d been holding.
“That’s—Samuel, Sebastian, and Susan.”
“So Sammy, Seb, and Suzy?” Sarah suggested.
Dirk chuckled. “You’ll never hear their full names again.”
“That’s the big-sister prerogative, right?” A lovely lady who was obviously Sarah’s mother smiled at Logan. “They’re lovely. Beautiful.”
“Thanks, honey.”
Dirk held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Dirk, one of Logan’s friends.”
“Hello, Dirk. I’m Rebecca, Sarah’s mom. So nice to finally meet you!”
Finally? Had Sarah mentioned him or had Logan?
“You’ve got a lovely daughter,” he told her. “Melly wants to be her when she grows up.” Sure enough, Melly had let go of his hand and gone right to Sarah’s side where she was now talking to Logan.
“Isn’t she? I was so lucky that Logan wanted to not only be her donor, but her father. He loves her dearly.”
“He does. He’s a great father.” Dirk could happily sing Logan’s praises all day long.
“He is. And would you look at those guys? Wow.”
“Yeah, triplets. It’s pretty cool, actually.” Dirk was sure they would still have been awesome if they’d just been twins, or even a single baby, but the fact that there were three of them did seem to make them extra special. Extra adorable.
“Well, I’m so glad you guys are all here. For him. He needs friends.”
That made Dirk chuckle softly. “I have a feeling he’d manage even if we weren’t. But happily he won’t have to find out.”
In fact, he intended to let Logan see that he was there, interested, looking for a relationship. And not because of the triplets. They were a bonus. He offered Rebecca a smile before going to see what was available in the way of munchies. Everything looked great, and he put together a plate to share with Melly and a second plate for Logan. Then he searched for Logan, finding him talking to Aiden and Dev but keeping a sharp eye out for his triplets.
Dirk handed the second plate to Logan. “I figured you might be getting hungry.”
“Oh. Thank you. I don’t know. I suppose I am.”
Dirk chuckled, but he got it. Sometimes you got so wrapped up in what was going on in your life that you forgot little things like food.
“Eat. They’re going to need feeding themselves soon enough.”
“Can I help feed them, Dad?” Sarah asked, and Logan immediately nodded.
“Of course you can. You’ll be a great help.”
“Do you have bottles made up here?” Dirk asked. “If not, maybe the girls and I can do that for you.”
“Maybe? I don’t know. I mean, God knows what the guys have done. There is formula in the kitchen. Clean bottles too.”
“Then we’ll take care of it.” He held out his hands. “Sarah, Melly—you guys want to come help me make up bottles for the babies?”
“Uh-huh. Come on, Sarah. I like the babies.” Melly grabbed his hand.
Sarah took his other hand and answered Melly, the two of them chattering happily about babies and feedings and being big sisters.
It was a great start to the triplets’ new lives. To Logan and Sarah’s new life. Dirk began to whistle as they got to the kitchen, where he found everything they’d need to prep bottles for the babies. A great start indeed.
Chapter Three
EVERYONE was dear and wonderful, but the babies were wearing out. Okay, he was wearing out. Logan wanted to breathe a second, look at the babies. Sort of be in the same space as they were. He wanted to be at home with them and take stock. Hold them and learn them, and nice as this party was, he was eager for everyone to go.
Dirk brought him a glass of water. “How are you doing? Oh wait, don’t bother answering that. I can see. Let me talk to Aiden.” Dirk went over and murmured into Aiden’s ear. Aiden nodded and kissed Dirk’s cheek.
His best friend came over and sat next to him, gave him a side hug. “Congratulations on the babies, Logan. They are truly adorable. I mean, seriously. Dev and I are going to get the kids home before all the excitement and sugar turns into wailing and temper tantrums. But even if we’re not here, we’re thinking of you, and you know all you have to do is call and we’ll be right here with whatever you need.”
Logan bumped shoulders with Aiden. “I know. Thanks for setting all this up—it’s amazing. Especially as I know you didn’t have a lot of notice.”
“We all make time for friends when they need us.” Aiden kissed his cheek. “I mean it. Don’t be afraid to call us.”
The next thing Logan knew, Aiden had started a mass exodus.
Logan wanted to be a good host, but that would mean getting up and spending who knew how long having goodbye conversations and…. He had triplets.
Triplets.
Three babies.
All at the same time. All tiny and helpless and needing everything from him.
Luckily, Dirk played host for him, thanking everyone and seeing them out, letting him have the luxury of sitting on the couch with his babies in his arms. Even Rebecca had gone, taking Sarah—who’d come over and kissed not only him but all three babies goodbye—with her.
When everyone else was gone, Dirk came back to him. “I’d be happy to clear up for you, but if you’d rather I went too, I can totally go.”
He didn’t know. He didn’t know what he wanted. So in lieu of an answer, he asked, “How’s Mel?”
“Sacked out on the couch in your den. Sarah went home with Rebecca.” Dirk patted his shoulder. “Why don’t you take your babies to bed, and I’ll clean up.”
“You don’t mind if I get them settled?” He felt… like he was in a dream. Nothing else had his attention like the triplets did, but at the same time, they hardly seemed real. Friday morning he’d woken up to a normal, regular day, and now it was Monday afternoon and he had three tiny babies counting on him for everything. Just everything.
“Not at all. In fact, I insist that you do. Go on.” Dirk made shooing motions at him, then headed off toward the kitchen, stopping long enough to pick up a few dishes off the dining room table on the way.
Logan turned his attention back to his kids, who were lying side by side next to him on the couch. The boys
were both smaller than their sister and darker where Suzy had porcelain skin. They were all perfect, of course. He could already tell Sam from Seb, little Sam’s nose not quite as perfect as Seb’s. God, they were beautiful.
“Hey, guys. Welcome home. I’m your daddy. I… I promise to love you and take care of you as best I can.”
Seb kicked his feet out at Logan’s words, but Suzy blew a raspberry at him, and Sam simply snored.
“Right. Focus.” He got the boys side by side in one arm and managed to pick Suzy up from the couch in the other. It was scary as hell walking to the staircase, then up the stairs, but the babies were safely in his arms, and he took it slowly so he didn’t trip going up. The whole way, two pairs of blue eyes gazed up at him. He wondered what color they would end up being, but for now that blue was stunning.
The door to the nursery was open, the inviting yellow paint bright and cheerful. One wall had a little pastoral scene painted onto it—a field with sheep and cows and a bunch of wildflowers dotting the green for color. There was a rainbow across the sky. Rebecca had outdone herself, getting that accomplished in the short time she’d had.
Suzy whimpered, bringing his attention immediately back to the babes in his arms. He was pretty sure she needed a new diaper, Seb needed a sock put back on, and Sam was still fast asleep. He put them together in the crib closest to the changing table, then grabbed Suzy and made short work of her very soggy diaper. He changed her out of the onesie from the hospital, putting her in pink pajamas with little fold-overs on both the arms and the legs, then wrapped her in a flannel receiving blanket that had come out of the dryer that morning. He set her in her own crib, then grabbed Seb and put him in a matching but green pair of pajamas. He swaddled Seb and stuck him in the second crib. Sam was next, and he didn’t wake up during the change, nor when he was wrapped and set in the final crib.
Logan spent a long time staring down at them, only moving away when both Seb and Suzy had joined their brother in dreamland. Even then he didn’t go far, moving to sit in one of the glider chairs so he could continue to watch them.
He didn’t have a clue how long he’d been doing that when Dirk popped his head into the room. “Hey, the leftover food is all in the fridge, and the place is picked up, more or less.”
“You want to sit for a second?” he whispered. He owed Dirk a lot, the least of which was a few minutes of companionship as the babies slept.
“Yeah? You’re up to a little more company?” Dirk came and sat in the second chair, rocking gently as he looked at the triplets.
“Yeah. Yeah, I just… it was loud. I was getting… overwhelmed.” There had been a lot of people in his house, and though it was big and they were all his friends, they’d all wanted to talk to him and coo over the babies. And hold them. Logan hadn’t even had a chance to hold them for that long yet.
“Hey, four hours is more than enough partying for someone who has had newborn triplets for all of an hour.”
“Thank you.” He reached out like he was going to take Dirk’s hand.
Dirk met him halfway and grabbed his fingers, squeezed. “You’re welcome.” Dirk’s fingers slid from his.
Okay, that wasn’t awkward. He let himself rock, eyes on those three swaddled doll babies.
“They’re beautiful. I know it seems overwhelming right now, but you’re a very lucky man. And it’ll get easier as you get used to it,” Dirk promised him.
“Oh, it’s not like I haven’t done this. I just didn’t do it full-time, and I didn’t do it with three.” But he was as ready as he could be—he couldn’t have said no even if he wasn’t ready. The minute he’d seen their picture, he’d known these babies needed him.
“You going to miss lawyering?” Dirk asked.
“I’m sure I’ll have some things to do from the house. I’m looking forward to being more hands-off, though.” He wanted to enjoy his new family, give them every advantage. He had a couple of junior partners now, and he was pretty sure they could handle most things on their own.
“I’m so pleased for you.” Dirk went from looking at the babies to smiling at him. “And I mean it about wanting to help out. If you don’t lean on me and Melly, we’ll both have words for you.”
“I know you’re a busy man, that you have a life.” The offer meant so much, though. More than Logan could say.
“There’s only another three months of school left, and Melly loves babies, so you’d be doing us a favor, really.”
He didn’t believe that, but it was sweet of Dirk to say so.
He had this huge house, and it was empty except for every other weekend. He’d inherited it, along with a good-sized trust. Add to that his work, and he was more than set. But six bedrooms? Seven baths? What was he doing here? He could have taken in sextuplets and still had more room than they needed. Good grief. Sextuplets. He couldn’t even imagine. Just thinking about it made him feel a little green around the gills.
“Hey.” Dirk’s hand landed on his thigh and squeezed gently. “It’s going to be okay. Really.”
“I hope so. I’m ready.” Not for sextuplets, but he could do triplets. Funnily enough, three seemed far more manageable now that he’d imagined having six.
“Good. Because they’re going to be up soon, all wanting to be fed.” Dirk grinned. “If you want us to stay, we can, but if you want your first night on your own, I totally get that and won’t be offended if you kick us out, I promise.”
“Well, let me at least give you and Melly a room, a real bed.”
“That would be great, actually. That way you can get help in the middle of the night, and I won’t feel like I abandoned you.”
“And I wouldn’t feel so much like I was putting you out.” He didn’t have it together anymore, and he knew it. Now that the babies were here, his carefully ordered life was going to be crazy. He’d have to deal with that or let it make him nuts, and he knew he couldn’t afford to be nuts until the triplets were old enough to leave home.
“You aren’t putting me out. I volunteered, you didn’t ask, remember? I think you’re going to need to stop worrying when people offer to help, trust that they mean it, and accept every single offer as it comes in.”
“Right? You’re absolutely right.” He shook his head, grinned.
“If folks don’t want to help, they won’t offer, I would think.” Dirk shrugged. “And if they do and don’t mean it, well lesson learned for them to not offer what they’re not willing to follow through on.”
“I think you’re right.” He stood, taking a last look at the babies. “Come on, let’s choose a room for Melly.”
“A whole room just for her?” Dirk laughed softly. “How many bedrooms do you have?”
“Six.” Not including Sarah’s attic getaway.
“Honestly?” Dirk shook his head. “Okay, then. She can totally have a room for herself. I guess I get one too. If you’ve got beds in all of them.”
“I do. It’s an old house.”
“Very cool. Should we help ourselves, or did you want to show us around?” Dirk asked.
“I’ll show you around and let you decide, huh? I inherited. It’s been in my family for generations.” He always felt a little strange showing people around what amounted to a mansion, given that he was one man with a daughter who only stayed here part-time. Of course, that wasn’t true anymore. Now there were three new little lives filling the space, helping turn it into a proper home.
“That’s pretty cool, man.” Dirk followed him out of the triplets’ room, and Logan left them alone for the first time since he’d gotten them.
That wasn’t freaking him out at all. Nope, not him. He reminded himself that he could hear them along the hall should they start making a fuss and crying. If he kept saying it over and over to himself, he wouldn’t have time to worry. The only reason he didn’t turn right around and go back to check on them was because Dirk was there, and he knew he’d feel like a paranoid idiot if he had to explain it to his friend.
Logan cl
eared his throat and made himself focus on what he was doing. “This is the master, and there are three bedrooms here—one was Sarah’s until she moved to the garret. Then there’s another suite in the other wing, along with another bedroom.” The place was ridiculously large for just him and Sarah, only slightly less so when he added the triplets if he was honest. But there would be rooms for each of them when they graduated to that, all close to him and each other.
“Melly and I can sleep in one of the three bedrooms. If you’ve got a double bed in one of them, we can take that.”
“Sarah’s old bedroom is set up for a princess—Melly might like that.” Sarah had wanted more grown-up decor when she’d moved into the neat space in the garret. They’d had a great time shopping for the room.
Dirk lit up at that. “That actually sounds great. Show me which one, and I’ll carry her up.”
“Of course. Come on.” The princess room was next to the nursery. He opened it up, revealing it in all its pink and sparkly glory. There were even several posters of unicorns gracing the walls. It screamed girl in the most traditional of ways, but it had been what Sarah wanted when she’d been younger.
“Oh, this is adorable. Melly’s going to want her own room done up like this.”
“She can stay here anytime.”
“I guess that means I can too, eh?” Dirk gave him a half smile, eyes twinkling.
“You can, yes. Of course. There’s plenty of room.” Not in this bedroom, because the little princess bed wouldn’t fit Dirk, but there were plenty of rooms in the house. Plenty.
“We might just take you up on that a lot. Our place is much smaller and doesn’t have adorable babies.”
“Where do you live?” Logan had never been to Dirk’s place, so he had no clue where or how small the place was.
“I’ve got an apartment in the buildings at the corner of James and Hawthorne.”
Oh, that wasn’t the best neighborhood at all, but the rent was no doubt commensurate with what a teacher brought home, especially after day-care costs. Still, damn. He didn’t like the thought of Dirk and Mel living in that neighborhood. At all.