“Mine ended sooner,” William said, revealing more than he usually did about himself.
“How early?” Ben gave him a sharp look.
“I got shipped to military school when I was nine. Never an unscheduled minute there, and I went straight into the service when I was eighteen.”
“Parents send you away? Nine’s young. You must have been a pistol.”
He had been. “A handful” was the term his mother had used because William had boundless energy to explore and run while his brother read and learned, stoking his innate genius.
“I was—but that wasn’t the reason why,” William confessed. “My parents and brother died in a plane crash. There wasn’t anyone to take me in. So, military school.”
“Damn. That’s a tough way to start in life. How old was your brother?”
“Eleven. He was one of those super-smart kids.”
Ben finished his beer and snagged a few chips, giving William time to regret having shared so much of his history. Generally, he told no one, but in the past months he’d told his story to Cora and Ben. Christ, William thought, he must be getting soft.
“You feel guilty about their deaths.” Ben was studying him again. “Survivor’s guilt. It’s not uncommon, you know.”
He knew that. De-briefings from missions where a comrade had been killed or seriously wounded always included a talk about survivor’s guilt. No one was to blame, you had to live your life, blah blah blah, the counselors would harp. Easy for them to say. They weren’t the ones who lived with the loss day after day.
“Part of life,” William said, hoping to end the conversation.
“You got that right. We all carry it in one form or another. I was on a mission in Afghanistan when a bullet ripped through the guy next to me. He was a foot away; it could have easily been me. That one…that one still bothers me.” Ben reached for a second beer. “But feeling that way about your family, that’s different. Soldiers accept risks, know what can happen. Your brother didn’t make those choices.”
Riley never got the chance to make any of the choices people expect to when they grow up. He didn’t get to select a college or a career, didn’t date the wrong girls and hopefully find the right one, didn’t have kids that he could sing to sleep at night. All those choices were ripped away from him when the plane’s engine failed.
And there wasn’t a damn thing William could do to change that. Nor could he bring back the men he’d lost on missions. They were gone forever.
“You know my grandpa was a grumpy old cuss,” Ben reminisced, “but I remember him saying that life is for the living. He’d never send flowers to a funeral, never visit the cemetery. Pissed my grandmother off something fierce.”
“You’re being obvious tonight.” William knew Ben meant well, but he didn’t need this talk.
“Yeah, I’m a pain that way sometimes.” Ben put his beer down. “I’m going to shove off.”
Life is for the living. The phrase got stuck in William’s head after his friend left. William had survived and lived a lot of years without his family. He’d tried not to think about what they would have wanted for him because he was afraid that he would have fallen short of their expectations. He’d done the best he could, plotting out his life from a young age to be something meaningful, focused on a career, but how could he be sure that was the right choice? What did a nine-year-old kid know about what his future should hold? Had the time come to consider changing his path?
He’d distanced himself from real relationships, insisted that he wasn’t a family man, but was that still true of the person he’d become?
The months he’d spent with Cora and the girls suggested otherwise. He’d been good with the triplets, figuring out as he went how to care for and love them. Not what he had expected of himself. Being emotionally attached, leaning on others had seemed a weakness to him. Could it be a strength instead?
He mentally added that to the list he should have given of the reasons he wanted to stay with Cora. She’d asked him to tell her and she’d stood waiting…but he’d said nothing. As he’d worked in the house that night taking down the equipment, he formed a list in his head. He’d even stood outside Cora’s door wondering if it was too late to give his reasons to her.
He’d crept off down the hall instead, feeling unworthy of her love or being a father figure to the girls. He wondered now if that was true. The first item on his list was that he loved her, loved all of them. Would knowing that have convinced her to let him stay?
Twenty-Eight
“She’s touching me,” Paige kicked her leg at Melody for the third time.
“Was not,” Melody replied. “You’re hogging the bed.” They wrestled, tugging at the covers.
“I’m not a hog,” Paige insisted, her voice quivering.
“Oink,” Melody shot back.
“Girls,” Cora said. She’d already separated the two girls with a wall of pillows and was out of ideas. “Fight again and you’re going back to your beds.”
The day before, the toddler beds Cora had ordered arrived. She wondered why she’d bothered since the girls refused to sleep in the nursery. Once again, they were piled on her bed, meaning none of them slept well. Add that to a general crankiness during the day and life had been miserable for a solid week. The girls wouldn’t settle to any activity for more than a few minutes at a time, and the bath and bed routine had become a misery.
“Don’t make us,” Haley whimpered.
The most shy and tender-hearted of the girls had cried buckets of tears. When questioned about what had made her so upset, her only answer was one word. William. Cora had cried, too, but since she was rarely alone anymore, she did her crying in the shower so the girls couldn’t see or hear her.
This was no way to live. The question was, could she change it? She eyed her phone on the nightstand. Could one phone call to a handsome former Navy SEAL solve her problems with the girls and the constant ache in her own heart? She’d been tempted several times to reach out to William, but she wasn’t sure what his reaction would be since she’d thrown him out.
With a sigh, she decided there was one way to find out. She grabbed the phone, noted the late hour, and touched his name in her contacts anyways. If he didn’t want to hear from her, he wouldn’t answer.
“Who are you calling?” Paige demanded.
“You’ll see.” Cora waited for his voice, both hopeful and fearful that he would pick up the phone.
“Royce,” he said as he always did on the phone, and a little thrill went through her.
“Hi, William.” Her greeting had three sets of wide eyes turning on her. “I was hoping you could help me with something.”
“Anything,” he answered instantly, and she could imagine him leaping up, preparing himself for danger. “Just ask.”
“The girls are restless tonight. I know it’s late, but they haven’t slept yet. I was hoping you’d sing to them over the phone. Just a song or two. If you don’t mind.” The girls missed his voice, and she did, too. It was comforting and heartwarming to have a big tough man sing children’s songs so beautifully. It had made the house feel like a home.
“I’d love to.” He hesitated before continuing. “Thanks for giving me the chance, Cora. What would they like to hear?”
“Let’s ask them.” She put her phone on speaker and laid it on the bed covers.
“William,” Melody squealed in childish delight.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he said.
“Did you miss us?” Paige asked.
“So much. Is your leg all better?
“No cast.” She lifted her leg even though he couldn’t see it.
“Good. Where’s my Haley?” His voice softened a little, making Cora’s heart skip a beat. He knew what each girl needed from him.
“Here,” her voice was small, but she smiled. “Hi.”
“What do you want me to sing for you?”
Please don’t fight about it, Cora prayed. The girls had disagreed about e
verything lately, but Cora wanted this to be a happy call for all of them.
“Frozen,” Paige declared, and the others—thankfully—nodded their agreement.
“Still your favorite?” he teased. “Which song?”
“All of them. In order,” Melody answered for her sisters.
He laughed. “That’s going to take some time. Cora, is that okay with you?”
“It would be wonderful.” She tipped her head against the pillow and smiled, happy to have a little slice of him back in their lives.
“Here goes,” he said and began the manly “Frozen Heart.”
The girls curled around Cora listening to William sing, and she pictured the scene in which men cut chunks of ice from the river. He made his way through the soundtrack, remembering every word without hesitation. They laughed when he pretended to hit the high notes in “Let it Go.” The music didn’t make them sleepy, but it made them happy, truly happy as they hadn’t been since he’d left the house. He continued through the songs celebrating the beauty of summer, the power of love, and the truth that no one had to be alone.
As that last song came over her phone’s speaker, Cora’s ears perked up. The sound had changed. It wasn’t just coming through the phone’s speakers. His singing was moving closer to her, through the house, up the stairs, until her bedroom door opened as the song finished. He stood there, his phone in his hand, and a smile on his face.
The girls dove off the bed in excitement. William had just time to drop to his knees before they swarmed him, hugging him and planting sloppy kisses on his cheeks. He laughed, gathered them close, and kissed them back. Cora moved a little slower getting out of bed, smoothing the oversized t-shirt she wore as a nightgown. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, too, but would she be welcome there? He might sing to the children and give them hugs, but for her…
“Thanks,” she said, approaching him, “you’ve made them so happy.”
“My goal was to make all of you happy.” He rose and spoke directly to her now. The girls clung around his legs, but his eyes focused on her. “Cora, last week you asked me to give you a reason why I should stay, and I stupidly said nothing.”
“I didn’t give you enough of a chance.” she tried to argue. “I wasn’t fair to you.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” he waved away her objection, “but let me give you four reasons now. I knew them then, but the words wouldn’t come.”
“Tell me your four reasons.” Cora hoped they matched her reasons for wanting him to be there.
“It’s simple.” He took a breath. “I love all my girls. One,” he tapped Haley on the head, “two,” he moved onto Melody, “three,” he grinned down at Paige. “And four.” He reached for Cora, pulling her to him. The girls parted so she could get close enough for her arms to go around his neck. “I love you, Cora. I should have said that, but…love’s…”
“Powerful stuff,” she filled in the words for him.
“Yeah,” he agreed, his grin broadening. “I wasn’t sure what to do about love. It scared me. I’ve never…”
“I know.” She made it easy for him. He’d never been part of a family, not the kind she and the girls were. It was new for him and maybe more than a little scary, but she wanted him. And he wanted to be with them and that made all the difference in the world to her.
“Can I come home? Please.” Worry showed on his face again, fear that she might say no.
No chance of that, she thought, liking the way he called this house, home. Somewhere in the past months, it had become the place where they could live as a family. “Is tonight too soon?”
“Not at all.” His smile returned. The girls, listening in to the adult conversation jumped up and down, chanting “William’s home” and circling around as William leaned close putting his lips against Cora’s in a tender kiss.
“Come to bed,” she invited, and his eyes flared dangerously. “With all of us,” she amended even if she wanted him all to herself.
“I get the middle,” he said. He took his shoes off and climbed on, letting the kids burrow into him. The girls chattered, telling him what they’d done since he’d left, but the excitement quickly wore them out and soon they were all snoring softly.
William looked at Cora with a sexy grin and held a finger to his lips. He lifted Melody and moved her to his other side with Haley and Paige. The three of them curled together as they had when they were babies and continued sleeping.
He brought Cora closer to him, until her body was half on top of his, and their faces close together. When he kissed her then, it was slow and sultry, a lover’s kiss with a promise of so much more. His hands ranged down her back, making her entire body come alive.
“I meant what I said, Cora.” His voice was soft in the quiet room. “I love you.”
“I believe you.” Somewhere inside her she’d already known that. “And just so we’re clear, I love you, too. I’ve missed you so much.” She shifted trying to get closer to him. “William, I’m so sorry—”
“Shush, it’s okay.” He soothed her. “We both needed time to think, but I have to say I was miserable without you.”
“So, you’ll stay, and we’ll be a family?” They had been operating as a family, but she wanted to put any doubts behind them.
His brow creased. “You’ll have to teach me how to be part of a family. I haven’t been in one in a long time.”
“You already know. You were doing it every day,” she assured him.
“The job pulled me away a lot. Still could.” His hand ceased and she missed the comfort of the steady rhythm of his strokes. “I’m on a new assignment, a good one, but it’s going to be time consuming and it will involve travel.”
Cora felt her heart drop. He’d be coming and going, which wasn’t any good for the girls and would be awful for her. But there could be phone calls, and video calls. They’d manage, she told herself, so long as he came home to them when he could.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll ask for some time off and stay…home.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “The word still messes with me.”
“It won’t soon. I promise.” She framed his face with her hands, stroking her thumbs over his cheekbones. “I’d love for you to be here with us.”
“I’ll do that then.” His hand wandered to her butt, cupping it. “You know what I’d love?”
“I can guess, but we’ll have to wait.” She nodded to the three sleeping girls. “Maybe tomorrow night we can convince them to stay in their own beds.”
“They’re beautiful,” he said, looking at them and back at her. “You’re beautiful, too. Cora, I never thought being in love would change my life like this.”
“It has,” she smiled at him, “so get used to it.”
“We better get some rest,” he said, moving her so she could curl into his side. She put her head on the pillow next to his and dropped into a contented sleep.
Epilogue
“Opening night.” William met Cora on the terrace to lead her to the treehouse. He wore a suit since the girls had insisted this was a formal occasion. That worked for him—especially with what he had planned. “Allow me to escort you to your seat. You’ll be happy to know you’re in the front row.”
“William, what’s this about?” she asked, smoothing his lapels. “You and the girls have spent three days preparing for this play. Hasn’t it been chilly out here?”
“I hooked up a space heater, so we’ve been plenty warm.” A hot summer had given way to a chilly fall. Now, at the beginning of December, nights could be frosty. “They wanted to do something special for you, and I happen to think you deserve that.”
William took her arm to escort her across the lawn, feeling her shiver through the thin dress she wore. The girls had also instructed her to dress up, so she wore a midnight blue gown that dipped low in the back and went almost to her ankles with a sexy slit exposing the creamy skin of her thigh. She’d put on silver dangly earrings and a pair of strappy sandals. She looked be
autiful and sensual. Perfect for the night’s events.
“Have you gotten caught up on your reading while we’ve been busy out here?” he asked as they reached the treehouse.
“I finished two books.” She was smiling. “It was heavenly, but I’m sorry you spent your days off—”
“I loved every minute of helping the girls get this ready.” He’d stayed home for a month after reuniting with Cora and the girls. A month in which he’d learned so much about being a family and more about being part of a couple. Cora was endlessly giving and patient with him. Sometimes, he felt he didn’t deserve her, but if he even hinted at that, he’d see the ferocity she was capable of. She’d lecture and cajole until he’d concede, happily.
Earlier in the fall, Francis Kelp had been convicted on multiple charges related to threatening and attempting to murder the triplets for his personal financial gain. By the time he was out of prison, the girls would be adults and he’d no longer be able to harm them. William would see to that because he planned to still be there with them and Cora. And that was something he wanted to formalize that night.
“I’m glad you like your new job so well, and it allows you to be home every evening,” Cora said as they began the climb to the treehouse.
“I can see myself doing it for a long time.” He’d taken a new position with Alert Security where he worked with several local banks, managing their surveillance and security needs.
“I’m so happy,” Cora said on a sigh.
“One second.” They paused outside the treehouse door. He could hear frantic running and giggles from inside as the girls finalized their show. “I want to kiss you while we’re alone.” They had time together now. Every night after the girls were asleep, but it was never enough.
“I won’t object.” She turned into him, her arms going to his shoulders.
The SEAL’s Unexpected Triplets Page 19