Page 8

The new dining table Mom had commissioned sat thirty people when the leaf was in and took up the entire dining room space. With our growing family, it was necessary.

Everyone called out greetings, which I returned, but then had to focus on the two toddlers barreling toward me as fast as their little legs could carry them. Phinneas hit me first, and I scooped him up, tossing him in the air and grinning at his shriek of delight. Once I had Phinn in one arm, Emerson reached up, making the grabby motion with both hands. I held out my free hand, he grabbed hold, and used his bare feet to climb up as well. He didn’t like getting tossed like his twin did, but I would swear he was part monkey with how he liked to climb.

They both snuggled in, and while Phinn was babbling a mile a minute and I could only understand every third word or so, Emerson let out a content sigh and pushed his face against my neck. I squeezed them both as I headed further into the chaos that was my family.

I caught sight of Gemma, standing in the corner of the kitchen with tears streaming down her cheeks and beelined straight for her. She noticed me when I was still a few feet away and waved me off, but I ignored that.

“I’m fine,” she said on a sniffle.

“Yeah, you look it.”

She scratched her cheek with her middle finger, which made me laugh. But I still stared her down, waiting for her to tell me what was wrong so I could make it better.

“Crew’s fault,” she murmured, and the tears welled up again. “I’m more than happy to let him and Mal use my eggs, because god knows I will never use them myself. But the hormones are wreaking havoc.”

I nodded then and leaned between the twins to kiss her cheek. It was so great that she was willing to donate her genetic material, to be combined with Mal’s and then put into a surrogate, so that our brother and his husband could grow their family. But I couldn’t imagine what all that was doing to Gem. Hopefully, she’d only have to go through one round of this and never have to do it again.

Mom appeared at my side, patted Gemma’s cheek, and then turned to me. She took Phinn out of my arms and blew a raspberry on his neck before setting him on his feet and shooing him off. Phinn took off like a shot, running for Carter. Emerson reached for his Mimi and snuggled in the second Mom had him in his arms.

Without a word, Mom tipped her head toward the living room, and when I turned to see what she was indicating, I saw Shiloh sitting on the bottom stair, eyes wide. Mom had visited a lawyer, and then stopped by Laura’s house the day after I brought Shiloh home. Mom and Dad were now Shiloh’s guardians. So said the notarized guardianship document. Laura, it turned out, was actually glad to be rid of her son. Mom seemed convinced the woman was going to get help for her addiction.

Jennifer Harrington was an optimist like that.

I nodded, then wandered over to Shiloh. I took a seat next to him, then leaned back, the perfect picture of relaxation. Shiloh glanced at me, and even though I smiled, his eyes remained saucers in his face. A face which, after a week of good food and good sleep, was starting to fill out a bit.

“Loud in here, huh?” I did my best to keep my tone conversational, but all I got back was a slow nod. I nodded too. “Yeah, it’s a lot of people. It’s better during the week, yeah? When it’s just a few people.”

Shiloh didn’t comment on that, but I swore I could tell he agreed. Even though he’d been at the ranch a couple of times before I kidnapped him, it wasn’t the same as Sunday brunch, when the table was filled to groaning under the weight of all the food, and every single Harrington, along with their partners, were contained inside the walls.

“Did my mom and dad tell you the food rules?” I asked, leaning in like I was imparting some sort of secret. Shiloh’s eyes got wider, and he leaned, just a little, into my space. “It’s easy enough. Everybody has to eat. Every meal. And if you’re hungry when it’s not mealtime, it's your job to get something to snack on out of the pantry.”

Shiloh gave a single nod and his shoulders relaxed a fraction. I knew my parents had let him know he could eat whenever he wanted, however much he wanted. But I was thinking that given his past, he might be worried about that.

I lowered my voice and leaned in a little more. “The best part? If you don’t like something, for whatever reason, you have to say. That’s a rule too. And you don’t have to eat it. You get to skip it or pick something else.”

Shiloh took a breath, let it out slowly, and then with his gaze fixed on everyone else, asked in a quiet voice, “Every time?”

“Every time,” I confirmed. “No matter what.”

Shiloh let out a long breath and then leaned his shoulder against mine. The part of me that was used to my niblings wanted to wrap him in my arms and squeeze him tightly. The rest of me knew everything had to go at Shiloh’s pace, and I would never push that. I was beyond grateful I’d gotten him out of a bad situation, but it would take him a while before he would be truly comfortable with us. Trust that we would take care of him, never hit or punish, or send him back to his mother.

As far as I was concerned, unless Laura actually got help, got sober, and could prove she was committed to that, Shiloh was not leaving the ranch.

Pay ran over and climbed up onto my lap. He wrapped one arm around my neck, but sat sideways so he was facing Shiloh. He bit his lip.

“You’re not mad at me for telling Uncle Bodhi, right?” Pay whispered, his brow creased. It had to be weighing on him, and even though I knew the two boys had seen each other at school this past week, and also here on the ranch, I could understand why Payton hadn’t brought it up before now.

It took Shiloh several minutes to answer, and by the way Payton was rubbing his fingers on the shorn hair at the back of my head, I could tell he was worried. I almost redirected the conversation, not wanting to put Shiloh on the spot and not wanting Payton to be hurt. They were only seven, and this was a big thing. But I kept my mouth shut instead, ready to intervene if things went sideways. Even though it was a big thing, with big emotions attached, they both needed to work through it.

Shiloh eventually shook his head, and then snuggled up against me as he gave Payton a quick hug. “I was scared all the time, but it’s nice here. But it’s loud too.”

Payton nodded so hard he toppled sideways, which made him giggle. “So loud. But you get used to it. When I was little it was a lot, but now it’s just our family.”

I smashed my lips together so I wouldn’t laugh or point out that he was still little. Payton was too insightful for his own good sometimes. I wrapped my arms around both boys and squeezed for just a few seconds.

“Pay, why don’t you and Shy go help Mimi set the table? Show the babies how to be good helpers.”

Payton grabbed Shiloh’s hand, and I watched them sprint across the room to Mom. She clapped her hands and grinned at whatever Pay said, then handed him a stack of plates, before passing Shiloh the basket of silverware.