Noah's Journey (Sawyer Brothers #3) (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Noah

I watched Austin out of the corner of my eye as he imitated my movements. He was holding a toy hammer and had his shirt off just like I did. I had decided to build a tree house in the old oak tree just to the left of my back deck. I knew it would be the perfect placement for me to be able to sit back and watch my son play, and one day maybe another child or two.

At that thought, I looked up to see Alena sitting on the deck, her feet propped up on the railing as she read the book she’d been glued to for the last few hours.

“Like this, Daddy?” Noah asked as he tapped away at the screw with a plastic hammer.

I chuckled as I grabbed the screw. The way he was beating on it, he would break his toy.

“Come here,” I told him as I motioned with my hand.

He laid his toy down and eagerly moved in my direction, positioning himself in front of me.

“Like this,” I said as I placed his hand on my drill, then covered it with my own. The moment I pressed the button and it began boring out a hole, Austin’s face lit up with amazement. He looked back over his shoulder, so proud of himself. It was one of those moments I could have watched over and over, had I been recording his reaction.

“I did it,” he said with a smile that took over his chubby little cheeks.

“You sure did, buddy.”

For the next hour, he stood before me, insisting on drilling every hole and screwing in each screw as I absorbed every excited laugh and toothy grin he gave me. We didn’t accomplish as much as we would have, had I gone solo, but the time I got to spend with my son was the best part about my day. These were times I would always remember, times I would treasure.

The woman I loved was by my side to witness it all too. And that just made everything that much better.

Epilogue

The Wedding

Alena

After long, grueling hours and after pricking my thumb hundreds of times with more than a few needles, Bailey looked absolutely gorgeous. The wedding dress she and I created together fit her flawlessly.

“It’s perfect,” she whispered. I looked up toward the mirror, and my eyes met hers in the reflection. “I knew it would be amazing, Alena, I never doubted that.” She swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a moment as if to gain control of her emotions. Slowly, she opened them and met mine once again. “There isn’t anything I would change about this dress. It’s truly gorgeous.”

Amber stepped up to her left side, and we all admired the dress and the beautiful bride wearing it.

“Ladies,” Tammy said softly from behind us.

When we turned around to face her, I noticed the skin around her eyes was red. She had been crying. I could only imagine how much she wished her husband could have been here for her son’s special day.

She took a step closer and suddenly wrapped us all in a group hug. “I thank the Lord every day that you beautiful girls came into our lives. Not only have my sons fallen in love with each one of you, but I have too.”

The love of a mother was something I rarely received. My mom felt showing any kind of emotion was just a sign of weakness, so I’d stopped trying long ago to get her to give me just a small sign that she had a sliver of love for me. So when Tammy got all loving and caring on me, I accepted it without even the smallest hesitation.

“We love you too,” Amber replied, and Bailey and I quickly agreed.

“Now let’s dry our eyes and get out there. Wedding number two is here, only one more to go,” Tammy added with a bright smile as she looked over at me and winked.

Being Noah’s wife was something I often daydreamed about. And one day maybe that dream would become a reality.

***

Noah

I had tried to focus on the wedding, I truly did. The only problem was the little fact that Alena looked un-fucking-believable. She never carried herself as if she thought she was gorgeous, but she truly was. She had that mesmerizing beauty, the kind that sucked you in and lost you in its orbit if you looked too long.

Austin was off with Ma, who was parading him around the room, introducing him to everyone, and from where I was sitting, I had a perfect view of the entire reception. Alena was on the dance floor with Bailey, Amber, Trinity, and Olivia, who were forming their own little dance circle in the center. Ryan and Jackson stood near the bar, carrying on with Aunt Bess and Uncle Trent. The room was overflowing with family and friends who came to celebrate with Bailey and Jackson.

But no matter how often I scanned the crowd, my gaze would always float back to Alena. Her smile was captivating, and it did something to me each time I saw it.

When the music changed to something slow, my legs moved on their own accord. I had a sudden urge to hold her in my arms. Jackson and Ryan must have had the same idea, because they too were moving across the room in search of their wives.

When I had gotten within just a few feet of her, Alena looked up and met my gaze. The sweetest smile spread across her lips, and I felt it deep within my stomach. Each time she smiled at me, the effect her happiness had on me grew more intense. I tilted my head to give her that longing, sexy grin, the one she’d told me on more than one occasion that she loves. I wove my fingers through hers and locked them together tightly. When I pulled her toward me, she followed without any hesitation.

“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered as I lowered my lips to hers. When a soft whimper fell from her, I only grinned wider. I pressed my forehead to hers and took a moment to just hold her in my arms.

“Dance with me?” I asked, and she nodded her head against mine.

I led her toward the center of the room, where my brothers were already spinning their women around. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had it all. I had a loving, supportive family, a son who had now become my best friend, and a woman I loved and adored. I felt like I could finally breathe and let go of all the hate I’d felt for years.

I knew I would still have issues with Stacey, because she wasn’t the type of person to bow out gracefully. I had made it clear to her that my heart was in Alena’s hands now, but if she needed a daily reminder, I would be happy to offer her one. Because I may not have seen Alena coming, but she had knocked my feet from beneath me, and I planned on spending the rest of my life showing her just how much she meant to me.

Four Years Later

Ryan

“Daddy!” High-pitched squeals rang out the moment I entered the house. Each time I heard the happy shouts of my twin boys, Rory and Rogan, I swear I fell in love with them all over again.

I bent down just in time to catch Rogan as he leaped into my arms. He was my linebacker—at least he felt like one when he collided with you. If he kept eating the way he did, he would be twice the size of his brother. Rory was smaller, but you couldn’t let his size fool you—he was a little trickster. On more than one occasion, I found my keys in the refrigerator, or, hell, even the bottom of the dirty clothes basket. And as I was rummaging around through the house with Amber trailing behind me, that boy would sit on the couch as if he had no clue what was going on.

I ruffed Rogan’s hair as I stood with him in my arms. “Hey, buddy, you been a good boy for your momma?”

“Yesh,” he said is his tiny, little voice as he bobbed his head. I looked up to see Amber enter the living room, holding Rory in her arms. He looked freshly bathed, and his hair was sticking up in all directions. She appeared disheveled and worn out, even though she smiled when she saw me standing in the doorway. “Hey, Daddy, you’re just in time.”

I arched a brow in question, because I knew that tone. She was about to pass a task on to me that she must have been dreading.

She lifted her hand and pointed to Rogan. “You get to bathe the stubborn one. I’ve spent the last hour trying to convince him the scent he’s sporting is not an appealing one.” She wrinkled her nose in the cutest way as she turned toward the kitchen, giving me the perfect view of her cute ass.

Almost five years later and I still couldn’t get enough of her. She walked around wearing the tiniest shorts and tanks, and I swore she only did it to torture me.

I shook my head to clear away thoughts I should not be having about my wife, at least not when the boys were awake. I leaned in and sniffed Rogan, and he giggled. “Damn, boy, you do smell.”

“Ryan,” Amber scolded me for my choice of words.

“Sorry, baby,” I offered as Rogan looked up at me with a big grin on his face. “Don’t you dare repeat my words.” I narrowed my eyes at him as I found an expression on his face I knew well.

Those little wheels were turning.

How I got two kids that were just as crazy as my brother Jackson was beyond me. I think it was a curse. Either that or some sort of punishment for giving him shit for all these years.

I slipped off my boots and walked toward the bathroom. Rogan began wiggling to try and escape, and I gripped him just a little tighter.

“Let’s get a bath, and then we’ll convince your momma to make us something sweet.”

At the idea of his mother’s baking, the boy instantly relaxed. We were all hooked on Amber’s baking—hell, the whole damn town was.

I worked fast to get Rogan clean and was just lifting him from the tub when Amber appeared in the doorway. “Liv called. I told her when you got home, I would have you call her back.”

I spun around with Rogan, who was now wrapped tightly in a towel and leaned in to give her the kiss I had yet to give her since I got home. With two toddlers, sometimes our time alone was limited. I would give just about anything to have twenty-four uninterrupted hours with my wife.

“Mm,” she moaned against my lips.

“I didn’t get the chance when I first got home. I was beyond desperate to feel those sweet lips.” I winked as I passed Rogan to her, and she narrowed her eyes.

“You just buttered me up so my defenses would be down,” she protested as she took our son.

Rory poked his head around Amber’s legs and smiled up at me. “Hey, little man, you wanna go call your sissy?” I asked him.

Rory adored Olivia; he had always been so fascinated with her. They’d bonded in the months after the twins were born because Rogan was colicky and required so much attention from Amber and myself. We would always find Olivia rocking Rory, and he was content to just be close to her.

Offering Amber one last kiss to smooth away the scowl she wore, I took Rory’s hand and we went to call Liv.

Hearing her sweet voice fill the phone made me smile wide. It was hard to believe my little girl was all grown up. She was now twenty years old and attending Texas A & M University, and I could not have been more proud of her.

“Hey, Dad.” I could tell by the tone of her voice she was smiling.

“Hey, sweetheart, how’s school?” I asked as I settled back in the recliner, holding Rory in my lap.

“School is great. My roommate, on the other hand, is a nightmare. But you know that already.”

It was the same thing every time we talked. She truly wanted me to get her an apartment off campus, but I liked knowing she was inside a building that was secure.

“Yeah,” I said with a chuckle, “I sure do, darlin’, but you make sure you remind me each time.”

“You know I wouldn’t have to remind you if you would just get me that apartment we talked about.” And there it was.

“Not happening, Liv,” I told her once again, feeling as if this conversation was a repeat of last night’s. “You still coming home during break?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said, and I was grateful she’d let go of the apartment talk. “I miss my little men and their slobbery kisses.”

“Speaking of little guys, I got someone here that wants to talk to his sissy,” I said as I tickled Rory’s stomach and he laughed.

I held the phone out so Olivia could hear his giggles, and she immediately knew who it was. “Rory! Hey, bud.”

It was amazing to watch his reaction to her voice. He grabbed my cell phone from my hand and started to babble away as if he was truly having a full conversation with the sister he adored.

Within minutes, Rogan came barreling into the living room and joined his twin brother on my lap. For the next ten minutes, Amber and I watched as they passed the phone back and forth, offering Olivia the baby-brother fix she had been lacking.

***

Amber

Tammy was truly a godsend. Without her, I’m not sure how I would get through the day. She was now surrounded by grandchildren and loved every minute of it. Every day she would watch the kids while Baily and I got the bakery open. Then Bailey would rush off to the ranch to help Jackson while I ran the bakery with Beth, a young single mother I had hired to help me while her daughter was in school. After we locked the doors for the day, I would rush off to get the boys and get dinner going just in time for Ryan to walk in the door.

I loved my little guys, but I craved some time alone with my husband.

I slipped away to take a shower as Ryan was reading the boys a bedtime story. I had become so relaxed with the sensation of the hot water rolling down my body that I must have missed the click of the bathroom door. It wasn’t until the shower curtain scraped along the rod that I knew Ryan had entered the bathroom. I looked back over my shoulder just as he stepped in with me.

Ryan had never been a bulky man, but his lean body was fit and mouthwatering. He had the ability to make me go from calm to full-blown panting in seconds.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said in the sultry voice that had a direct connection to my lady bits. He slid his hands along my hips with ease and brought them to rest on my stomach. “The boys are down, I have the monitor, and now I need my wife.”

I turned in his arms and looked up at him. “What do you have in mind, Officer?” I placed a kiss against his jaw and rubbed my slippery body against his.

“Oh, sweetheart, I just may scare you if I tell you everything I have in mind. I’ve been running all sorts of ideas through my head from the moment I walked in the door today and found your sweet ass walking around in those tiny, little shorts of yours.”

I smiled at his words, because he had told me on more than one occasion just what those shorts did to him. I’ll admit I wore them just to get a rise out of him, literally.

He slipped his hand around my bare ass and squeezed, pulling me against him. His hardness rested against my stomach. “You have got the sweetest ass, Mrs. Sawyer.”

My nipples hardened as they rubbed against his chest, making me moan. “And you, Mr. Sawyer, have an unbelievable effect on my body. So I must admit, whatever you have rolling through that head of yours, I am more than game for.”