A Place to Call Home (36 page)

The boys ran down the stairs jumping and hollering and tackling Hannah and Mac. Porkchop barked.

Mac looked over at Hannah while his boys surrounded her in a group hug. “They’re yours now, too, darling.”

She held her hand up for them to see the ring. “And I couldn’t be happier,” she declared, hugging them fiercely.

“Well, now that you two have finally come to your senses,” Aidan announced. “Hannah, the three of us have voted and, well, we’d like your opinion on something. Right, guys?”

“Right,” the other two confirmed, continuing to hug her.

“Okay,” she agreed with a curious tone, looking at Mac who just grinned, taking in the whole scene.

Aidan spoke up, the seriousness in his voice grasping her attention. “Hannah, we took a vote and thought it would be really cool if we could call you Mom.”

Hannah’s eyes filled with tears that spilled over her face. She loved the boys like crazy and now she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they loved her. “I’d like that very much. I love you guys. I love each and every one of you MacDevin men.”

Porkchop barked.

“And you, too, Porkchop,” Hannah said while her men surrounded her in another big hug.

“I do have one more thing to tell you, Austin. Something I know I shouldn’t have lied to you about, but at the time I had no choice.”

“I’m listening. But I’ve got to warn you this might end up as our first argument being an engaged couple.”

“I don’t think you’ll want to argue when I tell you this.”

“Really?” He scrutinized her. “Why don’t I be the judge of that? Spill it.”

“I was late.
Very
late.”

His beautiful blue eyes opened wide.

“You’re about to be a daddy again, Austin,” she announced with joy. “And you boys are about to become big brothers.”

Silence filled the room.

“I don’t understand,” Luke said.

“Hannah’s having a baby, knucklehead,” Ryan said.

“We’re having a baby?” Mac asked shocked, pulling them off of her and shooing them away. “Guys, get off of Hannah. Stop hanging on her.”

“They’re okay. I’m sorry I lied to you,” she said.

“Would you have ever told me?”

“Absolutely. After you left my apartment, I called the detective and gave him a one-week deadline to give me something to end Jane’s games, or I was coming to you with everything. Austin, I wanted to tell you so badly. Please understand why I didn’t, why I couldn’t, at the time.”

“I do and I love you so much for fighting for me and our boys. But you need to promise me that from this point on we’re a team. You’ll never be alone again in this world, Hannah.”

“Not with this group,” she said, beaming, holding her hand up to examine the ring glinting on her finger. She’d never been one to wear jewelry, but today that had changed. Today, everything had changed. And no matter what, she’d never remove this symbol of Mac’s love.

“Mom,” Luke said, her new name music to her ears. “I’m going to be a big brother?”

“Yes, you all are. I hope that’s okay with you guys.”

“More than okay,” Aidan said. “Congrats you two.” He kissed Hannah’s cheek and shook Mac’s hand.

Mac placed his hand on Hannah’s belly. “It’s going to be a girl, and she’s going to be her mother’s daughter. I just have that kind of luck.” He grinned wide. “Then I’ll have two brats running around here, causing me grief every waking hour.”

“And you’ll love every minute of it,” she said wrapping her arms around his neck. “Won’t you, Daddy?”

“Yes, Mommy. God help me, but yes.”

Epilogue

One Year Later

“Who’s Daddy’s little girl?” Mac asked, cradling his infant daughter, Faith, in his arms while sitting in the rocking chair in the parlor. “That’s right, precious. You are,” he said when the baby tightened her grasp on his finger and smiled, her bright blue eyes lighting up her face, her curly black hair pinned up in a teeny ponytail by a small pink ribbon.

“Now, Austin, what’s going on in here?” Hannah asked, walking into the parlor with Aidan, Ryan, and Luke.

Mac looked up at his oldest son. “What’d you go and rat me out to Mom, son?”

“Yes, sir. Now share the baby,” Aidan said, and cracked a wide grin. “Come on, Dad. I only get home every few months from college and this is only the second time I’ve seen my baby sister. Now I want to hold her. You can have her when I go back to college.”

“Like hell. I’ll have her back in five minutes. That’s all you get.” Mac passed Faith to Aidan.

“Mom,” Aidan called, keeping his voice low.

“I’m on it, Aidan. You enjoy some time with Faith. Austin, kitchen now,” Hannah ordered, stepping forward to grab Mac’s hand and haul him behind her.

“You’re so lucky you’re holding a baby right now, son,” Mac said over his shoulder. Eyeing his hot wife’s ass sway side to side compensated for being summoned to the kitchen when he had been comfortable in the parlor. Alone in the kitchen, he wrapped his hands around her slender waist while she stirred a huge pot of sauce. “You are so beautiful, Hannah.”

“Stop trying to butter me up, Austin. I warned you when Aidan got home you needed to share Faith. The boys want to spend time with her and, well, Mommy wants to spend some time with Daddy.”

He smiled. “Now I like that idea. Have I ever told you that you make things interesting around here?”

“Once or twice. And I’m going to make it a whole lot interesting.”

“Uh oh. How come the sound of that scares me?”

“Hush. Is the addition all done?”

Mac had spent the past six months expanding the back of the house to include three more bedrooms and a nursery on the second floor and a playroom on the first floor.

 “It’s officially done, brat. I was waiting to tear you out of this kitchen long enough to show you.”

“Ryan, please watch the sauce. Luke, please set the table,” Hannah yelled from the kitchen. Taking Mac’s hand, she led him upstairs. “Oh, Austin. You’ve outdone yourself. It’s beautiful.”

“There’s plenty of room now for more babies. So tonight I say we start working on that.” Kissing her neck, his hands moved lazily up and down her back. God, he wished they had the house to themselves or could sneak away for a little private time right now. Every damn time he touched her, he got the biggest hard-on. Waiting until bedtime would have to do. But damn didn’t she look so hot in those jeans, the curve of her ass begging him to cup it in his hands.

“Mmm. I do like the sound of that but I’m afraid you’re too late,” Hannah said, her voice brimming with excitement that caught his attention.

He stopped his kisses and raised his head with slow motion, looking at her with wide eyes. “What? When? I mean, how?”

She laughed. “If I have to explain to you how I’m pregnant after you have four kids then you’d better have your head examined.”

“No. I mean how could it happen? We’ve been using protection.”

“Not that first time about a month after Faith was born. Remember? You were too anxious and forgot the condom.”

“I was used to not using one since you were pregnant.” He laid his hand over her belly. They had created another life, another child to love. God, he was so blessed. “I’m going to be a daddy again. Wow, that means you’re what, three months along?”

Her hand covered his on her flat belly. “Three and a half. I never caught on since I assumed my periods were irregular due to the birth but at my checkup today they confirmed I’m pregnant.”

He picked her up and swung her in a big circled. “I love you, Hannah MacDevin. You make me happier than I ever thought possible.”

“I’m glad you made three bedrooms up here, Austin. Now Faith and the new babies will have their own rooms,” she said, clinging to his neck with her arms hitched behind his head.

“Exactly. That’s what I was hoping for, to have plenty of room when—” He stopped and lowered her until her feet touched the floor. “Babies? Do you mean what I think you mean?”

“Twins, Austin. The doctor said my blood levels indicate twins. I go for an ultrasound at the end of the week to confirm but he sounded sure.”

“Oh, Hannah.” He kissed her, careful to be gentle with her. “Can we tell the boys tonight? Now?”

“I was hoping you’d want to.”

“You just want to be spoiled again and waited on hand and foot like when you were expecting Faith.” Pride swept through him at the thought of her waddling around the house again, round with his babies.

“Nothing wrong with that. And you know damn well, Austin, that it was you who insisted on treating me like I’d break if I lifted a finger around the house.” She poked him in the chest.

He took her hand and kissed it. “Darling, when you have four strapping men in the house there’s no reason for you to do anything when you’re carrying my baby. And have I told you how beautiful our daughter is?”

“Only ten times today,” she said and rolled her eyes.

“Her mama is beautiful too.” He kissed her again, not wanting to stop, but he’d have to wait until later for more. “Let’s go tell our sons and daughter the good news.”

“I don’t think Faith is going to understand,” Hannah said when Mac took her hand and hurried down the stairs with her.

“Faith understands her daddy.”

“Oh, is that so?” Hannah said smiling.

“Okay, who has my daughter?” Mac said when they entered the parlor.

“Wow, Dad. You actually let Faith sit with us for a whole fifteen minutes,” Aidan said, his usual ball-busting a welcome after being away at college the past month.

“Smart ass,” Mac said with no heat. He looked at Hannah and then at the boys. “Don’t worry in a few months they’ll be enough babies for all of you to hold one all at once,” he announced, slipped his arm around his wife’s waist, and waited for their reaction.

Aidan, Ryan, and Luke stared at Hannah and Mac.

“Mom, are you pregnant again?” Aidan said, his jaw dropping.

With her hand covering her belly, she smiled. “Yes. I sure am. And this time the doctor says it’s twins.”

“Wow, way to go, Dad,” Ryan said offering a high-five.

“Hey, I had something to do with it too,” Hannah proclaimed, pointing to her cheek, prompting Ryan to lay a loud kiss on it.

“Daddy, can I have a little brother this time?”

Mac looked down at Luke. “We’ll have to wait and see, buddy, but I’d say the chances are good.”

“Here you go, Dad,” Aidan said, handing him Faith. “You and Mom sit down. We’ll finish dinner. Come on, Ryan and Luke. While I’m away at college I’m going to count on you two to make sure Mom doesn’t lift a finger around here. And you have to watch her good. You know how stubborn she can be.”

Sitting next to Mac and their daughter on the couch, Hannah feigned surprise, her brows lifting, mouth opening in an ‘o’ before speaking. “I heard that, Aidan.”

“You were meant to.”

“Well, I guess your sons just put you in your place, darling,” Mac said. He cuddled his tiny daughter in his arms while Hannah leaned on his shoulder. He would’ve never guessed he could be this happy….this blessed.

“I’d have to agree.”

He turned to her, the lump in his throat difficult to swallow. Surrounded by her love, grateful for the way she treated his kids as her own, his emotions swelled his heart. Just when he thought he couldn’t love her anymore, she found a way to brighten his day, give purpose to his life, and furnish him with memories for a lifetime. “Thank you, Hannah.”

“For what?”

“For making me one hell of a lucky guy.”

About the Author

Christina James
lives in a Massachusetts suburb with her two children. When penning stories, she enjoys writing of romance and heartache and of characters who overcome the odds. Passion is at the heart of every tale, and she strives to create realistic characters, so the reader can fall in love with them as much as she does. A sucker for a good love story, Christina writes hot, sensual romances with a little sarcastic wit and some humor in a contemporary setting. She enjoys reading and traveling, spending time with friends and family, romantic walks on the beach, or just listening to the rainfall. For naughty and wicked romance with no strings attached….read a Christina James novel.

You can find out more about Christina at: www.christinajamesauthor.com