Page 51 of Twins for the Silver Foxes

“Not yet.I’m not sure how to tell her either. She’s a bit young to understand, but I need to prepare her for all the changes that are coming.” Hannah inched closer to me, her head sliding over the pillow until our noses almost touched. “These babies are ours. All of ours. I hope you all feel the same way.”

“I do.”I reassured her with a swift kiss. “There’s no need worrying about paternity. All three of us are their dads.”

She huggedme in obvious relief. “They’re going to be so loved.”

“You have no idea.”Ryland flipped onto his back and raised both hands into the air. “I can see it now. A nursery on the other side of your rooms. We’ll all have baby monitors. We can take shifts to make sure Hannah gets the rest she needs. Scott is on diaper duty.”

“Hey.”I reached across Hannah to smack him on the arm.

Hannah laughed into my chest.“I can’t wait to see all of you trying to change diapers. Talk about a disaster.”

“Arthur’s done it before. Why can’t he be on diaper duty?” I asked Ryland.

“Because I wantto see you freak out and gag.” Ryland shot his answer back at me with a punch to the thigh.

Beinga father never crossed my mind until Hannah came along. I’d always been careful. I didn’t fault any of us for this change in our situation, though. Having kids was the kind of thing I’davoided after seeing what happened with Arthur and Megan. It wasn’t worth the heartache, the risk of having them torn away.

Kids,small and innocent as they were, laid my heart bare. I’d do anything for Liddy, Hannah, and these babies. It had taken Hannah mentioning Chad to bring me to that solid conclusion. I’d not realized how deeply I felt about them until she brought up Chad’s request to see Liddy. The man deserved a kick in the balls, not visitation rights. “I want to be more than a father to these babies.” I circled her naval with my index finger. “I’d like to be Liddy’s father too.”

“Me too.”Ryland flipped back onto his side. He’d been happier these last few weeks than I’d seen him in years. We all were.

“Arthur too,”I reassured Hannah before she asked. “He’s over the moon about your pregnancy. He might not show it, but he is excited. He’ll want to be a big part of their lives. He missed out on so much with Megan, and he’s trying to make up for it.”

“I’m glad he is.”Hannah’s lashes fluttered. She’d mentioned food earlier, but the dark rings around her eyes said she needed sleep, too. We’d kept her up all hours of the night, and even though we all knew Deena would keep an eye on Liddy, Hannah would want to check on her daughter soon. She looked past me to the door. “Do you think she’ll talk to him?”

“Not yet.”I’d been around for a few of their squabbles. Megan liked to say her piece then bolt. Arthur’s slow reactions fed into Megan’s beliefs that he didn’t care about her, a cycle her mother perpetuated at every opportunity.

“I hate that for him.And for her.” Hannah kept her gaze trained on the door.

Arthur wouldn’t returnfor a while, if at all. If Megan shot him down and ran away again, he’d retreat to his quarters to lick his wounds and languish in his pain.

“I wishI’d met her under different circumstances.” Hannah picked at the edge of the sheet and ducked her head. “I feel bad for contributing to the contention between them.”

“It was bound to happen anyway.”Ryland rushed to reassure her before I thought of a response. “Did you see how she barged in here? What eighteen year old tears into her dad’s bedroom like that? She was looking for something to fight about. If it wasn’t us in bed together, it would have been something else.”

“Maybe this will shock her enough to shut up her mother’s voice in her head.” I let my thoughts fall out of my mouth. I did some of my best thinking out loud. Hearing the words solidified the possibilities and brought a sense of purpose.

Hannah’s heeldragged up and down the back of my calf. If she kept that up much longer, we’d end up having a different kind of conversation. “You really think so?” she asked.

“I hopeto God he’s right.” Ryland stood and pulled on his pants. With a lingering look toward Hannah, he bundled up his hair in a low knot. “Damn. I wish I’d brought my camera.”

“Why?”Hannah looked at him over her shoulder.

The manalmost turned to goo on the spot. “For that shot right there. You’re a damned goddess wrapped in silk.” He brought a knee up onto the bed and mimed clicking a camera. “That’ll have to do until I set up a proper shoot.”

“You’re not photographing me naked.”Shock lifted her from the bed, and even as she clasped the sheets to her chest, I spotted her nipples hardening through the smooth fabric.

Ryland’s grinhad a dangerous edge. “Not naked. Boudoir. Some lacy lingerie and dim lights.” He kissed his fingers and raised them to the ceiling. “Perfection.”

“You’re just tryingto distract me from Megan.” Hannah called her shots like she saw them. When she wasn’t worried about our reactions, she had a smart mouth and a quick wit that drew me in time after time. “You get to see me naked all the time. You don’t need a picture.”

“Maybe not.But I still want one.” Ryland tugged the sheet away from her.

Her breathing turned short.“I want to talk about Megan, not have sex.”

I barked out a short laugh.“She got you, Ryland. Might as well give her what she wants.”

Satisfied Ryland would stop tryingto distract her, Hannah tucked a pillow behind her head and relaxed on my shoulder.“She’s not like that all the time, right? That would be exhausting.”

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