Page 3 of ForeverMN

She sighs, “Fine. I get anxious! Are you happy?”

I chuckle at her, shaking my head. “There’s nothing wrong with being worried, or anxious. But they have to go.”

“I know,” Oaklynn drops into the chair in front of my desk. “I keep thinking I’ll get used to this feeling, but what if I don’t? Does that make me not Rogue material?”

“Stop,” I tell her, “you’re being ridiculous. The guys need your photos and intel. You and Reed are scary good at that.”

“Reed is scary good. I just aim and shoot where he tells me,” Oaklynn argues back, shrugging her shoulders. “And this time we had a little help from Ollie and Nash.”

I frown, “How did that go?”

“As you’d expect,” Oaklynn’s smile turns mischievous. “Ciaran got allcavemanas usual. You’d think after how many years, and the giant rock he put on your finger, that he’d chill, butno.”

I grin, shaking my head, “It’s not that huge.”

“Whatever. Maybe if you’d marry the guy this year, then he’d calm down a bit,” She shrugs.

“Soon,” I promise her, just like I keep promising my fiancé.

“Well, anyway. What are you doing tonight, now that they are leaving?” She asks, before pocketing her cell phone.

“Girls night. Want to come over? My mom thinks something is going on with Mila. Apparently, evening mimosas and painting our toenails is supposed to help her want to talk about it,” I shrug and smile. My mom was flying around the house when we talked earlier, making snacks while yelling at my dad to remind him he can’t come home tonight. She’s been a little extra frantic lately, and absolutely convinced that Mila is hiding things from us, but I don’t see it. I’ve told Ci my mom’s concerns, and he doesn’t understand either. When I told my mom I don’t think she needs to worry, Mila has always been responsible, and she would talk to us if something was wrong, Mom wasn’t having it. A mother’s intuition is what she claimed.

“I’m always down for a girls’ night. That’s actually really sweet. I can’t remember my mom voluntarily doing something like that. Not on her own anyways. We always went to the spa,” Oaklynn shakes her head, her long blonde locks swaying back and forth. “What’s little Niko going to do?”

I smile at the mention of my younger brother. “He’s being shipped out for guys’ night with dad and Matt.”

Oaklynn cackles, “I can just picture Jason and Matt babysitting. Poor Niko is going to learn early about the life of a Rogue.”

“Speaking of Matt,” I turn to her, feeling all giddy, “Did Kai tell you the news yet?”

“No,” Oaklynn snorts. “If it has nothing to do with Rogue, food, drama, or the latest episode of Yellowstone, then no, he hasn’t told me anything.”

I laugh because it is so truly Kai, “Well, Ci told me that Matt and Erika are planning to adopt.”

“Yay!” Oaklynn claps her hands together. “Oh my gosh! That’s actuallyso perfectfor them. How’s it going to work though?”

I shrug. “How they choose to live, and where, is their own thing. Personally, I think Matt would be willing to go anywhere. It’s Erika’s piece in Rogue that keeps her on the road so much. They’ve made strides to be together more, but I think she’s used to the independence, and Matt is just too stubborn to go to her all the time.”

“Do you think if someone took over the house it would make it easier for him to feel like he can leave?” Oak gives me a knowing look, and I think about chucking my pen at her.

“Not happening.”

“Fine. Just keep us all in suspense waiting to see what you’re going to do,” Oaklynn huffs, and I fight to bite back my smile. Between her, Ciaran, and my mom, I might flip out one of these days. Only my dad seems to understand where I’m coming from. Either that, or he just wants me to wait because then it puts the wedding off longer. From the minute we announced our engagement, he’s been having a tough time accepting it. Silas and I don’t get it, considering my dad has known Ciaran longerthan me, but it’s cute, and touching, in a way. It took some time for us to get to a good place, but now that we are, I feel like my dad has been part of my life for years. We bonded the most when I also decided to take his last name.

Eventually, I convince Oaklynn to help me finish putting the welcome packets together before I can close up the office for the night. Everything is in order, and once we hear from the guys I’ll be able to start assembling the supplies. I’m so exhausted by the time we leave, that having a mimosa and relaxing sounds absolutely perfect. Maybe my mom does know what she’s talking about.

We make the drive to my parents’ house and park, right as my dad is buckling Niko into his car seat. “You’re just leaving?”

Dad’s eyes meet mine, “First, she wanted my help cutting up the melon, then she was off on a tangent about Niko making a mess of the cheese blocks. I figured it was a safe time to leave. I hope she gets some answers tonight.”

“You think something is going on with Mila too?” I ask.

He shakes his head, “I don’t. But I’ve not always been the best at reading my kids, or having that gut instinct that your mom does.”

I nod in understanding. I don’t have theparental instinct,and I secretly wonder if I ever will. I do know Mila though. We’ve always been close. And yes, has she been different lately, absolutely, but not in a bad way. After surviving being shot, and the surgeries that followed, she has been nothing but the embodiment of patience. She takes everything in stride, and continues to live her life as if she isn’t in a wheelchair. Now, she’s going to be transitioning to the next phase of her life, and I think that is the part my mom is struggling with, not that she’ll ever admit it. Mila wants to leave for college. She wants to have a campus experience, and has made all the accommodations forherself, because that’s who my baby sister is. A mature, young woman, who fears nothing anymore.

“Well, have fun tonight,” I wave to Niko who gives me a toothy grin from the backseat. Dad gives me a hug, and kisses the top of my head, before getting in the car and driving off.

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