Page 13 of Reclaiming Kendall

Nice to Be Home

“I loved the fuck out of that place, but I have to say that it’s nice to be home,” I say with one of my bags thrown over my shoulder. We’d left the island late last night and slept through most of the flight back. I still feel pretty jetlagged and could probably sleep for another couple of days. I couldn’t wait to get off the plane and into my own bed, but just thinking about it now makes me horribly sad. We’re home to everyone being separated again.

Teagan picks me up bridal style to carry me through the doorway of our dark house, “Just how tired are you, sweets?”

His tone wakes me up a little. After so much alone time with them and no interruptions for the past while has made me quite addicted to them even more than before, which I never thought would be possible.

“What did you have in mind?” I ask cheekily while pulling myself up to tease the lobe of his ear with my tongue.

He groans and disappointingly enough sets me on my feet at the base of the stairs.

I pout, but it only lasts for a second before Lucas takes my hand and leads us up them. Expecting him to take us down the hall to my room, I’m caught off guard when he stops in front of the surprise door.

My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. I’ve waited weeks to know what they’ve been up to behind it, and now that it’s here I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.

“We don’t have to wait for them,” I joke, referring to the others who’ve gone to drop our suitcases in the laundry room downstairs.

Lucas chuckles as he shakes his head, “And ruin their fun?”

I narrow my eyes at him playfully, “If I correctly guess what’s up there, will you tell me?”

He shrugs then leans a shoulder against the wall as I tap my chin with my finger in a pondering way, “We’ve already got a movie room. Is it a library?”

This just makes his smile jut higher, and I know that I’m wrong. The guys can’t be too much longer, so I cave, “Okay, I give up. Is it some kind of kink room with a swing and ropes that I’m going to need a safe word just to enter?”

His laugh booms around us and mixes with the others’ coming up the stairs behind us.

Goose wraps me up in his arms still chuckling as Teagan says, “Damn, been married for like two weeks and already she’s needing to add more spice to the relationship.”

“Whatever,” I giggle. “Can we go in now?”

Lucas pushes off the wall to open the door, but Goose stops me by laying a hand across my eyes.

“Hey,” I complain. “You can’t cover my eyes. I’ll fall.”

He leans down to press his mouth against my ear as he tucks me tighter against his body, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t let you fall.”

Trusting him entirely, I lean further into him. His other arm wraps around my waist as he guides me up the stairs. Once we make it to the top, someone brushes by us right before I hear the sound of the lights being flicked on. I know that to be the case because I see the brightness filter through my eyelids even behind the hand over them. With my eyes covered, it’s easy to pick up on the smell of fresh paint. My curiosity kicks into overdrive at that psychological revelation.

“Are you ready?” Mav’s deep voice sounds out from in front of us.

It’s all I can do to keep from bouncing on my toes as I bark, “Yes!” It may have been more enthusiastic than necessary as the guys laugh. Goose’s rumbles against my back. His hand falls to my shoulder, and I blink against the brightness of the room. There had been a couple of things I’d slowly been guessing to myself over the past several weeks, but from the moment my eyes can see clearly, I wouldn’t be able to say what they were. The only thing I can focus on is what’s in front of me.

My chin drops to my chest as I look around the room. Directly in front of me, Mav stands beside a massive pillowed seat built into the wall with a bay window. It overlooks the backyard and lake. Also built into the wall on both sides of the seat and above are bookcases. They’re only partially filled with some of my books from my other room downstairs.

When I can pull my eyes away from the sight, a small flicker of movement against the wall to my left draws my attention there. Seemingly also built into the wall, though, I know it’s not, is a massive flat screen. There is a small fireplace directly underneath that is hugged with a couple boxed-in shelves on each side.

A small prompting from Goose, pushes me further into the middle of the room and has me adjusting my attention. Teagan sits calmly on a bed wide enough to fit the five of us plus at least three more people the size of Goose. It’s pushed against the side wall and takes up most of it. Two little nightstands are the only things squeezed on each side.

The quilt on top must’ve been hand crafted special for our bed considering it’s so large. It’s got little triangles that form interlocking cubes. Most of it is a black and white, but there are a few triangles thrown in that are yellowish-orange in color. As I glance to the wall behind it and up above, I see that it matches the wrought-iron sconces and chandelier, which all hold, barely noticeable, off-white candles. My eyes drop back to Teagan, and his smile lights up his face.

With Goose standing off to the side of me now, when a hand closes around mine, I know that it’s Lucas. He pulls me slowly around to face him. If the lights in the room weren't on, it would make it difficult to see his face, as he stands in the door frame. The lighting coming from the other room is really bright behind him.

I let him take my hand and lead me into the room, which turns out to be a bathroom. And I use that term loosely, because this is clearly something copied from one of those home designer magazines. It's got the full-on-stand-up shower that looks like it could fit at least four of us in there. At first glance, I don't see any shower heads. Staring in wonder, I find little holes in the ceiling. This must be one of those waterfall-type things, and I get stupid giddy over the thought of getting to try it out. Against the back wall is a his and hers sink set up with a mirror that spans all the way across. There is a separate little space in the back corner for the toilet. Built against the wall directly across from the shower is a jacuzzi big enough to maybe hold all of us. Before our trip to Fiji, I'd have said for sure that it would, but having all of the guys together in a small space for so long, I'm beginning to have serious doubts. All of the rugs are solid black and most of the fixtures in here match the ones in the main room. Without the modern stuff, like the flat-screen and fireplace, it almost gives the room an old Victorian ambiance.

No one has said a word since Goose uncovered my eyes. They still don't as I walk back out to where the other three are waiting. Lucas drops the hold he has on my hand, allowing me to amble over to the wall Goose is propped against.

His smile is soft, and I get lost in it for a moment before focusing back on the rows of pictures lined up beside him. They aren't in picture frames, but more of a canvas print kind of thing. There are eight from our wedding alone; me standing with each of my men, and in various poses around the reception. I cover my mouth with my fingers to hide my smile as I look at them, but it's one of the last ones that really hits me hard. Nestled between some older photos of us in college is the very first picture we ever took as a group. It was the day before my Gramps was hospitalized. The five of us plus Ry and her boyfriend at the time had taken a trip up to the mountains. It had been one of the greatest experiences of my life until Maverick's stubborn angry monster had taken over and caused a huge fight between everyone.

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