Page 64 of Over and Above

“Here.” Magnus pressed a mug into my hands. “Made you an Irish coffee. Might help?”

“Bless you.” I took a long, bracing sip.

“Later, we can have champagne,” Magnus teased in a low voice. “Celebrate you winning Grandparent of the Decade before we even get started on this gig.”

“Oh. The name thing. Sorr?—”

“Don’t you dare apologize.” He lightly doffed my shoulder. “It’s the perfect name.”

What was truly perfect was this moment, all of us here sharing it, Magnus very much included. Life didn’t hand out perfection like this very often.

“Can we talk later?” I asked in an urgent whisper. “Just us.”

“Of course.” His eyes were soft and kind, and it took all kinds of restraint to not kiss him right then. The whole day had been a lesson, and I couldn’t wait to share it with the person who mattered most.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Magnus

I’d agreed to talk with Eric but later ended up being nightfall by the time all the excitement died down. As much as I’d wanted to take a snow day and a baby’s birthday vacation day, I’d needed to dart over to The Heist to meet a repair person for the deep freeze and to make sure the skeleton staff could handle whatever passed for a dinner rush as the area dug out after the snowstorm.

When I’d left, Marissa remained at the house, helping everyone get settled with the baby. John headed to a friend’s while Rowan dragged Wren shopping for yet more baby things. When I finally returned, Marissa’s SUV was gone, and the house was remarkably quiet. I crept into the dark kitchen, intending to collect my dogs and worry about talking to Eric later, but quiet humming drew me to the living room. Both dogs were flopped in front of the recliner where Eric sat with the teeniest of bundles in his arms.

“How’d you end up with the baby?” I whispered, not wanting to startle him or Destiny Ericka, who appeared to be dozing from what little I could see of her tiny face. She was swaddled in a yellow blanket, a little baby burrito.

“Luck.” He grinned up at me, the same dopey, tired smile we’d both had all day. “Well, that and Marissa ordered Maren to rest. But she refused to nap without knowing someone was holding the baby. I volunteered so Diesel could sleep too. They were up most of the night.”

“So were you,” I pointed out.

“Eh. I’m used to it.” He gazed down at the baby. “Besides, I’ve got to keep my Grandfather of the Year award nice and shiny. I promised to return Destiny the second she seems hungry, but we’re at over an hour now.”

“Wow.” I tried not to sound terribly jealous but must have failed because Eric lifted the baby slightly.

“You want a turn?”

“Sure.” I wasn’t even going to try to lie as I carefully took the sleeping baby from Eric. Two decades of rust fell off in an instant as I swayed slightly, the familiar rhythm of trying to keep a dozing baby calm. I moved to the couch with the baby, and I wasn’t at all surprised when Helicopter Grandpa came to perch next to me.

“She has such a wise, old soul.” His tone hadn’t lost any of its wonder from earlier.

“She gets the chill vibe from Maren, thankfully.” I chuckled softly. “And the dramatic, slightly early entrance from Diesel.”

“Diesel did great today. You should be proud.” Eric sounded much fonder of Diesel than usual. “And I’ve seen way more dramatic births, honestly.”

“Was it hard? Watching?” I asked, meeting his gaze. “I know you. Not being able to offer much help must have been difficult.”

“It was.” Eric released a soft groan. “I’m learning there are some things we can’t control.”

“I think we’re all learning those lessons.” I rocked the baby gently, finding it easier to say what I needed to if I stared at her, not Eric. “I was trying to control you yesterday. Force you to be public and not listening to your reasons to wait.”

“And I wanted to control the situation.” Eric leaned back against the couch. “Control who knows what and how they react. Feeling in control is easier than admitting all the unknowns that neither of us can predict.”

“A lot could go wrong.” I hadn’t wanted to admit that the day before, but I couldn’t deny that Eric’s worries were grounded in a reality where shit happened.

“And a lot could go right.” Eric sounded suspiciously like me. “Like you said, we don’t have to break up.”

“I certainly don’t want to.” I gave a tight chuckle, eyes still locked on the baby. “But other bad things could still happen.”

“We can’t prevent that.” Eric exhaled hard like the admission stole his next breath. “Whether we’re together or not, one of us could still get sick or even die. Fires, floods, natural disasters. All sorts of negative circumstances could happen regardless.”

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