Page 78 of Treasure and Tarot

Xander grabbed what looked like a puzzle. “Abby seems like she’s really into the new baby.”

Sebastian nodded. “The one thing she asked for is if she could have a baby doll of her own so she could practice. So we got her a little baby doll, and then of course, Colton had to get her a cradle to go up in her room and a stroller so that she could walk the baby around. But, I think she’s excited.”

“Does she want a brother or a sister?”

“A sister, no question. She’s already told me that if it’s a boy, I have to take it back.”

Xavi cracked up. “Oh, well that might be a problem if it’s a boy.”

“Who knows? I mean, Colton made a girl before. There’s nothing to say he’s not going to make another one, but I don’t care. I want ten fingers, ten toes, everything working. That’s what I want. I don’t care what. If it’s a boy, a girl, an alpha, an omega, I just don’t care.”

“Of course not. What do the cards say?”

“They just say yay baby. That seems to be the consensus of the ghosts, too.”

“Well, that’s good, right?” Xavi flipped back into a pile of paper shreds and started making a snow angel.

He stared, then cackled at his friend. It was truly out of control.

“I think I taped myself to myself,” Xander murmured. He wasn’t as crafty as him and Xavi, but he was such a good cook it didn’t matter.

“Are you going to stay and make soup and bread, Xander?” He didn’t want to wheedle his friend but…

“Yep. Tori is going to make lasagna out of the freezer if anyone up at the hotel wants anything, but?—”

“But it’s a ghost town up there,” Xavi said. “There are a few bookings over Christmas weekend, but that’s it.”

The snows up on the passes really kept the tourists away at this time of year, and most people would stay at Secret Springs’s Grand Springs Hotel if they were coming for the holidays. Since its remodel, it was just a better bet, and it had the hot springs pool.

Hot Springs Junction had a few private springs tubs here and there, but mostly the facilities were privately owned.

He could use a soak, but he really wasn’t allowed to until after the baby. “You guys should all go to Mr. Halvorson’s hot springs hut at some point. Like all of you. Indoctrinate Gent and Colton and the guys.”

Xavi and Xavier exchanged a glance as they all cleaned up, then burst out laughing.

“Oh my God, that would be hilarious,” Xavi murmured. “I’ll call Mr. H today.”

“Cool.” He chortled. Mr. Halvorson had been the maintenance man at the Junction’s K-12 school for like, thirty years. He had an amazing hot springs pool that he’d built a littlebuilding over. It had benches and lawn chairs and was decorated in pink flamingoes.

It was so awesome. And Mr. H. would tell tall tales about all the families in town. And their kids. And their ghosts.

Colton and Abby came tumbling into the kitchen door just as they got downstairs.

“Woo! It is cold out there,” Colton said, stepping out of his boots.

“It iscoldout there,” Abby parroted, taking off her hat. “Daddy, we made snows mans.”

“Did you take pictures, my baby girl?” Sebastian asked, putting the kettle on, because he would make them some hot chocolate. Colton also needed his heat pack for his leg heated up in the microwave.

“Uh-huh. Papa Colton said he might fall over soon.”

“Oh, no! Well, we don’t want that.” He winked at Colton, who gave him a bright, happy grin. He would swear his husband looked five years younger than he had when he’d first arrived to scare up Sebastian’s ghosts.

He just seemed so solid. So real.

Sebastian had never loved him more. God, what was he going to feel like in a year? Or ten?

He might just explode by then.

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