Page 66 of Queen of Diamonds
Epilogue
Nate Gentry leanedagainst the entrance to his living room and smiled at seeing his brothers and Rand try to keep the children’s attention off the pile of presents under the Christmas tree. At the moment Annie was attempting to sneak past Alex, her eyes glittering as bright as the shiny foil wrapping paper and sparkly bows.
“Oh no you don’t, Annie girl,” Alex said, snaking an arm around her little waist and then holding her up in the air, causing her to giggle.
Michael bounced on his feet as he lifted his arms up, wanting his daddy to hold him in the air, too. Max, Court and Lauren’s son, was amusing himself by gumming his cousin Michael’s toy fire truck.
“Where’s Hemingway? Here, kitty, kitty,” Oscar, Kinsey’s bird, sang. Nate glanced over at the macaw that never seemed to stop talking. He was hopping around on top of his cage, stopping every few seconds to peer down at their cat. Hemingway sat on the arm of the sofa, his gaze fixated on Oscar. Hemingway meowed back at the bird. Oscar hopped down next to the cat, who immediately began to lick the bird, giving him a bath.
“Crazy animals,” he muttered.
He looked down at the baby sleeping in his arms. He and Taylor had begun the process to adopt Elena. At three months she’d been left on the steps of the police station. Apparently being deaf made her unwanted. Taylor was learning sign language and teaching the rest of them so they’d all be able to communicate with her. He was impressed with how quickly the children were catching on to signing.
Elena opened her eyes and grinned at him, and Nate’s heart melted as it did each time she favored him with a smile. She was such a happy baby, and he’d never understand how her mother could have abandoned her.
Although they’d agreed that six was their limit, he hadn’t been able to say no to Taylor when she came home one day with Elena. She swore Elena was the last one. Nate hoped so, but he didn’t quite believe her. If he didn’t keep an eye on his wife, they’d run out of room and be house shopping again.
“Dude,” Alex said, his back on the floor and children climbing on him. “You just going to stand there making goo-goo eyes at your daughter while these little monsters gang up on us?”
“Duuude,” Michael yelled.
Nate laughed.Dudehad been Michael’s first word and remained his favorite one.
“Stop eating the fire truck, little man,” Court said, picking up his son and then moving from the floor to the sofa. “The kid eats everything.” He pulled a pacifier out of his shirt pocket and stuck it in Max’s mouth.
The scene—him holding his seventh child, Alex covered up by a mob of giggling kids, Court carrying a pacifier around in his pocket—was so far from anything he’d ever thought possible that he wondered if it was real. Maybe he was having some kind of bizarre dream.
And then there was the sister they’d never known about. What a surprise that had been, but a good one. Kinsey was an amazing woman, and he and his brothers had gotten to know their mother again through her stories.
After some trial and error of trying to play protective big brothers and mostly getting it wrong, he and his brothers were learning to pick their battles where she was concerned. And he had to admit that if he’d been given the choice of picking her husband, it would have been Rand. But he didn’t regret the hard time they’d given the man, even if Kinsey hadn’t quite forgiven them for that. How else were they supposed to know for sure that Rand loved her and wouldn’t hurt her? Rand got it and didn’t hold it against them.
They’d add another member to the family in about two months when Rand and Kinsey’s little boy was born. Nate thought it was probably good that their first child would be a boy, that it would be easier for Rand.
Rand grabbed Annie as she headed for the tree again. “This little girl has a one-track mind.” He tickled her stomach, making her giggle.
The only one missing was Rosie. She’d recently announced that it was her turn to have some fun. The surprise, and it had been a big one, was that her new boyfriend was Spider. They’d hired him to do some work around the house, not abscond with their nanny, but the two were so ridiculously cute together that it was hard to be mad at Spider. And the children loved him, which wasn’t surprising as he was as much a kid as they were. He and Rosie had decided to spend Christmas on a motorcycle trip to Key West. Nate shuddered at thinking of the two of them loose in the Keys.
“We’re ready to feed the kids,” Taylor said, coming to stand next to him.
Nate slipped an arm around her shoulders. “I was standing here thinking that if you’d told me a few years ago I’d have seven daughters, my brothers would marry and have kids, and that I’d find a long-lost sister, I would have laughed in your face.”
“It’s the seven daughters you’re having trouble believing, isn’t it?” She smiled up at him, laughter dancing in her beautiful blue eyes.
He glanced down at the baby cradled in his other arm. “Yeah.” He met his wife’s gaze. “I still don’t know if I deserve it, but I’m blessed.”
“If anyone deserves to be blessed, Nate, it’s you.” She lifted onto her toes and kissed him. “Love you, babe. Gather up the kids and let’s get them fed and to bed. Us ladies are wanting that romantic evening you guys promised us.”
“Alex, you set the table,” Rand said. “Court, you can start grating the cheese for the scalloped potatoes. Nate, you’re in charge of peeling the potatoes.” He handed Nate a recipe that included a picture. “Slice them like this.”
The deal they’d made with their wives was that if the girls got the kids fed and to bed, the guys would cook Christmas Eve dinner. They’d drawn straws, and Rand had picked the short one, making him head chef and meal planner.
It was quiet now compared to earlier in the evening, and Nate missed the children’s noisy laughter. Who would have thought it?
Their wives had taken themselves off to the living room with two bottles of wine. “I can hear them giggling,” Nate said.
“They’re probably laughing at how they conned us into cooking for them. What happened to the badass men we used to be?” Alex cheerfully said as he walked by with plates in his hands.
Court snorted. “Speak for yourself, baby brother. I’m still badass.”
