Page 57 of No Limits

“All right, well, let’s go back and see what we can figure out.”

When I push through the door into the backroom, it’s alarmingly quiet. There should be two kids back here and at least one adult, albeit one young-adult.

“Jenna? Lochlyn?” Nothing in return. Hm. Curious.

“Well, let’s go see who we can find?” Our office sits furthest from the floor. It’s where we set up for the kids when they’re little or need to sleep if we’re here late or one of the little ones needs to nap.

As we walk back toward the room, Jackson grabs at my shirt and tries to eat my hair. Four kids later, I’m just happy to be wearing a shirt not covered in food or spit up.

The second I open the door of the office, my hand cups my mouth and all the breath leaves my body. Tears instantly spring to my eyes.

“Lochlyn. What did you do?” He’s standing behind a small, round candle-lit table. Leo wears a proud smile next to him while Lorelei rests comfortably against his shoulder, thumb tucked into her mouth.

Seeing him become a dad has been nothing short of amazing. I never doubted he'd be incredible at it. But even still, my heart swells every time I see him with even just one of our kids. And being outnumbered, it’s usually at least two.

“I thought we could have a nice dinner.” The hand not holding our daughter spans the table.

“How? We have four children.” The logical part of me says there’s no way. We barely get toeatdinner some nights until after the kids go to bed. And while Jenna is amazing, we can’t leave all four with her at once, not yet.

“That’s where Auntie Chelsea comes in!” I spin around to my best friend’s voice.

“What? No, Chelsea.”

“Yes. And all four of your little loves are staying for the night.” She scoops Jackson from my arms and tickles his belly, causing him to burst into baby giggles.

“Chelsea, I can't let you do that. That’ssevenkids!”

“Oh, Wes and I got this. Besides, we have big sis/big cous Ophelia to help us out.” She’d never admit it, but I think Ophelia is her favorite. Probably because she was the firstborn.

“And me!” Leo shouts, and he runs toward Chelsea.

“And of course, Master Leo.” Seeing Chelsea with my kids is almost as good as seeing her with her own.

Resting my hand on her arm, I catch her attention as I run my hand over my youngest’s head. “Are you sure, Chels? It’s a lot.”

“Of course I am, Shay. Your kids are angels. Maybe they can teach mine some manners.”

Lochlyn rests his hand on my lower back. I hadn't even noticed he'd walked over. “Thanks, Chels. We really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem at all. Seriously. We love you guys, we love your awesome kids. Don't even come get them tomorrow. We’ll bring them home when they’re ready.”

“Okay. Call me if there’s a problem. Or if somebody misses mommy.” What if they all miss me?

“They will be fine, Shay.” Chelsea’s voice is reassuring, but my heart just can't part with my babies. I've only ever been away from them when I've been at the hospital having another.

“Oh, but wait! Jackson’s still nursing. He’ll need milk.” Surely at least my baby can stay behind. I can probably get him to sleep so we can have a date.

“I packed everything, my love. I got some bottles put together for Jax. He’ll be fine.” Lochlyn nods with a resolute firmness to his mouth when I look up at him. He knows I’m nervous about them being gone.

I turn toward him as my sweet oldest child takes her sister from his arms, seeming to know our need for closeness. Resting my hands on his chest, I look up into the blue eyes that still take my breath away. “You really did all of this? Planned it all out?”

“Of course I did. We’re so busy with the store and the kids, we barely get a chance to be us anymore. I knew you'd back out if you had notice, so I surprised you. Planned it with Chels and Wes, got everything packed up for all the kids. The seats are already in Chelsea’s car. Everything’s set to go.” Wow, he really did put a lot of thought into this.

“I love you.”

“And I love you.”

Pulling away, I bend down and open my arms, holding three kids and giving them each a kiss. “Behave yourselves for Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Weston. I love you.” Standing, I give Jackson one last kiss on his soft, light, downy hair and wrap my arm around Chelsea’s shoulders. “Thank you.”

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