Page 9 of Indecent Ventures

Aunt Darian squeals in excitement. Reagan just shakes her head. “You are one fertile woman, Skylar. At least you know birth control was a worthwhile investment for all those years.”

Reagan looks up at Carter and he winks at her. She turns back to us and jokes, “Well, thanks for stealing our thunder, Sky.”

Darian’s head jerks toward Reagan. “Are you…”

Reagan and Carter both smile. “We are.”

Darian’s squeals get even louder as she runs to hug Reagan.

“Why are we screaming?” I see Dad and Melissa walk out to the pool area. Dad is in a bathing suit and T-shirt. Admittedly, he has the looks and physique of a man fifteen years his junior. Melissa, as always, is the epitome of class, in a designer bathing suit and cover-up. She’s a tall, highly attractive, blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman. She looks more like she could be my mother than my actual mother, who’s a petite brunette.

I answer, “Skylar and Reagan both have buns in the oven.”

Both of their eyes light up. Dad lets out a laugh. “Darian, you’re going to have to buy a bigger dining room table…again.”

Darian giggles. “It’s my greatest pleasure.” It’s a running joke in the family. Darian is on her fourth dining room table since marrying Jackson and moving in here over seven years ago, as the family keeps growing.

Jackson looks between Carter and Lance. “Will it impact our fishing trip this spring?”

Jackson has been planning a big fishing trip off the coast of the Carolinas for months with his three sons and his three sons-in-law. He’s incredibly excited about it.

Carter and Lance look at each other and shrug. Lance answers first. “I think Skylar will be just about eight months then. None of the other kids went early. I should be okay, but obviously, if she’s having problems, I won’t be able to go.”

Jackson nods and turns to Carter; worry is written all over his face. Reagan rubs his arm. “I’ll be fine. You should go.”

“Babe, you’ll be thirty-eight weeks. I can’t leave you.”

“I’ll stay with my mom.” She turns to Jackson. “Can you have a chopper on standby just in case to ease his mind?”

He nods. “Of course.”

She turns back to Carter. “We’re good. I want you to go.”

He sighs. “We’ll see. We’ll discuss it as it gets closer.”

Jackson opens the outdoor refrigerator and grabs a few bottles of champagne. I don’t know how many glasses he pours, but it’s a lot. Everyone except Reagan and Skylar toast to the growing family. It’s crazy that they’re due only a few weeks apart.

I ask Reagan, “Which room in the Daulton mansion will be the nursery?”

They have the biggest house I’ve ever seen in my life. They built it a few years ago. It’s got things in there that I didn’t know houses could ever have. They must have spent a small fortune.

Reagan answers, “The one at the far end that overlooks the pool area. We realized it needs a little bump out, so we’ll ask Collin to do what we’re envisioning. He’s the best and obviously knows our house well.”

My heart races at the mention of Collin’s name. We met at Reagan’s birthday party four years ago. He took me into a closet and gave me the best sex of my life. Nothing since has remotely come close. But he won’t come near me or look at me. I have no idea why. He disappeared right after we had sex that night. He had asked me to come back to his place, but then he just left without a single word.

We’ve only seen each other a small handful of times at Carter and Reagan’s major events, but he doesn’t ever acknowledge my presence. What a dick. A sexy dick, but a dick, nonetheless.

We have a fun afternoon and evening. Jackson removes his hands from Aunt Darian’s body long enough to grill steaks for us. He’s always all over her. It’s a running joke in the family. It doesn’t bother Jackson or Aunt Darian, and it certainly doesn’t deter him.

Just before we sit, Cassandra’s sister, Beth, and her seven-year-old son, Luke, walk out back to join us. Beth is much younger than Cassandra. She’s probably about thirty-five, though she looks like Cassandra with dark hair and exceedingly light blue eyes. They’re both beautiful.

Beth tells us that Luke got into trouble at school for starting a massage train. I nearly spit my drink from my nose.

“Did you saymassage train?”

She nods. “Yes, why?”

“Do you know what it is?”

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