Page 161 of Prodigal Son

Anna shoved Adam. “No, I don’t. I know exactly who I am, just as Destiny should know who she is. Look,” she faced Destiny. “I know this is totally overwhelming, and then they throw the whole Amish thing into the mix, but it’s really not that bad. You’re never tired. There’s no such thing as struggling to open a pickle jar. And the sex is…” She glanced at Cain. “Well, I’m sure you know. You just have to go into it with an open mind. Every day is a new adventure. Our males are not like other men. They’re overbearing and arrogant, but they don’t do anything halfway. I have no doubt that Cain will love you more than you ever imagined possible. Just remember two things.” She held up two fingers. “You choose to be here, and they absolutely can make a non-electric water heater out of copper coils and coal.”

“The secret’s out now, Adam.” Cain laughed at his brother’s dismay, finding Annalise’s brazen personality the perfect medicine for his tightly wound twin. “You’re one cold shower away from divorce according to how your wife tells it.”

“What about Jaden?” Gracie asked, not sharing their levity. “Grandmother and Grandfather have offered to take him, but Mother is reluctant to surrender him to their care.”

“We must respect family law, Gracie.” Adam patted her hand to offer comfort. “So long as Father cannot communicate, Mother’s word is final.”

Destiny’s brows lifted and Anna scoffed. “That’s another thing. Male chauvinism is alive and well on the farm, especially with the older immortals.”

Destiny frowned at Cain and he held up his hands in surrender. “I’m nothing like The Elders. Trust me. Half The Council despises me and the other half thinks I’m a progressive lost cause who should’ve been excommunicated years ago.”

“So you’re the Hans Ramoray.”

Annalise snorted into her drink. “Oh, my God, did you just quote Friends? Are you talking about Joey’s evil twin?”

“Yes!” Destiny laughed. “I guess Adam’s the Drake.”

“Oh, he’s a total Drake!”

As Annalise and Destiny laughed over some mortal joke he and his siblings could only observe as outsiders, he realized that Anna would be a great ally to Destiny. It was an unexpected turn of events that pleased him very much.

Glancing at his brother, Adam appeared equally mesmerized by the women. He sensed his stare and turned. Cain gave a slight nod, letting his brother know that they were going to be just fine. This outcome was better than any expectation either of them considered.

Adam pulled Annalise into his arms and covered her mouth as he kissed her cheek. “That’s enough out of you. It’s not nice to make fun of your husband. You’ll bruise my ego and give Destiny the wrong impression.”

They enjoyed a delicious supper and laughed a lot. Despite their worry for their parents, the night had been a joyous one. When the last dish was cleared and everyone said goodnight, he pulled Destiny close and nuzzled her throat.

They walked under a moonlit sky. The air was warm and the farm was quiet.

“It’s so beautiful here.”

He laced his fingers with hers. “You’re beautiful.”

She giggled. “Where are we sleeping?”

“Are you in a rush to sleep?”

“No.” She glanced at him. “But I’d like you to take me to bed, wherever that is.”

“I’m staying at Larissa’s until the house is finished. I hoped to have it done in the next few days, but I just learned I need to build a hot water heater.”

She laughed. “So we’re going to live at your parents’?”

Cain wasn’t sure if his parents would return to the house where they suffered so much. He supposed his father would find the most care with his parents and wife under one roof. And perhaps his mother wanted him to have this time to settle down. “Gracie enjoys living with Anna and Adam. And my mother is content to stay at my grandparents. I could build us a different home, but there is a perfectly good one available. I could have the water heater installed by next week. Would that suit your needs?”

She hugged him, her lips kissing up his throat until she bit his earlobe. “That suits my needs very much.”

His body hardened as his mouth found hers. She softened under his touch, always so malleable and yielding to his wants. As his need grew, his grip tightened.

She glanced up into his eyes and broke the kiss, her breath hitching. “Cain, look.”

He followed her stare to the stars and grinned. A meteor shower streaked the sky as comets rained overhead. “You did that.”

She looked at him in confusion. “Me?”

“It’s what you do to me. When we were apart, my sorrow was so inescapable it rained for months on end. But now that I have you, the sky is clear.”

She looked up as more falling stars streaked the sky. “It’s incredible.”

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