Page 28 of Dragon Stepbrother's Secret Baby

We both sat up and started getting dressed. She sniffed and I kissed her hair again, but this was the way it was going to be from now on.

I went into the bathroom, splashed water on my face, and ran it through my hair. When I came out, I spotted her standing by the window watching the sun go down over the Badlands.

The sunset cast the landscape in colored hues of purple, pink, and even green. I knew that look. I’d stood at this window looking out at the mountains and canyons changing colors as the stars came out. I’d spent years looking out at that view and thinking of all the things that might have been.

I walked up behind her and put my arms around her. I never once let myself dream that I would be holding her like this—here.

She felt so right resting her weight against me. I could hold her up and support her. I could definitely do that. I could give her all the safety and protection she needed—right here in my arms and heart and in my room.

I rocked her back and forth….but a second later, children’s voices echoed down the hall outside. The kids never came up here…..and then the door burst open.

Connor and Wilcox ran in. Wilcox froze on the threshold when he saw me turning around to look at him. His face drained of all color and he gulped. The kids were all under strict instructions not to intrude on my private space. Forget about actually setting foot in my apartment.

Connor didn’t notice anything. He didn’t know yet that I was in charge of the whole Clan.

He ran over to Riley, grabbed her hand, and tried to tow her toward the door. “Come on, Mommy! Everyone is having dinner downstairs and Wilcox says we’re staying up here with Kingston now and Wilcox says I have my own room and everything! There are so many kids here, Mommy! There are even big kids who know how to drive! Did you know that? I’m going to learn how to drive and there’s a courtyard where we can play outside and everything! Come on, Mommy! We have to go downstairs for dinner.”

Riley glanced up at me and then at Wilcox. “Uh….okay, sweetie. I’m coming….and yes, I knew we were staying up here with Kingston…..”

He didn’t listen to a word she said. He just kept bombarding her with everything he’d learned so far.

Wilcox remained rooted to the spot and gaped at me in horror like I might bust him for bringing Connor here.

He must have brought Connor here to show him where he would be staying. Wilcox must have gotten swept up in Connor’s excitement and barged in without thinking first. I could understand that and I would never bust Wilcox for trying to help Connor. No way.

Wilcox retreated as Riley, Connor, and I got closer. Then Wilcox gave me one terrified backward glance and ran off.

Connor tugged Riley’s arm again. “Everyone’s meeting downstairs. Wilcox says we have to come at the same time as everyone else or we’ll miss out. Come on!”

He took off running down the stairs following Wilcox and Connor vanished around the corner. “What does he mean—we’ll miss out?” Riley asked me.

“It doesn’t mean anything. That’s just our way of getting the kids to come eat dinner with the rest of the Clan. They would run around playing twenty-four/seven if they could. This way, they actually sit down, talk to their families, and get some food into their stomachs before they run off again.”

She cocked her head and peered at me. “Do they run around playingallday?”

I laughed. I couldn’t contain all this happiness. We were parents—me and her. She was my son’s mother and now we were together as a family. I couldn’t believe my luck. All my dreams were coming true with her.

“They homeschool during the day. After that, they play, and since they’re perfectly safe here, they can run around wherever they want. They have the run of the whole complex.”

“How big is this place?” We reached the top of the stairs and she looked down on the central hall with all its separate spaces and areas.

“It’s fifty levels and about a mile square. It’s really more like a small town.”

Her jaw dropped and her eyes glazed over. “Really? That big?”

I took her hand. “You’ll find your way around. There’s no shortage of places Connor can go exploring, but don’t worry. He can’t get lost and the other kids will show him where to go.”

I led her downstairs and through the hall, but she wouldn’t stop staring at everything. That was okay. It would take her a lot longer to settle in here than it would take Connor.

I turned off into the dining room and she stopped dead in her tracks. Half the Clan was already sitting down at the long table. The rest milled around talking and laughing.

The kids mobbed the table and barely sat down in their chairs before they started stuffing their faces. Wilcox and a few other boys kept yelling into Connor’s ears telling him everything a million miles a minute, but he spent just as much time talking back to them. It sure looked like he’d made himself a few friends.

I squeezed Riley’s hand, but she didn’t respond. She gaped at the long table with my mother, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and all my relatives sitting together and talking about everything. Riley didn’t dare to step into the room.

“Come on,” I murmured in her ear. “You can sit next to me. No one will bother you.”

She looked up at me with sheer terror radiating out of her eyes. She gulped, but she couldn’t say a word.

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