Colters' Promise (Colters' Legacy #4)(21)

“I’ll walk you down,” Lauren said, rising from her own chair.

Holly gave her a delighted smile. Max and Callie would be thrilled that Lauren ventured down. It was a step. Lauren wouldn’t be taking on the world in the next day, but she’d get there on her own. The Colters would simply close ranks around her and help her get back on her feet again.

CHAPTER 10

LILY waited anxiously for her husbands to get home. They’d been banished to the dads so Holly could come over for her cooking lesson. For the first time, Lily had been impatient for her mother-in-law to leave. Lily was focused on having her men return so that she could make things right.

She thought back over her plan for the hundredth time, reciting the words she’d committed to memory but also knowing that the moment her husbands were there in front of her, she’d forget everything and have to wing it.

The important thing was that she would give them a memory to replace the one of her freaking out and scaring them to death. She’d give them something to look back on when their own children were grown. A happy time, a time to be excited and look to the future.

It had been a wake-up call for her when she’d realized just how much she lived in the now. Not that it was a bad thing. No one wanted to wish their life away, always looking forward and never enjoying the here and now.

But she’d made it a practice to never look beyond the next day. It was almost as if she were afraid to hope for any kind of a future. Or maybe she was just afraid she wouldn’t have one.

Finding out she was pregnant had altered her perception. It had altered her focus. No longer was today the only thing she concentrated on. Now she looked to the future, imagining how their lives would change when they welcomed a son or daughter into their family.

It was … nice.

Scary. Heart-stopping. Nerve-racking. But so very nice.

Her pulse leaped when she heard the truck in the drive. She smoothed her hands down her jeans, wiping her palms before she started toward the door to greet them.

She was there to open the door before they reached the porch. She tried to smile but she was so nervous that she wasn’t sure she pulled it off convincingly.

Michael reached her first, and before he could say anything, she launched herself into his arms and gave him a scorching kiss to curl his toes.

When she pulled away, his eyes were half-lidded and dazed. She smiled and pushed him into the living room.

Seth and Dillon stood in the doorway, observing her cautiously. Not wanting to leave them out in the least, she went into Seth’s arms and kissed him with every bit as much heat as she’d kissed Michael.

Man, she loved the way he smelled. Loved the way he felt. He was still wearing his uniform, and he hadn’t yet taken off his holster with his gun.

All in good time.

She felt a little smug when he was reluctant to let her go, but she pointed him toward Michael and then went into Dillon’s arms.

She tried to take control much as she’d done with Michael and Seth—though interestingly enough, Michael was the more dominant force, especially when it came to sex—but Dillon was having none of that.

He met her hungrily, taking over and ravaging her mouth. For several long, breathless seconds, he tasted her, explored her lips, and nibbled teasingly at their fullness.

“How are you feeling?” he whispered.

She put a finger over his lips and then turned to the others.

“I have something important I want to tell you.”

Seth lifted an eyebrow, then glanced at Michael, then to Dillon, and finally back to her. “Okay.”

She gestured everyone toward the couch. “Sit.”

As soon as they were all seated, she moved forward, no longer nervous or edgy. Peace settled over her. Her mind was quiet and no longer contained the painful memories of the past. It was filled instead with images of the future. Of her husbands and a tiny newborn baby. And then an older child, a girl or a boy. And of her husbands doting on him or her, and other children. Their family.

Her heart felt near to bursting. For so long she’d been ruled by the past. She’d hurt for so long that she’d nearly forgotten how to experience joy. Now it flooded her. Seeped into every part of her heart and soul.

She went to her knees between Dillon’s legs and reached with both hands to pull Seth’s and Michael’s hands so that she held them against her heart.

“Guess what? I’m having your baby,” she said, her smile so big that she could barely get the words out.

Seth’s eyes went soft. With love. So much love. And understanding as well. Michael smiled and squeezed her hand. Dillon reached out and cupped her cheek, his expression so fierce, and yet tears glittered harshly in his eyes.

“Isn’t that wonderful?” she asked.

And suddenly she was pulled onto Dillon’s lap. Michael cradled her from behind and Seth pulled her feet onto his lap. They surrounded her, their love warming her to her very core.

“It’s the most wonderful gift anyone’s ever given me,” Dillon choked out.

Seth’s hand caressed a line up her leg to rest on her knee and he squeezed, his smile so big that his face nearly split.

Michael nuzzled her neck and then whispered low in her ear. “Are you happy, Lily? I know you’re scared, baby, but are you happy?”

She turned, leaning into his chest. “I’m terrified, but I’ve never been happier than at this moment.”