I’ve never been so happy to turn onto the road that takes us to our small town. A sense of homecoming fills me as we drive up the street past the veterinary clinic, then the service station with the towing company, Cairo’s machine shop, the grocery store, and then the shops that we rent out.
When the hotel comes into sight, I’m once again blown away by its beauty. I guess a brush with death makes you feel differently about everything. Blaze takes the road that leads to our privately owned homes at the rear of the hotel, and as we drive through the gate, I catch sight of all our family gathered in Bull and Noni’s garden waiting to welcome us.
As we’re pulled from the vehicle and surrounded and hugged like we’ve been gone for months, not a few days, it makes me realise how lucky we are that we have this when many don’t.
My heart is full. It’s good to be home.
CHAPTER 10
JOSIE
We’ve been back home a few days, and I’ve been busy as hell working alongside Chase to make sure our new residents are happy and all their paperwork is up to date. The Serval kitten we’d rescued is doing just fine. She is thriving and has taken over the clinic as her kingdom and is being spoilt rotten by everyone. The staff have named her Cleopatra but call her Cleo for short because they said she acts like she is the queen of the clinic. Despite being small, she certainly made an impact.
We’d still not told anyone that we’re having twins. I had a feeling even though neither of us had voiced it, we both shared a concern about what Bull’s reaction was going to be to the news. No matter how many times he was told what had happened to Gwen was a fluke, he worried every time one of us women fell pregnant. He was going to get an ulcer, especially if the other brothers found their women. That I am carrying twins and am married to his brother is another story. Intellectually, he knew what happened to Gwen wasn’t common, but I guess sometimes our brains and our feelings didn’t mesh. Either way, it was time. All we’d told everyone was that I was fine when we got back from the hospital. And I was. If anything, I’d never felt so good.
Skinny messaged me earlier today to let me know he arranged for us all to have supper at the hotel so that we could break the news. I’d been getting looks from all the women because I was already larger than I would be if I was carrying just one. It’sprobably better to let everyone know at once. Rip the band-aid off, so to speak.
I’m finishing the paperwork on the last client of the day, a Jack Russell that had decided to tackle a puff adder. He was feeling very sorry for himself, but he’d make a full recovery.
At the knock on my door, I look up to find my new vet, Chase, standing there.
“Hey boss, I’m done for the day. What about you?”
“Chase,” I greet him with a smile, ignoring the way he winces slightly at my greeting. It breaks my heart every time he does, but I understood his reasons. They had nothing to do with me. I continue, “I’m nearly finished here; just the last little bit of paperwork for that Jack Russell, then I’ll find Skinny. Are the night shift all set?”
“They are, and I’ve told them to call me, not you, if they need anything. You need your sleep more than I do.”
“Chase,” I chide gently, “I’m okay to be on call.”
He shrugs, leaning his back against my doorframe, and I’m struck with how good-looking he is, even with the pain of grief clinging to him. Chase is in his mid-fifties, with thick dark hair that he wears long enough to pull back. Not as a fashion statement, but more as a testament to the fact that he doesn’t care what people think of him. He has dark eyes, olive skin, and a permanent five o’clock shadow. When he first arrived, he was extremely thin and gaunt. Somehow, the guys convinced him to start working out with them, and it had incredible results. He looks much healthier now. And he’d packed on muscle in the last few months. His shoulders are filling out his shirts to the point of stressing the seams.
I love Skinny with my whole heart, but I could also see why so many of our female clients were gaga over Chase. Not that he noticed. I’m brought out of my contemplation by him telling me, “Maybe you are, but I don’t sleep much anyway, and I’d rather be busy.”
“Okay,” I agree, “but only if you’re sure. I don’t want you burning yourself out.”
He gives me a smile, his teeth flashing white, and for a minute, you can see the man he used to be. He taps the door frame and makes to leave, but not before telling me, “I won’t. Now finish up and go find your man.”
“I’m nearly done,” I assure him as I sign the last form and stand up from my desk and walk towards him. “See,” I say, stopping next to him with a smile, “all done. Will we see you at supper?”
He pauses before nodding and walking toward the clinic entrance. I stand there watching him fade from view with a sigh. Familiar arms wrap themselves around me, and I relax back into Skinny, tilting my head as he leans his chin on my shoulder.
“What’s got you sighing, baby?” he wants to know.
“Chase.”
“Ah,” Skinny answers, kissing my neck. I don’t have to say anything else. He’ll know why I’m worried. I hate that he’s still so lost.
“He’ll be okay, sweets. Maybe not today or even tomorrow, but eventually he’ll be okay. We can already see the difference in him since he arrived four months ago, and I’m not talking about how the man has bulked up either. We reckon he must be hitting the gym more than the session we do.”
“Probably,” I agree, turning in his arms and wrapping mine around his waist, laying my head on his chest to listen to hisheartbeat. It was a comfort thing and something I’d always done. Wanting to break the seriousness of the moment, I ask, “Are you ready to tell the family that we’re having twins? And are you prepared for Bull’s freak-out?”
Skinny grips the hair at the base of my neck and tilts my head up so that he can see my face. “I am,” he answers with a smile before bending and taking my lips, kissing me long, hard, and deep.‘God, I love kissing this man.’
It takes nothing to turn me on these days. Skinny just has to look at me in a certain way and I’m climbing the man like a tree. It was almost like I was making up for lost time from when I’d had morning sickness and we hadn’t had much sex. A whimpering moan leaves me as I grind down on the leg he’s inserted between mine. His big hands run down my sides and to my hips, which he grips tight and tugs me against him.
I sigh a gasping breath as I ride his muscular leg. “That’s right, baby,” he whispers as he drags his mouth from mine to kiss up the side of my neck to my ear. Sucking the lobe into his mouth, he raspily grinds out as I rock my hips faster. “You’re going to come now, Josie, all over my leg.”
A gasp of air leaves me as my orgasm rocks through me at his order, and I cry out his name before I sag against him. His hard cock presses up against my belly, making me groan and reach for him. Skinny grips my wrist before I can touch him. I growl in frustration and glare up at him, making him chuckle. “I’ll keep, Tiger. You can have your way with me tonight.”
