“I appreciate you swooping in like this,” Cormack said. “I planned on taking care of it myself but ... well ... we’re trying to keep things quiet. Usually I would call the home office on this but I thought it best to leave them out of things this go-round.”
“And why is that?” James folded his arms across his chest.
“Because we’re not certain who in my office has a hand in this entire mess,” Cormack admitted ruefully, shifting his arms to accept Lily from a passing Aisling. The Grimlock daughter looked exhausted, although she headed for the parlor rather than to bed. “Everything is up in the air right now. We’re not sure about anything.”
“I understand.” James looked grave. “I’m happy to help. It shouldn’t take us too long to clean this place up.” He cocked his head and regarded Lily. “And who is this?”
“My granddaughter,” Cormack replied, rubbing the infant’s back. “She’s a little younger than your granddaughter, but they’re both spitfires.”
“Clearly.” James instinctively reached out and touched Lily’s soft hair. “Remember when Sami was this little?”
“Oh, geez.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “I think you guys have convenient holes in your memory for that time. Sami was a complete and total tyrant who ruled us with a tiny iron fist. We were all sleep-deprived and could never figure out what day of the week it was.”
“Yes, but she was so cute and cuddly.” James let loose a sigh. “What was I saying again?”
Zoe pinned him with a pointed look. “I’m going to tell you exactly what I told your son. Don’t get attached to that baby. We’ve only got four years of parenting left and then we can go back to being selfish jerks. That’s the life I’m looking forward to.”
Aric snorted. “Baby, I hate to break it to you, but you never stop being a parent. We might be able to spend entire days in bed without getting up but we’re still always going to have Sami to worry about.”
“Please.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “She’s going to cut us out of the decision-making at eighteen, just like I did to my parents. She’s going to find a mountain of trouble and then try to solve it herself. She’ll only call us in when things get really out of hand. I’m looking forward to those days.”
Aric frowned. “I don’t like that idea. I think you should cast a spell to keep her this age forever.”
Zoe made an exaggerated snorting sound. “That sounds absolutely hellish. I think I’m going to pass.” She turned her attention to James. “Why don’t you come into the parlor with us and have a drink and we’ll fill you in while your men are cleaning up? There’s a few things you should know before you go.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” James darted his eyes to Lily as Cormack fell into step with him as we crossed the foyer. “Can I hold her and pretend Sami is that little again?”
Cormack nodded. “There’s nothing better than a sleeping baby.”
“Except me,” Sami called out as we passed. “I’m way better.”
Cormack winked at her. “You definitely have your moments.”
I WAS DRAGGED INTO THE DREAM ON the other side of the gate again when I finally managed to pass out. I should’ve expected it — my defenses were down thanks to fatigue, after all — and I immediately found myself arguing with a petulant Emmet again. I couldn’t get away from him fast enough, and plunged into the woods surrounding the stark dream landscape.
There was nothing there. There were no answers, only more questions.
I felt restless when I woke, my eyes immediately going to Braden’s sleeping form. He snored lightly next to me, his arm draped around my waist, and he looked criminally attractive with his morning stubble and soft smile.
As if sensing me staring at him, he shifted slightly and wrenched open one eye. “Good morning.”
I grinned at him. “Good morning to you.”
“How did you sleep?”
It was an expected question, although I wasn’t certain how to answer. “I dreamed of Emmet again.”
His fingers moved to my forehead so he could brush my hair back. “Was it the same dream?”
“Kind of. It was a little different. I ran into the woods to get away from him.”
“Was he trying to hurt you?”
“No, he just wouldn’t shut up.”
Braden smirked. “That’s how we were as kids. We used to hate when they visited — luckily, that didn’t happen very often — and we would hide in the back gardens to keep away from them when they did bother to come. Sometimes we would hide in the basement, too, although Aisling whined when we did that because she was afraid of the fake snakes.”
“That was actually a torturous thing to do,” I acknowledged as I snuggled closer to him, resting my cheek against his chest. “She’s still traumatized by the idea of snakes in the basement. Have you ever watched her when we go down there? She tiptoes and uses a flashlight to check every corner. She hates it down there.”
“That’s good. We didn’t want her down there. That was the only place we could get any respite where she was concerned.”
“She just didn’t want to be left out. As the only girl, I’m sure that was a real fear for her.”
“I’m sure it was, too.” Braden was matter-of-fact but a touch of smugness lurked at the corners of his eyes. “I know you look at Aisling and see this wonderful wife and mother who can do no wrong, but there were times she was a horrible sister. She was a total tattletale and got us in trouble all the time.”
“First off, I’m not blind to Aisling’s issues,” I argued. “I get that she was a pain in the butt. That’s a little sister’s job. She couldn’t help herself. Still, she had to feel like an outsider at times because she was the only girl.”
“Dad spoiled her rotten so she made up for it in other ways.”
“Geez. You guys are rough.” I
