~ ~ Beth ~ ~

Sixteen years later...

I dropped the last piece of clothing from the line into my basket. "The kids will be home soon Nickel? You waitin' out here?" I asked our old Labrador. He wagged his tail enthusiastically, thumping the grass as he looked over yonder when I mentioned the kids.

"Go wait by the gate, boy." I flicked my chin up and off he went at his easy pace. Chris was picking up the kids after finishing work; it was already three in the afternoon.

Nickel wasn't our only pet.  We had chickens, ducks, a few rabbits, and anything else the kids brought home... including three cats who thought we were their pets. 

Picking up my linen basket I made my way inside the house. I would sort the laundry upstairs.

Humming a tune from the radio earlier, I first went to Nix's room. Once I'd put all this away I could get started on dinner.

As I opened my son's bedroom door, the last thing I expected was to see Nix, shirtless, with...

Oh. My. God.

Delilah Reilly.

Logan, Jackson and Maddy's eldest daughter.

My eyes almost bugged out of my head. She was pinned underneath him.

Holy-hell.

Thankfully she was fully clothed.

"Oh, my lord!" I gasped, almost dropping the laundry. The sound of my voice made both of them jump, their faces turning crimson.

"Ma!" Nix scrambled to sit up, his face a mix of anger and embarrassment. "What are you doing just walking in like that?"

I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. "What am I doing?" I was spitting feathers. "What the heck are you doing? You're supposed to be in college!"  My eyes shifted to Delilah.  "And why aren't you in school?"

Neither of them answered, looking anywhere but at me. I huffed, feeling my face flush with a mixture of shock and anger. "Do your parents know you're here?" I asked her and her face went a shade of red I'd not seen in a while.

"You need to get home. Right now!" I shook my head in disappointment at my son expecting him to back-chat me, which he normally did.

Good.

Not a word.

And without another word from me, I turned on my heel and marched downstairs, my heart pounding.

I was sitting at the kitchen table when they walked in. "I'm gonna take Lilah home," said Nix.

I kept my face blank and my back ramrod straight. "Good."

Delilah looked awkward fiddling with the hem of her cardigan. "I'm sorry, Mrs Chambers..." She swallowed. "I haven't done this before... skip school."

"Don't be long, Nix," I warned as he grabbed the keys to his truck.

"Okay," he muttered heading out the door with Delilah hot on his tail.

It was time me and Chris talked with him.

I tried to keep busy watching the clock, waiting for Chris to come home. He still worked at Mercy but he was in a teaching role now, which meant his hours were fixed and he could spend more time with us.

Finally, I heard Nickel barking. And a few minutes later he walked through the door. He had Tyler, our nine-year-old son clinging to his back like a little cowboy riding a bronco and his twin sister, Lilly, bouncing alongside him, giggling and babbling a mile a minute.

Our eldest daughter, Lucy, trailed behind with her head glued to her phone, barely acknowledging the chaos goin' on. And lastly, our twelve-year-old daughter, Violet, whose head was often buried in a book... like it was now.

Yeah, I got my dream of that big family I always wanted.

"Hey, Mama!" Tyler and Lilly shouted in unison as Chris set Tyler down. They bounced over to me, dropping their school bags and giving me big hugs. I wrapped my arms around them, feeling my stress melt away a bit.

"Hey, my sweet peas," I said, planting kisses on their heads. "Y'all have a good day?"

"Yeah," they answered in unison.

"Good, well, put your things away and I've got some snacks on the counter for y'all. Remember, the healthy ones, not the cookies."

"Yes, mama," they chorused, their faces lighting up with excitement as they did as I asked before scrambling over to the counter.

Chris made his way over, setting his keys down and giving me a quick kiss. "What's up?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

He could read me like a book knowing when the slightest thing was off.

"Give me a minute..." I didn't want this talk in front of our other children.

The twins grabbed their snacks and headed off, still chattering and giggling. I turned to Lucy and asked, "How was your day?"

Lucy, our nearly sixteen-year-old, was the epitome of teenage moodiness. She had perfected the art of the eye roll and could communicate entire sentences with a single, exasperated sigh. Conversations were often avoided or met with monosyllabic replies, and her favourite pastime seemed to be retreating to her room, headphones on, shutting out the world and her phone was practically an extension of her hand. "Suppose, it was okay," she said.

That was about as much as I would get.

Violet lifted her eyes from her book and came over and hugged me. Being twelve she hadn't hit those moody teenage years just quite yet and still loved to be hugged. "And how was your day, sweetheart?"

"Good. I got an A on my paper."

I pulled back and cupped her cheeks. "I knew you would. I'm so proud of you." Pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Remember I said we'd get those shoes if you pulled an A." I loved how wide her smile got.

"Can we go this Saturday, Ma?"

"Sure can."

A few minutes later it was me and Chris alone in the kitchen. "Chris," I started.

"Before that," he settled his hands on my hips and his mouth covered mine and sweetly kissed me. "That's better, now what do you have to tell me?"

"We need to have a word with our son," I said without wasting any time.

He sighed, looking a little tired from work but also a little amused. "What's happened now?"

Lilly came rushing in, giggling, and jumped in before I could answer. "Daddy, Daddy! Tyler tried to lasso the cat again, and now Whiskers is hiding under my bed!"

Tyler right behind her just grinned mischievously. "I was just practising my rodeo skills!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Rodeo skills or not, that cat's gonna pack her bags and move out if you keep this up."

Violet followed them in, adding dryly, "Pretty sure Whiskers is plotting her escape as we speak."

Chris shook his head, still smiling, "Take up some treats and quit bothering her."

Lilly was quick to grab the cat treats out of the pantry. "Got them." She waved the bag around.

"She likes it when I play with her," Tyler replied, in a sweet tone that suggested it was anything but.

Chris winked at me, "C'mon, show me where the cats hiding." He followed the twins. Even amid the madness, he had a way of making everything feel alright. "I'll be right back and then we can talk."

I waited for him to come back down and handed him a cup of coffee. "Thanks, baby." He blew over the top and took a sip. "You were saying..."

"We've got to talk to Nix, and when I say talk, I mean you need to put on your dad hat, not your 'let's be friends' hat," Now for the problem. "He skipped college and I found him in his bedroom with Delilah Reilly."

His brows rose. "What were they doing—or do I not want to know?"

"They were making out."

This apparently amused him as he asked. "What base are we talking here?"

My hands planted themselves on my hips. "It's not funny Chris. She's sixteen!!"

"I know." His smirk fell away.

"Thankfully, only Nix was partially undressed. Delilah was fully clothed."

"That's okay then."

He wasn't getting it.

"Okay?" My eyes went round. "No, it's not okay, Chris. He's supposed to be in college and she skipped school! And when her dads hear 'bout this, they're gonna blow their tops... Maddy too." I warned.

Chris put down his cup and held up his hands. "Okay. Okay. We'll talk to him." He tried to lighten the mood. "You want good cop, or bad cop, huh?"

I didn't find it funny, but I couldn't help the small smile that slipped out. "Something like that."

Before we could talk through what we wanted to say, Nix walked through the door, his eyes shifting between me and his Dad and his posture stiffened, readying himself for turbulence ahead no doubt.

Nix was the spitting image of Chris, with those chocolate eyes and dark brown hair that was perpetually tousled, giving it an effortlessly cool look, but despite his good looks he often wore a brooding expression, a testament to his creative soul I often said. He was also moody and prone to bouts of introspection and intense focus, which for someone so young was baffling to me.

Finding Deliah here today was a surprise as he spent all this time with Gracie and Jake, Connor and Max's son. All three of them played instruments and talked 'bout starting their own band. Gracie had the most beautiful singing voice. I would often find Nix strumming his guitar whilst Gracie scribbled lyrics in her worn notebook. The three of them said they would carve out their own path in the world of music—and I believed they would.

"Sit down Nix," Chris said, his tone serious.

Nix pulled out a chair and sat folding his arms across his chest.

I took a deep breath. "Nix, you remember Delilah has two dads, right? They won't take kindly to her skipping school."  They sure as hell wouldn't like knowing their daughter was making out with my son on his bed! 

He rolled his eyes, the typical teenage defiance surfacing. "Ma, it's not a big deal. We were just hanging out."

"It is a big deal," Chris chimed in, his voice firm. "Delilah is sixteen. Schools important and you should know better."

Nix shrugged. "Why? She ain't interested in going to college. All she wants is to ride her horses."

"Still. That's not the point. You're nineteen. You have priorities too and you need to take responsibility for your actions. You're an adult now."

"Sure, whatever," Nix muttered, trying to brush us off.

"Don't 'whatever' us, Nix," I said, my voice every bit as firm as Chris's. It was important at times like this we remained a united front. "How long has this been going on?"

He shrugged. "Since she turned sixteen."

Three months.

"Please tell me you haven't..." I didn't want to ask if they were having sex.

His cheeks burst into flames as his arms dropped and he shifted uncomfortably. "I can't believe you're askin' me that... but, no we haven't, yet."

I believed him. Nix didn't lie.

"Good. But that still doesn't make up for the fact she should be at school." Admittedly she only had a month to go before she left.

Nix sighed heavily, then straightened up, a determined look in his eyes. "I love Lilah, Ma. I love her, and I'm gonna marry her as soon as she turns eighteen."

Oh, boy. 

Chris and I exchanged a look, our concern deepening. "Nix, you're still so young," I began, trying to keep my voice steady. "Marriage is a huge commitment and not one you jump into lightly."

He nodded stubbornly. "I know that. And nothing you say is gonna change my mind."

"Nix," Chris said, his tone more serious than before. "We're not saying you can't love her. But there's a lot you haven't experienced yet. You need to focus on your education, your future."

Nix sighed again, then dropped another bombshell. "I'm not interested in college, Dad. I want a career in music." He hiked his chin up. "I'm thinking of quitting."

I felt my heart sink. "Nix, you can't just quit college," I said, my voice wavering. "You need an education. What if music doesn't work out?"

"I'm gonna make it work," he insisted. "I don't need a backup plan."

Chris stepped in, his voice calm but firm. "Son, I understand you have dreams, and I hope they do come true. But you need a backup plan. We're not gonna let you quit college."

"That's not fair!" Nix protested, his frustration bubbling up. "You just don't get it."

"We get it," Chris said, his tone unwavering. "But you need to understand our perspective too. College is important. It's your safety net."

Nix's expression softened just a bit, but the defiance was still there. "Fine. But my mind's made up about Lilah."

He pushed out his chair. "Are we done here? I've got studying to do."

Chris gave him a nod and Nix got up from his seat and left us there without another word.

I sighed, feeling the weight of the situation settle on my shoulders. Chris came over and pulled me into his arms, rubbing his hand up and down my back.

"Do you think he's serious?" he asked.

"If he takes after me in any way, then yeah. He's serious."

Young love was a powerful thing.

"What if she breaks his heart?"

I knew he'd be worried about that. "If that happens all we can do is be there for him."

"Shit," he muttered. "Well, I can't do anything about it right now. Have you got dinner ready?"

His question threw me off. "I was just gonna start it, why?"

"Good," he said. "Don't. We can order the kids pizza and Nix can watch them tonight because I'm taking you out. Somewhere nice."

I eased back looking up. "Date night isn't till Thursday."

Thursday was always our night to ourselves. Chris would either take us out or cook for me and the kids stayed over at Riley and Adam's place, so our lovemaking wasn't restricted in any way. Although having kids didn't stop us, it was just a quicker and quieter affair.

He pressed his forehead against mine. "I know, but I just want to spend a night with my beautiful wife."

I wriggled out of his arms. He wouldn't hear any arguments from me. "Well in that case. I'm gonna head up in the shower."

As I turned Chris slapped my ass. "Good and wear a dress that's easy to get off with some sexy underwear underneath because I have plans for us after dinner too." He wiggled his thick eyebrows. "And they don't involve a bed, Mrs Chambers."

Last time a bed wasn't involved... resulted in the twins.

"I know where your heads at... and are you sure you want to risk making love to me under the stars again?"

"Baby, I'd risk anything for you..." He walked up behind me and wrapped me in another hug. "You know no matter what happens I'll always love you, right?"

I did. When we married, he promised me I would be his world and every day since he'd shown me just how true that promise was and more.

 It was him and me.

Together.

Forever.

The End