Chapter Twelve #2
“What did I do?” Sawyer asked.
“I was talking to Dolly, but you’re in the doghouse too.”
“I repeat, ‘What did I do?’”
Royce batted his eyelashes frantically and infused as much husk into his voice when he said, “Would you like something to drink, Derrick? It’s awfully…hot out there.”
Sawyer slumped against the closed door and laughed at his outlandish portrayal. “I didn’t sound like that, and stop batting your eyelashes. It looks like you’ve developed a painful nervous tic.” Sawyer straightened to his full height and pointed at Royce. “And you’re one to talk.”
“Me? I simply greeted the man when I opened the door.”
Sawyer pursed his lips and leaned against the door to mirror Royce’s earlier pose. “Hello there, big boy.”
Snorting, Royce shook his head. “I didn’t say that.”
“And you were going to mention his mighty big package before I cut you off.” Sawyer rolled his eyes. “Seriously, save your outrage.”
“It is a huge package,” Royce said, gesturing to the box in the foyer. He rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Can I open it? Can I?”
“We should probably wait for Eddie. He will get the biggest kick out of it.”
Royce huffed and pouted like a toddler. “But I’ve already had to wait for months.”
“You didn’t know the gift existed until twenty minutes ago.”
Stomping his foot, Royce said, “And it’s been the longest twenty minutes of my life.”
“Fine. Let me help you push it into the living room. I don’t want you to reinjure your hamstring. There are things I want to do with you.” He looked at his watch. “And Darla should sleep for at least another half hour. We can pack a lot of pleasure in that amount of time.”
Royce stepped closer until the only thing separating them was Dolly. “Does it involve me ringing your bell, getting out my schlong, and delivering a package?”
“Mm-hmm,” Sawyer said. He moved in closer to kiss Royce, but Dolly beat him to it. “But you’ll have to wipe your mouth first.”
Sawyer took Dolly back to the sofa and waited while Royce retrieved their two-wheeled cart from the garage. He moved the box to the living room and whipped out a box cutter.
“Be careful.”
Royce sighed and shook his head. “I won’t ruin my gift.” He made shallow cuts across the top to reveal a slab of Styrofoam. “Baby, you shouldn’t have.”
“You won’t be laughing when you see what’s tucked inside there,” Sawyer boasted.
“It’s that good, huh?”
“Oh yeah.”
Royce lifted off the top slab of Styrofoam, and a sheet of paper fell to the floor. “Probably the packing list.”
“Don’t look at it,” Sawyer said. “It will spoil the surprise.” He reached down for the paper when his phone rang.
Charlie’s name appeared on the screen, and he grabbed the phone instead.
His pulse kicked up a notch every time his friend called with an update, but he’d stopped thinking “this is it” weeks ago to preserve his sanity. “Hey, Charlie.”
“Is Royce close by? I’m about to hold a press conference and don’t have much time to talk.”
“Yeah, he’s here.” Sawyer’s heartbeat kicked into a full gallop as he tapped the speakerphone icon.
Royce’s head snapped up, and hopeful eyes locked on Sawyer. “Hi, Charlie. What’s up?”
“We got them! Peyton and Shania Price and Landen Jordan are in police custody in New Mexico. US Marshals are en route to pick them up and bring them back to Georgia. I’m about to announce the arrests in a press conference, but I wanted you to hear the news from me first.”
“Thank you so much,” Sawyer said. “This means the world to us.”
“We owe you one,” Royce added.
“No, you don’t. But I’d like to get together soon so I can meet your little girl.”
“Let us know when you’re free,” Sawyer told him. “We’re always home.”
Charlie chuckled. “Will do.” Muffled voices came from his end of the conversation. “Gotta run, guys. I’ll be in touch soon.” He clicked off before either of them could say goodbye.
“Do you want to see if the local news carries the press conference?” Royce asked.
“Nope,” Sawyer said. “I’m content just knowing they’ve been arrested.”
“It won’t help our situation, but I feel relieved they won’t escape justice.” Royce reached for his hand and kissed the back of it. “And we’re going to have a completely different day in court, with a much better outcome than those psychopaths. I believe that with my whole heart.”
“Me too.” Sawyer nodded toward the box. “Now, unpack your surprise. I’m dying to see what you think.”
Royce reached inside the box and pulled out a pink plastic drill. A broad smile spread across his face. “Battery operated?”
“Yes, but I have to buy those separately. It has little fake drill bits somewhere in the box.”
Royce squeezed the trigger and made the whirring noises himself.
Dolly yipped from the couch and wagged her tail.
“This isn’t for you. It says Darla’s name right on the side.
” He tapped the white lettering before letting the dog sniff it.
Dolly wasn’t impressed and lowered her head between her paws in a pout. “What else do we have in here?”
“Unpack it and see.”
Royce pulled out a wrench, a tiny hammer, and several little tools.
Then he started pulling out bigger wooden pieces that he’d have to assemble.
There was a pegboard to hang her little tools and the work apron with her name embroidered on it.
There was the workbench that Royce would attach her vise and saw to, and the storage area beneath it to store the wooden toolbox.
He took his time unwrapping each piece, his expression getting sappier with every reveal.
“You know she can’t play with this for a long time. ”
“Yes, but you can assemble it and put it in her room because it’s so stinking cute. Some princesses drink tea with their daddies, and others pretend to build stuff.”
Royce looked up from the assembly instructions for the workbench. “I’ll drink tea too. I’ll wear a tutu, a tiara, or anything else my baby girl wants. Hell, the Rock lets his little girls put makeup on him. Nothing is off-limits for my Darla.”
“I know, and I love you for it.”
“This is an amazing gift. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Sawyer picked up the adorable canvas apron and said, “This is even better quality than I expected. So worth the long wait.”
Royce cocked his head to the side. “When did you order this?”
“As soon as Kelsey confirmed her pregnancy,” Sawyer said as he inspected the little hammer. “The waitlist was insane.”
Royce picked up the packing list off the floor, read it, and then looked at Sawyer through narrowed eyes.
“Yes, it was pricey. But look at the quality.”
“I’m not concerned about the cost,” Royce said, pointing at the order date.
“I told you I ordered it a long time ago. Maybe it was silly to customize it the way I did, but we knew in our hearts that we were having a girl. We’d already chosen to name a daughter after your Aunt Tipsy.
And it didn’t really feel like a gamble with such a long wait time.
I could’ve emailed the seller if we’d found out we were having a boy. ”
“Uh-huh,” Royce said. “All of that’s true.”
“Then why am I getting the gunslinger glare?”
“Because you customized the workbench and tools with Darla’s name on them three months before I told you my Aunt Tipsy’s name.”
Sawyer grinned sheepishly. “Oh yeah. About that…”
“You already knew,” Royce said flatly.
“Funny story.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Royce set the packing list aside and stalked toward him on his knees. “I can’t believe you let me boast about knowing something you didn’t.”
“You were having so much fun.” Sawyer scooted toward the end of the couch, but not quickly, because he wanted to get caught. “And I was too, guessing all those outlandish names.”
“And you knew the whole time.”
He reached the end of the couch and waited there until his husband crawled between his thighs and pinned him to the cushion. “I did.”
“How? When?”
“I found out when we were investigating the Magnolia Queen murders,” Sawyer said. “Rocky’s aunt let it slip when I interviewed her about our suspect.”
“Christ. That was years ago.”
Sawyer slid his hand into Royce’s hair. “Uh-huh.”
“You could’ve ended my silly game at any point.”
“Where would the fun be in that?” Sawyer asked him. “I believe you were going to wipe the dog slobber off your mouth and put it to good use. Something about delivering a big package.”
Royce snatched a baby wipe from the packet on the end table, just one of the many they’d conveniently placed everywhere for quick cleanup. Before Darla came into their lives, Royce had stashed lube in every nook and cranny. Oh, how the times had shifted, but Sawyer wouldn’t change a thing.
“So industrious.” He pulled Royce to him for a hot, hungry kiss that promised a swift delivery.
Darla’s cries came through the monitor, and Dolly jumped to her feet, barking at the invisible threat. Royce buried his face in Sawyer’s crotch with a groan, and Sawyer carded his fingers through silky blond strands.
“I’ll feed the baby while you build the workbench,” Sawyer said.
Royce swiped his tongue over Sawyer’s neck in the possessive lick that drove him wild. “Next nap, your ass is mine.”
“I’m going to hold you to it.”