Greater than the Heart (Luv by Numbers #3)

1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Cade

Kincade and Jax were racing in the pool. They’d started swimming together in the afternoons, and when Cade beat the big man, the brunet performed a celebration dance with trash talk included. “ Schooled old man!” When Jax swam over to him and jerked down Cade’s Speedo, they both laughed.

The penalty for losing the race was fixing dinner, which consisted of heating the food left for them in the fridge. Sela was at a photo shoot out of town, and Carlotta was staying with them while her mother was gone.

Miss Winnie had taken over as a nanny for the girl, so the three men hired a friend of Brady Jones’, who was enrolled in culinary school, to cook and shop for them. They still had the cleaning service, which Cade now supervised because Winnie spent most of her days at Sela’s home, taking care of the two women.

“Fine, you win. I’ll go upstairs and start the grill. Where’s Ford?” Jax asked as he looked at the clock over the hot tub.

“I talked to him this afternoon as I left the club on the way to help Father Paul make sandwiches. He’s working late tonight because he went to the doctor this morning. He mentioned something about getting a complete physical. I didn’t think it was time yet, did you?” Cade pushed himself up to the pool deck.

Their first wedding anniversary and the anniversary of Cade’s adoption was fast approaching. Ford still ran the club, and Cade worked with him as a man Friday, doing anything that needed to be done short of dancing. Jax and Ford had demanded he not hit the stage again after the bubble party the previous year. Cade laughed as he remembered the looks on their faces that night when he stepped out of the shadows in the bubble bikini.

Jax had ended his time working for the Chicago football team, having finally found a location for his gym. It was a rehabilitation and training facility, and Jax was proud of what he’d accomplished so far.

A lot of the guys he worked with at the rehab were injured athletes who were recovering. There had been talk of teaming up with the military to assist with their rehabilitation efforts for service personnel injured during active duty, but nothing had been solidified.

Cade knew Jax could commiserate with the athletes due to his own recovery from his broken leg, and he was sure that was part of the reason the business was so successful. Cade and Ford supported Jax in his work wholeheartedly and busted their buttons with pride at his latest accomplishment.

The Chicago team had begged Jax to stay on and accept the permanent position of defensive coordinator for the club, but Jax refused to hide the fact he had two husbands, so working for the club wasn’t an option.

It hadn’t been easy for the Cajun to walk away from football, but Cade thought Jax enjoyed working with the various athletes from multiple sports disciplines. Colby Napier, the Chicago QB, had so much confidence in Jax’s business that he sent his younger brother to Jax after he had surgery for a torn ACL.

Jax was enthusiastic and passionate about getting the athletes back to one hundred percent if at all possible, so he’d hired three of the best licensed physical therapists he could find to work with him. The center was coming along, but much like the three of them, the business was a work in progress.

“Can I get in? I finished my homework,” eight-year-old Carlotta, their niece, asked as she walked toward the pool in a ruffled red, white, and gold two-piece swimsuit.

The girl was a strong swimmer, taking lessons at their pool the previous summer after she and Sela had moved to Chicago. They’d been able to convince her mother to stay with them for a few months until she found a townhouse for herself and Carlotta about three miles from the Greystone.

Their niece, the gorgeous little charmer, was spoiled, but she wasn’t a brat about it. Most of the time, Cade, Ford, and Jax did or bought things before the girl had a chance to ask, getting them into hot water with Sela on more than one occasion.

Fortunately, her bark was much worse than her bite, so the three took the requisite ass-chewing like champs and continued to do as they wished with agreeable smiles. Everyone was happy with the outcome.

“Come on, mon petit ange. Uncle Ford should be home soon, I hope , ” Jax said as he held out his strong arms. Jax had lost sixty pounds total, but he was still fit and sculpted. The three of them enjoyed a very healthy, happy sex life.

The girl jumped into Jax’s arms, and he tossed her into the air where she pulled her legs up against her chest and cannonballed with a large splash in the deeper end of the pool. It was their game to play, so Cade hopped up and grabbed a towel from the bucket to wrap around himself.

“Carlotta, would you like a juice box? Lucky? Some adult juice?” Cade grinned. Jax’s deep, sexy laugh reminded Cade of the night before.

“Bix, you feel so good inside me,” Cade whispered, pulling Jax’s thick cock out of his mouth to offer encouragement to the hot blond. It had been a week since Ford had wanted to participate in the sexcapades Cade and Jax got up to on a very regular basis. Ford had been under the weather and chose to either watch or give them their time alone. It was unusual because, since the wedding, the three of them had been celebrating their newlywed status on a nearly nightly basis. Ford hadn’t seemed interested until the night before, so the three of them made up for lost time.

“Oh, I bet Ford went to the doctor because of that stupid bug he’s had. I’ll get you two some drinks and start the grill. I’ll be back. Be careful, but have fun,” Cade told Jax and Carlotta as he slipped on his flip-flops and went upstairs to the main floor.

He heard a commotion in the kitchen, so he hurried to the large room to find Winnie standing at the stove with Connor Bay, their personal chef. They were arguing over an iron skillet, and as Winnie reached for it, Cade slid between the two of them, afraid she was going to whack the twenty-two-year-old with the heavy black pan.

“What’s going on? Miss Winnie put down the skillet. You’ll kill him if you hit him with it, and you’re much too pretty to go to jail,” Cade insisted.

She sighed. “I was trying to explain to this young pup how ya don’t put a seasoned skillet in the dishwasher. I’ve had this skillet since I started working for Jackson and Ford. I put love and care into seasoning it just so, and it was perfectly seasoned when I left this house to work for Miss Sela. Look at it now? It’s ruined,” she complained.

Cade saw the large, black skillet appeared to have an ashen finish he’d never seen before. He’d used the skillet a time or two while making breakfast for his husbands, but he always hand-washed the pots and pans. The cook his parents employed when he was young always washed the pots and pans by hand, so Cade assumed it was the way in which things were done.

“Connor, man, what happened?” Cade asked, seeing Winnie hadn’t given the guy the chance to explain himself.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Oakes. I’ll replace it if you tell me where to find one. I, uh, I used it to sauté onions and mushrooms for the stuffing for the beef tenderloin I’m going to make tomorrow, and then I remembered Cade told me you used it to make biscuits and cornbread, so I wanted to make certain it didn’t retain the taste of the onions. I’ve never used an iron skillet before, and I had no idea it couldn’t go into the dishwasher,” Connor explained.

Cade walked over to Winnie and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, happy to have someone shorter than him aside from Carlotta. The girl was going to be tall like her mother and uncle.

“Is there no salvaging the skillet, Miss Winnie? Can’t you bring it back?” Cade sweet-talked, adding the puppy dog face that got him his way with Ford and Jax most occasions.

The sweet, loving woman they all considered to be an auntie chuckled, pulling a stunned Connor into her arms and her large bosom. “Come here, baby. I’ll teach you how to care for an iron skillet. You treat this girl right, and she’ll never let ya down,” she told the young man who was looking at Cade with fear in his eyes.

Cade laughed. “That’s how she shows you she loves you,” he teased the tall, strawberry-blond with the haunting gray eyes. The guy was two years younger than Cade, and he was obsessed with getting the James Beard Award, though Cade had no idea what it was. Brady knew him from their hometown of Springfield in Southern Illinois, and the kid was staying with Brady and Owen Hatch who had moved in together.

“How are wedding plans coming, Miss Winnie?” Cade asked. He knew Griff and Winnie were at loggerheads about the plans because she wanted the wedding to be at the Episcopal church in Boystown where each of the Delacroix men helped Father Paul make food for his street outreach program when they had time.

Paul was always on the lookout for any of the boys who’d been to Clark Street Shelter the previous year before it closed, and everything went to hell. Cade wanted to know they were safe, and nothing had happened to them after they’d left the Greystone at the same time that he’d reconciled with Jax and Ford. How he thought he could leave his husbands behind had to have been temporary insanity. The three of them were meant for each other.

Winnie glanced at him after she released poor Connor from her death grip. “I wanted to speak to you three about that very thing. Maybe I could run it by you first, and you could feel them out before I actually put them on the spot?”

Cade nodded. “Let’s go out on the patio and leave Connor to finish up so he can get on the road. Here’s your check, Connor. Thanks, and I’ll see you next week.” Cade pulled open the kitchen drawer where he’d placed the check earlier that morning in case Connor needed to leave before he got home from the club.

Cade had taken over the bookkeeping for the club and the Chicago Area Wellness Center, along with the household accounts. He was contributing to the family in his own way, and with his suggestions, Ford and Jax had revamped their portfolios to take a more aggressive stance in the market with a small portion of their holdings, and a medium stance with the majority. Both men were happy with his advice, and they were banking money.

Ford was considering adding to the club in Andersonville, but there were no definite plans in place. Cade was behind him in whatever he wanted to do. Their life was going swimmingly, which reminded him Carlotta and Jax were in the pool waiting for drinks.

Connor took his paycheck and hugged Cade, which was a surprise, but he supposed it was because he saved him from the woman with the iron skillet. After the young man was out the door, Cade turned to Winnie and smiled. “Would you like a glass of wine? Ford has this really nice pinot grigio he likes. I was about to take Jax and Carlie some drinks. I’ll do that and be right back.”

He opened the fridge and pulled the bottle to pour Winnie a glass of wine before grabbing a juice box from the bin in the large fridge. He hurried downstairs and grabbed a pilsner for Jax from the fridge in the shower room next to the gym.

Cade smiled as he saw the two of them playing with a beach ball, Jax in the deep end. “I’ll be back. Carlie, you and me against Lucky,” Cade promised. The sweet giggle from the little girl made him grin.

He ran upstairs to find Winnie sitting at the island in the kitchen with a piece of paper and a pen, drawing. Cade poured himself a glass of wine and joined her at the counter, tightening his towel before he sat down on a stool. “Okay, Miss Winnie, what’s on your mind?”

She sighed, which signaled it was going to be a dramatic discussion. “I love you three, and you know that, but so many times I’ve wished my Cleveland could have met you before he met Griffon. I know Griff’s a good guy, and he loves Cleveland more than anything, but I just don’t understand him. He’s so against having any kind of religion in his life, and when I ask why, he leaves the room. I talked to Father Paul at the church, and he’d be more than happy to have the wedding there, but Griffon said flat out no.

“I know it’s not my wedding, but it’s my only son’s wedding, and I just want it to be special. I was kinda hoping maybe y’all would let us hold it here. I’ll take care of all the expenses. I just want it here because it’s so beautiful, and if they won’t have it at the church with all its stained glass and grandeur, then maybe they’d have it here in your beautiful gardens. Carlos has such a green thumb and takes very good care of your flowers, and it would save them some money for flowers.

“I just want my baby to have a beautiful wedding, and Griff wants to go to the courthouse and have a quickie. Cleveland doesn’t want to upset him, and he’s refused to let me speak with the boy about the ceremony. The last time I tried, he stormed out of the house without a goodbye. I was kind of hopin’… I mean, I know you and Griff are good friends, and I was thinking if you suggested it to him, he might not dismiss the idea so quicklike.

“I know if I say anything about it, he’ll turn up his snooty nose and prance away like he has at all my ideas. I just…” She sniffled as she spoke. Cade could see she was crying, and if he wasn’t in such a state of undress, he’d have hugged her. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a box of tissues, handing her one.

Winnie wiped her eyes and looked at him again. “You see, Cade, Cleve is all I have left, and I just want to know he’ll have happy memories of his wedding. I’m sure Griff’s gonna be good to him, but I just want to do one last thing for my baby before I go to my great reward,” she told Cade as she continued to dry her eyes.

Was he being manipulated by Winnie Oakes? Definitely. Did he understand her position? Most assuredly. Would he go to bat for her with his dear, dear friend? Yes, but not because Winnie made him feel guilty. He’d do it because Griff had a hatred for anything religious, and Cade thought it was high time they discussed it.

Having the wedding at the Greystone would be phenomenal, and he was sure he could sell Jax and Ford on the idea without much effort. It was Griff who would be the hard sell, but Cade promised he would do his best for Miss Winnie’s sake.

“ Kick your legs harder, Carlie !” Cade yelled as Carlotta and Jax raced from one end of the pool to the other. Of course, Jax could only use one arm and wasn’t allowed to kick at all, though he was tall enough to simply walk most of the way to the deep end. When Carlotta touched the wall first, Cade cheered loudly.

He heard applause and found Ford standing behind him in all of his gorgeous glory. He’d shed his suit jacket and tie but looked so handsome. Cade walked over to him and tipped up on his toes while pulling the blond down for a kiss.

“You hungry? Miss Winnie made dinner for us before she left tonight. It’s a bribe, but it’s her chicken spaghetti bake. I was going to grill steaks, but she insisted,” Cade told Ford.

Ford smiled brightly. “Sounds great. Who’s that tadpole out there?” He put his hand over his eyes as if he was blocking the bright sunlight, grinning at Carlotta, who was holding onto the side as she wiped the water out of her eyes.

“It’s me, Uncle Branny!” The girl hopped out of the pool and quickly walked around—having been scolded many times for running on the pool deck—into Ford’s towel-bearing arms. He scooped her up and kissed her cheek.

“How was your day, my girl?” Ford asked her as Jax climbed out of the pool to join the mix.

“Miss Winnie took Ava and me with her to the library where they have a children’s story hour. They were reading a baby book, so we picked our own book and sat at a table together. I read some of a chapter book about a little girl growing up on the frontier to Miss Winnie, and she helped with big words. Tomorrow, we’re going to the art museum,” the girl told her three uncles, referring to her favorite doll, Ava, which had been a gift from Uncle Jax.

“That sounds like loads of fun. Should I get Uncle Cade to take over the club tomorrow and come with the two of you?” Ford suggested.

The little girl wrapped her arms around Ford’s neck, making Cade smile. Ford rarely took time off from the club, and for him to trust Cade to handle things made the brunet puff up with pride. He hoped it was the beginning of a more-balanced life for the three of them. Ford worked a lot of hours he didn’t need to work. Having him spend more time with Jax and be home more in the evenings would be wonderful.

After they’d tucked Carlotta into bed, the three of them went back downstairs to relax. Cade made Ford a scotch, Jax a whiskey, and himself an Irish cream. They walked out onto the deck from the family room and sat down at the glass-topped table. Jax lit the candle in the middle and the three of them looked at each other.

“Babe, you went to the doctor today. Are you okay?” the big man asked, his eyebrow lifted.

Ford chuckled. “I’m healthy as a horse, Jackson. Why? Do I not seem to be in good health?” Cade was surprised at the bite in Ford’s voice, and based on the look on Jax’s face, he was caught off-guard too.

“I—Of course not, Branford. It’s just that you had a physical with the two of us six months ago for our insurance. You told Cade you were going to the doctor today, and we were concerned. Did something come up from your previous physical?” Jax asked.

“ No! I’m perfectly fine. I had a sinus infection, but it’s gone. I just wanted to be sure it hadn’t settled into something worse. I have to go back next week for a stress test. It’s for my own self-assurance. I’ve felt some tightness in my chest lately when I work out with you two, and I just want to be cautious, okay? Don’t get all protective and ridiculous about it. It’s nothing,” Ford snapped, not looking either man in the eye.

Of course, his protestations had Cade’s radar on alert, but he wouldn’t challenge his husband. He trusted Ford. If it was something important, he was sure the man would tell them. They were a family after all.