24. Lincoln
24
Lincoln
T he smell of sweet, buttery goodness in the morning always makes me happy. As much as we don’t have a schedule for the cooking in the house, it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll be making pancakes when it comes to Sunday morning breakfasts.
“You’re up early.” I shiver as Miller’s lips graze my neck.
“I have four more people to feed. I want to make sure everything is done by the time they all wake up.”
“It smells delicious, Baby. So do you.” I feel the sting of his teeth as he nips my shoulder.
“Down, Fireball. I’m busy.” Firm hands squeeze my hips, and I feel him chuckle into my neck.
“So am I.”
Just as I begin to give in to his temptation, we’re almost knocked over by a squeal of delight crashing into our legs.
“Milyer. Linca. Kay kays!”
“Hey there, buddy.” Miller picks up Owen, who leans closer toward me to see the pancakes on the griddle.
“Yummy. I hung-ee.”
I open the microwave, pull out the overstacked plate I’ve already filled, and then grab a stack of plates from the cabinet. Miller buckles Owen into the highchair, tucking his bunny safely into the seat next to him, and makes him a plate.
A half-asleep Dempsey walks into the kitchen and huffs a sigh of relief when he sees Owen happily getting sticky syrup in his chair.
“There you are. You snuck out. Someone please tell me there’s coffee.”
I’ve never seen him look so unkempt.
“Rough night?” I pour a cup of coffee and hand it to him. He smiles and takes a big gulp before answering. I can tell he’s a bit nervous, and I know it has to do with whatever is going on between Katy and him.
“They were both restless last night. I didn’t get much sleep.”
“Viktor, I know this isn’t an ideal situation, and you are both used to your privacy, but please consider this your home, too. We all know you slept in the room with Katy and Owen. We aren’t judging.”
“I respect your daughter.” He looks Miller and I firmly in the eye, not a quaver of uncertainty in his statement. The fact that he called Katy our daughter shows the level of respect he has for us as well. Blood doesn’t make Katy our daughter, but love does, and we love the fuck out of her and Owen.
“We know.” Miller hands Dempsey a plate of pancakes. “How is she this morning?”
Sitting at the table, he stares at his plate momentarily. “She was up half the night crying. She’s still sleeping now. Owen woke up around four a.m., and I brought him into the bed with us. The kid’s a kicker.” He smiles lovingly at Owen.
Other than the four of us, Dempsey is the most constant male figure in his life. I’m not surprised to see the love he has for Owen shine on his face.
“What are we going to do about him ?” The word “him” drips with malice from Dempsey’s mouth. We’re all feeling the same way.
“Bun-Bun.” Owen’s whine of distress has us all jumping to his attention. “Bun-Bun dirty.” He holds up his prized lovie with a big smear of syrup down its ear.
“Oh no. Let me see if I can clean him.” Owen watches me with big alligator tears streaming down his face as I attempt to carefully wash the stuffed animal’s ear. “Oh, man. I think he might need a real bath, buddy. Can I give Bun-Bun a bath?”
Owen’s bottom lip quivers, and he becomes inconsolable. Miller jumps up and runs out of the room. What’s wrong with him?
Dempsey picks Owen up from his highchair, not caring that he’s about to be as sticky as the stuffed bunny, and tries to calm him.
“There are extras at the pool house. I can go and grab—”
“I’ve got one.” Miller bounds back into the room with a triumphant smile on his face. Owen lights up but looks a little confused. He looks at me, and I quickly hide the wet bunny behind my back, realizing why he looks that way. Seeing two of his favorite lovie might be disorienting.
“Bun-Bun!” Owen stretches his arms out to take the bunny back. I stop Miller before he makes a vital mistake.
“Let’s get you cleaned up first, little man. We don’t want to get Bun-bun dirty again.”
“I’ll run him to our bathroom and be right back. I should change his diaper too and check on Katy.” I nod as Dempsey walks away with a slightly calmer Owen.
“You’re a lifesaver, Fireball. Where did you get a spare lovie from?” I wrap my arms around his waist and pull our hips together.
“It was on their coffee table last night. I thought we might need it. And don’t be a tease. We have company.”
I trail a line of kisses down his neck. “And we have the entire second floor to ourselves. Who said I was being a tease?”
“The burning pancakes on the griddle.”
“Shit.” I pull away from his neck, and sure enough, the next six pancakes are on the crispy side.
There’s a knock at the back door before Patrick walks in. Last night, he asked if he could sleep in the pool house to make sure it stayed secure with the broken window. We agreed, but I’m sure this man never sleeps. I think he’s a robot.
“Morning, Patrick. There’s pancakes and coffee.”
He nods and helps himself to breakfast, sitting next to Miller at the table.
A crack rings through the air and a sting forms on my left ass cheek. I drop my head to my chest and breathe through the pain.
“It looked too juicy in these sweatpants. I couldn’t help myself.” Axel rubs his hand over the cheek, which I know is blooming with a handprint. He kisses my cheek and smiles, humming to himself while he piles his plate with breakfast. I open the refrigerator door and grab the whipped cream, placing it on the table in front of him. With wide eyes, he looks up at me, “Sprinkles?”
“You’re adorable.” I shake my head and open the spice cabinet. “Rainbow or chocolate?”
“Don’t ask ridiculous questions, Lincoln.”
I roll my eyes and pass him the rainbow sprinkles.
He shimmies in his seat. “This is why you’re my favorite.”
“Who’s your favorite, Darlin’?” A hand wraps around Axel’s neck, and Tucker’s growl vibrates through the room. I bite my cheeks to contain my smile. Axel melts under Tucker’s stare and licks his lips. His pupils dilate, and a devious smile spreads across his face.
“Lincoln. He gave me rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream.”
He’s purposely stepping into shit with Tucker. He’s looking to get punished. I don’t blame him. Tucker punishments are fun.
“Is that all it takes to be your favorite? You’re that easy?” Miller is grinning ear to ear. He’s also a fan of Tucker punishments.
“Morning everyone.” Katy’s sweet voice breaks up the lust and testosterone in the air.
“You have five minutes to eat, Darlin’. Enjoy the sweet stuff while you can.” Axel’s pupils dilate at the thought of what’s to come.
“Did I just walk in on something?” Katy looks curiously around the room as she pours a cup of coffee.
“I’m about to get punished because I said Lincoln is my favorite.”
“Yeah. Okay. You asked for that.” Katy grabs a pancake and takes a bite. Tucker kisses her cheek and steals a bite.
“Hey! Get your own.” She scowls at him for about three seconds before they’re laughing. I’ve missed having Katy around here. She brings more lightheartedness to the house.
“Owen, don’t run, buddy.” Dempsey’s voice booms down the hall as a little body barrels into the room and stops. His eyes dart around, taking in all the bodies. He’s trying to decide who to go to first. Much to our surprise, he toddles over to Patrick, who doesn’t even realize he’s there until Owen taps his leg.
“Uppies.” Owen wiggles his fingers, and Patrick looks panicked as he looks at each of us, wondering what he should do. “Uppies,” Owen persists more forcefully. With a look of almost horror, he reaches down and picks up the pleading child.
“I Owen. Who you?”
Has no one officially introduced Owen to Patrick? I suppose none of us thought to do it. He’s barely two, but Patrick has been spending a lot of time with him, and you’d think there would have been an introduction at some point.
“My name is Patrick, remember.”
“Oh. Pat-ick. I Owen.” The corner of Patrick’s lip tugs, but it quickly disappears. Maybe he has a heart after all.
“Time’s up, Darlin’. I hope you got enough to eat.”
With little protest, Axel stands, smiling, and is happily dragged out of the room by Tucker.
“As gross as this sounds, I missed you guys.” Katy’s comment makes everyone laugh, reaffirming how much we’ve all missed her.
Spencer walks into the room and looks back over her shoulder at the two men she passed on the stairs.
“What did Axel do now?”