Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“Careful with that, Ellory. Don’t drop it.”
“I won’t!”
“Borysko, don’t point that fork at your brother. If you fell, you could stab him with it. And, Artem…stop antagonizing Borysko.”
“What does that mean?” Artem asked.
“It means egging him on. Making him want to poke you with that fork because you’re teasing him on purpose. Yana, you can’t bring twenty Barbie dolls to this picnic. Choose three. That’s it.”
MacGyver couldn’t help but smile as he watched Addison wrangle their kids. It was always like this when they tried to leave the house. They had the school routine down, but anything else seemed to be chaos. Addison handled it, and them, like a pro. He stood by the front door, holding it open, patiently waiting for everyone to file out and to his Explorer.
Ellory was holding the container of cookies that she and Addison had decorated last night, and he held the cake—which had morphed from a simple circle to a multitiered masterpiece, complete with a ship on a fondant ocean, buttercream waves, and a zodiac boat with little people inside. Honestly, MacGyver had never been so impressed. Yes, she could make a mean Elsa or Little Mermaid cake. Even a recent dinosaur cake had been out of this world. But watching her bring his world to life out of sugar and an icing bag had blown him away.
Yana padded toward him, holding up the three dolls she’d chosen to come with her today. “Ricky?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Look! I had doll before.” Then she said something in fast-paced Ukrainian that MacGyver obviously couldn’t understand.
“She said she had a doll back in Ukraine. It looked like these but wasn’t so nice. But she misses her,” Artem said, translating for his sister.
The little girl had her lower lip out in a pout, looking like she was about to cry. MacGyver squatted down so he was eye level with Yana. He balanced on the balls of his feet, holding the precious cake carefully with one hand while cupping Yana’s cheek with the other. “I’m sorry about your other doll.”
The little girl leaned her head against his hand for a moment before straightening and nodding. Then she looked down at the trio of Barbies in her hands. Addison had found what had to be some previous little girl’s collection at Good Will the other day. He’d tried to convince her that she didn’t need to shop at the secondhand store anymore, but old habits were hard to break. And he had to admit that the gleam of delight in Yana’s eyes when she’d seen the box full of dolls and clothes and other accessories had been worth it. She now had Black, Asian, and white dolls, and she played with them equally.
“Pretty,” she said happily, holding up a dark-skinned doll with a natural-looking afro.
“Yes, she is,” MacGyver agreed.
“Pretty!” she repeated, holding up the Asian doll with long, sleek black hair.
“Yup,” MacGyver said, as he slowly stood up. But Yana wasn’t done. She waved the last doll, a Barbie with long red curls. “Pretty. Addy.”
MacGyver looked up and met Addison’s eyes. “Yeah, she’s as pretty as our Addy, isn’t she?” he said.
He didn’t hear Yana’s response as her brother took her hand and led her out the door, because his concentration was locked on the woman in front of him. She looked a little frazzled. Had a small stain of something on her shirt—probably jelly from helping Yana get their breakfast ready that morning—her hair was already coming out of the barrette she’d used to pull it away from her face, and he could see nervousness in her eyes. And to him, she was beautiful.
“I’m sure we’re forgetting something,” she said as she came toward him. “I forgot how hard it was to get little kids ready for a social outing. Ellory’s gotten much better at leaving without having to do a million things right before the door opens.”
“If we’ve forgotten something, it’s not a big deal,” MacGyver reassured her. “Come here.”
Addison frowned a little as she stopped in front of him and tilted her head to the side, as if asking what was up.
“Before we go, before things get crazy, I just wanted to say something.”
“Things aren’t already crazy?” she asked with a small laugh.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” MacGyver told her. “I just want to let you know how proud I am of you. You’ve accepted everything that’s been thrown at you with a grace that’s incredibly rare. I know things haven’t been easy, but you’ve made them look that way. I’m proud to have you at my side today. Everyone is going to love you. Try to relax and enjoy the day.”
“I will. I just…I’m nervous,” Addison blurted.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about.”
She snorted. “Ricky, these are your friends. Your teammates. If they don’t like me, that won’t be a good thing.”
“They’re going to like you. Hell, they already like you. Yes, they were surprised that we got married, and they’re irritated at me for hogging you all to myself and not introducing you to them yet. But I’ve told them all about how talented you are at baking and decorating, how well your business is doing, how perfect you’ve been with the kids, about Ellory and how she’s struggled with her illness, and how you’ve taken such great care of her. All you have to do is be yourself. Because you’re perfect exactly the way you are.”
“Ricky,” she whispered.
He couldn’t stop himself. It was becoming more and more difficult to hold back and not show this woman how attracted he was to her, despite his warning to himself to go slow. And while he might be able to keep from blurting out that he wanted more than a marriage of convenience, he absolutely couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward and kissing her. It was another mere brushing of their mouths, nothing passionate, but he still felt it down to his toes.
“Come on, if we dally too much longer, Artem will start the car and drive himself to Wolf and Caroline’s house.”
Addison giggled. “He would, wouldn’t he?”
“In a heartbeat. That kid is too smart for his own good.” He put his hand on the small of Addison’s back and followed her out of the house. He waited until she’d locked the door and put her keys into her purse to wrap his arm around her waist. They walked side-by-side to his car, and MacGyver found himself unable to keep the satisfied smile off his face.
This was what he’d always dreamed of—a large family, chaos and all. He vowed then and there not to do anything to mess it up, and to protect these humans with everything within him. Nothing and no one would hurt them…or take them away from him.
* * *
Ricky had told her not to be nervous, but Addison couldn’t help it. She so wanted his people to like her. She was out of practice socializing with others. She’d gotten used to hanging out with Ellory, and only talking to others when her business demanded it or when she was talking to doctors and nurses in the hospital about Ellory’s condition.
This was as different as night and day. These people were Ricky’s friends. The men who kept him safe when they were deployed. The women who loved them. Fellow SEALs who were retired and who her husband looked up to. Mentors. And their wives, who had already been through countless missions and had perfected the role of Navy Wife.
She felt like an imposter. Yes, she was married to Ricky, but it wasn’t a real marriage…except, it felt real enough to her. Not as real as she wanted, but other than the intimacy she craved like a druggie fixated on their next hit, she felt as if she was a true wife.
But then again, she hadn’t been through a deployment with Ricky yet.
He helped out a lot around the house with the kids. Artem, Borysko, and Yana were thrilled to see him when he got home every night. He helped with homework, watched TV with them, helped with chores, supervised the brushing of teeth and tucked everyone in.
Could she do it by herself? Yes, she’d done it with Ellory, but she was one child. Having three young kids all asking questions and needing her at the same time, without Ricky there to help, seemed overwhelming.
The time was no doubt coming when he’d be sent off on a mission. Addison figured she’d find out soon enough if she was cut out to be a SEAL wife. She hoped so. She wanted to make Ricky proud. But she was also scared that she’d mess up. As well as the three kids were doing, they still had occasional setbacks psychologically. Borysko had nightmares, Artem sometimes wet the bed at night. Yana would get a thousand-yard stare that concerned Addison greatly.
And today she was meeting some wives of veteran SEALs who’d dealt with missions and kids and all manner of challenges, and seemingly managed it all perfectly.
The one thing that was making her less stressed about this get-together was her text group—Wren, Josie, Maggie, and Remi. They’d been messaging her nonstop since Ricky had passed her number on to their men. They were funny and friendly, and it felt as if she’d known them forever. But still…talking to someone via text and in person were two completely different things. It was possible they wouldn’t actually click at all. That they’d meet and things would be awkward.
“Breathe, Addy,” Ricky said as he pulled up to the curb. There were cars lined up all along the street, and the sheer number of people who were going to be here today suddenly hit Addison, making her stress levels rise all over again.
Everyone unclipped their seat belts, and Borysko helped Yana get out of her car seat before they all climbed out of the SUV. They were collecting the cookies and cake when a child’s voice rang out.
“They’re here!”
Chuckling, Ricky looked toward Wolf and Caroline’s house. There were several people standing on the front lawn chatting. Including a bunch of children.
Two boys ran toward Ricky and his family, with a girl following behind.
“Hi! I’m James.”
“And I’m Matthew.”
“Come on, let’s go play!” James exclaimed excitedly.
When his kids hesitated, Ricky said, “Go on. It’s okay.”
That seemed to be all the trio needed, his reassurance.
Ricky said quietly to Addison, “Those are Benny and Jessyka’s kids. They’re older than ours, but I think they’ll get along just fine.”
Addison nodded as all the kids headed toward the house, and Ricky called out, “Watch your sister!”
Artem turned, looking confused. “Yes. Why would we not?” Then he took Yana’s hand and turned back around.
“Hi. I’m Taylor,” the girl who’d come to meet them said. “You’re Ellory, right? My mom told me a little about you. You’re in seventh grade? I’m a sophomore.”
Ellory nodded a little shyly.
“Want to come hang out? Taylor Swift’s latest concert is streaming, we can watch it if you want to. Caroline said we can use the TV in the basement.”
“I’d like that. Thanks,” Ellory said.
As the two girls wandered toward the house, heads tilted toward each other, chatting away as if they’d been best friends forever, Addison asked, “And who was that?”
“Dude and Cheyenne’s daughter. I don’t know her very well, but I’m impressed with her so far. See? Things are going to be fine,” Ricky said. “Come on. Let’s get this cake and the cookies inside. I can’t wait for everyone to freak over how amazing this cake is.”
Addison rolled her eyes, but she was tremendously relieved that so far, at least the kids seemed to be comfortable.
They’d barely stepped onto the lawn before a woman with shoulder-length brownish hair, walking hand-in-hand with what could only be described as a silver fox, stepped toward them.
“MacGyver!” the guy exclaimed, leaning in and giving him a one-arm man-hug.
“Careful, man, you don’t want me to drop this cake. Trust me, it’s going to knock your socks off. Not only because it looks like a masterpiece, but because it’s the best cake you’ll ever eat in your life.”
The woman smiled at Ricky’s over-the-top bragging and smiled at Addison. “Hi. I’m Caroline. And this is my husband. The guys know him as Wolf, but I call him Matthew. Don’t worry about remembering everyone’s nicknames and real names. It can get confusing really fast, since we all call the guys different things.”
“Oh, I already know that. I call Ricky by his name, but most everyone else calls him MacGyver. And I’ve noticed the same thing with his teammates,” Addison said, shaking the other woman’s hand.
“Right, then you already fit in perfectly. I can’t wait to see this cake! MacGyver’s been bragging about it on his group chat but wouldn’t tell the guys what it is. Everyone else is inside or in the backyard. Come on, and I’ll introduce you after we drop your stuff inside. And I’ll warn you now, it looks as if there’s enough food for eight hundred people, but trust me, it’ll get eaten. I learned years ago that we can never have enough.”
Addison took a deep breath and smiled at the older woman. She’d built Caroline up in her mind as being some sort of untouchable and cold matriarch. Probably because Ricky had told her the story about how she’d earned the nickname “Ice.” But instead, she seemed…normal. Almost plain in looks, but with a personality that made her sparkle.
She glanced at Ricky. “You want me to bring the cake in?”
“Nope. I’ve got it. You go with Caroline. I’m sure the other women are eager to meet you.”
Addison figured as much, but hearing confirmation from Ricky made her nervous all over again.
“MacGyver, you’re stressing her out. Shush,” Caroline scolded. Then she hooked her arm with Addison’s. “Don’t listen to him. I mean, yes, everyone is excited to meet the woman who has our MacGyver wrapped around her little finger, but they aren’t going to pounce on you the second you enter the house. Though, we can’t wait to hear how you two met, and all about how Artem, Borysko, and Yana are doing. They looked great the few seconds I saw them before they raced by with Jess’s kids, but when we heard about everything they’ve been through, it hurt all our hearts.”
Caroline kept talking as she led Addison away from Ricky. She looked back once, and Ricky gave her a small chin lift and a smile. His reassurance was all she needed to take another deep breath and attempt to relax. These were his friends, the people who meant the most in the world to him, other than his blood family. She was in good hands…she hoped.
* * *
Four hours later, Addison was having the time of her life. She’d met so many people and children that her mind was spinning. Caroline hadn’t lied about the names being confusing. She was just grateful that she’d already known both the real names and nicknames of Ricky’s teammates.
She was currently sitting in the backyard with Remi, Maggie, Wren, and Josie, watching the kids play. From the second she’d met the other women, she felt a kinship. It was a little odd, but Addison felt the same way when she’d met Ricky, and that had turned out all right. No, more than all right. Going outside her comfort zone and befriending him had ended up changing her life, and Ellory’s life, for the better.
“Girl, that cake was ah-may-zing!” Remi exclaimed for what seemed like the tenth time.
“I have no idea how you made that water look so real,” Wren gushed.
“And those little people in the boat? I thought they were plastic at first,” Josie agreed.
“You’re very talented,” Maggie agreed quietly.
Addison blushed a little. She’d received so many compliments on not only the way she’d decorated the cake, but how it tasted, that it was getting a little embarrassing. “Thanks, you guys.”
“Why aren’t you working in some sort of shop or something? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking,” Remi said.
“Well, I’m not sure I’d really make any more money, and I’d be required to be there for set hours and wouldn’t be able to pick and choose the projects I want to do. As it is now, I get requests online for cakes and a rough idea of what people want. I’m able to filter through and pick the ones I want to do, based on my available time and experience. And…with all of Ellory’s health issues, it wouldn’t work out anyway, me working full time outside the house. Being on my own, I can take the time to go to her appointments. If there’s an emergency, I can drop everything to be at the hospital with her.”
“Vincent told me a little about her condition,” Remi said. “I have to admit that I didn’t know anything about Crohn’s disease.”
“Me either,” Maggie agreed. “It sounds horrible.”
“It is,” Addison agreed. “I feel so helpless when she’s hurting and there’s nothing I can do.”
“It’s rare that kids her age get it, isn’t it?” Wren asked. “I researched it a little so I wouldn’t sound like a doofus when we met.”
The thought that the other woman had gone out of her way to try to learn about Crohn’s meant a lot to Addison. “Yeah. Which is why it was so hard to diagnose her. The doctors thought it was just about everything else before they finally decided it was Crohn’s. We’re just starting to get to the point where we’re figuring out how best to treat her, but of course there are always wrenches in the plan. Just when we think she’s good, she’ll have an especially bad inflammation.”
“That sucks,” Josie said.
Addison agreed.
“She’s a great kid,” Remi said. “So polite. And the way she helped Yana with her cake earlier was adorable. I hate that she wasn’t able to have any herself.”
“I felt bad about that myself for a long while, that she couldn’t eat a lot of the sugary stuff kids love. But I’m so proud of her for learning what triggers the inflammation. I don’t think she even misses it most days anymore. And yes, she’s a huge help with Yana and the boys.”
“How are they all doing?” Maggie asked. “Things were…they weren’t good over there. If you could’ve seen how they were living. In the ruins of buildings, scrounging for food and water. It was heartbreaking.”
“They’re okay. They have their moments where they miss their home and their parents, and when they struggle with the culture here, but the fact that they’re together helps a lot, I think. How are you doing?” Ricky had told Addison all about what happened in the Ukraine. How Maggie had been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend, a high-ranking naval officer, who’d used his connections to have the SEAL team of her new boyfriend, Preacher, almost leave her in the country in the middle of a war zone.
“I’m good,” Maggie said, one hand resting on her belly unconsciously. “Tired, but I feel really amazing, considering I’m growing a human inside my body.”
Everyone laughed.
“I need to pee what seems like every ten minutes, and I’m starting to get weird food cravings, like peanut butter and pickles. What’s up with that? I mean, pickles I get, that seems to be the stereotypical pregnancy craving…but with peanut butter? I gross myself out sometimes.”
“I wasn’t too bad with wanting weird things in my first trimester, but in the second? I was an eating machine,” Addison said. “Bananas and ketchup? The most delicious thing ever back then. Now even thinking about it makes me want to puke. But one thing that I ate just about every day for three months was tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches. I can still eat those today.”
The others laughed.
“I’m scared,” Maggie blurted.
“Of what?” Wren asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
“Everything. Of the actual birth; I know it’s gonna hurt and I’m not a fan of pain. That my baby won’t be healthy, of Shawn being gone when I go into labor, of screwing this kid up…pretty much everything .”
“I think that’s probably normal,” Josie said.
“I know, but I can’t stop thinking about all the things that might go wrong,” Maggie said, her voice hitching.
Addison scooted her chair closer to the other woman and put a hand on her arm. “I didn’t know I was pregnant with Ellory for four months. And in the meantime, I was still going out to bars, drinking, being around people who smoked…so when I did finally realize I was knocked up, I freaked. I thought I’d hurt the baby for sure. Even when the doctor told me that everything looked fine, I didn’t really believe him. And I was dating at the time, but still pretty much on my own. My boyfriend didn’t seem to have much interest in anything to do with the pregnancy. That should’ve been a clue, but I was still living in a fairytale land where we’d end up happily ever after.
“Anyway, I can tell you that the fears in your head are way worse than reality. The drugs they have these days for birth are really good, which cuts down on a lot of the pain, and one thing I’ve learned is that even if your baby isn’t completely healthy, you’ll still love them just as much as if they were. Of course, my baby wasn’t a newborn when I learned that lesson. But I love Ellory even more today than I did the moment she was born, when I thought she was perfect.
“And you aren’t going to mess your kid up. Because you and Preacher are…you’re good people. From everything I’ve heard from Ricky about you guys, you’re going to be amazing parents. And if Preacher and the guys happen to be gone when you go into labor, I’ll be there for you.”
“Me too,” Remi said immediately.
“And me,” Wren chimed in.
“And of course me too,” Josie agreed.
“It’ll suck if Preacher misses the birth of his baby, but being present at the actual birth doesn’t make a man a good father. It’s how he acts after they’re here,” Addison said.
“You’re thinking about MacGyver,” Remi said knowingly.
Addison nodded. “Yeah. He didn’t have to take in Artem, Borysko, and Yana. But he did. And you should see him with them. He’s…it’s as if he’s known them his whole life. He knows when to be strict and when to let them be kids. He loves them for who they are, even when they make mistakes, or pee in the bed, or leave their stuff everywhere.”
“I take it Ellory’s bio-dad wasn’t like that?” Remi asked. But as soon as the question was out, she shook her head and said, “Sorry, no, ignore that. It’s none of my business.”
“It’s okay,” Addison said. “And no, he wasn’t. He was annoyed by her crying, he never once changed a diaper. It was more a relief than anything else when he broke things off shortly after her birth. At least then, I could stop trying to rely on him to do things, only to be disappointed every time he let me down.”
“I’m sorry,” Remi said.
“Don’t be,” Addison said with a shrug. “I think we’ve done all right.”
“You’ve done more than all right,” Wren said quietly as they watched Ellory play with Yana in the yard. They were playing Ring Around the Rosie over and over and over, and Yana screamed with laughter every time they “fell down” at the end of the rhyme.
They continued to watch the kids play for a beat before Remi said, “So…Vincent told me that MacGyver asked if they’d all come to Ellory’s school for Career Day next week.”
Addison nodded. “Yeah.”
“He also said something about DILFs?”
Everyone roared with laughter. Addison couldn’t help but remember the look on Ricky’s face when she’d told him what that meant.
“Ellory is thrilled that she’ll have some hot Navy SEALs that she knows there. She’s been having an issue with bullies. Because of her hair and her size…because she’s not hit puberty yet, and of course because of the Crohn’s. Kids are cruel, especially twelve-year-olds.”
Cheyenne happened to come outside right when Addison was talking and said, “I can’t stand bullies. Career Day, huh? Any chance Faulkner and the others can come too? I mean, if Ellory is excited about showing off one team of SEALs, maybe having two will be even better?”
“Really? That would be great. Ricky mentioned something about talking to your husband’s team about it. Although I’ll have to contact the school and see if it’s okay,” Addison said.
“I mean, I know our guys are older, and maybe they’ll seem like old farts to the kids,” Cheyenne mused.
“Old farts? Have you seen your husband lately?” Wren asked with wide eyes.
“Uh…yeah. Last night. When he stripped me naked and tied me to the bed and did all sorts of?—”
“Right. TMI, Cheyenne,” Remi said with a laugh.
Cheyenne didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Addison thought it was refreshing and awesome that she and her husband still had what sounded like a very active sex life.
“Let me know what the school says. I’m sure Faulkner and the guys can do something like challenge your younger men to some sort of competition. That way, they’ll all get to show off.”
“You think that will make the bullies back off Ellory?” Maggie asked.
“I have no idea. Maybe? I don’t know what else to do though,” Addison said with a frown.
“I guess MacGyver can’t go to school and be all big and bad and threaten the mean girls, huh?” Remi said.
Addison couldn’t help but chuckle. “No, but he wants to. He wasn’t happy when he heard about what Ellory’s been going through. I have no idea why kids are so damn mean.”
“If my kid is a mean girl or boy, I’ll yank them out of school so fast, their head will spin!” Maggie exclaimed. “No kid of mine is going to be the reason someone else’s child is hurting.”
“Though, it’s really no wonder the girl who’s mostly responsible for the bullying is the way she is,” Addison mused.
“Why?” Wren asked.
“Because her name is Chrysanthemum.”
“No, it’s not!”
“You’re kidding!”
“Holy crap, seriously?”
Addison giggled. “Not joking. That’s really her name. Although she goes by Chrys.”
“Now I feel a little sorry for her,” Maggie said.
“Addy, pee!” Little Yana had approached when they were talking.
Addison started to stand, but Cheyenne shook her head and said, “I’ve got her.” She held out her hand to the girl and said, “I think I saw a cookie leftover. After you use the bathroom, maybe we can grab it before the guys can steal it.”
“Cookie!” Yana exclaimed happily, as she took Cheyenne’s hand.
Addison was surprised all over again at how trusting the little girl was. How well she’d taken to the strangers she’d met today. But right before she and Cheyenne disappeared inside, Yana looked over her shoulder, back toward where her brothers were playing. Artem paused to wave at her, letting her know everything was all right.
She was adjusting well, but some things—like relying on her brothers to keep her safe—were obviously deeply ingrained in her psyche. Which wasn’t a bad thing. The thought of how she would’ve felt if she’d been separated from them hurt Addison’s heart.
Two hours later, Yana was zonked out in Ricky’s arms in Caroline’s living room, and almost everyone had left the party except for Cheyenne, Dude, their daughter Taylor, and Addison and her family.
Her family.
Those two words were foreign, and yet they sounded so right in her head.
Artem and Borysko were at the table, having another snack. They could definitely pack in the food, but since they’d been deprived for so long and were active, growing boys, Addison wasn’t worried. She was sitting next to Ricky and Yana, while Caroline and Wolf were across from them on a love seat. Dude was in an oversized chair with Cheyenne draped across his lap. Ellory and Taylor were in the basement, watching a movie.
Addison was tired, but in the best way. The day had been better than she could’ve imagined. She’d been nervous and worried to meet Ricky’s people, but everyone was welcoming and so darn nice to both her and their kids. It felt as if she’d finally found what she’d been looking for her whole life. True friends.
“So…I don’t know about the rest of you, but I feel as if the day was successful,” Caroline said with a smile.
“It was perfect,” Wolf countered, leaning in to kiss his wife’s forehead. The obvious love the couple shared was beautiful.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Ricky said.
“Of course. The more the merrier. And I mean that. Ice and I may have made a conscious decision not to have kids, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love them and don’t love having them around. We just like being able to send them home too.”
They all chuckled.
“You guys good?” Wolf asked Ricky, sounding serious. “You need anything? Food? Clothes? Bedding?”
“We’re good. Thanks.”
“Any word on the adoption?” Cheyenne asked.
“Not yet. Tex got us emergency approval to be foster parents, but there are still a lot of hoops to jump through before we’ll be allowed to adopt. Visitations, psych evals, interviews with people at work, things like that,” Ricky said.
“Well, it’ll be fine,” Dude said firmly. “Anyone who’s around you all for more than a minute or two can tell that you’re meant to be together. Those kids are in good hands.”
“Thanks,” Ricky said. “On that note…before Artem and Borysko eat Wolf and Caroline out of house and home, we should probably get going.”
“Already?” Caroline said with a pout.
Addison couldn’t help but laugh. “We’ve been here for hours.”
“I know, but the house is going to be so quiet when you go. You know, if you wanted to have Ellory sleep over sometime…maybe when Taylor is here, since they’re getting along so well…we would love that.”
“That sounds awesome,” Dude said. “We could have the house to ourselves.” He raised and lowered his eyebrows suggestively at his wife.
Cheyenne smacked his arm but giggled.
“Really?” Addison loved the thought too. Her parents lived too far away for her daughter to have a close relationship with them. Ricky’s parents were closer, but she still wasn’t sure she’d be comfortable letting Ellory be a few hours away from her. Of course, it would be up to Ellory if she wanted to have a sleepover at Caroline’s house, but based on what she’d seen today, Addison was pretty sure her daughter would love it.
“Of course, really. She’s a doll.”
“All right. We’ll see what the future holds,” she said diplomatically.
Everyone stood, and Caroline went to the basement with Cheyenne to get the girls. Dude and Wolf went over to the table to sort the boys out. Ricky leaned into Addison. “You good?”
“I’m great,” she said with a huge smile. “Everyone was so nice.”
“Told you,” he said with a smirk.
“Yeah, you did.” Addison couldn’t even be irritated by his smugness. He’d told her that everyone would love her and it seemed that they had. Her cookies and cake were a huge hit, and all the men and women, and kids for that matter, had been laid-back and friendly.
“At least the kids will sleep like logs tonight,” Ricky said as he took her hand in his.
His fingers wrapped around hers felt so natural. As if they held hands every day of their lives. The truth was, this was the first time, and Addison had a feeling the memory would be burned into her brain.
Ellory came upstairs with Taylor, and they hugged each other before saying their goodbyes. The boys’ eyes were drooping, but they dutifully said their thank yous to the adults before heading out of the house.
They weren’t even halfway home before everyone except for her and Ricky were sound asleep in the car. The silence was comfortable, and Addison soaked in the feeling of contentment.
At the house, Ricky picked up Yana, still asleep, and Artem and Borysko headed straight to their room to change for bed.
“Mom?” Ellory said when Ricky left with Yana to put her to bed.
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“I had the best time today. Taylor was awesome. So nice, even though I’m younger than she is. We have a ton in common. And is it true that her dad and his team might come to Career Day along with Ricky and his friends?”
“Yeah, if it’s all right with the school. I’ll call them on Monday to make sure.”
“Sweet!”
“Are you hungry? You didn’t eat much today.”
“I’m fine.”
“Your belly feel okay?”
Ellory shrugged, and Addison frowned. Usually when her daughter didn’t immediately say she was fine, it meant she was anything but and was trying to downplay her pain level.
“Ellory,” Addison warned.
“I’m not a baby anymore,” she said with a sharp bite to her tone. “I’ll tell you if it gets bad.”
“I know you’re not a baby. I just worry about you.”
Her daughter took a deep breath. “I know. But I’m fine. You can’t worry about me for the rest of my life.”
“Who says?” Addison said with a chuckle. Then she reached for Ellory and pulled her in for a long hug. “I love you, kiddo. I’m very proud of the young lady you’re becoming.”
Ellory blushed and nodded. Then she pulled away and headed to her room.
Addison sighed. She missed the days when Ellory was content to snuggle against her for hours at a time. She had to face the fact that she was growing up.
Thirty minutes later, the kids were all zonked in their beds, sound asleep after a long, fun day. It wasn’t too late, but Addison found her own eyes drooping.
“Why don’t you head to bed too?” Ricky suggested. “I won’t be too far behind you.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Of course not. You don’t have to stay up just because I do.”
“All right. Thanks for today. It was awesome.”
“ You’re awesome. Good night.”
“Night.”
Addison headed to their room, spending some time in the en suite before climbing under the covers and thinking about how fun their day had been, how wonderful everyone was…how she’d stressed so hard for nothing.
She was half asleep when Ricky came into the room a short time later and climbed under the covers on the other side of the bed. That was why she didn’t really think about what she was doing when she rolled closer to him and wrapped her arm across his chest.
“Addy?” he asked softly.
“Hmmmm?”
He was silent for a moment. Then… “Nothing. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“M’Kay.”
That night, she slept better than she had in months. Snuggled up next to the man she respected…and was beginning to think she couldn’t live without.