Chapter 29
?
Pamela sat in Talia’s kitchen the next morning. The babies were still asleep, and she thought about the last few days and how tumultuous they had been, exhaustion oozing from her pores. When arms wrapped around her from behind, she smiled and asked, “Did you get any sleep?”
Anderson dropped a kiss on her forehead, and she realized just how quickly the two of them had gotten close.
If they had some peace and quiet and a little bit of privacy, they might have had a chance to do more, but she certainly wouldn’t push it now, not when the babies were as active as they were, busy running amok.
Maybe in a few days, but this was good because at least she had Anderson here with her right now, and that was something too.
She smiled up at him. “You look rested.”
“I am,” he said, as he smiled at her. “I think when we get a chance, we should go away for a few days. Just to be … alone.”
“I agree, but going away for a few days may not be all that easy.”
“No, I’m sure it won’t be,” he agreed, kissing her again. “Plus, we need Talia to wake up first.”
Just then his phone rang. “Hey, Burton, what’s up?
… What? She’s waking up?” he asked, bounding to his feet.
“Yes! Yeah, no, I’m on my way,” he replied, with a big grin.
“I would bring the family, but that’s not a two-second job, so, yeah, maybe next time.
” He heard the laughter on the other end.
“Do you want to come have a nap and catch up on some sleep here?”
She listened as they discussed it.
“Fine. I am on my way.” When he ended the call, he appeared to be a little disturbed.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“He still doesn’t want to leave her alone, even if I’m on the way. Burton says it still doesn’t feel … finished.”
“Still?”
“Yeah, that’s what he said. It doesn’t feel finished to him, and that has me worried because he has amazing instincts. I respect him far too much to argue with him, and, if it isn’t finished, we still need Talia under watch.”
“Okay,” Pamela said, patting his hand. “Then we need to keep things as is.”
He nodded. “Are you okay if I leave you here with Leland?”
“Of course, but where is he?”
“Sound asleep,” he said, with a chuckle. “He fell asleep with the babies.”
She looked at him in astonishment, then got up and raced to the baby’s bedroom upstairs, and, sure enough, on the floor near all three cribs and crashed out cold was Leland. He had a baby blanket tucked under his head, and he didn’t appear to care one bit.
“You really do have good friends,” she murmured.
“I do,” he confirmed, smiling at her. “Oh, that reminds me, there may be one more coming.”
“Good,” she said. “I guess at this point, the more, the merrier.”
He smiled, leaned over, and kissed her passionately. “Absolutely, particularly if we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“Yeah, we need to,” she murmured. “And we need to get your sister back home again, where she can look after her children.”
“I know. I know, but she’ll still need a lot of help.”
Pamela chuckled. “She sure will, but being near her children will be the best cure for her. And if you’ll stick around for a little bit …”
“I’ll stick around for a bit,” he replied, a smile on his face. “I just don’t know how long I’ll be, but I’m good for now. We’re all on leave for the moment.”
She leaned up, kissed him, and whispered, “Go.”
He pulled her into his arms and muttered, “I don’t know what kind of kiss that was. It kind of had a motherly touch to it.”
She snickered. “We can’t have that.” Then he kissed her in a toe-curling move that made her wish for a whole different set of circumstances. When he pulled back, she whispered, “Oh, that’s not fair. You can’t kiss me like that and then just leave.”
“Nope, it’s not fair,” he agreed, “but I’ll make it up to you. Somewhere along the line, we’ll squeeze in a little bit of private time.”
She laughed. “That works, or maybe we just need to get out, just the two of us.”
“Yep,” he replied, giving her a peck on the lips. “Maybe.” He then leaned over and gave her a kiss on her nose. “But not just yet. I’m heading to the hospital right now. If you see somebody arrive, and you’re not sure who he is—”
“I’ll wake up Leland.”
“Perfect.” And, with that, he headed out.