Coming Home

Chapter 13

“Hey Cay, we have to go this way. They have to get their bags and then we have to go. Chloe’s anxious to see Daddy,” I said, smiling at them.

“Mommy, look! It’s Daddy!” Cain yelled, pointing his little finger in Cayden’s face.

“Yeah baby, it is. Now come here. Let Mommy hold you for a little bit,” I said, reaching over to take him from Cayden.

Cayden shot me a panicked look, almost as if he thought I was taking Cain away for good, so I gave him a reassuring smile and looped my arm through his, letting him know I wasn’t going anywhere. I could feel him relax after that and we walked to baggage claim just like that.

“So you and Cayden seem to be getting along well,” James commented twenty minutes later as we walked out to the parking lot.

I looked ahead to where Cayden was walking with Liam right beside him, each of them having a twin in their arms. Tegan walked beside Liam, fussing over Asher while Tristan was on Cayden’s other side, playing with Cain in Cayden’s arms. I knew already that my boys were going to be extremely spoiled, if my best friends’ behavior was any indicator.

“It was pretty bad at first. He was mad and so was I, but then we came to the conclusion that being mad and angry at each other wasn’t just hurting us, but everyone around us too. So we decided to be friends again, which is a lot easier than I thought it would be. It still hurts every time I see him, but that pain is fading. I’ve realized I can’t go through life being mad. I have to learn how to let things go,” I answered.

“Coming home has been good for you. We’ve been trying to get you to understand you can’t stay mad at him forever and you’ve finally realized that. All it took was a couple weeks of being home,” James said, giving me a smile.

“So where’s Parker? I thought he was with you and the boys,” I asked, finally getting the opportunity to ask.

“He’s with Jen, probably somewhere in New Mexico, maybe Texas. We figured since you were going to be here for a while, you’d want your truck. So they’re bringing it to you, along with more of your stuff,” James answered.

“Thank you!” I yelled, jumping into his arms to give him a hug.

The ride home wasn’t anything like I expected. After Cayden’s performance the night before at Tristan’s party, I expected him to be jealous when we found out James would have to ride in the truck with us since there wasn’t any room in the other truck. However, Cayden spent the ride home squished between the two car seats, talking to our sons while I drove home with James sitting beside me. I was constantly looking in the rearview mirror, watching Cayden with our sons.

“I just got a text from Rox. She wants us to meet her at Talon’s,” Cayden said, pausing in his game with Asher. On his other side, Cain had fallen asleep in his car seat, his little head resting on the side of the seat.

“Did she say why?” I asked, making the turn to go to my brother’s house.

“No. She just said to meet her there. Tristan texted me, too, saying they’ll meet us there. He’s dropping Chloe and Kyle off at the hospital,” he answered.

I nodded, turning the truck onto Talon’s driveway. I found a spot next to Easton’s truck and parked there. I turned the truck off before looping the keys around my hand and sliding out of the truck. I walked to the back door and opened it, reaching in to grab Asher. On the other side, Cayden was hopping out before reaching back for Cain.

“So this is Talon’s house? It’s nice, cozy. I like it,” James said, falling into step with me as I made my way to the front door.

“Yeah I do too,” I said, feeling Cayden on my other side.

“Mommy, where are we?” Asher asked from where he was perched on my hip.

“We’re at Uncle Talon’s house baby,” I answered as I stepped onto the porch.

“Tally’s house!” my son repeated, making us laugh at what he calls my brother.

I opened the door and walked in with James and Cayden right behind me. I turned left to go to the living room, hearing voices coming from the room. I entered the room to see Talon, Easton, Rox, and Nikki were sitting around the room, waiting for us. When they heard us enter, they all jumped up and ran over. In an instant, Asher was lifted out of my arms as everyone wanted to see him. Since Cain was asleep, they decided to let him sleep. There was plenty of time to fuss over him later.

“Hey James, nice to finally meet you,” Easton said after a moment, breaking away from the crowd and coming to say hi.

“Hey Easton. Nice to meet you too,” James replied as they shook hands.

“He’s gotten so big Kenzi Bear,” Talon called over to me as he looked at Asher, who was perched on his hip.

“Oh guys, Chloe’s here. Tristan’s taking her to the hospital to see Daddy now,” I said before I could forget.

“How’s she handling it?” Easton asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

“Pretty good. A lot better than she would if Kyle weren’t here,” I answered, forgetting that they didn’t know about Kyle.

“Who’s Kyle?” Talon asked, passing my son to his wife before walking to me. I smiled as I heard the protectiveness in his voice.

“Kyle’s her boyfriend, has been for a couple years. He’s a great guy. He’s helped me out with the boys. He’s James’ older brother,” I answered, indicating James beside me.

Talon seemed to relax slightly, but I could tell he was still tense.

“Tell you what, how about I call him and have him come here? He knows he has to meet all of you and he’s nervous as hell about it, but it’s something that needs to be done. What do you say?” James asked, looking back and forth between my brothers.

“That would work,” Easton answered and James took his phone out to call his brother.

I walked over and sat on the couch next to Cayden. Looking over, I saw Cayden still had Cain in his arms. Cain’s head was resting on Cayden’s shoulder, his little arms semi wrapped around his daddy’s neck. Smiling, I turned to survey the rest of the room. Jayson had come into the room and he was now playing with Asher. Talon was sitting with his arms wrapped around Nikki, watching the little boys play. Rox and Easton were on the ground playing with them. My smile grew as I realized this was my family and they were happy and together. All I needed now was for Daddy to wake up.

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Here you go! Here's Chapter 13. It's kind of a filler chapter and I'm sorry for that. I hope you enjoy it anyway. The story will start speeding up after this, now that everyone is here. I can't wait!

Oh, and I'm developing a cast list for this story and I can't find anybody for Cain and Asher. So if you have any ideas, I would really appreciate them. Or else, I just won't add them to the list.