A month had passed since the encounter with Dylan and there had been no sign of him. We desperately wanted to put our guard down and just think that he had given up, but we knew better. Cannon kept reminding us that it was basic attacking principle, something he had learned in the Marines. He said that the enemy would retreat and stay off the radar for weeks, making you think they were gone and no longer a threat. As soon as you let your defenses down, they’d attack. He said this was the same situation and we couldn’t take the risk of letting our guard down.
Even though everyone was still on edge, we still had to go on with our lives. Dad and Trent had to continue running the business with Tristan, Easton, Talon, and Rox doing their jobs within the company. Nikki went on with her job at the local pharmacy while Jayson was in school. Liam and Tegan continued going to school with Liam doing his job for the company as well. Tegan, who was now sporting a nice little baby bump, got a job as a waitress at the diner in town. She didn’t need the money; she did it more for something to do. Kasper had gone back to his house to continue going to school, but he’d come down to visit every weekend. James had moved in with Kasper until he could get a place of his own and he had transferred to the same school as Kasper and Cayden.
Daddy and Trent went to school with the dean of Cayden’s school, so they were able to pull some strings and allow Cayden to switch to online classes until we got the situation sorted out. Therefore, Cayden was able to stay with me and our sons throughout the week, instead of having to go back to our house for school. I was just glad that the football season was over so that he didn’t have to worry about that on top of everything else.
“Are you leaving soon?” I asked as I walked into my old bedroom that had now become mine and Cayden’s as well as the boys’.
Cayden was sitting on the edge of his bed, leaning down to tie his shoes. He sat up as he heard me and I walked over to him and straddled his waist, looping my arms around his neck.
“I’m just waiting for Liam and Tristan to get here and then we’re leaving,” he answered, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist.
“Just don’t corrupt our sons too much. They’re a little too young to be acting like you guys just yet,” I said as I buried my face in the side of his neck.
“Don’t worry. Our little boys are safe,” Cayden assured me, tightening his arms around my waist.
“Of course they are. Their Daddy would never let anything hurt them,” I retorted, kissing his neck.
“No I wouldn’t,” Cayden said, his voice so fierce that I knew he was thinking about Dylan.
“Calm down baby. Today’s a fun day,” I advised, trailing kisses along his neck in an attempt to calm him down.
“You’re right baby girl,” he said, tilting his head to the side subconsciously, making me smile.
From downstairs, I heard the sound of the front door opening and then I heard the voices of Liam, Tegan, and Tristan, signaling it was time to go. I pulled my face away from Cayden’s neck and sat on his lap, staring into his eyes. Even amongst all the fear and paranoia of the Dylan situation, Cayden had still managed to make me the happiest I had ever been.
“I love you,” I told him with a small smile on his face.
“I love you too,” he responded, leaning forward to press his lips to mine.
“Now, now, none of that. We have to go!” Tristan said from the doorway, a smile in his voice.
I pulled away from Cayden and stood up, straightening my shirt that Cayden had apparently started to pull up without me knowing.
“Way to ruin the moment, bro,” Cayden said to Tristan as he clapped him on the shoulder.
“Just doing my job as the big brother,” Tristan retorted with a grin on his face.
“Yes because I need another one of those,” I said sarcastically, a grin on my face as I walked over to stand with the brothers.
“You know you love us,” Tristan said, reaching out to wrap his arm around my shoulders.
“Yeah, yeah,” I answered, giving him a hug and pushing him out of the room.
“Go find your nephews,” I commanded with a laugh.
“Bye Kenzi Bear, have fun today,” he said as he walked down the hall in search of my sons.
I laughed, shaking my head at Tristan as I felt Cayden wrap his arms around my waist and bury his face in the side of my neck.
“Have fun today baby. Enjoy your girl’s day out,” he whispered against my neck as he left little kisses there.
“Enjoy your time with the boys,” I countered, turning around in his arms.
“Makenzi! Detach yourself from your boyfriend and let’s go! Time is ticking!” Tegan yelled up the stairs, making Cayden and I laugh.
“Guess that’s our cue to go downstairs,” I said, leaning up to place a quick kiss on his lips.
“Guess so,” he responded before pulling me closer to him and deepening the kiss, his tongue sweeping across my bottom lip, begging for entrance.
I pulled away, causing him to groan.
“Come on Cay. We have people waiting for us,” I said, turning around and walking out of the room.
When we walked into the living room downstairs, we saw that everyone was here waiting. Liam has Cain and was tickling him, making my son’s laughter fill the room. Tristan had a sleeping Asher in his arms, his little head resting on his uncle’s shoulder. Tegan was standing next to Liam, helping his tickle the toddler. Mom and Emily were over on the side of the room, talking to Tegan’s mom, Megan, as Rox stood next to Tristan, running her fingers through Asher’s hair gently.
“There they are! Time to go!” Tegan said once she caught sight of me and Cayden.
We said our goodbyes before Liam, Tristan, Cayden, hopped into Liam’s truck, buckling the toddlers into their car seats. Soon after, Mom, Emily, and Megan climbed into Mom’s car as Rox, Tegan, and I climbed into Tegan’s car. We were spending the day shopping for baby stuff for Tegan since she didn’t have anything yet. It made sense since she had just found out a couple months ago and we had told her to wait until we could all go with her.
“Are you excited Teg?” Rox asked as she looked in the rearview mirror at my best friend.
“Of course I am! I can’t wait to buy everything and get the nursery all set up. I can’t wait for my little girl to get here,” she gushed, rubbing her swollen stomach.
“Girl?!” Rox and I exclaimed at the same time, turning to look behind us at my best friend, who had a huge grin spread across her face.
“We found out this morning,” she explained.
“Tegan, that’s amazing!” I exclaimed, giving her an awkward hug over the seat.
“Thank you,” she retorted, the smile still on her face.
When we pulled up to Baby Warehouse, we piled out of the two vehicles. I looped my arms through Rox’s and Tegan’s as we walked to the entrance. It was the first day in a while that I felt carefree and light. I wasn’t going to let anything ruin my day.
“So do you know what you want to name her yet?” I asked a few minutes later as we were looking through some clothes.
“We haven’t decided yet. We have a few that we like, but we haven’t picked one yet,” Tegan answered, holding out a pink onesie to show me.
“Well you still have time. After all, you’re only six months pregnant,” Rox pointed out.
“I know. I just wish these three months would hurry up. I can’t wait to meet her,” Tegan said, her hand rubbing her bump.
“I know what that’s like. It’ll all be worth it in the end, though,” I said, tossing some clothes into the basket that I was pushing.
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” she answered, giving me a smile before throwing some blankets in my cart.
I looked up and saw Rox looking at us with an unusual expression on her face. I could tell she was thinking hard but it was more than that. There was something else in her expression.
“What are you thinking about Rox?” I asked gently, making her break out of her revere.
“I’m just thinking,” she answered, still caught up in her own world.
“About what?” I asked, turning to give her my full attention.
“You and Tegan and Cayden and Liam. You all have your own little families and are happy. I want that. I want the guy to love that I know will always be there for me. I want the little baby that will grow in my stomach before entering the world. I want it all,” she explained softly, looking down sheepishly.
“You’ll get it Rox. You have Malachi,” Tegan responded.
“Yeah but that was in the past. That’s over now,” Rox said.
A few years ago, when Rox was sixteen, she and Malachi dated. They were together for a few months before Malachi’s mom died and he withdrew into himself to deal with the pain. He pushed Rox away and wouldn’t allow her to help him through it, therefore ending their relationship. Once Malachi entered the world again, things between him and Rox were too bad to save. They avoided each other for a while before eventually becoming friends again. Everyone could see that they still loved each other. They just wouldn’t admit it to themselves or each other.
“You never know what might happen, Roxy,” I said with a smile, going back to getting baby stuff.
Four hours later, we exited the store. We had gotten everything that Tegan would need and then some. She was tired, but she had a happy smile constantly on her face. We went to have some dinner before dropping Tegan and all of her stuff off at her house. Liam was home and helped an exhausted Tegan to their bed before helping us unload everything and carry it to the room that would be the nursery.
“Thanks for helping my girl get everything. I know it meant a lot to her. She’s missed you,” Liam said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“It’s no problem. Today was really fun, and I’ve missed her, too. I’ve missed you too Li-Li,” I answered, wrapping both arms around his waist and hugging him to me.
“Aw Kenzi Bear, it’s okay. We’re still right here,” he said, hugging me back and kissing the top of my head.
“I know and I love that,” I responded.
“Now go on home Kenzi. Cayden and your sons are waiting for you,” he said, gently pushing me out the door.
When I got home, I ran right to the living room where Cayden and Tristan sat with Cain and Asher. They were watching a movie and I walked over and sat down in Cayden’s lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. Instantly, his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me against him tighter.
“Hey baby girl, how was your day?” he asked, his mouth right next to my ear.
“It was a lot of fun. We got Tegan everything she needs for the baby and then some. How was your day?” I answered, resting my head on his shoulder.
“It was really good. Slightly painful, but really good,” he answered.
“Painful? Why?” I asked curiously, pulling away from Cayden to be able to look in his eyes.
“It’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it baby girl,” he assured me, pulling me back against him.
“Hey Kenzi Bear, do you mind if I take the boys tonight? Rox and I have Jayson tonight and I know how much the three of them enjoy being together,” Tristan asked from behind me.
“Go ahead Trist. They love spending time with you,” I answered, reaching down to pull Asher into my lap.
“Momma!” he cried, throwing his little arms around me in delight.
I hugged him back, laughing.
A couple hours later, Tristan left with my babies and Cayden and I went upstairs. I went into my ensuite to take a shower as Cayden worked on some of his homework. When I was done in the shower, I put on my pajamas and walked back into the room. Cayden was sitting on the bed, shirtless, but his sides were bandaged. I hurried to him, worried that he was hurt.
“Cayden, what’s wrong? What happened?” I asked frantically, my hands lightly touching the bandage on his right side.
Cayden closed his laptop and turned to face me.
“That was the painful part of my day. I wanted to surprise you. Close your eyes,” he requested, giving me an assuring smile.
As I stood there with my eyes closed, I heard Cayden moving around. I heard the sounds of the bandage coming off before Cayden told me to open my eyes. I did and I gasped when my eyes landed on his sides. Cayden had gotten a tattoo, two of them actually. Running down his right side was the word ‘Asher’ and going up his left side was the word ‘Cain’. He had gotten tattoos for our sons.
“Cayden, that’s beautiful,” I said, my hands covering my mouth.
“Do you like it? I wasn’t sure what you would think. I know you have one, but I wasn’t sure how you’d react to me having one,” he said, sounding slightly worried.
“I love it,” I said, raising myself to my toes to kiss him.
He smiled against my lips before kissing me back and leading me to the bed.
********
“Are you sure you don’t mind me staying here?” I asked Cannon for what felt like the thousandth time.
“Kenzi, you’re my baby sister and we can’t have you in that house by yourself. You’re staying here,” Cannon commanded.
“Thank you Cannon,” I said with a smile, reaching over to give him a quick hug.
It was a few days before Christmas and I was staying with Cannon for the night. Cayden, who had taken the boys to visit Kasper and James, was stuck in our old house due to the snowstorm that was taking place there. Dad, Trent, Mom, and Dad were away on a business trip and Rox and Tristan were away for the weekend. Easton and Talon were working, leaving Cannon as my only option to stay with. I was looking forward to spending time with Cannon as I hadn’t gotten to spend that much time with him since before he had left for the military.
“Are you okay Kenzi?” he asked, as I clutched the back of the couch for support.
“I’m fine. Just a little dizzy,” I answered, carefully making my way around the couch to collapse onto it.
“Are you sure? You’ve been getting dizzy a lot lately as well as being tired all the time. Maybe you should go to the doctor,” Cannon suggested, grabbing his keys off the table.
“Relax Cannon. I’ll go tomorrow if it doesn’t get any better. Right now, I just want to rest,” I answered, sinking further into the couch.
“Okay, well I’m going to go take a shower. You know where everything is. Help yourself,” he said, kissing my forehead before making his way back to his room.
As I heard the sounds of the water starting, I found a movie to watch. I had just put it in the DVD player and was about to sit back on the couch when the doorbell rang.
“Kenzi, will you answer that?” Cannon yelled from his bathroom.
I walked to the door and pulled it open, standing in shock at the sight in front of me.
“Nice to see you again Kenzi. You’ve been hiding from me,” Dylan said, right before I heard the unmistakable sound of a gun and then felt the cold metal being pressed to my temple.
“Get inside. We’re going to have some fun,” he said, pushing me backwards and locking the door behind him.
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Tell me what you think! I bet you guys hate me right now, huh? Anyway, I start the spring semester of college tomorrow so the next update may be a little slower than usual. I am so sorry for that. I promise I will get it out for you guys as soon as I can though :)