Blake, Abby - Mikayla's Family [A Bride for Eight Brothers 6] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) (11 page)

“I can’t believe it’s nearly ten years already.” Mikayla nodded in agreement. Living and loving the Davidson brothers was the most amazing adventure of her life, and she prayed that they all had many, many more years together. “I still hear the words you said to Tracey years ago. I’ll be forever grateful to her for convincing you to stay with us.”

“You heard that?” She shouldn’t be surprised. It had been a very emotional time for all of them, and it would’ve been just like Brock to listen at the door. He colored slightly in the fading light, and she leaned over and touched her hand to his face. “Would you have let me go?”

He nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “If it had truly been what you wanted, then yes, I would’ve let you go. We all would’ve. The one thing we’ve always wanted is for you to be happy. Fortunately,” he said with a lascivious grin, “we are what makes you happy.”

“Very true,” Mikayla agreed. “Thank you for loving me back.”

“Always, baby girl.” He pulled her close just as the screen door opened. Ryan stood in front of them a moment later.

“Dance with me, sweetheart.” Ryan held his hand out and helped her to her feet. They danced to music only Ryan could hear, a slow sensual movement as he held her close. “You’re the center of my universe,” he half whispered, half sang in her ear. “Do you remember that plastic stick we asked you to spit on when we first moved to the farm?” She giggled at the reminder. It had seemed so silly at the time. “We had a bet going to see who could convince you to spit first.”

He laughed at her shocked reaction, but she quickly started to laugh with him. She remembered being suspicious at the time. Obviously she knew her husbands well. “So it didn’t tell you when I was ovulating?”

“No, we didn’t lie about its purpose. It really did tell us when you were ovulating. We just knew you’d hesitate to spit on it.” She laughed again. That much was true.

“So who won the bet?” Ryan grinned widely, and she laughed again at the memory. She’d been so frightened to try for a baby after her ectopic pregnancy, but three healthy pregnancies later, it seemed like a nightmare she’d woken from a long time ago.

They continued to dance to the sound of the night creatures as the sun dipped completely below the horizon and shrouded them in darkness. Bryce came onto the porch, retrieved her from Ryan’s arms, and headed back to the swing.

Not to be pushed aside so easily, Ryan leaned over and pressed a soft kissed to Mikayla’s mouth. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you, too.”

Bryce pulled her onto his lap and kissed her until they were both panting for breath. “Did I ever apologize for the way I acted when I first met you?”

Mikayla was about to laugh, but Bryce seemed so serious that she pressed her ear to his heart and listened to the soothing, regular beat. “You never needed to,” she said quietly. “I always knew that you were trying to protect me.”

He pulled her closer, running his hand up and down her spine as they sat on the swing. They rocked back and forth in silence for a few moments before he said, “Thank you for believing in me at a time when I struggled to believe in myself.”

Tears filled Mikayla’s eyes as she heard the anguish behind the words. Bryce’s nightmares had finally stopped several years ago, but it was obvious that his days of undercover work still affected him. Mikayla shuddered as she remembered the injury that had been the impetus for him contacting his brothers after so many years of silence. Bryce had never told her how he’d broken his leg, had often dismissed it as a silly fall, but Mikayla had overheard him telling Matt the real story a few years ago. Even now, Mikayla still wanted to vomit when she recalled the sickening details of the way he’d been tortured when his cover had been blown.

“I love you, Bryce. I always have.”

“I love you, too,” Bryce replied in a gruff voice. They held each other in the dark as the swing rocked back and forth. “I finally heard from Leroy.”

“Is he okay?” Mikayla asked as concern for the man’s safety ran through her. Leroy had been working undercover on the desert planet for nearly eight years. He’d already managed to have Zedahla’s father convicted of murder several years ago, but each time he’d come close to completing his investigation, another case had come to light.

“He’s heading home actually,” Bryce said. “Emily is insisting that he stay with her while he finds his feet back in the real world. Lachlan is about ready to pitch a fit over it.” Mikayla tried to stifle the giggle. Of course Lachlan would be concerned about the woman they all thought of as a younger sister, but it was the fact that Leroy was obviously a skilled and highly trained Dom that most likely worried him. But if Mikayla knew one thing for certain, it was that the woman Zedahla had grown into once she’d changed her name to Emily Davidson wouldn’t tolerate a nasty Dom any more than Mikayla would. If anything, Lachlan should probably be concerned for Leroy. The man would certainly find loving a woman as independent as Emily very challenging.

When the screen door opened, Matt walked over and tucked a soft blanket around Mikayla. Bryce went to leave, but Matt pushed him back onto the seat and sat on Mikayla’s other side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she was reminded of that first night they’d met. Matt had been so amazingly protective of her, a complete stranger at the time, that Mikayla had never doubted his compassion or his capacity to love.

“It was a great Thanksgiving,” Matt said with a contented sigh. “Days like today make it easy to remember all of the amazing things that have happened over the years.” He smiled at his bother. “But the one that stands out, the one I am most thankful for is that the woman I love managed to give me back the brother I needed.” He leaned forward and touched Mikayla’s face with his fingertips. “You’re the reason Bryce and I had a chance to work out our differences, Mikayla.”

She shook her head. She may have been the catalyst, but it was Matt and Bryce who’d sorted out the problem. She’d just been there at the time. Bryce pressed a kiss to Mikayla’s mouth and then lifted her onto Matt’s lap. Bryce nodded to Matt in a silent communication that said volumes about how well the two had reconciled, and then he turned and left Matt and Mikayla alone.

“I’ve loved you since the day we met,” Matt said with a serious expression. “And I promise to love you forever.”

Mikayla bit her lower lip and blinked back the tears. “I’m so glad that you were there that first night. You’re the reason I even have a family, Matt, and I will be forever grateful.” She leaned over and pressed her lips to his for a brief moment. “And I promise to love you for an eternity.”

Matt sighed again as he settled her more comfortably against him. Feeling content and happy, Mikayla lay in Matt’s arms as the clouds moved and the stars became clearer in the night sky. No doubt about it. Loving the Davidson brothers had been the best thing that had ever happened to her.

The screen door opened once more and both Matt and Mikayla moved off the swing. Lachlan stood nearby, and he grinned as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her inside.

“Where are the others?” she asked as she looked around the spotlessly clean but obviously deserted kitchen.

“Upstairs,” Lachlan said with a mischievous grin. “Getting ready.”

“Ready for what?” Mikayla asked with a grin of her own.

Matt laughed as he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs. “Ready to show you exactly how much we love you.” Mikayla wrapped her arms around Matt’s neck and kissed him hard. He eventually broke the kiss to whisper softly, “Pace yourself, Mrs. Davidson. It’s going to be a very long night.” Mikayla laughed happily as thoughts of loving her husbands all night long filled her mind.

The family they’d built together was simply amazing. She had eight incredible, talented, loving husbands, three beautiful children, and a stable, loving home. Somehow Mikayla Noone, the orphan nobody wanted, had found exactly where she belonged.

And she couldn’t be happier.

THE END

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