“He just met her too,” Michael said in frustration. “The day before I did. Christ, this is complicated, Dad. You have to know, none of us have ever batted an eye over the way we grew up. But none of us ever imagined that we’d go the same route. I mean, it sounds crazy. Two days ago I would have laughed in your face and said not only would it never happen, but it would never work. And then I met Lily, saw how Seth was with Lily, and I knew that neither of us is going to back down an inch. ”
“So you want to know what? If it works? If we threatened to kill each other in the beginning? What?”
“I want to know what kind of fucked-up gene you passed on to your kids,” Michael grumbled.
Ryan threw back his head and laughed. He sighed and slapped Michael’s shoulder then squeezed.
“It’s not funny. What the hell am I supposed to do?”
“The question is less about what you’re going to do and more about how Seth is handling this. ”
Michael sighed. “He isn’t any happier about it than I am. ”
“Seems like you’ve got a problem then. ”
“Anyone ever tell you that you have a gift for understatement, Dad?”
Ryan chuckled. “Your mother might have accused me of not being overly helpful in the conversation department. ”
“Did you and the dads have…problems? In the beginning? When you met Mom, I mean. ”
Ryan shook his head. “We already knew, I mean before we met your mom, that we’d have the same wife. I can’t speak for Ethan and Adam, but well, we just knew. I can’t really explain it. It sounds pretty damn stupid now, but when we were much younger, we formed our business, lived together. It’s the kind of situation we grew up in, so it just seemed inevitable. That and we didn’t really form any strong interest in a woman, well beyond sex. Shit, I’m not having this conversation with my son,” Ryan muttered.
Michael winced. “God no, I don’t want to hear about your sex lives before or after Mom. ”
“Look, I understand you didn’t expect or even want this. But what you have to ask yourself is if this woman is worth it. If neither you nor Seth is going to budge then either she has a choice to make or you do. ”
“You make it seem so simple. ”
“It is. The decision is the easy part. Making it work is the hard part. ”
“I always remember you and the dads and Mom being so…in love. Did you have problems in the beginning?”
“Other than your stubborn mother deciding she needed to leave us in order to protect us?”
A scowl darkened Ryan’s face. Michael smiled. Even after so many years, it was guaranteed to piss off the dads to talk about the past.
“We went into the situation with our eyes wide open. We knew what to expect. We also knew that we had to do more work than even your mother because while we only one had spouse to please, she had three very distinct personalities to contend with, and we didn’t want to overwhelm her. It required some patience, some tongue-biting, but most of all it required compromise on all our parts. We all wanted time with your mom even with our unusual arrangement so each of us had to be sensitive to that and not be an asshole when one of the others wanted time with your mom away from the rest. ”
“You knew she was the one. I mean, the moment you saw her. ”
“Yeah. Kind of a cross between an ‘I’m fucked’ and a being struck by lightning sort of thing. ”
Michael’s lips twisted into a rueful smile. “Yeah, that about describes it. ”
“So when do we get to meet this woman?” Ryan asked casually.
“It’s complicated. ”
“So you’ve said. Anything I should know about?”
“She’s homeless. ”
Ryan’s face darkened. “What?”
“She’s homeless. Seth served her in the soup kitchen where he volunteers. He about lost his mind over the idea of her being on the streets. Took her home with him and then I showed up the next morning. She disappeared. We went looking for her, and she took a bullet in some drug dealer war downtown. ”
“Well, hell,” Ryan muttered. “So you two don’t know anything about this woman. ”
“About as much as you knew about Mom when you pulled her out of the snow,” Michael said pointedly.
Ryan held up his hands. “Point taken. I just think you should be careful. ”
“That’s all well and fine to say, but I’m already all rolled up in this thing, Dad. It’s crazy, but from the moment I looked at her, I recognized her. She’s mine. I can’t walk away. ”
“Not crazy,” Ryan said. “I know exactly where you’re coming from. ”
“I just hope to hell I know where I’m going,” Michael muttered.
Seth poked his head into the small office to see Callie with her head bent over a stack of papers.
“Hey, kiddo. ”
Her head whipped up and joy lightened the deep shadows under her eyes.
“Seth!”
She leaped up and hurled herself across the room at him. He caught her and staggered back, laughing at her exuberance.
“What are you doing here? Are you okay? How is your shoulder?”
“Whoa, one question at a time. And I’ll do the asking, missy. ”
She frowned and stepped back. “Who ratted me out?”
“Take your pick,” Seth said. “They’re all worried about you, Callie. What’s going on? And what’s with you coming through Denver without stopping by? I didn’t even know you were home until one of the dads told me. ”
She sighed and ran a hand through her long, dark brown hair. “I’m fine. Really. ”
Seth pinned her with his stare.
“Seth, don’t. Okay?”
“Don’t lie to me, Callie. Not me. I know you better than that. ”
Pain flashed across her eyes, and panic snaked down his spine.
“What happened to you, baby?”
Tears glistened for the briefest of moments before she blinked, and the vulnerability was gone, replaced by a hard shell.
“I’ll be all right. I just needed…I just needed to be home. ”
“I understand that, and I’m glad you’re here. You know you can talk to me about anything. ”
She smiled. “I know. What about you? Are you home for a while?”
It was then he remembered Lily, sitting at the bar by herself. He glanced at his baby sister, and whatever she saw in his expression, she latched on with both hands.
“Tell me,” she demanded.