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years and turned back to find Maggie and the boys fast asleep in the middle of his bed. Gently as he could, he moved the babies one at a time to the twin sized, hand-me-down crib where they would be safe. It had been a gift from Tim and Rafe—their own crib from when they were babies.
    He then took a moment to relieve Maggie of her shoes and place a blanket over her. She needed rest more than she needed to get out of the ceremonial robe Allie had lent her. He tucked Maggie in and took a pillow and a few blankets to make a place for himself on the floor. He’d slept in worse places, and he’d do all in his power to keep Maggie and the cubs safe. If that meant sleeping on the floor, so be it.
    Rocky intended to stay awake for a bit, keeping watch, but fatigue claimed him unexpectedly. He knew magic when he felt it. Benign magic. Comforting magic. On this most sacred of nights, he felt the blessings directed toward him and his new family from the other side of the veil, and for a shining moment as his eyes drifted closed, he saw the ghostly outline of his best friend, the brother of his heart, as Tony smiled down on them all.

Chapter Five
     
    Maggie woke in the middle of the night when the babies did. They didn’t really cry—not loudly—instead, they made sort of mewling sounds, alerting her that they were hungry. She’d fed them soon after they were born, but this time there was no one around to help.
    Disoriented in the strange setting, she slipped her legs over the side of the unfamiliar bed, immediately encountering a warm lump on the floor that made her jump.
    “It’s only me. Don’t be alarmed.”
    Rocky’s voice flooded her senses and she immediately felt safer. Then she realized he was on the floor. There could only be one reason. She’d stolen his bed.
    “Aw, Rock. I didn’t mean to make you sleep down there. You take the bed. I have to feed the babies anyway.”
    Rocky stood, a hulking form in the dim light. He’d left a small lamp burning, probably so she’d be able to see when the babies inevitably woke her in the middle of the night. That was just the kind of thoughtful, caring thing Rocky would do for her, because she couldn’t imagine he’d need a nightlight for his own comfort.
    “I can help, if you need.”
    Her face heated with embarrassment. Feeding the babies was a very intimate act she wouldn’t have hesitated to share with Tony, but she’d never known Rocky intimately. Sure, she’d dreamed about him throughout her youth, but after Tony had swept her off her feet, she’d put thoughts of Rocky out of her head for good. Or so she’d thought.
    Tony was gone now and she had come to terms with her loss over the past months. She even knew Tony would wholly approve of her taking up with Rocky, if by some chance this giant of a man was interested in her . But she was nervous. Everything was new. She’d known Rocky for years, but this intimacy was totally foreign…and very exciting.
    “I think I can manage, but I’ll call if I need you.” She stood, resolutely ignoring the way muscles rippled in his chest. He still had his jeans on, but his magnificent chest was bare. Rocky was definitely still drool-worthy. Her high school girlfriends had coined that term and it had fit Rocky back when he played football for the hometown team. It was even more a propos now. He’d filled out since high school. He was all man now, and all enticing.
    She walked past him, trying not to stare at his massive biceps and the honed muscles of his abdomen. He was a work of art in living flesh, and it was hard not to look as she crossed the small space between the bed and the oversized crib holding both babies.
    The rocking chair beside it had been delivered with the other furniture. Those people had certainly thought of everything. Maggie was glad for the chair. She turned it to face the wall for a tiny bit of privacy.
    The moment she stood over the crib the babies stopped making their funny little noises,