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beautiful, exotic skin tones. She was a perfect mix of Asian and European genetics and appealed to him in every way, even her mule-headedness.
    It would take a stubborn woman to stand up to him on a day-to-day basis.
    Earl chanced a glance at the nook area and smiled. She was asleep. She’d snuggled into the corner of the seating area and had Riley securely in her arms, lying against her full breasts. Breasts made for nursing babies, breasts made for his mouth—not necessarily in that order.
    Hell yeah, he could see a dark-haired son with exotic skin tones cuddled against Tessa’s naked chest. Before that dream could happen, though, he needed to convince her she was meant to be his. But she was skittish with whatever in the hell was bothering her. He might be ready, but she wasn’t.
    “Tessa’s asleep.” Tweeter, Keely’s youngest and favorite brother, spoke from the entry to the kitchen. He sniffed the air and grimaced. “I think my nephew needs a diaper change, and Tessa needs a bed. What are we gonna do about that?”
    “You can take diaper duty.” Earl turned down the soups to the lowest setting and took the stock pot off the stove to let it cool a bit before he skimmed it once more and put it in the professional-sized refrigerator. They wouldn’t use all the stock for the risotto Tessa had planned, and he could make a chicken noodle soup for tomorrow’s lunch. Weather report had no one leaving Sanctuary until at least late Wednesday evening. “I’ll tuck Tessa into bed. And steal her laptop so if she wakes up she won’t be tempted to work instead of getting some rest.”
    Tweeter snickered. “You’ll be in big trouble. No one touches Tessa’s laptop.”
    “She’ll deal.” Earl took off the apron and laid it on the island. He walked quietly to the table. Tweeter followed. “I’ll hand off the little guy to you, okay?”
    “Gotcha.” Tweeter pulled the table out so Earl could get to the two who slept the deep sleep of innocents.
    Though, Tessa slept with a slight frown on her forehead and lips. What in the hell was bothering her? He really hoped it was a man, so he could punch someone’s lights out. If it were something to do with her books—he wasn’t sure what he could do to fix things, but he would damn well at least be a sounding board. Help her talk things through.
    He gently tugged Riley away from Tessa. The baby’s blue eyes had popped open upon hearing his Uncle Tweeter’s voice. The little guy smiled and gurgled at Earl. Once Earl had the little guy in his arms, Riley patted Earl’s scruffy jaw, and his tiny body wiggled with joy.
    God, he wanted a son, or a daughter, but only if Tessa were the mother. Yeah, Cupid Callie had filled his hide with arrows, but instincts as old as time had him yearning for a child of his own.
    “Here, take the stinky little guy.” He handed Riley to Tweeter, who expertly cuddled his nephew. Earl snagged the diaper bag from the bench seat and put it over Tweeter’s shoulder. “You good?”
    “Got it. Now put Tessa to bed. I don’t think she’s slept since she arrived. Too much excitement … and something’s bothering her. She’s been quieter than normal.” Tweeter turned to go, then paused and looked over the shoulder the bag hung on. “This might be out of line, but bring her laptop back here. Keely told me Tessa had mentioned to Callie she’d been getting some e-mails that bothered her. Keely offered SSI’s help, but Tessa ignored her and changed the topic. My sis backed off, but came to the Bat Cave and asked me to get Tessa to accept my help. Want to see what’s going on?”
    Earl grunted. “Fuck yeah. Her phone’s on the island. Check it out too. She’s been getting a lot of text messages and calls that are upsetting her. I’ll take the flack if Tessa gets pissed.” He looked at her, still leaning against the bench seat, sound asleep. She was so tired she hadn’t even roused when he’d picked up the baby. “What if she erased