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against the headboard, and even though Marcus was
smaller, he still managed to support Liam.
    Liam rested his head on
Marcus’s chest and listened to his heartbeat, and Marcus didn’t ask any questions.
He just hugged and waited while Liam settled his breathing. He thought he’d gotten
past all the shit in his head, but coming up to the court case, he was losing
the fine control he’d built.
    “Jack came and talked to
me today,” Liam finally said. Marcus hummed that small noise that meant he’d
heard Liam’s words. “Said he and Robbie are coming with us down to Laredo.”
Only the slight tightening of Marcus’s hold gave away his reaction.
    “That’s a good thing,” Marcus
said. “Isn’t it?”
    “Yeah, I guess so.”
    “Will be good to have both
of them backing you up.”
    “But do you think it’s
because they know it’s going to be so bad that they need to be there? Robbie
already gave his statement about what he found when he got to the barn, and you’ve
given your statement. Jack was ill, he only saw…” Liam stopped and closed his
eyes tightly. All Marcus did was rub circles on his bare skin, and after the
longest time, Liam could feel himself relaxing.
    Marcus began to talk. “Had
the Reysons in today. Their surrogate is due in the next couple days.”
    Liam appreciated the
change in direction. “Are they excited?”
    “Big-time, although I
think Mrs. Reyson has redone the nursery four—no, five—times.”
    They talked about Marcus’s
day, about Marcia, the weather, the news, and they stayed away from the
elephant in the room.
    And for that Liam was
happy.

Chapter 5
    Riley settled Connor in
his crib and pulled the blanket up and over him. The twins were five months now
and both doing well. They were healthy and strong, just like Jack. Every so often
Riley could swear he’d see Connor look up at him with Jack’s intense gaze, and each
time it happened, he melted from the heart outward. Connor was the easy one,
the baby who ate, slept, and smiled. Lexie, on the other hand, was curled in
Jack’s hold and fussing at a bottle.
    “She’s really not happy,”
Jack said. He shifted position a little, and Riley crossed to feel Lexie’s
forehead. She didn’t feel warm, so it was probably that she was just being as
temperamental as she could tonight. She let out a cry and batted away the
bottle, and as she cried, Riley spotted the problem, a new tooth cutting the
gum.
    “Aww, sweetie has a new
tooth,” he said softly and handed her the cooling gel ring that Carol swore by.
When she gripped it, bit down on it, and stopped crying, Riley smiled. Jack
held her close and patted her back as he examined the bottle. It was nearly
empty anyway, and she was snuffling into Jack’s chest like she wanted to stay
there all night. Riley knew the feeling.
    “I’d make you coffee, but…”
Jack indicated with his free hand, and Riley shook his head.
    “Lame excuse. Lame.” He
went to the kitchen to make coffee and found Max sitting with Hayley and Carol.
“Lexie has a new tooth,” he announced with pride. He never failed to be proud
of every single thing his kids did.
    “I thought she might,”
Carol said. “She was fussy today.”
    Max leaned into her, and
she glanced down at him. “Sorry, Maxy.” She resumed the book she was reading
out loud. “Drip drip went the kitchen tap…” Max followed every word, staring at
the book intently and smiling softly. He had this way of holding himself like his
every molecule was utterly absorbed, and as usual, Thomas wasn’t far away, just
to one side. Riley sat next to Hayley and glanced at her homework. Math this
time. He could do math.
    “You want any help?” he
asked, and she passed him the worksheet she was working on, listing a whole lot
of percentage calculations. He pointed out a couple of errors she’d made, but
they were small, and she raced through the sheet. Clearly their daughter was a
genius. The coffee dripped through, and he took it in