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I awoke in the mansion, blinking up at the ceiling in confusion. I didn’t know how I’d gotten there, or even when I’d been driven home. I didn’t know what day it was, or anything that might clue me in to the shifting life I somehow still had ownership of. I turned my head and saw Levi sitting in a chair at the side of my bed, his head bowed. Mason was next to him, his eyes closed and his hands folded over his lap.
My limbs ached and creaked like the Tin Man as I sat up on my elbows, frowning at the too many questions that didn’t have solid answers. “Levi?” I whispered, unsure if I was allowed to call him by his first name, or if he preferred Sandy or Dad.
Levi’s head shot up, and in the next breath, he was standing, bent over me to help me sit upright against the headboard. “You’re awake? You’re finally awake?” He slapped Mason across the stomach, jerking him to consciousness. “October’s awake.”
Mason was at my other side in the next instant, pressing a glass of water to my lips. After I took a few sips, he set the glass on the nightstand. Mason’s arms wrapped around me a cocoon of the safest love. I breathed in and out, inhaling the safety I never wanted to live another second without. “Don’t do that ever again. I don’t know if Von pulled too hard or if you were just that far gone, but you’re not allowed to check out like that.”
“How long was I out?”
“Two days,” Levi informed me, taking in my pallor and feeling my forehead. “I’ll get you some juice.” Levi jabbed a finger at Mason. “I’ll go get Von and Ezra. Don’t let her fall asleep again, son. I mean it. No pulling at all.”
“Yes, sir.” Mason waited until Levi was gone before he slid into the bed next to me. He sat against the headboard, scooping me to him so I could lean my head in the crook of his shoulder. He sighed contentedly, as if the separation had been painful. I knew that desire well. “That’s much better. I didn’t feel right lying in bed with you with your father in the room. I’m having a hard time getting a read on that guy.”
“Me too.”
“You scared me. We couldn’t wake you up. If it wasn’t for you talking in your sleep, I would’ve thought you’d slipped back into your coma.”
“Talking in my sleep? Did I say anything awesome? Solve world hunger? Lay out plans to patch that pesky old hole in the ozone layer?”
Mason chuckled, and the sound warmed us both, cuddling us closer together. “You weren’t all that eloquent. Mostly just called out for Ollie, Allie and Bruce Campbell. Screamed for me and Von a few times, like you were afraid someone was hurting us. You had a few nightmares that sounded decently graphic. You cried for Judge a few times, begged him not to leave you. Ripped my heart right out.”
I tangled my fingers in his shirt over his chest. “I don’t want to know any more. I don’t remember them, so I’m counting that as a good thing.”
“Maybe that’s best.” Mason squeezed me, kissing my forehead before tucking my head under his chin. “Lang built you another porch swing. It’s for the mansion, to match the one at your house. When you’re feeling better, we can go sit in it. Built it with his own hands.”
“Aw, really? He didn’t have to do that. He’s got a whole kingdom to worry about now.”
“Yes, well, Kabayo and Lang stopped by more than a few times to check on you while you were out. They love you, kid.”
I snuggled into Mason, indulging in his patchouli scent. “I love them, too.”
I could feel Mason’s body radiating with pride and affection when he squeezed me again. “You did it, hani. Danny’s home safe. Recovering, though who knows how long that’ll take.”
“Were they able to reattach his finger?”
“They were. Though it’ll take some time before it’s even a little functional.”
“I’ll take what I can get.” I huddled closer in his nook, wishing anyone or anything in my life was big enough, strong enough to keep me safe.
“Do you want to talk about Mariang?”
“No. I don’t even want to think about that. It was too terrible. Too brutal. I didn’t know I was capable of that. Scares me a little that I could just... No, I don’t need to talk about it.”
Mason kissed my forehead again and thumbed my hip that his arm was wrapped around. “What about Finn? You ready to talk about that?”
“I’ll never want to talk about that. Not ever.”
“I’m not Von, you know. You can tell me things. Private things about the men in your life. It won’t send me over the edge.”
I mulled this over, reasoning that he was probably right, but it was still too soon. “You’re a good man.”
He leaned down and pressed a closed-mouth kiss to my lips, a lazy smile coming over his unshaven features. “I’m your good man, so stop running out on me. I could’ve helped you with Sama. I could’ve taken you there.”
“But then you’d be dead, and I couldn’t live with that.” I tapped my heart to let him know where his home truly was. “I love you too much to risk you like that.”
Mason looked like he wanted to protest, to make a new case for his point that we were tied by unbreakable bonds I should’ve trusted, but he kept his mouth shut. “I love you, too. And I know how much you cared for Finn.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”
The door opened, and Mason shot up from the bed to stand at attention, but then relaxed when he saw it was only Von coming in with Anastasia tucked in his arms. “Oh, I thought you were Levi.” He sat back down in the bed, his arm draping around me as Von leaned down to kiss my cheek.
“You alright, love? Had enough beauty sleep? You know, I think I’m going to schedule a bout of shock so I can sleep for a solid forty-eight hours. Brilliant plan, that.”
“You know me, always laying down on the job. Can I hold her?”
“Please. She only sleeps for us and Mum. Even Ollie’s losing his touch.”
I glanced over at Mason. “You alright, wolf boy? You’re not going to go all Matruculan and Hulk out on me, are you?”
“Nah. She’s well over a month old. My stomach barely even growls anymore when she’s near.”
“I love you and your totally gross ways,” I commented, taking Anastasia from Von. I cradled her in my arms so he could sit in the bed on my other side. “No way is she this big. I mean, I know your mama’s had her since we got back from the funeral and came here, but it’s only been, what, a few weeks since I’ve seen her? That can’t be right. She’s giant!”
“Giant and taking a bottle from Ezra now. Took some coaxing, but we tried the spit trick, and it worked like a charm.”
“Spit trick? Tell me that’s not something to do with actually spitting on my niece.” I nuzzled my cheek to hers, taking in the inherent baby smell that made me think of pink bubblegum and fresh linen.
“Yeah, you know. You spit on your thumb, rub it on the baby’s belly, and they don’t resist you as much. ‘As much’ is the key there. She’s still got a lot to say about the state of the union when she gets riled up.”
My nose crinkled. “What the crap kind of baby book have you been reading? That’s not a thing.”
Von chuckled, leaning his head back on the headboard. “It is in Terraway. I had to do it with the twins when Mum went back to work and they were still babies. They wouldn’t take a bottle from me at first, but after the spit trick, they calmed down.”
“I’m not going to comment on the ridiculousness of that, or the total lack of medical backing for it.”
“That’s probably best. I’m much smarter than you. It’s such a chore having to constantly prove it.”
I reared back, nearly raising my voice in indignation, but catching myself just in time so I didn’t disturb Ana. “What? Oh, man. You’ve gone crazy on me. You finally cracked.”
Von grinned, his smile tired as he rested his temple to mine. The three of us admired Ana for the princess she was. Mason even managed to cup her tiny head in his massive mitt without his stomach rumbling.
“I think we should be boring for a while,” I announced. I was riding the high of feeling surrounded by love and acceptance. Even when I fell apart, they were there. Mason and Von didn’t judge me, didn’t run from my crazy, and didn’t turn on me even when I pushed them away. “We’ve had too much adventure and not enough television.”
Mason pulled up the covers and straightened them over our laps. “I’ve been missing this bed. Never thought I’d get used to sleeping with two other people, but now I can’t seem to relax without you.”
Von blew Mason a kiss over my head. “I knew you were hot for me. Can’t say I blame you.” Von handed me the remote for the TV. “Pick something without a love story in it. I can’t take anymore drama.”
I flipped through the channels, hoping for the perfect rerun. The remote flopped on the bed when the grin spread over my face. “Mrs. Brady knows how to stop the drama dead in its tracks. This is a great episode. Oh, you are so lucky.”
Von groaned. “I should’ve been more specific. Something from this century.”
“Shh. You don’t want to wake Ana, do you?” I giggled when he blew a raspberry onto my cheek in lieu of a kiss.
Mason tapped his leg to mine under the covers. “Boring sounds nice. I think Ollie could use a little boring when he gets home from sitting with Allie.”
A niggling thought that had been tugging in my mind could not be ignored any longer. “Hey guys? I think boring might have to wait just one more day. I have an idea.”
Von and Mason both started snoring in unison, feigning sleep to escape being caught up in another one of my plans.