Jacob(43)

“Oh, I think you’ll survive, old man.” Joseph made no attempt to hide the amusement in his voice.

“Yeah, when you have kids remind me to be so supportive, okay?”

“Never going to happen. The women I meet are either pure poison or just looking to scratch an itch. Besides, who in their right mind would marry an assassin? ”

“Who would want to marry any of us? We’re all fucked up. Jacob just got lucky.” Both Jacob and Joseph turned as Jason walked into the living room and flopped onto the couch stretching the entire length of the huge leather sofa. His massive body bulked with deeply corded muscle that only hours of dedicated weight lifting could produce. It was obvious what he had been doing during his enforced hiatus and recovery. Jason pointed towards his nephew, and his arm bulged with muscle. “That boy has a set of lungs.”



*



Jacob chuckled and wiggled the bottle in Talon’s mouth. The tiny cheeks repeatedly bunched as he drew the last of the milk. “Yeah, I honestly have no idea why Tori lowered her standards for me.”

“She didn’t.” Jared walked in and flopped into a recliner.

Juggling the bottle and burp cloth Jacob lifted the sleeping baby to his shoulder and started to pat him on the back. “Oh, believe me, she did. The woman is a saint. She definitely lowered her standards.”

He glanced over at Jason then at Jared. “You two still online to work people through the training facility here?”

“Yeah. We’ll push all the personal security officers through at least annually. Those classes on the latest in concealed weaponry and defensive driving techniques are an excellent idea. The schedule should be on Jason’s desk by the time we get back to D.C.”

“I’m not going back.” Jason’s muted response snapped all heads towards the couch.

“I talked to Gabriel after Talon’s christening today…or yesterday, whatever. Anyway, I’m going to continue to work as his personal attorney, but I can’t stay in D.C. If I stay, I won’t… no, that’s not right…I can’t guarantee I’ll stay straight. I don’t need the stress of the job added to trying to stay clean. I’m building a house on the coast, in Ocean Ridge. I have a better shot at living a healthy life there. Guardian is in good hands with you three and if you need anything from me, you’ve got it. It’s not like I’m moving to Outer Mongolia.”

Joseph rubbed the stubble on his face thoughtfully. “Actually Mongolia isn’t that bad. But I’ll be damned if that wasn’t the most I’ve heard you say in three years.”

The middle finger salute Jason flipped his oldest brother caused a rumble of laughter. “That’s because you’re never in the States. When are you going to stop?” Jason’s question had three sets of eyes trained on Joseph.

“When I die.” His cryptic comment sent a chill through the room. Several minutes passed in reflective silence before a disturbingly loud and resoundingly deep burp erupted from Talon.

Jared recovered from the shock first. “Whoa, dude, when he figures out he can burp the alphabet I want to be there.”

“No doubt, it’ll be epic. I can’t wait.” Jacob stood holding his son against his shoulder as his brothers laughed.

“Hitting the hay. Chief will be back from visiting Doc tomorrow afternoon. Gabriel wants the four of us and Chief to run through the operations of the facilities with him again. He wants fresh eyes on it. Good idea, too. I see those damn ops plans in my dreams. See you in the morning.”

Jacob left the great room and walked up the stairs. He quietly opened the door to their bedroom. Putting Talon down, he patted the little bundle until the baby settled and then quietly slid into bed. Tori turned towards his heat and snuggled against him. Her voice was low, sexy as hell, and almost a purr. “Thank you.”

Jacob kissed her forehead and pulled her tightly against him. “You were supposed to be sleeping.”

“Hmmm…did you have a good visit with your brothers?” She felt his chest vibrate when he laughed quietly.

“Yes, and how did you know they were up?”

“Gee, let’s think about this. A screaming baby and four men who have been trained to wake up when a feather falls, all in the same house? How many did Talon wake?”

Jacob’s fingers traveled up and down her spine. His touch caused little tremors through her body. “Everyone except Justin.” His fingers swept over her shoulder down her collarbone and over her breast. Her nipple hardened immediately.

“I’m surprised Dixon and Drake didn’t come over from the bunk house. Did he wake any of your sisters?” Jacob heard her voice catch when his hand cupped her breast while his finger lightly swept over the tight tip.

“No.” Jacob brought his lips to her breast and sweetly kissed first one then the other.

“Good. Mmmm…Jacob that is so…ah…good.” She sifted his hair through her fingers and pulled him closer. “Harder.” Jacob pushed his erection into her. “Tori, I’m such a bastard. I know you’re exhausted, but I want you. God, I need to be in you. I love you so much.”

Tori pushed him away and sat up on her knees in the bed. He lifted the nightgown over her head and tensed at the beauty he witnessed. Her body, lush and full, glowed in the moonlight that spilled through the window. He pulled her down. Her lips brushed his, their breath mingling as the corners of her lips curved. “Shut up Jacob and make love to me.”



*



“That is quite the sight.” Frank Marshall walked up behind Amanda King, who stood leaning against a porch column in the morning sunshine.

Amanda glanced at him and smiled happily. “This is the first time in over eleven years all of them have been together at one time in one place.” Her eyes drifted back to the huge, white-topped, open-walled tent. All eight of her children, her grandson, and her daughter-in-law sat at a long table. Laughter could be heard swelling as another story no doubt humiliated one of her children.

“You have a beautiful family Amanda.” Frank’s hand settled on the small of her back.

She leaned into his touch. “We both have incredible families. But they’re a handful aren’t they?”

Gabriel walked out of the house and joined them on the porch, leaning against the railing. “Frank, you allowing us to have this training facility on your property is a good thing. Thank you again.”

Frank shrugged. “Our boys needed it and I have the land. No big deal. Makes me feel like I’m contributing something.”

Amanda put her arm around Frank’s waist and smiled at Gabriel. “The plans for the hospital are incredible. I’m in awe that the contractor has already finished the rehab gym. State of the art equipment, and I know Jason has deemed the weight room acceptable. Chief and Adam will have a first-rate facility to run.”

“If Adam takes the job. He still hasn’t agreed to it. He’s concerned about the loss of memory from the head injury. His speech is better. The docs are hopeful, but he has a long road ahead of him. Brain injuries are difficult even with the best medical care money can provide.”

Gabriel’s comment got a grunt out of Frank. “Damned shame. You would think soon as Doc sees that Clint Koehler sniffing around Keelee he might just remember. That damn cowboy has been way too persistent lately. Don’t know why, but that one sends my antenna to twitchin’. Something’s off about that boy. God help us, he may just wear that Keelee down before Doc remembers us and comes home.”

Frank watched his daughter as she puttered around outside the barn. She avoided the crowd as usual but stopped to talk with Danny, who was riding in from fixing fence line in the south pasture. “My girl and Doc? They had something. It was strong whether they admitted it or not. She knows he doesn’t remember anything that happened here. Hit her hard, harder than she let on.”

“I know Chief would be happier if Doc stayed. He feels responsible for Doc’s injuries. Shouldn’t, but he does. Anyway, he’s already committed to running the program and facilities whether or not Doc signs on. Did you know Chief has his master’s degree in organizational management?”

Amanda blinked rapidly. “Chief? Our Chief? Goodness I didn’t know he spoke more than two words at a time let alone had an advanced degree!”

“Did Jason talk to you about his plans?” Gabriel leaned forward over the railing and smiled at another roll of laughter from under the tent. Jade obviously took offense at something Jared said and chased him around several tables before catching him and hitting him solidly in the shoulder several times. Jared broke free and ran behind Jasmine using her as a human shield. Jason reached in and lifted Jasmine over his head, giving Jade access to Jared and they ran among the tables laughing like children.

Amanda smiled at the antics before she answered. “We’ve talked about it for weeks. He’s still working through a lot of things. He won’t tell me what happened overseas, but I know it was bad. He thinks opening a law office in our hometown is the best move for him now and I agree with his decision. His support network is there. Of all my children, he is the one I fear for the most. He has gone through so much in his life: the airplane crash, back injury, drug addiction, changing careers, and whatever happened abroad. I know there are things he deals with he will never tell me. My boy is in pain, physically and mentally, and it kills me that I can’t help.”