Damian sighed. "It's different for us all, I think. I don't know."
"What does it feel like?"
He saw that Gabriel was just curious. Part of him was tempted to be an asshole, but he had Mia and their two children to think about. "Everything falls away. The moment you see her, you just know in your gut that she is the best thing that has ever happened to you, and that you're going to love her, hold her, and cherish her for the rest of your life. It doesn't matter what anyone does or says, you will just love and hold her. Whenever I look at Mia that is exactly how I feel. There is no one else around that I could want, or even wish to have. She is it for me."
Gabriel sighed. "It actually sounds quite amazing. To have someone in the entire world be yours."
"There is a catch. Did Dad tell you about that?"
"I should have known there was a catch. Go on, what is it?"
"The women don't feel the same way. They don't look at you and know that you're destined to be together. They don't know you. You've got to take the time, get them to fall in love with you. I look at Mia, and she is it for me. I love her more than anything else in the world, and I know there would no one else for me. She sees a guy who has helped her. Who took her away from the monster that hurt her. I'm her friend. One day, I do hope that she'll feel love for me, but again, we'll have to wait and see."
Gabriel nodded. "A two-sided curse. We're plagued to know love, and to fight for it. They only know they've got some freakishly obsessive man who'll do anything for them."
"Told you it wouldn't be easy."
"You did. Is there any other reason you wanted to talk to me?"
"I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I'm not always a total asshole, and how I've treated you, it was fucking wrong, and for that, I apologize." He held his hand out.
"Thank you."
"How are you finding it? The whole Denton thing?" he asked.
Gabriel looked toward the house. "It has been strange. Charlotte is a wonderful person, a bit of a bitch at times, but I don't think Maddox is the best husband."
"What was it like for your mother? For you?" Damian asked.
Gabriel smiled. "My mother was always trying to please my father. I think when she realized that Maddox wasn't coming back for her, she had to make the most of a bad situation. That situation created me. I wonder if he knew? There were times when he looked at me I'm sure of it. He made her pay for any indiscretions anyway. She'd always tell me when I caught her with a new black eye, or there were times I'd see belt marks on her, peeking out from clothing. She'd always tell me not to worry, that she deserved what he gave her."
Damian was horrified. "I knew your father was an asshole."
"It's kind of nice to know I didn't come from him."
"Yeah, but our actual father was the one that put him in that place. It couldn't have been good."
Gabriel merely shrugged. "We live with what we have to. I tried to protect my mother, but my father was intent on hurting her every chance he got. There are times I think that she's at peace now, dead. I hope he's rotting in hell. Anyway, enough about me. You haven't called back. You don't want to deal with Ivan?"
"I do want to deal with Ivan. He hurt my woman, and now I need to hurt him. First, we've got to make sure that we don't show any weakness. The Denton name is only as strong as those who stand by it." Damian stared at the other man, and it got him thinking. "Do you hate the Denton name? Would you do anything to destroy it?"
Gabriel threw his head back and laughed. "I should have seen that coming. I have no intention of taking the Denton family down. I'm part of it, and as much as I don't like Maddox, I've found friendship with Jacob and with Abel. Even Uncle Stuart isn't so bad."
"I had to check," Damian said. "I've heard rumors of a possible attack."
"How did you hear that?"
"Because I know of the places to listen. The dives where people talk or people brag." He had a knack of finding out information. It was something he'd always been able to do. "I'm going to check them out. They could be related to Ivan, but I don't know."
"The thing about being the shark in the city, there's always a lot of babies who think they can take over. You could go up and down the streets and find hundreds of men who have some beef with the Dentons."
"Something tells me you'll know exactly where to find the men who think they can overthrow the Dentons just because we're having a few disagreements."
"I might," Gabriel said.
"Then on Monday I want you to take me to them. I want to find out exactly what people are saying about the Dentons." He loved his family. There were times he just wished he had a different name. He wouldn't change who he was though, or his brothers and sisters. As if on cue, Tamsin came to the door, and waved at him. She was growing up so fast. There was a time she would have run out, and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. Now, he got a wave. Behind her was Owen, and it made him tense. Owen and Wyatt Colton were related to Gabriel, but were they on their side. "Do you keep control of your siblings?"
"Don't even go there, Damian."
"You've got to think about how they feel about us, Gabriel. They wanted us all dead."
"Owen and Wyatt adore Charlotte and wouldn't do anything to hurt Tamsin either. My brothers are not like that."
Damian didn't need to point out that he only mentioned women, none of the men.
****
"You're handling him well," Charlotte said.
"Thank you. He's only a couple of months old. I really don't know what to do most days, and I'm just trying to remember what I've seen in movies, and what everyone else has done," Mia said.
"It's all you can do," Jacob's wife, Lou, said. "I don't think anyone is ever prepared for a baby. I know I wasn't, and I've got another on the way." She rubbed her swollen stomach.
"Men think we have some special switch that means we know what we're doing," Harper said. "At least I got Abel to change diapers, and to be part of Evan's early years."
"How was Maddox with your lot?" Ruby asked. She was Oliver's wife, and also heavily pregnant.
The smile on Charlotte's face faded. "He … wasn't around all the time. Maddox and I, we didn't have the best start, and it took some time for things to settle. Seven children later, and we're still struggling."
Mia saw the pain in her eyes, and she went to her, wrapping her arms around Charlotte, offering her comfort.
The older woman took it and then pulled away, wiping away tears. "That's enough about me. Look at all of you. Bringing up my boys I'd hoped for daughters-in-law as nice as you, and that is all I ever wanted. I better go down and check on the chicken."
When they were alone Mia looked toward the group. "I'm not a daughter-in-law. I think I'm a nanny and a housekeeper mostly. Damian has been really nice to me."
"It's not long before a Denton gets under your skin, and I should know," Ruby said. "I tried to kill my husband when I first met him."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, I was a one-woman army, and I intended to kill every single Denton man. Of course, I was wrong about most things, and I ended up falling in love with Oliver rather than killing him."
"Which I'm more than happy about," Oliver said, coming into the large nursery. "I thought I'd find you here, getting hints and tips."
"I have to. Our due date gets nearer every single passing day." Ruby placed a hand one her stomach, and then took Oliver's hand, placing it on her rounded bump. "Do you feel anything?"
"I feel our girl or guy moving."
"You don't know the sex yet?" Mia asked.
"We could have found out together, but we wanted it to be a surprise. It has been hell trying to stick with neutral colors for the nursery." Ruby kissed Oliver's cheek.
Mia watched the couple while trying not to gawk. The two were clearly in love, and she rubbed at her chest as a flash of pain rushed through her. Oliver rubbed Ruby's stomach, and then his hands moved up to her shoulders giving her a little massage. Ruby leaned back, using Oliver for support.
Pregnancy hadn't been easy for Mia. In fact, she had found it hard, painful, and at times humiliating. Toward the end when her stomach had been so big she could barely move, and she had to roll and crawl to places just to stand up. There hadn't been anyone for her. Ivan obviously had offered, but she hadn't wanted him to come near her.
There had been a time during the first few weeks, even the first couple of months, that she had thought about a termination, and then it was like Reese had known, and he'd kicked. She'd been crashed out reading a library book, and he'd kicked out.