Erin didn’t know what she’d expected him to say, but it hadn’t been that. “Missed the city? I go to Tulsa whenever I want.”
Jared’s jaw clenched. “You used to live in a big city. You used to live a city life. Now you live in a small town in Oklahoma where we fight to keep things as boring as possible.”
“Boring? Boring?” Erin gaped at each of them. “Do you think being married to you is boring? I love all three of you so much it’s hard to remember what my life used to be like before, but I remember this. It was empty. I had my work, and that was it. I never met a man who didn’t either bore me or make me want to take a swing at him. I never met anyone who ever got me. Yeah, there are times that I want to take a swing at each of you, but you understand me. You know the dark places inside me, but you love me anyway. You put up with my crankiness, and you don’t back down when I get mad. I was so screwed up inside, but you got me.”
A sob escaped. “God, I love you. How can you think I’d be happy anywhere without you?”
Her voice broke, and when they closed in around her, murmuring softly, she lost it completely.
The events of the day and the knowledge that her husbands didn’t realize just how happy she was with them hit her hard, and suddenly, she couldn’t stop crying.
* * * *
Duncan met his parents in the waiting room. “Let me take the baby to Erin.”
His mother stiffened, searching his features. “What’s wrong? Why don’t you want me to go in? Is she hurt worse than you told us?”
Bending to kiss his mother’s hair, Duncan shook his head. “No, Mom. She’s just really emotional. We’re trying to get her settled down.”
His mother’s eyes narrowed in a way that still had the ability to put him on his guard. “What did you do to her? What did you say to upset her?”
His father Wade closed his hands over his wife’s shoulders as he stepped up behind her, his sharp gaze holding Duncan’s. “What’s wrong? What did you say to upset your mother?”
Duncan knew that his other fathers would have reacted the same way.
Amused to realize that he and his brothers had the same protectiveness toward Erin, he allowed a small smile. “I was just telling her that I’ll take the baby in so Erin can feed him. We’ll get some bottles ready, but right now, Erin’s upset. Between the events of the afternoon, hormones, and a discussion we had, she’s pretty emotional.”
His mother’s lips thinned, a clear sign that she didn’t like what she was hearing. “Erin’s not a crier. What kind of discussion did you have that made her cry?”
His father’s eyes hardened. “Good question.”
Cradling his son against his chest, Duncan smiled to take the bite out of his words. “That’s private. We could have lost her today.”
He lifted his gaze to his father’s. “How would you be feeling right now?”
His father inhaled sharply, blowing the air out in a rush. “Understood. Just don’t be too hard on her. She’s been through a lot.”
Shaking his head, Duncan sighed. “She’s a hell of a lot harder on herself than we could ever be. We’ve spent the better part of the last hour just trying to calm her down. She’s worn out, and I think she’d be embarrassed for you to see her when she’d obviously been crying.”
His mother looked torn. “Let her feed William and see if she feels better. I’d really like to see her for myself. I promise to keep the conversation light.”
“We’ll see.”
By the time Erin finished feeding the baby and using the breast pump, she seemed to have settled and wanted to see their mom and dad.
Their parents had never been slow on the uptake and, seeing Erin’s exhaustion, took the baby and left within minutes.
By the time Jared came back from walking them out, Erin had already fallen asleep.
No discussion was needed about who would be staying with her.
They all did, but none of them slept very much.
Between checking on her, they dozed, but each time Duncan slept, the mental image of her being held at gunpoint played over and over in his mind.
When it happened for the third time, he jumped out of his seat and went to Erin, straightening her covers.
Sitting on the window ledge, Jared opened his eyes. “I gave up on trying to sleep a couple hours ago.” Getting to his feet, he moved to stand at the other side of the hospital bed, reaching down to toy with the ends of her hair. “I have a feeling it’s gonna be a long time before any of us gets a good night’s sleep again.”
Nodding, Duncan frowned when Erin whimpered in her sleep. Bending low, he whispered close to her ear, “You’re okay, baby.”