Ethan handed them both glasses of a fruity red wine he’d just poured for them to enjoy while the men drank beers.
Rose Marie roamed on the floor, going from man to man to be held, eyeing Ben flirtatiously while playing peek-a-boo with Quinten. She’d been around the two of them all her life, so she treated them no differently from her family.
Ethan took a seat on the floor next to Jack, who was closing the mesh fireplace screen so that Rose Marie wouldn’t get burned by stray sparks as she played. She crawled up Jack’s legs and into his lap before turning to him.
She placed her chubby little hands on his cheeks and in a piquant voice said, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.”
Camilla chuckled softly with the others as Jack responded, “What-y, what-y, what-y?” as though they’d played this game before.
Rose Marie puckered her little rosebud lips and said, “I need kisses.”
Jack chuckled and kissed her face and bussed her cheek, making funny sounds against her chubby neck as she giggled happily.
Camilla didn’t even have to ask if the thrill of a foursome had waned for Grace over the last couple of years. All she had to do was watch the way Grace looked at her men, the way she smiled indulgently as Jack showed affection to their little daughter. Despite all the challenges they would face in the years to come, the fact that it was worth it was clearly painted on Grace, Jack, Ethan, and Adam’s faces.
Grace interrupted her musing when she said, “So how did it go yesterday?”
Camilla slipped her shoes off and tucked her feet under her on the couch as she leaned toward Grace. “It was above and beyond what I’d expected, Grace. I’m still not sure they understand how much it meant to me.”
Grace smiled happily and knotted her hands together. “Tell me from beginning to end.”
“They came with me to the storage place where I’d kept all of my mom’s things. All I was going to do was go through boxes until I found what I needed and then leave.”
Camilla thought back to the looks on Ben’s and Quinten’s faces the day before. They’d stood outside the door of the small storage unit where her father had hired movers to take all their stuff when he’d come to “collect” her. She’d received the key to the storage unit in the mail from her father’s lawyer years before, after the move had been completed.
Both of her men had stood there, hands on hips, surveying her small collection of boxes from the house she’d shared with her mother.
“Quinten left and came back with the truck and the flatbed trailer. They unloaded it all out of the storage rental and put it on the trailer, we turned in my key, and they brought it all home with us.”
Her past meeting her future.
Grace put her hand over her mouth and whispered, “Oh my gosh, what men.” Her simple compliment was voiced in awe.
“Once we got it all home, they helped me sort through stuff I hadn’t seen since I was sixteen.”
Grace patted her forearm, her expression filled with concern. “Was that hard?”
“A little…at times. I hadn’t touched any of it prior to yesterday because the painful memories and feelings had been so strong. Then as the years passed, I just paid the bill for the rental every month and relegated sorting through it to the back burner.”
Grace nodded, understanding in her eyes. “Yeah.”
“My mom had this pretty red-and-white china teapot that she loved. It was an antique passed down from her grandmother. She used it all the time. We found it, still in perfect condition. After we were done with all the boxes, Ben and Quinten sealed the spout closed and…”
Her voice broke as she recalled the tenderness in Ben and Quinten’s eyes when she’d opened the old cardboard shoe box.
Grace took a deep breath and sniffled quietly.
“We transferred Mom’s ashes to the teapot and they sealed it closed. I don’t know why I resisted doing it so long.”
“Maybe you needed someone special there with you when you finally did it?” Grace asked as she quickly swiped a tear from her cheek.
“I think so. It didn’t make me sad. I was happy to have her settled, and I think she would’ve liked being put to rest in her favorite teapot. At least I hope so,” she said with a chuckle. “Ben asked me if we could put her teapot on the mantel in the living room. He was worried that might make me feel sad or uncomfortable.”
Grace sighed softly. “What a great guy.”
Camilla let a tear slide down her cheek and smiled as she nodded. “Yeah. So she is at home on the mantel.”
“I think she would be so thankful and happy for you. To know that you found such wonderful men who love you so much.”