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“Thank you for telling me. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Bye, Lenny.”

The phone disconnects and I look down on my now sleeping babies. Orion pops in with food and a snack, making me grin. He was giving me time to finish my calls.

“Perfect timing,” I praise, making him blush. Roark gently picks up the twins one at a time to place them next to me on the bed. I’m not going anywhere and it’s not like they can roll yet.

Fixing my shirt, I take my cup and drink with a hum.

“I’m going to get the house fixed for Layla. No, not a word. It’ll be good for her to have comfort food and something to smash up,” Roark tells me when I open my mouth. “Relax.”

He’s right. There will be girl talk and anger when Layla gets here. I schedule a therapy appointment for myself to help with the rollercoaster of emotions, and then eat my snack. I can’t fix everything but I can work through it.

A beep on my phone comes through, making me huff as I see it’s my group text with Atlas and Mav.

Atlas: I’m really sorry. We fucked up.

I don't reply. They can stew, my priority is my sister right now.

CHAPTERFOUR

Roark

Layla looks tired, her blue eyes red and puffy when I pick her up from the airport. If my best friends were here, they would be meeting my fist right about now.

“Lay, my girl, I’ve missed you,” I say heartily, giving her a tight hug. It may not fix everything, but I still attempt to infuse her with strength. It’s almost nine at night, but that doesn’t mean much when you have tiny people who wake up often for milk. “How was the flight?”

“Fine,” she says with a tight smile. “It just gave me too much time to think, honestly.”

“Fair enough, let’s get you home, lass. Lenny is more than excited to see you, and there’s food at home. Hungry?” I ask.

“Starved,” she agrees, slipping into the car. At least I can feed her.

Layla perks up a little as we pull into the driveway. “How are the babies doing? I didn’t think I’d miss something so tiny until right this second,” she confesses.

Layla’s sisterly instincts are on point today. As soon as I’m stopped, she leaves me in the dust. Chuckling at her enthusiasm, I watch as she runs up the porch stairs.

Turner greets her as he opens the door, squeezing her tightly before letting her through. I follow slower, knowing she’s in good hands and most likely searching for her sister.

“Roark,” someone calls out, and I turn, recognizing Tori’s voice at the door between our properties. It’s never locked anymore, just latched so it stays shut.

“Hey, Tori,” I greet her as she pops her head in. “How are you at wine and breaking things?”

“Loaded question,” she teases as she crosses the lawn. “Who has anger issues?”

“Lennon’s sister flew in. She’s having boy issues, fook, I can’t even call them boys when they’re grown men,” I grouse. “The backyard is set up with bats, shit to fuck up that I picked up from a thrift store, and goggles. Want to go break things and gossip with them?”

“Fuck yeah I do.” She grins. I figure this is an activity best done in a group, and I can snuggle the babies with one of the guys while they go nuts. Layla also knows Tori and Tesa so it may help her.

“Please don’t let Tesa give anything to Layla,” I wince. “I may be pissed off at Mav and Atlas, but having the shits on tour is the worst.”

Cackling, Tori shakes her head. “No promises there, big guy. I’ll be back!”

Fuck, maybe that was a mistake. Oh, well. Fuck around and find out, I guess.

Walking inside, I find Layla cooing over her niece and nephew. They are awake and looking up at her in wonder, reaching up to try to snag her blonde hair. Lay was right to come home.

“They’re already so big,” she gasps. “Hi babies, are you being good for your mommy and daddies?”