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A possessive glint filled Dave’s eyes. “Never.”

“Good, because I have the energy if you’ve got the time,” she answered.

“I’ve got all the time in the world right now. I’m on vacation for a week.” He kissed her. His mouth melding her to hers as he settled in for a sensual glide of their lips.

She moaned and he swallowed it, pressing her back to the cold tile of the wall. “Can’t be too long we have the event this morning.”

“We won’t.” He lowered her onto his cock, and she sucked in a breath. “Damn, I’ll never get used to how snug you are.”

She’d never get used to how many men loved her and cared for her. “Yeah, well, I’ll never get over having you as my husband. I don’t deserve any of this.”

His thrusts were languid, meant to prolong their coupling. "One of these days you will. Until then, we'll remind you daily how lucky we are."

When they emerged from the bathroom sometime later, everyone was up. Since Maisie's arrest and the subsequent public release of her parents' will and the power of attorney, Scarlett and the guys had moved into the house her parents kept away from the sanctuary. The house was only an hour and a halfway, plus it gave her a sense of peace not living in her self-imposed sanctuary of paranoia and ridicule. As an added bonus, it gave Samantha room to make new friends, go to school and explore a little, since all she'd known was the sanctuary as well.

However, moving away came with new responsibilities, like hiring extra crew members to watch over the big cats through the night, just in case. It also meant an early wake-up calls for all of them, so they could return to the sanctuary. It made the days long and the nights too short for her, but they managed and for all their hard work and dedication, it was paying off.

Her niece sat at the table with Timothy and Kenny eating breakfast while Edward was at the coffee pot pouring himself a cup. Somehow, they were making this work. She joined Samantha at the table and snatched a piece of toast from the stack. “Is everyone ready for the big reveal?”

“Yes!” Samantha threw her fist in the air. “I handed out all the tickets just like you said to, Auntie Scarlett. All of my friends think it’s so cool.”

In the beginning, her niece cried all the time. It was hard explaining to a little girl why her mommy had to go away and it’d been difficult to process even for Scarlett, how some of it was her fault. At first, she thought Samantha would hate her, but once she worked through the pain and anger at her mother, the little girl began to open up again, becoming the beautiful young teen sitting with them at the table.

“Well, this summer I’m putting you to work,” Scarlett said. “It’s time you learn the trade.”

“Really?” Samantha’s eyes grew wide with excitement.

"Yes. I thought about starting a summer with big cats volunteer program with teens." As it stood, she was waiting on the extra funding and the increase in their insurance then they'd be good to go. Scarlett figured there were others out there like her who'd want to make a difference in the world when it came to conservation and rehabilitation of animals, why not give them a chance as kids to learn atHearts and Paws.

“That’s awesome, Auntie.” Samantha pushed away from the table. “I need to grab my bag and then I’m ready to go.”

“Perfect.” Scarlett finished her toast and grabbed a travel mug of coffee. “We’ll meet you outside in five.”

“Okay!” The little girl practically ran to her room, leaving Scarlett with her men.

“So, this summer program...” Kenny came up behind her. “Got any room for one more?” He placed his palm on her lower belly.

She laughed. “If you play your cards right. Although, Dave and Edward got a head start on you and Tim.”

“We’ll be rectifying that later,” Timothy said, placing his and Samantha’s dish in the sink. “Or maybe on lunch break.”

She laughed. “All of you are insatiable.”

"Only where you are concerned," Kenny said, stepping around. "Let's get a move on, don't want to be late to our event."

Once they were outside, they loaded up into Dave's new truck and headed for the interstate. Anticipation crawled through Scarlett's stomach. She was equal parts nervous and excited to open the two new exhibits she'd been planning for, for years. Thankfully, the weather was finally cooperating with them. For the last three weeks, it'd done nothing, but rain and she worried it would drown them out of the opening.

Now, all of her worryings had been for not. The sun was out, and the ground was drying. Of course, she'd helped it along by adding more dirt to some of the wettest areas. When they hopped on the freeway and headed south, she turned to the backseat and grinned. Samantha sat between Edward and Kenny watching some show on her tablet. Each of them had headphones on and they all appeared content.

“You worry too much about her,” Dave said. “She’s fine.”

“Maybe.” The trial for Maisie had been long and difficult. Samantha was shown a side of her mother the girl most likely had never seen before then. She had to hear about all the sordid details of her mother’s fraudulent marriage to a guy who’d been married four times and divorced only one of them.

In the end, Maisie received twenty years for the forgery, fraud, and embezzlement and Eduardo had been deported back to Spain to face whatever awaited him there, charge wise. Since her sister’s incarceration, she’d asked Samantha if she wanted to see her mother, but she refused. Maybe one day, Samantha would visit Maisie and her mother would explain why everything had to happen as it did. Until then, Scarlett would be there for her niece every step of the way.

“She gets it,” Timothy added. “I bet, given time, she’ll tell you more about your sister than you even know.”

The thought sent a chill down Scarlett’s spine. “Bite your tongue. I hope she never had to endure what I did.”