Page 39 of Brokered Betrayals

Evangeline hustled into the kitchen, halted five feet away from them, and performed a happy dance. She took a deep breath and pushed her hands down as she exhaled. “Okay. I’m good.” Evangeline calmly walked toward them and said, “Welcome home.”

Sawyer kissed her cheek and gave her a one-armed hug. Royce wrapped her up with both arms when it was his turn.

“Dad is in the living room. He’s taken over your recliner and your pets,” Evangeline teased. “Eddie and Jo are on their way too. I hope you don’t mind that I invited them.”

“Of course not,” Royce said.

Evangeline pressed her hands to her chest. “Phew. I just made so much food. There’s no way you boys could eat all the leftovers.”

“A challenge I would’ve happily accepted.”

“What did you make?” Sawyer asked. “Royce smelled beef and a rich gravy, potatoes, and carrots. My vote is pot roast.”

“Not this time,” Evangeline said. “I made my beef and noodles, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots. Jo is bringing pineapple upside-down cake and a loaf of sourdough bread.”

“Sounds like heaven,” Sawyer said.

Evangeline winked. “It will taste like it too.”

The little posse moved into the living room, where Barron indeed had taken over the recliner and had both pets in his lap. Dolly stood up and wagged her tail excitedly when she saw them, but Bones only cracked open one eye. Royce could hear him purring from across the room and suspected it would take more than a little stranger to disrupt his nap. Dolly moved to jump down, but Barron snagged her and placed her onto the floor. She darted over to them, looking at the car seat carrier with enormous eyes.

She barked twice and woke the baby from her nap. Darla blinked twice, scrunched up her face, and tested out her lung capacity. Dolly darted behind the recliner with her tail tucked between her legs. Sawyer set the carrier on the coffee table and unbuckled the crying baby while Royce tried to coax Dolly out from behind the chair. The small dog peeked her head around the corner, and Royce squatted down and patted the floor in front of him.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he cooed. “You didn’t mean to scare the baby.”

Dolly inched forward a few steps at a time, darting glances between Royce and Sawyer, who sat on the couch with Darla. The baby had stopped crying, but she continued to fuss.

“I think she’s looking for her next meal,” Evangeline said when Darla nuzzled her face against Sawyer’s chest.

“You won’t find anything there, Pumpkin,” Sawyer said.

“Want me to get a bottle ready?” Evangeline asked.

Sawyer checked his watch. “She’s still got another hour before her next bottle. Let’s see if we can get her a little closer.”

Royce returned his attention to comforting Dolly. She ducked her head and ran to him, and Royce scooped her up and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go meet your human sister.” He carried her over to the couch and sat down beside Sawyer and Darla. “You might not know it yet, but the two of you will be best friends someday.” He looked over at the recliner, where Bones slept without a care. “It might take the cat a while to acknowledge Darla’s existence, but he’s going to love her too.”

“I could do this all day, every day,” Sawyer said, tipping his chin to Darla. “But I promised to help get the bags inside.”

“Sounds like a mission for me,” Barron said.

He powered the footrest down and stood up with Bones in his arms. The massive feline looked mad as hell when Barron set him back down in the chair alone. Bones looked at them on the couch, his gaze fixed on the wriggling baby against Sawyer’s chest. The cat stood up, stretched his enormous body, and pranced across the end table between the two pieces of furniture and stalked toward them.

“Hi, Bonesy. I missed you.” Sawyer extended a hand toward him, and Bones butted his head against it and purred loudly.

The feline got close enough to sniff Darla’s leg. Dolly barked, the baby cried, and Bones got the hell out of there, heading down the hallway toward the bedrooms.

“Shhh, sweetheart,” Sawyer said. “Dolly isn’t nearly as mean as she sounds.”

“She’ll get used to the noise,” Evangeline said.

The doorbell rang, the dog barked, the baby cried, and the cat stayed hidden.

“But will we?” Royce asked Sawyer.

“That will be Eddie and Jo,” Evangeline said. “I’ll get the door.”

Royce stood up with Dolly. “I’ll calm the dog.”