Page 35

Gent snorted. “Right. But I have to plan the show around stuff. You’ll take a few months off, at least.”

“Yep.” He grunted. God, no wonder people who were shoveling snow had heart attacks.

The guys pulled up, tire chains on the old pickup they’d bought to bomb around town in the snow. “Go get that leg warm, Colton,” Mason called. “We’ve done the rounds.”

“We’ll make hot chocolate.” Gent abandoned the job too, and they headed inside.

“How about Memorial Day for the shower?” Colton asked.

“Memorial Day works for me. It should be nice; you can invite everybody. I don’t know if he had a baby shower for Abby. I’m assuming he did, but it’s funny asking.” He hadn’t been there after all.

“Yeah, I’m thinking that we need to coordinate with Xavi and Xander. No reason to cause problems with those two.”

“I think that’s reasonable. They’ve been good friends.”

Gent nodded to him, closing the door behind them before they pulled off hats and gloves and coats. “Did everything go all right with the court date and everything?”

He hung all the wet stuff up. “It did. Rand got everything overturned, and I’m suing. Better? I think that the DA is going to file charges for falsifying court documents. I’ll see whoever notary witnessed that piece of paper is in big doo-doo as well.”

Gent’s lip curled in a sneer. “They should be taken for every goddamn cent they have.”

“Not every one, maybe.” In fact, he had absolutely no doubt they’d all settle out of court, but it was going to be a nice settlement.

Enough to send both kids to college, fix up the house exactly the way he wanted, fund his business for a good long while, and let his fucking omega do whatever he wanted to do.

If Sebastian wanted to be a stay-at-home dad, if he wanted to make tarot cards, if he wanted to go to college—anything he needed, that’s what Colton intended to get him.

“I have to admit I do want it to hurt a little bit though.”

“Uncle Gent!” Abby came rushing up to Gent and launched herself into his arms, bright blue Little Mermaid nightgown flapping. “Good morning. I was playing with my babies.”

“Were you? Are you taking care of your daddy too?”

She shook her head. “No. Him’s not in his room.”

Colton frowned. “He’s not in his room? Are you sure?”

Sebastian had been sleeping the sleep of the well-loved when Colton had left this morning to go out and shovel.

“Uh-huh. I looked because I was hungry. No Daddy.”

“Gent, could you keep an eye on Miss Abby here. Maybe get her a glass of milk and a little handful of cereal while I go find out where her daddy is?” Colton was a bit uneasy.

“Of course.” Gent’s eyebrows lowered. “I could go, because your leg…”

“No, it’s getting better every day.” He headed upstairs and, sure enough, the master bedroom was empty. Sebastian’s robe was gone and his house shoes were gone too, so he wasn’t dressed, ergo he was not outside.

Colton checked all the other bedrooms, expecting to find him in the nursery because they were in mid-paint, but no.

Okay, odd. “Sebastian, where the hell are you?”

He heard a giggle, and he knew that Abby was downstairs. He also knew that the children never went downstairs, not the spirit ones, they stayed up here.

So that meant that somebody was playing a trick on Sebastian, and he needed to not get all riled up or they would just make it worse.

The ghosts were assholes. All of them. They thought they were cute, and they weren’t very solid on the whole appropriate thing, either…

“Sebastian, can you hear me?”

He heard a thud, and then another very definitive thud.

He looked up. “All right, I hear it. I got you. I’m on it. You’re on the third floor. Let me tell Gent.”

He got his phone, called Gent.

“Are you lost?”

“No, but I think that somebody locked Sebastian up on the third floor, so I’m going to go up and get him. If I get locked up there, could someone come and get both of us?”

“Maybe you should take that door off.”

“I think this is an exceptional idea. Either that or start putting a key around everybody’s waist. I’ll be right back.”

Sure enough, the door to the third floor was shut and locked, the key just hanging out there on the outside.

“That’s a really mean trick. This wasn’t funny.”

He heard another giggle.

He unlocked the door, finding Sebastian sitting at the top of the stairs.

“Oh, I’m so glad you decided to come and find me. I was looking for something slender, and I got a piece of paper. I was going to poke out the key. Slide it underneath the door because I’ve seen this before and it?—”

That wasn’t important, dammit! “What were you doing on the third floor?”

Sebastian shrugged and stood, heading down to him with an easy smile. “I come up here sometimes and try to imagine what it is I’m going to do with it. It’s such a neat room. It’s such a cool space. I just can’t think of anything to do with it.”

“Weirdo.” He chuckled. “Getting stuck is no bueno.”

“Nope.” Sebastian blinked at him. “Where’s Abby?”

“Downstairs with Gent. He came in because the guys showed up to do the rest of the shoveling.”

“Wow. Service with a smile.” Sebastian took his hand as they went down the stairs. He hadn’t brought his cane up. He’d shored up the banisters not long after he’d moved in, and they were solid and still gorgeous, carved wood.

“Yeah. They’re good guys. We’ll have to feed them.”

“Cool. I can toss in one of those sheet-pan pancakes and some bacon.” Sebastian beamed at him. “Are we taking the door off up there?”

“I don’t know. But we need to make sure we can get out if we go in. Those kid ghosts are full of piss and vinegar.”

“They really are.”

They got downstairs about the time the guys were tromping in in their wet gear. He was so getting one of those heated boot drying mats with the super absorbent top. There were lots more folks coming in and out now.

“Sebastian. You’re looking elegant in your llama pajamas,” Iago said.

“Thanks. It goes with my goose robe.” Sebastian showed off his ensemble, and he had to grin.

“Really stylin’.” Law snickered, then held out his arms for Abby. “The floor is lava?”

She lunged at him. “Noooooo! No touchee the floor!” So dramatic through her giggles.

Sebastian chuckled, pulling out stuff to make food, so Colton got started on hot chocolate and coffee.

“So your, uh, problem?” Mason asked.

“Left town. Frustrated with the weather.”

“Good deal.” Mason winked. “We woke up ready to choose violence if they were still lingering.”

“No need.” Thank God. Oh, they would squawk about the settlement and demand to see him in person, which he wouldn’t do, though he might call just to tell them what was what.

But he never had to see them again. He had his family here.

And that was amazing.