No baby grew in her womb, and it never would. Unless...
She couldn"t dare to think such things when her friends celebrated one of the most magnificent events of their life. She"d have time to grieve later. Until then, she"d be the best aunt this child could hope for and take comfort in her friends" bliss.
It wouldn"t be all suns.h.i.+ne and roses. She"d help them every step of the way, as they would have done for her if the situation had been reversed. Her own upbringing had taught her that a family is what you make it, not what you"re given genetically.
The crew was a perfect example of that.
Joe"s hand shook when it landed on her waist. She smiled up at him, hoping to erase some of the tight crinkles around his eyes. He suffered too. Maybe more than her. She"d promised him it didn"t change anything between them. She loved him as much today as yesterday, more as each day grew the miraculous bond between them.
Still, after hugging Kate and taking his turn at offering felicitations, he stumbled from the room.
"What"s wrong with Joe?" Kate paused, searching Morgan"s eyes for signs of trouble. If she wasn"t careful, her best friend would ferret out the drama and have them swaddled in her mothering before they"d properly celebrated her revelation.
"He"s not feeling well. Probably doesn"t want to risk getting you sick." She squeezed Kate"s hand, hating herself for the lie. "I"d better go check on him."
"Okay." Kate chewed her lip. "Let me know if there"s anything you need. Either of you."
"We will." Morgan smiled without a hint of pretense. "You"re going to be the best mom in the history of the universe. I can"t wait to spoil him or her."
"Him." Mike"s arms folded across his chest. "I wouldn"t know what the h.e.l.l to do with a daughter. She"d be all gorgeous like her mom and I"d have to lock her up until she was seventy to keep boys from corrupting her."
"Oh, I can just see it now." Morgan patted the foreman on his puffed-up chest. "You"re in so much trouble. A daughter it is."
"Shush." His face blanched a bit. "I could handle one little girl with my hands tied behind my back, right?"
"That"s what he said," Kayla sing-songed. The eight friends cramped in the kitchen erupted into laughter at the horror in Mike"s wide eyes. The raucous cheering still echoed in Morgan"s ears as she burst from the house in search of her husband.
They would get through this. As long as they stuck together.
She scanned the deck and found it empty, so she jogged down the stairs and around the corner to the backyard. Joe leaned against a tree, his hands jammed in his pockets, head hanging, breathing hard.
Her heart broke all over again.
She slowed as she approached. As always, he knew when she was near. "Sorry. Just needed a minute."
Morgan threaded her hands between his bent elbows and his sides. She splayed one hand low on his flat abdomen and the other over his chest, infusing him with as much warmth as she could impart in the chilly afternoon air.
For a while they rested there together. She counted the beats of his heart as it slowed from pounding beneath her hand to a moderate thump. Eyes closed, she could have stayed there with him forever. Long before she was ready to let go, he roused, s.h.i.+fting in her hold.
He pivoted on his boot heel, turning to face her.
"That was really selfish. s.h.i.+t." He scrubbed his hand through his hair, making it stick up in adorable disarray. She wondered if he"d remembered to make an appointment to get it cut.
"I don"t think so." She reached up to cup his cheek. He leaned into her caress, heaving a sigh of relief or self-deprecation, she couldn"t quite tell. "You"re allowed to grieve. But don"t shut me out. We"re in this together, right?"
"Sorry for your luck." A rare fury entered his eyes, no doubt directed at himself.
Morgan had never had the urge to smack someone before. She yanked her hand away as if singed and took a hasty step back. She stumbled over a root from the gnarled old oak and would have fallen on her a.s.s if he hadn"t snagged her out of midair.
He buried his face in her hair, which she"d worn loose today just for him, and breathed deep. In the bakery, she always kept it in a bun. "I"m f.u.c.king this all to h.e.l.l and back."
She separated them enough to grin long and slow. "Come on. You know you want to say it."
"No, I don"t." How did he manage to be so f.u.c.king cute even when he pouted?
She chucked his chin. "Sure, you do. It"s pretty fun once you get the hang of it."
"Fine. That"s what he said." A ghost of a smile touched his extra-fine lips.
She couldn"t help but smother it in a kiss until it blossomed into his radiant grin. "I love you, Joe. There are other ways. We can adopt. Something. Maybe being an aunt and uncle will be enough."
His grimace called her bluff.
The back door banged open hard enough to be a warning.
"Hey, are you all right, Joe?" Dave clomped along the deck, giving them plenty of heads up as he approached.
"Yeah," Joe called. He hugged Morgan. "I will be."
"In that case, the girls are pitching a fit because you booked it before they could unveil their big deal." Dave probably rolled his eyes. "You"re going to have to be on your deathbed, or hurling at least, if you don"t get your a.s.s inside soon."
"I promise you"ll enjoy this." Morgan stroked his cheek, surrept.i.tiously swiping the lingering moisture at the corner of his eye before his crewmate could spot it. She hated keeping secrets, but this wasn"t the right time to share their disappointment. "It"s not very often that I get to surprise you."
"I don"t deserve you." He dropped his head to her shoulder.
She would have ripped him a new one, then smothered him in affection until he couldn"t deny the breadth of her love except Dave rounded the corner of the deck just then, spotting them.
"You sure everything"s cool?" The big man chewed his lip.
"I love you." Morgan rubbed as much of his back as she could reach in their embrace.
"That"s everything to me," Joe whispered in her ear. "We can survive anything as long as we have each other, right?"
"Right." She squeezed him tight.
"I"m sure." Joe enveloped her hand in his, then headed toward his friend. "We will be okay."
"If there"s anything I can do..." Dave lost his jovial mask.
"Not right now." Joe shook his head.
Morgan"s eyes burned when Dave hugged Joe and her husband didn"t resist.
Then, as if by some Jedi mind trick, the two men snapped into their usual routine. "Probably have some p.u.s.s.y hangnail, is that it?"
"Yeah, just like that time you cried over the splinter." Joe socked Dave in his biceps. His loose fist bounced off a wall of muscle.
"Dude. That was a four-inch sliver of wood, and it went through my f.u.c.king hand."
Morgan had wondered how he"d earned the jagged scar. The crew had plenty of those.
"Flesh wound." Joe snugged Morgan tight to his torso as they climbed the deck stairs.
She wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head near his heart. When they reentered the s.p.a.ce, the whole crew looked up. Dave gave his head a barely discernible shake, so they all went about their business.
"Okay, ready?" Devon practically bounced next to a flat rectangle covered by a sheet.
Morgan took her place next to a similar package, the only one left that didn"t have one of her best friends standing nearby. She fisted her hands in the soft, worn material draping it and winked up at Joe.
"We realize we"re a day early, but since we all have plans tomorrow, we wanted to give you your gifts today. Together. Happy Valentine"s Day," Kate said to Mike. The rest of them echoed the sentiment.
"One...two..."
They whipped the covers off the framed photos simultaneously.
Someone whistled, maybe James.
"Whoa." Joe crouched in front of the artwork. He trailed his finger over the likeness of her, reverence in every brush of his fingertip.
Dave clutched his chest. "Please tell me you kept this outfit."
"I"ll show you tomorrow." Kayla smirked.
The guys rushed to their wives, demonstrating to them exactly how much they loved their gifts-so much more than the physical presents the women had schemed to concoct. Mike swung Kate into his arms and twirled her around the kitchen while his best friends paired, or trebled, off to indulge in some one-on-one, or -two, affection.
"You know, our evil plot was to use these to take you as our h.o.r.n.y hostages and issue tons of naughty demands..." Kate shrugged. "But you"ve already given us everything we wished for and more."
Mike pried his stare away from the likeness of his wife in her s.e.xy lace catsuit long enough to glance over his shoulder at the rest of the crew and nod. He cleared his throat. "That"s what we said."
About the Author.
Jayne Rylon"s stories usually begin as a daydream in an endless business meeting. Her writing acts as a creative counterpoint to her straight-laced corporate existence. She lives in Ohio with two cats and her husband who both inspires her fantasies and supports her careers. When she can escape her office, she loves to travel the world, avoid speeding tickets in her beloved Sky and, of course, read.
To learn more about Jayne Rylon, please visit www.jaynerylon.com. She enjoys hearing from readers. You can send an email to Jayne at
Look for these t.i.tles by Jayne Rylon Now Available: Nice and Naughty Men In Blue Night is Darkest Razor"s Edge Mistress"s Master Powertools Kate"s Crew Morgan"s Surprise Kayla"s Gift Devon"s Pair Play Doctor Dream Machine Compa.s.s Brothers (Written with Mari Carr) Northern Exposure Southern Comfort Eastern Ambitions Western Ties Print Anthologies Three"s Company Coming Soon: Play Doctor Healing Touch Powertools Hammer It Home Print Collections Love"s Compa.s.s Powertools Love Under Construction Will his boyfriend"s girlfriend become his girlfriend too?
Devon"s Pair 2012 Jayne Rylon Powertools, Book 4 James has watched each of the crew fall in love, one by one, until only he and his life partner Neil remain "unattached". So, when he sees the way his bis.e.xual boyfriend is checking out their new apprentice, he"s sure he"s doomed to lose the man of his dreams.
His love is strong enough that he would let go to ensure Neil"s happiness. Instead, sparks fly between the three of them-along with the rest of the crew-and he realizes he might not have to surrender because his boyfriend"s girlfriend is becoming his girlfriend too.
Warning: The world"s first m/f/m/f/m/f/m/m/f...we think. You never know exactly what"s going to happen next when the crew gets back together, but it"s guaranteed to be steamy.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Devon"s Pair: "Dev, could you grab another tube of caulk off the back of my truck? This one isn"t going to make it." Dave had squished his mammoth frame into the standard tub to run a bead around the base of the tile work she"d installed with his guidance. Of course, she"d added a little of her own flair to the design. As she surveyed it now, she had to say it"d come out better than she"d imagined.
Rewarding her for a job he approved of, Dave had done the grunt work and saved her back some strain. Pleasing the crew could be tough. The guys had lofty standards. In the past three weeks, she"d learned tons and had started surpa.s.sing their expectations. When she did, they made sure she knew it.
Dooming Dave to unfolding and refolding that stunning body would be torture. For both him and her, watching.
"Devon?"
"Sorry." She cleared her throat. "Yeah, I"ve got it. Be right back."
She jogged down the hall. Plastic sheeting covered new hardwood planks that made her light footfalls crunch in the long, empty s.p.a.ce. Mike and Joe perked up as she trotted past the master bedroom where they were installing recessed lighting, which would add some flair to the s.p.a.ce.
"Hey, Dev. You two almost ready for lunch? I"m starving." Mike looked pretty d.a.m.n hungry when he glanced in her direction. Silly to wonder if that smoky look meant anything more than desire for the packed meal his adorable fiancee had s.h.i.+pped him off with this morning.
"Mmm. Yeah." Joe rubbed his flat belly. Dear G.o.d, did they have to work without s.h.i.+rts so much? It was enough to drive any red-blooded woman insane. "Morgan"s testing out new cookies again. She sent a big box for us to share."
"And how many did you eat for breakfast?" She loved teasing the crew.
"As many as I could shove in my mouth on the drive in." He winked at her.
"Well, we all know your mouth is capable of some pretty amazing feats." Mike poked Joe in the ribs with the handle of his needle-nose pliers. "Hand me that housing so we can wrap up. Tell Neil and James they"ve got about fifteen minutes "til break."
"Right-o, foreman." She saluted then jumped when Dave"s yell reached her loud and clear.
"Dev! You coming or what? I"m going to be pulling a Taft soon."
"Definitely or what," Joe bellowed for her, somehow still managing to pout. "We"re not that lucky. Give her a second. Mike distracted her. Besides, if you get stuck I know where to find some lube."
"Don"t you usually grease up to try and get in, not out?" Mike"s wicked grin sent s.h.i.+vers along her spine.
She pretended to dismiss his dirty implications with an eye roll and a little finger wave then continued her jog down the stairs. Thank G.o.d they couldn"t tell how slick the tops of her thighs were. They were guys. Five of them, in all their sweaty and s.e.xy glory. Holy testosterone overload. They couldn"t help themselves and somehow their equal opportunity jokes didn"t bother her. They aimed them at each other as often as they did at her. Being left out of the good-natured teasing probably would have made things awkward.
Luckily, she didn"t know for sure. The crew had made her feel at home from the moment James had saved her from that uncomfortable start with Neil on the curb outside this house. The renovations had come a long way in the past three weeks. Within a month they"d be wrapping the place up with a big a.s.s ribbon for the future owners. Moving on from the project she"d come to a.s.sociate with her mentors would suck. Between the crew and their women, she"d instantly inherited eight new friends. Spending the spring with them would be no hards.h.i.+p.
It was leaving at the end of the interns.h.i.+p that worried her. Maybe if she buckled down and absorbed as much as she could from them, they"d have a permanent spot for her as they headed into summer and the end of their three-month arrangement.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn"t hear the rustle of denim on denim or the soft moans echoing in the vacant living room until it was too late. Devon burst onto the main level of the house, where Neil was making a late-morning snack out of James"s parted lips.
She lurched to a dead stop.
Move. Look away. Keep going.
Devon couldn"t force her legs to walk on past. Not when the fire between the two men burned hot enough to have tiny beads of sweat dotting her upper lip. She licked the salty sheen, wis.h.i.+ng she could taste the partners" pa.s.sion instead.
Sometimes a man"s just gotta call for backup...
Five Ways "Til Sunday 2011 Delilah Devlin Delta Heat, Book 1 Marti Kowalski is all wrong for Officer Jackson Teague-he just won"t listen to reason. She didn"t finish high school, runs a bar. Has a tattoo and a blue streak in her hair. Yet he still wants to marry her? She can"t say she"s not tempted, but she"s got a bucket list to complete before she ties the knot.
Not just any bucket-more like a fifty-five-gallon drum of s.e.xual wishes so explicit, there"s no way one man, even Jackson, can fulfill them all.