Series Starter Firsts in Series Collection - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,72

and not wake up until the morning, but I can’t. I have a son to take care of, and then there’s Kendall.

She’s here.

I’ll sleep later.

“Hey, princess,” Seth greets me as I enter the living room. I flip him off with a grin, which causes everyone to laugh.

“Sleeping beauty,” Tyler chimes in.

“Feel better?” Kendall asks.

“Yeah.” I walk toward her, stopping beside her chair. “You had him the whole time?”

“Pretty much,” Reagan pouts, and I turn to look at her. She’s sitting on the love seat with Tyler, while Dawn, Mark and Kent are on the couch. Seth is in one chair, Kendall in the other.

“Hey!” Kendall pretends to be offended, but I can tell by the look on her face she’s not in the slightest.

“She’s got the touch,” Mark says, patting Reagan’s knee as if consoling her.

“The touch?” I ask, confused.

“Yeah. I held him but he started to fuss, so I passed him off to Reagan,” Dawn explains.

“Except that’s not what he wanted at all,” Tyler adds. “The little guy continued to fuss, until Kendall convinced Reagan to let her try to get him calmed down.”

“Dude, as soon as she had him, he stopped. Just absolutely stopped, like he wanted her all along. Like he was trying to tell us the whole time,” Seth adds.

“It really was weird, so we had them try it again. He cried with both of them, but stopped when Kendall had him,” Kent finishes.

I look down at Kendall. “Really?”

She shrugs. “Babies can sense tension,” she says, as a way of explaining why my son’s latched onto her.

Bending over, I whisper in her ear, “Can you stand a minute?” She looks confused but does as I ask, my son still in her arms. Once she’s on her feet, I settle into the chair.

“Hey . . .” Reagan starts to defend her when I pull Kendall gently into my lap, who stiffens at the contact.

“I got you, sweet girl. Both of you,” I say, rubbing my fingers on my son’s head while my other hand massages circles on Kendall’s back. Within minutes, she’s relaxing into me and I can’t keep the smile from tipping my lips.

“This is . . . new,” Reagan says with a grin. “Is it serious?” she asks, like the protective little sister. I know damn well she’s just calling me out.

“Yes.” I see all six of them with varied versions of shock on their faces.

“Ridge,” Kendall turns and whispers.

“Yes,” I say to her. No room for negotiation. I don’t understand it, the pull she has over me, but I’m not fighting that shit. “You find her, and you hold on” That’s what Dad always said.

I’ve found her, and I’m not letting go.

Chapter 28

I should climb off his lap and tell him to go to Hell. I should tell him that he can’t make decisions for me—or for ‘us,’ as it seems—without consulting me first. I should do that, but I don’t. Instead, I just sit here on his lap and melt against him. I told myself that I wanted to see where this went, but to say it’s serious?

I think about how I feel when I’m with him. How I feel in this moment with him openly claiming me.

Yeah, it’s serious. At least my reaction to him is, anyway.

His friends as well as Reagan and Dawn seem to accept his one-word reply of “Yes” and move on. The guys are talking about the upcoming fight, Ridge included. Dawn and Reagan are talking about going to the local amusement park tomorrow.

“Kendall?” Dawn laughs. She knows better.

“Nope. No desire.”

“Come on, Kendall, it’s going to be a blast,” Reagan begs.

“Not for me. I’m scared to death of heights.”

“What about you?” Reagan asks Tyler.

He shrugs. “Sure, I’m in. Fellas?”

“I told Dad I’d help him finish their deck tomorrow,” Seth declines.

“Kent?” Tyler asks.

“I’m out, man. I plan to sleep all fucking day.”

“Mark?” Dawn asks. I can see how badly she wants him to say yes. I’m sure the others are oblivious, but I know my best friend.

“Yeah, sounds like a plan.”

“Ridge?” Reagan asks.

“We have plans,” he says, pulling me to relax further against him. This has me sitting almost beside him, my legs lying across his lap, Knox still sleeping in my arms.

“We do?” I whisper.

He tucks my hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I want to spend the day with you.” He gives me a shy smile. “I’ll have Knox, though. I can’t have Mom watch him when she already does all week.” He sounds apologetic.

Placing my hand on