The Risks We Take Duet Box Set

93. Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING

Sabrina

“ H appy Thanksgiving, princess.” Aiden steps up behind me and presses a quick kiss to the top of my head, then leans over and places one on a sleeping Finn’s head as he lies next to me. “Feels good to be home for two days, doesn’t it?”

We might live in Maryland seven months out of the year, but Kroydon Hills will always be home.

I lick my lips as my husband bends down and picks up Jamie before he tosses him high in the air. This man’s ass is harder today than it was the first time he kissed me all those years ago.

Jamie’s infectious giggle brings me back to the present and puts a smile on my face. As soon as he’s placed back on his feet, he runs to the gift he helped me wrap a few minutes ago. “We’ve got a present for you, Daddy.”

“For me?” my husband asks as he squats down in front of our oldest son. My ginger giant might be a beast on the football field, but he’s a giant teddy bear for his boys.

My little boy hands it over with the utmost care, then stands nervously next to Aiden as he unties the orange ribbon and opens the box. His bright green eyes, the mirror image of his father’s, glow with anticipation. When the apron the boys and I made—featuring Jamison and Finn’s handprints as the feathers of a turkey—is pulled from the box and my husband’s lower lip trembles, like it tends to do whenever he gets a little emotional, I smile, knowing we did well.

“Do you like it? Me and Mommy and Finn made it for you.”

“Buddy... I love it. It’s perfect!” He ruffles Jamie’s curly red hair and smiles at me over his head, mouthing, I love you.

Murphy

I never mentioned to my beautiful wife that the turkey she and the boys painted on my apron looks like a giant dick with two big old balls, but you can bet your sweet ass the guys have been teasing me about it all afternoon. I guess I may have pushed the fun aprons a little hard with my Master Baster one last year. So, when Cooper hands me a beer and grins really fucking big as I baste the turkey, I figure he’s about to say something... again . So I cut him off before he gets the chance. “We’re gonna need to get three birds next year at the rate the family keeps growing. Are you and Carys still looking into adoption?”

It’s been a bit of a touchy subject for my sister, who continually gets her heart broken over and over every month she waits for the answer she’s been praying for.

“Yeah. But the process has been crazy, and there’s no guarantees.” Coop sips his beer and looks over at the table where Carys, Belles, Nattie, and Brina are making pie crusts with the kids. “We’re looking into surrogacy.”

“No shit?” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It feels like they’ve been going through this process forever at this point.

“Yeah . . .” he murmurs, hesitant.

Brady and Declan walk over as Coach chases a handful of the kids through the halls. Declan pours us each a shot of whiskey. “I hear a toast is in order, little brother.”

He hands out the shots while we all stare at Cooper.

The girls stop what they’re doing and move to join us, with Carys sliding under Cooper’s arm and Nattie coming to stand next to Brady.

“Well, is someone gonna tell us what’s going on?” I ask since I’ve never been known for my tact or my patience.

Coop kisses the top of my sister’s head, then squeezes Nattie’s hand. “Dad and Katherine already know, but we wanted to wait to tell the rest of you until we knew for sure...” He looks down at Carys, who now has tears in her pretty eyes.

“Nattie agreed to be a surrogate for us,” Carys tells us on a choked sob, then she smiles at Nat. “And she’s pregnant... with twins.”

“Holy shit,” I whisper, at a loss for words. And that’s a fucking first. Sabrina laces her fingers with mine and squeezes. “That’s amazing, guys.”

I wrap my baby sister up in a big bear hug and lift her off her feet, then place her back down next to Nat and squeeze her a little more gently than Carys.

“When’s the baby due?” Belles asks, excitement vibrating off her as the girls all squeeze together in a group hug. A family hug . It’s funny, one day it was Carys, Mom and me. The next day, I opened my eyes and had four brothers, three sisters, and at the rate everyone is having babies, enough nieces and nephews to fill a football field. It’s fucking amazing.

Nattie looks at Carys, letting her answer, and man, that little fairy is amazing.

Carys’s green eyes shimmer. “Mid-May.” She smiles as the first tear falls.

“Fucking Sinclairs and your strong genes,” Belles laughs. “You overachievers know not every sibling needs twins, right?”

Sabrina leans her head on my shoulder and sighs. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been so happy I married a Murphy before in my life.”

“Hey,” I argue. “That’s what makes you happy you married me, princess?”

She flutters her lashes. “Maybe a few other things too.”

Cooper raises his beer. “To family.”

We all tap drinks. “To family.”