"Do you remember that first night that we made love, and you asked me if I had any dreams or goals unfulfilled?"

"Mmm, I certainly do. You diverted our attention with your hot and s.e.xy body in the hot tub," Connor said.

"We haven't forgotten that little look in your eyes just before you did, either, young lady," Mel said.

"We decided to wait until you felt ready to share whatever it was with us."

Was she ready? Oh, she had no doubt whatsoever that she could open her heart and show them everything. She could say anything, anything at all to these men. Even if they didn't agree with everything she said, she knew they would never ridicule her. They loved her, but more, they liked her and respected her.

"The only dream I've ever had, is a house on a piece of land with trees and maybe a brook, with a pretty lawn, and a couple nice gardens." She closed her eyes then opened them again. "How I have imagined my dream through the years. I can see a swing set and a sandbox, and a small pool for when the summer days get too hot." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Until I met you two, that dream never really gelled in my mind, you know? But now, when I envision it, the picture is so real, so complete, and it's so beautiful. Two handsome men coming home at the end of the day, ready to laugh and love and play. Maybe later on, as the years grow, to help with homework or give driving lessons.

"Everywhere you look these days, there are images of women doing everything under the sun, and I think that is wonderful. I want my daughter, if I'm lucky enough to have one, to believe with all her heart that no matter what it is she wants to do in life, if she works for it, she can achieve it." She inhaled deeply and dared to look into the eyes of the men she loved.

The tenderness she found there brought tears to her own.

"But being a wife, and a mother? That's been my dream since as far back as I can remember. Not very twenty-first century of me, I'm afraid."

"It's your dream, angel eyes, and that is all that matters."

"How many children are we going to have, precious?"

She swallowed around the lump in her throat. They hadn't even hesitated. She whispered, "As many as G.o.d gives us, I guess."

"Sounds like a wonderful future." Connor leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. When he straightened up he looked over at Mel. "You're going to have to show me how to be a dad, my friend. I don't remember mine. And while Gordon Talbot was what I needed at sixteen, I don't think his methods would work very well with a small baby."

"Having a dad doesn't guarantee you know how to be a dad," Mel said. "We'll learn, Connor. Together."

"Together," Connor said.

Emily Anne looked from one to the other of her big, strong, wonderful alpha men. "I surely do love the sound of that word when you say it like that. I don't think I'm ever going stop smiling. I'm going to live the rest of my life in love under two private d.i.c.ks. I can't think of a better future than that."

And Emily Anne made a promise to herself then and there that she was going to give thanks every day for the two men who, together, had already begun to make her dreams come true.

Chapter 29.

Emily Anne had helped out at several of these casual engagement parties in the time that she'd worked at l.u.s.ty Appet.i.tes. She just never imagined that the good people of l.u.s.ty, Texas would want to hold such a party for her.

Kelsey had told her a week ago that this particular Thursday in the second-to-last week of July had been designated as the Emily Anne, Mel, and Connor celebration day. She turned her head so she could look at the pretty banner that Kelsey, Carrie and Ginny had seen hung in their honor.

They'd been asked if there was any family they wanted invited to the celebration. Invitations had been sent to her parents and to Mel's. Connor didn't have any family, and the only close friends he had already lived in town.

They'd driven up to Abilene to meet Raymond and Brenda Richardson the week before. Mel had called ahead and spoken to his mother, to explain to her the kind of family that the three of them were forming. Mrs. Richardson had heard about l.u.s.ty, Texas, over the years. Mel told Emily Anne and Connor, on their way to meet his parents that it was his mother he'd confided in when he'd first met Caleb Benedict and learned about the alternative lifestyle that he and his family lived. Mel shared with them the words his mother had told him, words he'd never forgotten. "You can't control who you fall in love with, or how your heart tells you to show that love. You only control whether to act on your feelings or walk away from them."

Emily Anne had found Mel's parents to be exceptionally warm and welcoming.

"It's a shame your parents couldn't make it," Connor said to Mel in between greeting guests. Emily Anne knew she hadn't been the only one impressed with the older Richardsons.

The restaurant was beginning to fill up, and they'd just finished chatting with Terence Jessop, on leave from the U.S. Air Force, who'd arrived with Carmichael Jones. Emily Anne was pleased to finally meet Tracy's older brother and one of his best friends, the semireclusive furniture maker.

"Mom protested her cold wasn't all that bad, but Dad insisted she stay home, in bed, and rest." Mel grinned. "They're both cautious like that, if the other is under the weather. You'd think Mom would be used to it by now."

"I think the way they dote on each other is sweet," Emily Anne said. The relationship she'd witnessed between Mel's folks was a whole lot different than the one her own parents had. But then, everyone was different, and ent.i.tled to live and love in the way that suited them.

Wasn't that what l.u.s.ty was all about?

Harold and Irene Bancroft had declined the invitation. Her mother had made it clear that she wasn't pleased with the choice Emily Anne had made. Her father, of course, usually did whatever his wife wanted him to do. Emily Anne loved her daddy something fierce, but an alpha male he was not.

Connor seemed to sense where her thoughts had gone. "Give them time," he said. He ran his hand down her back and it constantly amazed her that he could read her so well.

"I know we told you that we'd show your family no mercy if they said anything negative to you," Mel said. "But we do want you to have a good relationship with them."

"Mom will come around," Emily Anne said. "Or she won't. That's not something that's in my control." She wouldn't let her heart hurt too much at the prospect of her mother's extended intransigence. She wanted, very much, for her mother to be happy for her and to approve of the men she'd fallen in love with.

She very much wanted that, but she didn't need that.

Connor ran his hand down her back again, and his tone was softer when he said, "No, it's not."

Matt and Steven Benedict arrived with little Amanda Rose. The baby girl set her eyes on Connor, and as she usually did whenever she saw him, she squealed, and practically lunged for him.

Laughing, Connor scooped the little sweetheart out of her daddy's arms and put her on his hip. "Well h.e.l.lo, beautiful. Look at you all dressed up with a pretty pink bow in your hair."

At eight months of age, Amanda wasn't talking yet. But she could coo and flirt just like a real pro.

Mel shook Steven's hand, and then Matt's. He said, "We appreciate the sacrifice, your wife working so late tonight on our behalf."

Matt waved that off. "Kelsey was so d.a.m.n happy that Emily Anne and you guys are staying right here in l.u.s.ty she absolutely insisted on throwing this party."

"We're glad we're staying, too," Mel said.

Just then Kelsey came out of the kitchen wheeling a tray of sandwiches, small salads, and pastries. Amanda Rose bounced in Connor's arms, and gave another one of her patented excited squeals.

Carrie took over unloading the tray so Kelsey could come and scoop up her baby.

"My, my, baby girl, what a pretty bow! Good job, Daddies!"

Matt nodded. "It took the both of us. I have to hold her and keep her attention on me while Steven does the brush and pin maneuver." Then he looked at Connor and Mel. "Don't ask me how it is Kelsey can do that all on her own every time. I am in awe."

"Probably a mother thing," Connor said.

Emily Anne met Kelsey's gaze and they both laughed. "I think it's heroic that they're willing to attempt coiffeur," Emily Anne said.

"Yeah," Kelsey all but purred. "I think so, too."

Those Benedicts chatted for a bit, before taking themselves off to a large table. Kelsey kissed her men and her baby and headed back into the kitchen.

The door to the restaurant opened and Tracy, Jordan and Peter Alvarez-Kendall came in. Peter was carrying their son, six-month-old Cameron. The two tiny cousins spotted each other and immediately began to babble in language that only babies could understand.

"Congratulations!" Tracy hugged Emily Anne as well as Mel and Connor. To the men she said, "You're getting a wonderful woman. You best be treating her right!"

"You don't need to worry about that." Mel grinned.

"We're already counting our blessings and doing our best to treat her like the princess she is," Connor confirmed.

"Welcome to the community," Jordan said. He shook hands with the men and then hugged Emily Anne. Peter did the same and then danced back quickly so his son could not grab Emily Anne's hair.

"That's not how you woo the ladies, son." Jordan laughed as he took Cameron's wandering hand in his own.

"We're going to have to teach this young man some finesse," Peter said. "Show him the value of subtlety."

"I'm going to go right into the back and tell Kelsey," Tracy said, "but since it's your night I'll tell you, first. I'm coming back to work in August. Just a couple of days a week for now. The guys are going to juggle baby duties with me."

Emily Anne knew that Tracy was chomping at the bit to get back into the kitchen here at l.u.s.ty Appet.i.tes. "It'll be good to have you back. I do believe that your brother-in-law, Henry, may weep tears of joy when he hears the news."

"No kidding. Do you know he's taken to dropping by a couple of times a week, just on the off chance that I might have been baking? It doesn't matter if those cream puffs came out of the oven the day before, he's like a bloodhound! He knows, and he sniffs them out!"

Emily Anne laughed. "That man has a sweet tooth of epic proportions," she said. "I'll bet Kelsey will be real pleased to have you back. Mich.e.l.le goes on maternity leave in the middle of August. The boss lady said that until I walked in and asked for a job last year, she thought she was never going to find a good waitress to fill Ginny's spot. Now Mich.e.l.le's going to be off."

"She won't have that problem this time," Tracy said.

"I know. Ginny is going to come in a couple of days a week, and so is Kelsey's mother-in-law, Bernice."

"Aunt Bernice said she's missed working and wants to try her hand at waitressing. When Uncle Caleb and Uncle Jonathan met her, she was a sales clerk at Macy's."

"I didn't know that! I'm really looking forward to working with her."

One of the things that Emily Anne found both astonishing and admirable was the work ethic that thrived here in l.u.s.ty. The Benedicts, Kendalls and Jessops were all very wealthy, yet there wasn't a single one of them not gainfully employed.

Mich.e.l.le and Joe Grant arrived, and it warmed Emily Anne's heart, as it always did, to see how protective and caring the man was of his wife. They'd married a few years older than some, but if Emily Anne ever doubted about people being meant for each other, this couple was yet another example of that principle in action.

Mich.e.l.le Parker and Joe Grant had been made for each other.

"I'm so happy for you!" Mich.e.l.le's hug was exuberant and her baby belly made it cushiony. Then baby Grant gave Emily Anne a bit of a kick, and they both laughed.

"Thank you, Mich.e.l.le. I've meant to ask you, do you know what you're having?"

"No." Mich.e.l.le beamed at her husband. "We want to be surprised."

Joe had shaken hands with her men, and then given her a hug. He said, "We don't care if we have a boy or girl, just as long as mom and baby are healthy."

Mel's training officer from his days with the Texas Rangers, Caleb Benedict, gave both men a hearty back slap and her an enthusiastic hug. "You've chosen well," Caleb said to the men. "You need to treat her right, or we'll be having a conversation." His brother, Jonathan, repeated the gestures, but not the words.

Emily Anne had always noticed that of the two, Jonathan tended to keep his words to a minimum.

Mel laughed. "Yes, sir. You can be sure that we will."

"Oh you men!" Bernice hugged all three of them. "It's a family tradition that the husbands-to-be are warned to treat their wives right, or else."

"Personally, I'm honored to have family traditions-especially this family's traditions-extended to me," Connor said.

Bernice reached up and cupped his cheek. "You're a good man, Connor Talbot. I'm so very glad to know you."

Emily Anne didn't think she'd ever seen her alpha he-man blush before. It was a sight to behold, and it made her feel really good about putting down roots right here in l.u.s.ty.

The James-Wakefields arrived, and Emily Anne was pleased to see the respect and friendship between Julia's husbands, and Connor. All three of them held a baby, and Emily Anne had to admit that while they were all gorgeous, she really couldn't tell them apart.

Julia, it seemed, did not believe in always dressing them in gender-specific colors.

"I have to admit that I never thought, more than a year ago when I caught you tracking the three of us that you'd one day end up living in the same d.a.m.n town." Dev accompanied his one-armed hug with a mighty back slap.

How do men endure those things?

"Hey, I'm just the proverbial bad penny," Connor said. Then he slid his glance to her. "I'd have to say, now that I think of it, that that particular encounter was the benchmark, the moment where I started on the path that brought me toward Mel and Emily Anne. I'm a very lucky, and a very grateful, man."

"Fate is a funny d.a.m.n thing, isn't it?" Drew said. "We're all glad you're staying around."

"Me, too," Connor said.

Warren and Edward Jessop approached them, both men looking just a bit uncomfortable in the social setting, yet clearly determined to deliver their best wishes.

"I want to say congratulations, but there is some discussion as to whether or not it's acceptable to congratulate the prospective bride," Edward said.

"Not sure why," Warren said. "But what do we know? Also questionable, apparently, is for us to say 'good luck' to any of you."

"Now that one I do understand, I think," Edward said. "As it may imply that the speaker thinks the recipient of that wish is really going to need it. Good luck, that is."

"Well, I think it's the intention, and the purpose, that count." Too late Emily Anne realized that she'd echoed words said in a more private setting. She leaned forward and kissed both men's cheeks. "So thank you for your good wishes, and for coming out to celebrate with us. We're very happy you're here."

"You're welcome." They'd both said that at the same time. They seemed a little less awkward shaking hands with her men. Then they moved off, as one, not toward the buffet table, as she would have expected, but toward the back of the room.

The door opened to laughter and even more friends. Chloe Rhodes led the pack, her minor mountains of fiances following, and behind them were Ginny, Adam and Jake Kendall. The Kendall men each held one of their babies.

"I'm really very happy for you, friend," Chloe said. Her hug was sure and tight, and Emily Anne returned it full measure. A new, special bond had grown between them, after what they'd been through together. They, along with Lucy Carter soon-to-be Owen, had gotten together once since then already, and planned to enjoy girl-time out from time to time in the future.

New friendships were one of life's greatest treasures, and Emily Anne planned to cherish the treasures she'd been given.

"Huh. Imagine that. Those two don't always come out to these little shindigs," Grant said.

Emily Anne followed his line of sight and grinned. He was talking, of course, about his cousins, the paramedics. As she watched, she noticed who they sat close to and began speaking with. Awkwardness seemed to be the mood-for all three of them.

Carol Ashwood looked to be as nervous, and smitten, and trying to hide it, as those two Jessops were.