33. Jolene

Iwalked around the room, looking at the little gold name plaques that were on everything.

Damian, Dominic, Dane, Duncan, Davian, Darian Dabria. Their cribs, their wardrobes, toy chests, everything had their individual name on it, even their clothes. Who the hell had time for all that mess? Their dad.

He"s fucking anal retentive, and I'm about to lose my shit. I have to look at their little bracelets to tell who is who; he looks at their faces, and nine times outta ten, he gets it right. His daughter is going to give the biggest diva in the world a run for her money because she's got attitude already, and her little ass can't speak.

Her dad gets very offended if her shit isn't gender appropriate. For a man who kicked up a stink about not wanting daughters, I think he must have a brain tumor or something because he's made a complete one-eighty.

I keep telling him we no longer live in those times, but his catchphrase these days is, I don't give a fuck. If it's not pink, frilly, or has some frou-frou shit on it, she can't wear it. We tested him once and put her in one of her brother's outfits and he took one look, didn't say a word, but took her upstairs to change her into one of her little dresses.

He tries to do the same shit with Savanna, and I stay out of it because she encourages his mess. She's a girly girl until it comes time to kick some ass. According to her, if her bonus dad wants to spoil her with jewelry who is she to complain?

He"s been walking around here like a bear with its paw caught because of his father. Now, I don't know how I got this lucky, but because Dalton gave me a beach house, Dennis thought it only fair that he gave me a chateau in Aspen as a thank-you for giving him and his wife seven grandkids at once. I've never skied a day in my life, but the kids love the idea.

I stay out of their arguments because I don't understand this kind of largesse. A nice necklace would've sufficed, but I'm surrounded by nuts. Since we didn't need another house, Damon's idea was to get me Liz Taylor's diamond and emerald Bulgari necklace and earrings. When I saw the price, I almost flatlined.

"You need to stop."

"What did I do?"

"What's all this?" I looked over at the mess he had delivered.

"I noticed that the boys don't let Dabria play with theirs, so I got her one."

"Damon, sweetheart, that's a lie. None of them are old enough to get on those rocking horses. Tell the truth."

"Isn't it cute?"

"Why does she need a crystal-studded rocking horse that she'd probably only use a handful of times?"

"Those aren't crystals."

"You…."

"You just need something to bitch about, right? Your life too easy? Here." He gave me the big ass bag. I didn't see him drop on the floor because I was busy pumping like Elsie.

"What's this?"

"Open it when you're done. I'm gonna go see the babies after I wash up."

My kids used to roll around in mud from sun up till sundown. His precious babies change clothes at least three times a day. He has the staff well trained because the one time I tried to tell them they didn't have to change my son after a little spit-up, the lady acted like I put her in front of a firing squad.

Once I got the hang of how Mussolini ran his ship, I learned to keep out of the way. Damon would fire these poor people at the drop of a hat. If they sleep on the job, he's understanding, especially if one is filling in for another, because he knows first-hand how tired they can get. But let someone yell at one of his kids, and it's a quick exit. Wait until he starts doing some yelling of his own.

When the girls come over, we no longer have to find something to watch. I've got recordings, what I call Damon's greatest hits, of the shit he does between the last time they were here and now. It's better than any comedy show in existence, that's for damn sure.

They especially like his little clipboard that he walks around with, ticking off stuff at the end of the day. I don't know how he keeps it up, but he does try. I guess being on a professional team, he's used to routine.

I looked over at the eyesore he just brought home, the rocking horse, and shook my head. I don't even want to Google the price later because that always gives me indigestion. It's only October, and he's already talking about their Xmas gifts. I get tired just listening to him.

But I have to say, he has made this experience one I will never forget. I don't know what he read or who he listened to, but I'm thinking it was mostly Carl. But he goes above and beyond anything I could've imagined from past experience.

He remembers to give me special time. I've been to the spa about five times since I came home with the babies. Twice with him and three times with the girls so far. When I see other moms complaining in mommy groups, I feel so ashamed of how good I have it.

He"s obsessed with me not getting overtired or being sad. He's been on the lookout for PPD since the day I gave birth, and there's always some new gift or something each time I turn around. Have you ever met a woman who was tired of getting gifts? Every time I think I'm there I realize I could handle one more.

Always thoughtful, always mindful. But I know since meeting his Mom that he gets his patience and heart from her. When you think about it, Kevin's mother was Beelzebub's bed wench, while Damon's Mom is in line for sainthood. I lucked out the second time around in more ways than one.

* * *

DAMON

* * *

My wifeand her posse keep giving me shit for the things I do, but I know that one day she's going to look back and thank me. What they don't seem to realize is that I love this. I love every minute of it. Not only because I get mad props from the guys, but because as soon as I hit my driveway my heart fills with this feeling of immense joy that not even the championship ring gave me.

Having those kids made me look at divorced men out of the side of my eye. I used to think there's always a reason for doing shit, but the way I see it, there's nothing in this world that could convince me to be a weekend Dad.

That brings me to Tara. Now, when I dated her, I had no idea that she was out of her fucking mind, not until the day I kicked her out. But even then, she'd tried to excuse her behavior as her having a bad day, which I can understand, but we weren't getting back together after you disrespected my Mom.

But now, I know she's nuts. I went to see her to let her know that it was in her best interest to take the plea deal. I was trying to spare my wife and kids the hassle of a trial, but that was only part of it. The other part is what I leaned over the table to whisper in her ear. That if she walked out of that jail she wasn't going to make it back to her home state.

She claimed I was threatening her, but nobody else heard that shit. In the end, she took the deal and although eighteen months wasn't enough to suit me, it was good enough for now. There would be a restraining order waiting for her as soon as she got out, and she couldn't step foot in our state without getting arrested.

The fine she was made to pay is a whole other story; she doesn't have that kind of money, so she'll be paying Jo for the rest of her life if she ever gets a job because selling off all her shit didn't cover it.

Jo, seemed to have forgotten the whole thing until I brought it up to her. Her thought process is warped as fuck. She thinks that because Savanna beat her ass that we were even and should just let it go. She could let it go all she wanted; I was representing my kids. Fuck outta here. It's best that she doesn't know what I have planned for that idiot behind bars.

And that brings me to Kevin. He asked Savanna to have me talk to him; I guess he wanted a cease-fire because I'd taken his whole damn family, except the mother, who Dalton had committed somewhere under the guise of an around-the-world trip.

Things came to a head for them when she took issue with him coming here as often as he was, and he just had enough. The kids love posting every damn thing on social media, and I guess he woke up when he saw that everyone else was going on with their lives while he was stewing in the pot of misery he"d boiled himself.

None of them would entertain him from what I've heard, and Savanna never lets him forget that he was the one who screwed himself. She was always quick to tell him how happy her Mom was, and I guess it finally got through to him that Jo was never coming back.

He took himself off somewhere for a few weeks and came back a changed man. I met him at the club because I fucking won, and he knew it. But the truth is I had an ulterior motive for being there. I didn't want my wife spending one moment worrying about him because his life was going to shit, so it was best I see him and tell him to get his shit together.

I was surprised by how humble he was, especially when my first sentence to him was, we will not be discussing my wife. It took him a while to open up, but once he got going he was a sad mess. The guy fucked up his whole life and don't even know why he did it.

He had gotten rid of the little girl he'd left his family for, and that sounded like it was a whole other kind of hell, and now he felt as if he was having to rebuild his life from the ground up.

He seemed to have PTSD or some shit from the way he was acting and that shell-shocked look in his eyes. If Jo hadn't been the one he'd hurt, I could almost feel sorry for him. He's not the first idiot to find himself in that situation, and each one of them is an asshole.

That was the first of our talks, which I shared with my wife as soon as I got home, along with explaining to her that she was the only reason I'd done it and that she wasn't allowed to think about him ever again. I'm still a little salty about the fact that he knew her when she was cute and adorable, her teen years, and everything in between.

They share memories that I will never have, and I am petty enough to hate that shit and let her know as often as I can. Why? Because I get phenomenal sex out of the bargain. Something happened to her after giving birth. Between that and that yoga shit, she's limber and always ready to fuck.

I keep telling her horny ass to get ready because I've only been taking it easy on her until she heals completely, but when that day comes, I'll be back in that womb. She claims lightning don't strike twice, but I worked for law enforcement in a town with a lot of backwoods, and there are entirely whole communities of assholes who commit acts that cause lightning to strike twice.

Now, he's sitting out in my paddock like he doesn't have a home to go to. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, I was just watching the horses train; it's relaxing."

"Hey, did you ever find who beat up on Anne? That's one of the things she still keeps trying to use to draw me back in for some reason."

"I'm not on the force anymore, remember? I thought you blocked her a long time ago. Why is she still getting through?"

"She knows where I work." I shook my head and took a sip of my beer.

I do know who did it, and so do the guys that were here the day Tara was beat all to shit. Savanna's technique doesn't change, apparently. First, the ankle, then when they're on their way down, she goes for the eye, then once they"re down, she attacks the ribs and the kidneys.

"Did Savanna ever take kickboxing?" There, his mouth dropped open when he put it together. Now you know not to fuck with my wife or our daughter, and yours would get that ass.

He looked off into the distance where she was riding with her brothers and grandfathers while the women were probably somewhere in the house with their noses pressed against the window, talking shit about the two of us.

"You know why she did it, don't you? Because she fucked with her Mom, made her sad."

"Did she tell you that?"

"No, because I didn't tell her that I know, and neither are you."

"It doesn't seem like something she would do. Wouldn't it have put her Mom in danger?"

"I asked Jo about that day; Savanna made sure she was going to be home that day; she called her earlier to make sure."

"You told Jolene?"

"Of course, I don't keep things from my wife."

He did one of those childish mimicking things with his mouth, which I ignored. I'm going back inside to my wife and kids while he's going home to an empty apartment, and I still fucking win.