Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

Damon

After we got the cameras set up, Noah got everything set up straight to people’s phones. I still needed to send the feed to her phone, but my brothers and I were ready to receive any notifications of movement at the property.

When we came home and found everyone asleep on the couch, it was well past midnight. My parents insisted that everyone just stay at the house. Isla disagreed at first, but then she gave in when my mother told her she had a room set up for her.

Sunday morning came early with the boys coming into my room. I held my boys for a minute, and then I said, “Let’s get up and make breakfast for everyone.” I was pretty sure most people wouldn’t be up by now.

I paused next to Isla’s room and peeked in on her. She was still fast asleep, and I was happy to see her look so peaceful. I checked the security app, and there were no notifications.

The boys and I padded our way down to the kitchen, and I got out eggs and milk and some bread for French toast. The boys helped me start getting everything together.

My mom came out into the kitchen. “Do we have some elves making us breakfast so early?”

Jason laughed and hugged my mom. “Elves are only at Christmas.”

Trent took the cue and hugged her as well. “Yeah, Grandma, you’re silly.”

My mom hugged them both and gave me a warm look.

It struck me again that my mom was in her element when we were all together. She had once confided in me that she liked it best when the family was together, whether we were messing up her kitchen and she was cleaning it up or making things for us, or we were using all the rooms in her home.

We spent the next couple of minutes getting breakfast ready, and as my mom dished up the boys, I went to go check on Isla. We had church in an hour and a half, and I wanted to make sure she had time to go to her place and change.

I turned the doorknob and was about to just peek in when I heard her say, “Come in.” When I walked inside, she was smiling at me, still cozy in the blankets.

I jumped onto the bed. “Tidal wave.”

She giggled, and I tickled her. It ended in us kissing.

I was just getting lost in the kiss when she pulled back and said, “I don’t think we should be doing this in your parents’ house.”

Even though she was under the covers and I was on top, I agreed with her. I sat up. “You’re probably right. We need to do something more official before we can do that.” I didn’t know why the words came out, but they did.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“We’ll talk about that later.” I didn’t want to get into that right now. I got off the bed and reached out a hand. “We gotta get ready for church, and I assume you need to get to your house to change. My mom and the boys have some breakfast ready. If you’re hungry, we can grab some before we take you back to your place.”

She reached for my hand and got up. She was just wearing what she wore yesterday, and her hair was all messy. I pulled her in and hugged her, thinking about how I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. It just felt right. More right than anything had ever felt.

She giggled again. “We have to go.” We started to walk out, and then she hesitated. “Did you get the cameras installed?”

I nodded. “If I can borrow your phone, I will download the app that Noah had his old security team put together for us.”

She grabbed the phone off the dresser and handed it to me. We walked downstairs, and while I was installing the app on her phone, she got some French toast and said hi to everyone.

Canyon and McCrae were up now. Noah and Ella had just moved into their own house, even though they were still working on part of it.

My mother gave Isla a hug. “Yesterday was amazing.”

Isla hugged her back. “It was amazing, and thank you for everything, and thank you for letting me stay here last night. After the parade and boating, I was exhausted.”

My mother patted Isla’s cheeks. “It sure feels good to have you back with the family. I assume Damon’s taking you home to change, and then we’ll see you at church. And then you can come over for dinner.”

Isla hesitated. “I feel bad. What can I bring?”

My mother waved a hand through the air. “Nothing. Just yourself. I’ve been preparing dinners for a long time. I just have to pop something in the crockpot, and everything else is ready in the fridge.”

I finished with Isla’s phone, handed it back to her, and said, “Come on, boys, we are going to drop Isla off and then go get ready for church ourselves.”

The boys put the plates in the dishwasher and said, “Thanks, Grandma. See you in a little bit.” They gave her quick hugs, and then we all took off.