Page 67 of Steadfast

“Seriously?” Cian said in surprise, his voice a little higher than normal.

“Go,” Richie ordered, tossing Cian his keys. He walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my waist.

Cian left the house and less than a minute later, we could hear his yell of excitement from outside.

“What?” I asked curiously, looking up at Richie. He just nodded toward the front door as Cian came back inside.

“Thank you,” Cian said, practically babbling. “Holy shit. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I didn’t,” Richie said easily. “Aoife did.”

He’d picked up the skateboard I’d ordered for Cian before we left and brought it with him.

“Thank you,” I whispered. I’d completely forgotten about it.

“This is too expensive,” Cian protested, his knuckles practically white as he clutched the skateboard. “You shouldn’t have—”

“It’s yours, and it’s custom, so I couldn’t bring it back even if I wanted to—which I don’t,” I cut him off. “Happy Birthday.”

Cian ran his hand reverently down the board then set it gently against the back of the couch and strode toward me. I jerked in surprise as he yanked me into a hug.

“Thanks, Mam,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re the best.”

“Glad you like it,” I whispered back. “Thank you for always going out of your way to have my back. I couldn’t do life without you.”

Cian nodded against my shoulder, still gripping me tight.

“This is so cool,” Ronan said excitedly.

Cian jerked away and spun toward our brother. “Don’t touch it,” he ordered, striding back toward his present. “Hands off.”

“Can I try it?” Ronan asked, completely unperturbed.

“Let’s give Cian a chance to break it in first,” Aunt Ashley said with a laugh. “You should turn on the porch light and take it out back on the patio.”

“Awesome,” Cian said, immediately heading for the back door.

As soon as he was gone, Richie leaned down close to my ear. “He calls youmamnow?”

“It’s a new development,” I replied, still looking toward the door Cian had gone through.

“Huh,” he mused, leaning away again.

It took a long time for the kids to settle again after the excitement, and we all went to bed really late that night, the kids in the room we’d been sharing while Richie and I went out to sleep in the bed of his truck. I was pretty sure Aunt Ashley thought we were crazy, but she just watched us with an amused smile as I grabbed my pillow and followed him outside.

There wasn’t really any good place for Richie to sleep inside except the couch, and since both of us would never fit there, and I refused to sleep without him again, the truck was our best option. I stood by the tailgate while he spread out the sleeping bag we normally used and zipped another one to it.

“We’ll be like a burrito,” I said as he boosted me into the back of the truck.

“Believe me, you’ll be happy they zip together when it gets cold tonight,” he said following me up.

“Want to share my pillow?” I asked, grinning as I climbed inside. It was nice and cozy, the flannel inside soft against my bare legs.

“I knew I forgot something,” he joked, smacking a duffel bag that he’d shoved to the side to make space for our bed.

“Did you bring everything you own?” I asked, looking at the full truck bed.

“Didn’t know when we’d be back to get stuff,” he replied, crawling in beside me. “So, I brought everything I thought I might need.”

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