Free Coalescence - SF3 by Susan X Meagher

on each other for a bit."
    "Siobhán, I know exactly what you mean, and I agree with you completely. When your mother and I were first married, we hardly knew anyone else existed," he said with a laugh as he shook his head. "Still, I want you to know how I feel about this. I know this makes sense for now, but I want you to consider living here after you’re finished with school. Nothing would make me happier than coming home at night to see your smiling faces."
    "We’ll seriously consider that, Da. There’s nothing to hold us in Berkeley after we graduate. There’s no reason that we couldn’t live around here." She walked over to Jamie and slipped her arms around her shoulders. "Besides, I wouldn’t want to have to drive all the way over here to drop the kids off with their babysitter," she teased.
    Martin’s eyes lit up at the thought of grandchildren. "Are you two serious about that?" he asked with unabashed glee.
    "Definitely," Jamie said. "We both want to have a child, and you’ve done such a marvelous job raising your kids, I’d feel blessed to have you help us raise ours."
    "So, Darlin’," he said to Ryan with a grin. "This sounds suspiciously like you’re past the dating phase and into the commitment phase."
    "We’re definitely into the commitment phase." Ryan grinned in return as she hugged her partner. "This is it for me, Da. ‘Til death do us part," she said seriously, and then kissed Jamie softly on the cheek.
    "I feel the same way." Jamie gazed up into her partner’s big blue eyes.
    Martin wiped a tear from his cheek as he got up to wrap the two of them in a hug. "You couldn’t have chosen better, Siobhán. Your mother would be so happy for you." He brushed a tear away as he patted Jamie on the cheek, "I’m so glad you’re a part of our family, Sweetheart."
    Both women wiped the tears from their eyes as they each kissed Martin. "Thanks, Martin," Jamie finally choked out. "That means more to me than you’ll ever know."
    "So, Siobhán," he said after a moment. "Do you need anything for your honeymoon suite?" Then he added with a twinkle in his eye, "Besides a sturdy lock on the door?"
    "No, Da," she said happily. "The room is perfect. I am a little concerned about the boys, though. Do you think they’ll mind having Jamie here?"
    "Mind?" he asked in amazement. "They’re thrilled about it! I spoke to Rory before he left, and both he and Conor are very excited to have you here, Jamie. And they both agree that we should make an exception to the house rules since you can’t formally marry."
    "That makes me feel a lot better," Ryan said. "I don’t want to do anything to make the boys feel slighted."
    "Not a worry, Sweetheart."
     
    After a quick breakfast with Martin, and a bit of ironing, they took all of their clean laundry downstairs and started to pack. "Do you think I should go get the Range Rover?" Jamie asked teasingly as Ryan assembled her gear on the bed. She had her RollerBlades, running shoes, running shorts and tank tops, swimsuit, wetsuit, sweats, slacks, blouses, a heavy jacket, and golf clubs, and she was still debating whether or not to bring her boogie board.
    "Well, the Boxster is a little small for all this stuff," Ryan admitted, scratching her head as she stared at the enormous pile. "Do you think I’ll need everything?"
    "I think you could get by in just your birthday suit," Jamie cooed into her ear as she wrapped her arms around her tightly.
    "Aren’t you going to let me out at all?" Ryan tilted her head down to peer into her partner’s eyes to gauge her seriousness.
    "Nope. You’re going to emerge on Saturday like a possum coming out of its den. It’ll take you a day to get used to sunlight again," she promised. "But seriously, Sweetie, you could borrow my father’s clubs, and we have lots of sports equipment for the beach. You just need to bring some clothes. Oh, and that reminds me," she added. "I want you to have Conor come down on Saturday and play Pebble Beach with