Free Tied - Part Four (The Tied Series) by Ellen Callahan

had gone with their father, some had been sold off. Only the dining room set had been left behind.
     
    “That rug’s gotta go,” Riley said. The shag carpet really was a hideous relic of decades past.
     
    “What do you think?” I asked Katherine. “It could come back into fashion any day now.”
     
    “I think it’s up to Mal and Tony,” she said.
     
    The two exchanged a look - one that held meaning that I didn’t know. A look between brothers, recalling their pasts in this very place. Maybe they wouldn’t want us here, after all.
     
    But then they grinned. “Shred it,” Tony said.
     
    We didn’t have any tools but we attacked the carpet, anyway, all six of us prying up along the edges, looking for a loose place to grasp and start tearing. It was a slow process, but Mal and Tony were determined once we got started.
     
    “Here,” Riley called from the corner of the living room, her exclamation followed by a tearing sound.
     
    We all helped, tugging the rug up all the way around the living room and revealing the hardwood floor beneath. “Why would anyone ever cover this up?” Katherine asked, running her hand along the hard surface.
     
    Tony shrugged. “Must’ve been the trend at the time.” He looked down at the pile of scraps that the entire ugly rug had been reduced to. “So. When can you two move in?”
     
    Katherine smiled at me. “As soon as we can rent a truck.”
     
    “As soon as I dig out my old sleeping bag,” I said. I didn’t want to wait another minute to live with her if I could help it.
     
    “No pregnant women sleeping on the floor,” Riley said.
     
    But we did it anyway. We went home with Mallet, but returned to the apartment with pillows and blankets and a bag of groceries.
     
    “I still can’t believe this place,” Katherine said when we returned. “I can’t wait to start painting.”
     
    “We’ve got to move our bedroom stuff here first thing. I’ll talk to my brothers about furniture,” I said, “I know Lisa’s got some baby stuff she’d be happy to give us. A crib…”
     
    She wrapped her arms around my waist. “I want that to be the first room that we do,”
     
    “Anything you want, sweetheart. What does your sponsor think?” I hated to bring him up, but he was a part of her life whether I liked it or not.
     
    “He’s not thrilled,” she said. “But he didn’t make much of a fuss. He admitted he was getting too close. We’re still going to talk but, you know, just about the appropriate sponsor stuff.”
     
    Damn . There I was hoping I’d have an excuse to slap a little of the smug off his face, but he was being a goddamn adult about the whole thing. Another disappointment. I guess my fighting days really are over.
     
    We settled in one of the bedrooms, piling our pillows and blankets in the middle of the floor and telling ourselves it was just like camping. We played a movie on her laptop and ate pizza straight out of the box.
     
    And I’d never been happier.
     
    “Quit smiling like that,” she said, pushing the pizza box aside. “It’s weird.”
     
    “Why’s it weird?”
     
    “You’re supposed to be the tough guy,” she said, lowering her voice and flexing her arms. I laughed.
     
    “No so tough with this thing.” I knocked on my boot.
     
    She walked toward me on her knees. “Can I say it yet?”
     
    “Mmm. Say what?” I asked, deliberately playing dumb. I captured her face between my hands and brushed her cheeks with my thumbs. She turned one way and then the other, kissing my palms.
     
    “I love you, Rob Lockett,” she said, her eyes shining. “I know this is all scary. I’m scared, too. But we’re gonna make it. You’ll see.”
     
    I didn’t doubt it. Maybe I was being naive and foolish but so what? If I had to look toward the future, I might as well be as hopeful about it as I could. I’d damn well better be with a kid on the way .
     
    “All right,” I said, “I’ll take it.” It didn’t feel so