Shannon''s birthday weekend was a lot of fun. Despite theck of sleep, I enjoyed getting to know Patrick''s family better. I couldn''t help butugh at how excited all the kids got when they saw the three different bounce houses set up for them. All the adultsughed when Patrick and I took off our shoes and climbed into one of the bounce houses with the kids.


    It was a long day, but Patrick made sure to get loads of photos that he shared in our group chat. As much as I hated to say goodbye to everyone on Sunday morning, Patrick and I were ready to go home. As we backed out of the driveway, Patrick nced at me. "Did you know my mom actually threatened me that if we didn''t take care of you, she would have my dad put out a hit on us?"


    Laughter flooded out of me. "That exins why your mom told me to call her if you ever got out of line." Patrick just shook his head.


    We stopped at a gas station to fill up, and Patrick went for doughnuts and coffee while I texted the guys. They had nned a family dinner tonight for when we got home.


    The drive home was uneventful. Patrick and I talked about everything and nothing. When I mentioned that I still wasn''t sure if I wanted to attend college, he reminded me that school wasn''t the only option and encouraged me to think about what would make me happy. He also reminded me that they would support whatever I decided to do.


    That evening at home, we had fun, even teasing Darren into joining us for dinner so I could show off the weekend''s photos. After dinner, we all ended up in the game room and yed video games for a while before drifting off to do our own thing. It was finally starting to feel normal. Or at least the new version of normal since the ident. Drew and Mike both slept with me that night. Jake followed me into the shower the next morning just like he always did before the ident. The next few weeks flew by. The weather grew cooler, and the leaves began to turn. Drew and Mike tried to lure me out for a run with them, but after the first time, I decided running, and I didn''t get along. Sleeping in was a much better way to spend my morning. We all went for several walks, so I could see the colors.


    The twins'' birthday happened on a day they both had sses, so we put off celebrating until that weekend, then drove up to a nearby amusement park. It was ridiculously fun. The guys turned all the games into a contest to see who could win the most stuffed animals, and after picking out my two favorites, we began to hand out the rest to every kid we saw.


    Mike''s birthday was right after the twins, and he decided to have a night in rather than go out. We had dinner on the patio. It was chilly but lots of fun, and he decided to make it a family dinner instead of just the two of us. Our schedules were so different,tely it was harder to find time when all six of us were home at the same time.


    I''d had a couple of conference calls with my attorney and hisputer guy, Dominic, and had passed on all our numbers to him so he could get a hold of one of us directly. So far, tracking down who had sent the threatening messages had proved fruitless, so I reviewed everything I knew again. As far as I knew, my father didn''t have any extended family, so I was pretty sure the messages must havee from someone he either worked with or was friends with. Dominic assured me he would be in touch as soon as he found something and would like to set up a time to talk to Patrick about the possibility of reaching out to some of his contacts inw enforcement if his research didn''t turn up anything. Halloween was right around the corner, and it seemed like the twins had a major test or project due in every single one of their sses. Helping them both study made me seriously think about following Patrick''s advice and putting off jumping right back into sses. We also had our first dusting of snow while it was early in the season, and I was sure it wouldn''t stick around. I still squealed at the sight of it. Yes, we did get snow in the city, but at least in my old neighborhood, it turned dirty and slushy the second it hit the ground.


    We had all been invited over to Patrick''s parents'' for a Halloween party, so we headed into the city on Halloween night. We didn''t quite coordinate our costumes because no one could agree. The guys had talked about all going as superheroes, but I told them I was not spending the evening freezing in what passed for superhero costumes for women. We put all our ideas into a hat, and Darren picked out the winning theme. Which is how we ended up going in Medieval garb. The guys looked great in their armor, and my dress was much morefortable and showed less skin, making me happy.


    While Patrick''s parents'' party was fun, we still decided to leave early. Back at the house, we all got out of our costumes, wore, and changed intofy clothes. Drew and Jake raided the kitchen for snacks, and everybody met in my room; for the first time in months, we ate snacks, watched movies, and all fell asleep in my bed together.


    I had no idea how much I needed that until I woke up surrounded by my guys the following day. Josh was sleeping right up against my back, with one arm around me. Jake snored softly on his other side. Drew was in front of me, one arm thrown over his eyes and his other hand resting on my knee. On the far side of him, Patrick slept with his back to Drew, and Mike had somehow wormed his way between my legs and was asleep with his head on my stomach.


    We needed more nights likest night. I yawned, and Drew murmured something before leaning over and kissing my forehead. He pulled my hand to his chest and fell back asleep. I couldn''t understand what Drew had said, but the feeling was there.


    The guys didn''t wake up for another hour, and no matter how badly I needed to pee, I didn''t move. This was my idea of a perfect morning, and I wanted it tost as long as possible because I knew we would be swamped with work again way too soon.