“Still mad we didn’t call first before showing up?”
her mother asked.
“I wasn’t mad, Mom, just surprised.” Dakota used the edge of the wood slab island to pop the top on the beer, as Gunnar had shown her, and traded bottles with her mother.
“You’re about as nervous as a cat in a room of rocking chairs tonight,” Mary said then took a sip from the dark green bottle.
Dakota opened the second bottle the same way and took a long drink. “Dad seems to have hit it off with Fridrik and Burke pretty well,” she said, trying to change the subject.
Her mother nodded and leaned her hip against the island, resting her hand against the old, scarred wood.
“Deer hunting and land management. I’ll be lucky if we’re not up all night the way those three are jabbering.”
Dakota snickered then took another drink. Her mother’s gaze landed on her hand holding the bottle.
Her left hand.
“You were never one much for jewelry,” Mary said in a tone so nonchalant it couldn’t have been more fake.
Dakota set her bottle of beer on the island and gazed at the ring on her finger. A braided band of two gold strands and one bronze. The symbol of her light-colored mates wrapped securely around her darker coloring.
“I’m just having a difficult time figuring out which one of them gave it to you.”
Dakota stared at the ring so hard her eyes blurred.
“And another thing. Turn around and raise your shirt a little.”
Dakota’s heart thudded. She looked up at her mom, turned and slowly lifted the bottom hem of the tank top to reveal the tattoo she’d gotten a month before when she’d accompanied Axel on a trip to Seattle. While he attended a trade show, she’d done the one thing she never thought she would. She’d surprised her guys and gotten a tattoo. One with the Falke family crest on it.
Axel and Gunnar told her it was the most incredible thing anyone had ever done for them, as much a symbol of her love for them as the two faint bite marks she carried on her flesh.
Her mother nodded. “I thought I caught a glimpse of something there when you hugged Burke earlier, and again a moment ago when I came into the kitchen.
It’s the same design they all wear on those collars, right?” She frowned. “Which is something else I find a bit odd.”
Dakota smoothed her shirt down. “It’s just…” She shrugged.
“Pretty permanent,” Mary said, motioning toward her.
“Yes, it is. Very.”
“I have it narrowed down to two of the six. It’s either your new boss or the one with the wicked twinkle in his eye every time he looks at you.”
Dakota bit her bottom lip but couldn’t stop the grin.
“Oh, Mom…” She met her mother’s gentle brown gaze. “I’ve wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”
“It’s the playful one, isn’t it? Gunnar? He seems your type.”
Dakota shook her head, and her throat was so tight, her answer came out as little more than a hoarse croak.
“It’s both.”
Her mother stared at her, her brow slightly furrowed. She raised her beer and took a longer drink this time, watching Dakota over the top of it. When she finally set the bottle down, she nodded slowly, spread her hands over the wooden countertop and let out a long, slow breath. It was the kind of reaction she used to have when Dakota was a teenager and dropped some bombshell, like when she’d come home at seventeen and asked her mom what she thought about her going on birth control.
The question was, would Mom stay calm or explode like she had when Dakota told her she wanted to be an ad executive instead of going to college to become a doctor or nurse or lawyer.
“What, exactly, do you mean by both?”
Her mom’s voice was way too calm. “I love them both.”
“Do they know this?”
Dakota nodded.
“And the ring?” she pointed to Dakota’s finger.
Dakota leaned over the island and fingered the strands. “Them. Me.”
“What— Wait a second.” She turned away, then back, a look of total confusion on her face. “Which one of those older gentlemen is their father?”
She’d wondered how long until one of her parents picked up on the fact they were both called “Dad” by the seven adult children. Dakota shrugged. “Both.”
Her mother’s lips twitched slightly then broke into a grin, and she laughed. She laughed so hard tears came to her eyes, and she swiped at them with the back of her hand. “Oh, wow,” she said when she calmed, but her smile stayed in place. “So it’s a family thing, huh?”
More than you could possibly know. Dakota nodded. “Kind of.”
Mary shook her head, showing her disbelief.
“Polygamy is illegal, you know.”
“That’s why there won’t be any official marriage.
Nothing filed with the state.” She placed her hand over her heart. “But it’s in here, and it’s forever.”
Her mother’s expression softened. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I love them, Mom, and they love me.”
“I can’t say I expected this, or that it’s something I actually wanted for my only child, but…” Her mother stepped around the island to embrace Dakota. “You finally have that big family you always wanted.”
Dakota laughed and hugged her mom. “I’m so happy I didn’t have to grow up with all these brothers.
Heidi has told me horror stories.”
Her mom laughed and pulled back, still holding Dakota by the shoulders. “Okay, sweetie. If you’re this sure, then you have my blessing. I’m not saying I won’t worry a little. I will, so you’ll just have to accept that. And I think I’ll wait until we’re back in Boulder before I tell your father, okay?”
A giddy giggle slipped out of Dakota as relief flowed through her. “Please!”
“Everything okay in here?” Axel asked as he and Gunnar came through the door.
Dakota grinned. Mary let go of her and walked up to the men. They stood a good foot taller than her petite mother, but it was obvious who held the power right then. Her big, strapping lovers looked as scared as she’d felt all day.
“My daughter tells me I have two sons-in-law instead of one.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they answered in unison.
Dakota tried not to giggle at their worried expressions. She couldn’t see her mother’s face, but she had no doubt it was the same look she’d given Dakota just minutes before.
“You two going to take care of her? Treat her right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” they said again.
“And you both love her?”
Axel said, “With all our hearts, ma’am.” Gunnar nodded and placed his hand over his heart.
“Then I suppose you should call me Mom instead of ma’am. And knowing my daughter, it’ll probably take both of you to keep her in line.”
“Mom!” Dakota said in mock outrage, but she doubted her mother noticed, since her big, brawny lovers were taking turns hugging Mary and laughing.
Her mom would convince her dad everything was good, and maybe she could get them to come visit for Christmas to see her new home.
Warmth filled her to brimming as she watched her men tease her mom about how unruly her daughter was, regaling half made-up stories about her, talking over one another.
She walked up to the trio and was immediately brought into the group when Axel put his arm around her and tucked her against his side. She’d never been happier in her life.