Page 99 of Fierce-Michael

“I gave her my credit card.” Not that his mother would use it half the time. “There are only so many hours in the day and baby clothes shopping wasn’t my top priority.”

“That’s one of the fun things,” she said. “But I’m sure you weren’t thinking much was fun back then.”

“No,” he said.

“I couldn’t even give him any of Cam’s clothing,” Alex said. “They are only a month apart in age and Ty is bigger than Cam and always has been.”

“I never asked when Ty’s birthday was. I had no idea they were so close in age.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I moved back here knowing that Alex was going to be starting her family at some point. Electra got pregnant around that time. Not that I knew that. Ty was born in August. I hated to take time off while she was still out.”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Alex said. “We weren’t nearly the size we are now back then and you still put more than enough time in.”

“Alex was back to work part time by the time I took a month off to get things set. You know I didn’t get Ty full time until he was over a month old, so the timing worked out. I was coming in to work on the weekends though and my parents had Ty for me then.”

“Which had to be hard to do,” she said.

“We got through it,” he said. “Not ideal and it’s all good.”

“Speaking of all good,” Cade said. “How is it going? My mother has been good about not bugging me too much, not that I’d offer anything up.”

“She’s been leaving me alone too,” Kelly said. “Which is nice. I like where we are at.”

“She’s leaving you alone,” Alex said, “because Cade told her to.”

“Aw,” she said. “I didn’t know that. I can handle your mother.”

“You shouldn’t have to handle her. She knows you two are dating and taking it slow and that should be enough for her,” Cade said.

“She never bugs me too much,” Michael said. “With Alex out, she has no reason to go to the plant.”

Which was a good thing. He didn’t want to deal with any meddling. It wasn’t his thing.

He and Kelly were getting through this on their own and he wanted to continue to do that.

It was working for them and for once in his life it felt good to know something was working that didn’t take a lot of effort.

Then he had to remind himself he had put a lot of effort into this. More than he had with another woman.

Relationships took work.

“Wish she had no reason to come to the corporate offices either,” Cade said. “But I can’t very well tell her she isn’t welcome.”

“No,” Alex said, laughing. “She is the one who helped get Fierce where it is.”

“She did,” Cade said. “When it was just the pub. But you know as well as I do, the five of us had the vision.”

He’d heard the story a few times. That the five kids had a plan to turn Fierce into the empire it was now and all picked a career to make it work and cover all their bases.

No one thought Cade would be a lawyer. Or that he went for that degree to never use it for anything more than family most times.

“And that vision could only come true with her putting faith in the five of you,” Alex said. “More like the four of you.”

“Let me guess,” Cade said. “I’m the one excluded.”

“Jolene has said that to me before,” Alex said. “She thanks me for settling you down.”

“Do I burp her now?” Kelly asked. “Half is gone.”