Come Home

Chapter 9

Alice woke up and quietly got dressed then headed downstairs. She made her a cup of coffee and headed to the barn. She let Jack out and smiled as he followed her into the field. She walked alongside him as she drank her coffee and once it was empty, she sat it on the porch before getting on Jack's back. He walked around leisurely as she watched the sun come up. After a bit he started galloping and a smile broke out on Alice's face.

Alice enjoyed the wind on her face as Jack raced her around. Once she was completely at ease, she took a deep breath and stood on his back with her arms spread out.

Jack walked around with her standing on his back for some time before he walked over to the fence by the house. She smiled when she saw all 16 men standing out there watching. Jack stopped at the gate and she pushed her hair out of her face.

"Are you trying to give us a heart attack, Meine Liebe?" Jasper asked chuckling while Jackson shook his head before holding his arms out as he stood by Jack.

"Did you have fun?"

"It was exactly what I needed," she gasped as he lifted her down. "Don't worry, Meine Liebe," she kissed Jasper's cheek, "Jack keeps me safe."

"Come on," he rolled his eyes and put his arm around her shoulders, "breakfast is ready."

"Oh yummy, okay," she giggled and looked around, "my coffee cup?"

"I brought it inside," North said softly.

"Okay," she nodded as she walked inside.

"Sugar," Jackson warned and she sighed.

"Thank you, North," she corrected as she sat down. "I appreciate it."

"You are welcome," North nodded as most of the group sat down.

"Here you go Sugar," Jackson said as he sat her bottle of Propel watermelon flavored water in front of her. "Your eggs will be ready in just a minute."

"Thank you," she smiled softly up at him.

"Can we ask how long you have been together?" Victor asked as he took his coffee cup from Marc. "Thank you, Marc."

"No problem," Marc nodded, "would you like another cup of coffee, Alice?"

"No," she shook her head. Jackson cleared his throat and she huffed, "no thank you, Marc."

"As for your question," Jackson took a drink of his coffee, "Jasper and I have been together for 12 years and Alice –"

"Oy, just how fucking old are you?" Gabe asked dropping his fork.

"Language," Owen sighed shaking his head.

"I am 35," Jackson sat his cup down, "Jasper is 32, and as you should already know, Alice is—"

"26," the Blackbourne Toma team said in unison."

"I'm 25," Alice rolled her eyes. "I haven't had my birthday yet."

"Sorry," they said looking ashamed.

"The age gap isn't a problem?" Kota asked. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything, I just find it fascinating. You don't have to ask."

"It's fine," Jackson shook his head. "Anyway, Alice joined us almost five years ago."

"We're getting married on our five-year anniversary," Alice beamed.

"Can I ask one more thing?" Kota asked.

"How come we didn't marry?" Jasper asked and Kota nodded. "We knew we weren't complete and didn't want to marry until we found our girl. We were honest from the beginning that we both wanted a wife as well as a husband."

"Fascinating," Kota nodded. "How did you meet? All three of you."

"I asked to speak to the cook when I was trying a new restaurant when I was back in the states for a bit before I went back overseas," Jasper explained. "It was the best food I had ate."

"He stayed until we closed, and we started talking," Jackson smirked as memories came back. "We were together for five weeks before he went back overseas. We remained in contact through letters and phone calls until he came back home."

"And I met Alice when we were volunteering," Jasper smiled as he sat his coffee cup down.

"Oh neat," Victor smiled, "where were you two volunteering?"

"When I can, I volunteer at animal rescues," Jasper explained.

"He was talking to the owner about some of the workers who were veterans that served time and how hard it is for them to find work," Alice smiled fondly at him. "It's very difficult for veterans to adjust to civil life and a lot end up in prison for one reason or another."

"Animals are great for helping people," Kota nodded. "So, then you introduced her to Jackson?"

"Yes, after a while," Jasper nodded. "We met a few times volunteering at the animal rescue before I gained her trust to meet me outside of spending time with the animals. We were friends first before she was willing to meet Jackson and then we remained friends before we formed a relationship."

"He was honest with her from the start about us and wanting her to join eventually," Jackson explained. "She was honest with us but not having the trust to be in another poly relationship but that was fine, we were okay with being friends first and work on gaining her trust."

"It was hard but so worth it," Jasper nodded. "It's like that saying, you have to go through the hard times to appreciate the good ones."

"I definitely made it hard on you at times," she nodded as she pushed her plate away. "I don't know how you dealt with me during those dark times."

"Because you are worth it, Cuore Mio," Jackson said picking up her plate and setting it on top of his.

Just then the door opened and the man that yelled at her the previous day walked in, "That beast is causing havoc again, Boss."