“We all do,” said Ava. “We all deserve to have men in our lives who love us, make us feel safe, and whom we love just as much.”
“And who tell us their real names.”
Zary and Ava laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“What is Striker’s real name?” asked Ava.
“Griffin Ellis.”
“It sounds so…regal.”
“I know, right?”
“Regal? Like a king?” asked Zary.
Ava nodded.
“Yes. I agree.”
“This is really nice,” murmured Ava.
“Thank you for pushing,” responded Zary, smiling. “But now,” she said, throwing the covers off. “I have to use the lavatory.”
“Me too,” said Ava. “Just wait until you’re pregnant, Aine. You’ll find out that you have to pee all the time.”
“Uh, TMI, both of you.”
—:—
Gunner had come back down the hallway, but hurried away from the bedroom door so they didn’t catch him eavesdropping. Things between Zary and her half-sisters were going better than he’d hoped.
“Whatcha’ doin’?” asked Odette, walking in the front door.
“Hey, Sis,” said Gunner, kissing her cheek.
Odette pulled back. “Who are you?”
“I know. Sometimes I don’t recognize myself.”
His sister put her arms around him. “I’m happy for you.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot of that goin’ around.”
“I need some of what you’ve got.”
“Things didn’t work out with Tim?”
Odette shook her head. “That ended a long time ago.”
“Uh…sorry to hear that.”
Odette burst out laughing. “Now you’re going overboard.”
“I know. You should’ve seen me a couple of weeks ago when I had to ask Doc about his baby.” He shuddered and Odette giggled.
“Pretty soon all you guys will be having conversations about diapers.”
“The hell we will,” he mumbled while walking back into the kitchen.
Chapter 7
Ava and Razor
“Where are you hidin’ my wife?” Razor asked, coming into Gunner’s kitchen.
“Bathroom.”
“Huh?”
“That’s where she was headed the last time I saw her,” Gunner told him.
“Anybody else think this is weird as…oh, hi, Mrs. Godet.”
“Razor,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Mrs. Godet was my mother-in-law. How many times have I told you to call me Madeline? By the way, where’s your mom?”
“Mashing potatoes and adding marshmallows to yams.” Razor cringed. “So gross,” he muttered.
“I’ll pop over and see her as soon as I make the stuffing.”
“I got this, Ma,” said Gunner. “Go be…uh…social.”
Madeline stood on her toes and kissed Gunner’s cheek. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Hey, man,” said Razor, putting his hand on Striker’s shoulder.
“Hey, Razor.”
“Just in case no one else has warned you, break Aine’s heart or hurt her in any way, and I’ll kill you.”
Striker laughed; not exactly the reaction Razor had expected or wanted.
“I’m not kidding.”
“I know you’re not, and just to reassure you, Gunner warned me first.”
“Good,” said Razor, moving away from the onions. “You gave him the worst job of all,” he said to Gunner. “I like it.”
“You’re hazing me.”
Razor laughed. “Hi, sweetheart,” he said when Ava walked into the kitchen followed by her twin.
“Hi, Tabon,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Can I help?” he heard Aine ask Striker.
“Nah. I got this.”
“I don’t mind.”
Striker leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I’m being hazed. Plus if I hurt you in any way, including making you chop onions, they’ll both kill me.”
“Damn straight,” said Razor. “Back away from the onions, Aine.”
“Got a minute?” Ava asked him.
“Got a lifetime of ’em for you, baby.” He followed her out of the kitchen and then out the front door. “Where are we going?”
She didn’t answer.
“Avarie?”
“We should leave them alone.”
“Who?”
“My sister and Striker.”
“Why?”
“They don’t need an audience.”
“Gunner is still there.”
“He doesn’t hover like you do.”
Razor scrubbed his face with his hand. “Do I really?”
Ava nodded. “I get it. You’re protective of Aine, and I love that about you, but she really likes him. It isn’t fair of you guys to disparage him in front of her.”
He thought she was going too far, using the word disparage, but he’d learned to keep his mouth shut unless it really mattered, and this didn’t.
“Got it,” he said instead. “No more hovering.”
“Thank you, Tabon,” she said, kissing his cheek.
“Is that all I get?” He pulled her close to him and covered her lips with his. “Give me a real kiss.”
—:—
God, she loved this man. In her wildest dreams, she never imagined love like theirs existed. She put her hand on her belly, knowing their child would always feel loved and protected.
Tabon covered her hand with his. “How’s my baby?” he asked.
Ava smiled. “Growing.”
“And how’s my baby mama?”
“Ew. I hate that term. Your wife is fine.”
Tabon laughed. “Sorry, darlin’. How about takin’ a walk with me?”
She nodded, and he led her through the trees and out to the beach. “I love it here,” she murmured.
“More than Yachats?”
“Nothing compares to home, Tabon, but I do like visiting Cambria. It reminds me of the time right after Quinn and Mercer’s wedding.”
He scrubbed his face again. “Not great memories, Avarie.”
“I disagree. Sure, I’d never choose to go back and live that time of my life over again, but it was when I realized I love you.”
“Me too.”
“But neither of us said it.”
“Wouldn’t it have been weird? That soon?”
Ava told him what Zary had said about the first time she and Gunner met.
“Romantic, huh?”
“If you say so.”
They walked along quietly, and she loved that they could do that.
“Do you miss going for runs?” he asked.
“I was just thinking that.”
“Can you?”
“Run?”
Tabon nodded.
She pulled back from him. “Am I getting that big?”
“No.” He laughed and pulled her closer. “No one would even be able to tell that you’re pregnant. I just meant, is it safe?”
Ava shrugged. “I don’t know why it wouldn’t be.”
“We’ll try a short one tomorrow.”
Ava scrunched her eyes. “Feeling out of shape?”
Tabon laughed again. “It doesn’t matter what kind of shape I’m in, you’ll always outrun me.”
“You got that right.”
—:—
When they got back to the house, they saw a car pulling through the gate.
“Who’s that?” Ava asked.
“Looks like Mantis.”
“I didn’t know he was coming.”
“Me either. Shit.”
“What?”
“Dutch and Alegria are coming too.”
“And?”
Razor told her what he knew about their past.
“Oh. Who invited Mantis?”
Razor shrugged. “No idea. Maybe Gunner.”
“This will be awkward.”
“It isn�
��t like we all haven’t been in the same place at the same time before. Although…”
“What?”
“I think Dutch was keeping the thing with Alegria a secret.”
“Thing?”
“I’m not certain, but I think they’re together.”
“Why would they keep it a secret?”
Razor shrugged again and led her over to the place where Mantis had parked. “Let’s not say anything,” he whispered.
“You’re worse than girls,” she muttered.
“Hey, Mantis. Welcome. Come on in. When did you get to town?”
“Thanks. I’ve been here since Monday.”
“Why haven’t you come by before now?”
Mantis told him about exploring the area. “I was happy for the time alone.”
Razor nodded. “You haven’t said much about your last op.”
Mantis shook his head and looked at Ava.
“I’ll be inside,” she told them, letting go of Razor’s hand.
“You don’t have to—”
“It’s okay, Mantis, I was heading in to see what I could do to help anyway.” She kissed Razor’s cheek, and he patted her bottom as she walked away.
“That’s my wife,” he mumbled. How had he gotten so damn lucky?
“I envy you.”
“Yeah? It wasn’t that long ago that we were all single and planning to stay that way.”
“Being single is fucking overrated.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to touch on a sore subject.”
“If you’re talking about Alegria, that ended before I left for Afghanistan.”
“How is she?”
Mantis told Razor what he knew about the surgery and the doctor’s expectations. “She’s tough. Maybe even tougher than me,” he laughed. “She’ll be okay.”
It wasn’t hard to see that Mantis was still in love with Alegria. If Razor told him now that she and Dutch were on their way here, would he leave? Probably, and then he’d spend Thanksgiving alone, and that wouldn’t be cool.
“Come on in. Can I get you a beer?”
“I’d love one. Thanks.”
Razor introduced Mantis to his mom and to Gunner’s mom, who looked like she was doing more chatting than helping, but he doubted his best friend cared all that much. Gunner usually liked to be alone—or at least he used to prefer it that way. Now, like him, he’d probably want to be alone with his woman more than anything.
“I saw Striker the day I got here.”
“Yeah? He didn’t mention it. Although I doubt he’s got much more on his mind other than Aine.”
“I noticed that too.”
Razor heard the front door open, and the sound of his two nieces about to barrel into the kitchen.
“Whoa, slow down there.”
They stopped to hug him and then turned and looked at Mantis.
“Sierra, Savannah, this is my friend Mr. Cassman. Can you say hello?”
Both girls impatiently shook Mantis’ hand.
“Where’s Ava?” Sierra asked.
“Hmm. Not sure. Upstairs maybe.”
“Uncle Razor,” said Savannah with her hands on her hips. “How come you don’t know where your wife is?”
Both girls broke into a fit of giggles.
“What’s so funny?” asked his sister, coming in followed by Monk, who was carrying two pies.
“Hey, Saylor,” said Razor, kissing her cheek. “I’ve lost Ava.” He looked at his nieces. “Why don’t you two go find her for me?”
“I’ll get the rest,” said Monk.
“Need help?” asked Mantis.
Monk nodded.
Razor chuckled. Why speak when a head movement would suffice?
“I’m getting used to it,” his sister told him.
“How quiet Monk is?”
“Yep.”
“Wait. How used to it?”
“Don’t go there, Raze,” she said, winking.
“Jesus. Can’t anyone find somebody outside of K19 to get involved with?”
“Some of your partners—one in particular—is pretty damn hot.”
“Stop it. Seriously. No talking about anything hot.” Razor put his hands over his ears.
“Where’s dinner?” Saylor asked.
“Over here.”
“Where?”
Razor took her into the dining room. “I guess I need to add a few more leaves to the table.”
“I’ll say. How many in total?”
“Uh, sixteen. I think. Wait, no, it’ll be an odd number. No, that’s wrong too. Shit. I don’t know. Can’t we just set up a bunch of tables and everyone can eat where they want?”
Saylor nodded. “Probably a better idea. Why don’t you go hang out with your buddies and let the woman folk take care of this?”
“If I said something like that, I’d never hear the end of it.”
“You got that right. Now git.”
“Is Monk from the South?”
“Yeah, why?”
“He must do some talking. I’ve never, ever heard you say ‘git’ before.”
Saylor smiled. It was nice to see. Her ex-husband had been a first-class asshole, so much so, that he didn’t bother to even try to see Sierra and Savannah.
Razor leaned in close to his sister. “How is Monk with the girls?”
She put his hand on his arm. “He’s great with them, and they love him.”
“Isn’t it kinda soon?”
“They know he’s their mama’s special friend. We don’t do sleepovers, and we keep the PDA to a minimum.”
He’d asked, so he supposed he deserved to get an answer, but he definitely didn’t want to hear any more details.
“That’s awesome,” he said, walking away. “Call if you change your mind and want my help. Actually, text. I’m goin’ next door after I find my wife and those two little rascals.”
“You like that word, don’t you?”
“Rascals? Yep. One of my favorites. It’s one of those words that is so perfect. Don’t need a thesaurus to find one that’s more fitting.”
“You’re a weirdo. I meant ‘wife.’”
He winked and then waved. “I know you did.”
Razor found Ava and the girls upstairs. All three were on the bed, and his nieces each had one hand on his wife’s belly.
“How big is the baby now?” he heard Sierra ask.
“About this big.” Ava held both hands up about four inches apart. “And he or she weighs about an ounce. Do you know how much that is?”
They shook their heads.
“Okay, let me think. What’s a good example. I know, the turkey we’re having for Thanksgiving dinner probably weights twenty-five pounds. It takes sixteen ounces to make one pound.”
“Wow,” the girls said in unison. “Cool.”
Ava looked up and smiled at him. “There’s your Uncle Razor now.”
“Don’t you mean Uncle Tabon?” asked Savannah.
“Nope. I’m the only one who calls him that, so for you two, he’ll always be your Uncle Razor.”
“I like Razor better anyway,” said Sierra.
Savannah smacked her. “That wasn’t nice. How would you like it if someone said they didn’t like your name? You should apologize.”
Sierra looked and him, and he smiled. “No apology necessary. I used to like Razor better too. Until I met your Aunt Avarie.”
Ava blew him a kiss, and his heart melted. He sure had a lot to be thankful for this year.
Chapter 8
Aine and Striker
Striker washed his hands and went in search of Aine. He found her sitting on the deck, looking out at the ocean.
“Whatcha’ thinkin’ about?”
She turned, smiled at him, and her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink he’d ever seen. “How nice it is that you’re here.”
“No place I’d rather be.”
“Not missing your family?”
“No. My family…”
“You hav
en’t said much about them.”
Striker sat down next to her and pulled her over to his lap. “As you well know, families come with good and bad. I didn’t get much good.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
He interrupted her apology with a kiss, and then rested his forehead against hers. “Like I said, there’s no place I’d rather be.”
“Me too.”
“By the way, where’s your mom?”
“Still at the inn. Peggy doesn’t cook.”
Striker laughed. “Enough said. I think there are too many cooks in those kitchens anyway.”
“I’m not a great cook either.”
“I bet you just say that. I remember some pretty good peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You’re probably a great cook.”
Aine laughed. “I think you made them. And, no, I’m terrible. Ava will attest that I should never be allowed in a kitchen. I just offered to help chop the onions to be nice.” Her cheeks turned pink again.
“You don’t have any idea how pretty you are, do you?”
She put her head on his shoulder. “Thank you,” he heard her murmur.
“Aine, I…”
When he didn’t continue, she looked up at him. “What?”
“Never mind. I forgot what I was going to say.”
She nodded. “You’re lying, but that’s okay.”
He laughed. “I’m just really happy to be here with you. I feel like I’ve said it too many times.”
“You never have to apologize for saying you’re happy to be with me, Griffin.”
“I need to ask you something, though.”
Her eyes were still focused on his. “Okay.”
“We really haven’t talked about it, and we should have, before now, before I got here earlier in the week.”
“Are you about to tell me that your real name isn’t Griffin Ellis?”
“No. Why would you think that?”
Aine laughed. “Earlier when Ava and I were talking to Zary, Ava said all three of us deserve to be happy. We deserve to feel loved and safe. And I added that we deserve to be with men who tell us their real names. I was kidding. Sort of. I mean, my dad…”
“I get it and I agree. You deserve to be happy.”
“What did you want to talk about?”
Striker moved her from his lap back to the chair she’d been sitting in.
Mistletoe (K19 Security Solutions Book 3) Page 5