by Kaylea Cross
“Aye. Thought I’d let her sleep a little longer while I make her tea.”
“I’ll do it.” She slid off the stool and took the kettle to the sink to fill it.
Aidan smiled to himself as he watched her. This past year had been the best of his life. He’d married Tiana in Edinburgh in July, and gained a daughter in the process. Ella still wore the ring he’d given her last Hogmanay, never took it off.
“When are we going to Mr. Beckett and Miss Sierra’s house?” she asked, setting the kettle on the stove to heat.
“We’re meant to be there for five.” He was looking forward to it, because it was Friday night, and it had been a week.
Things had been challenging at work lately. He, Beckett and Jase had all been running themselves ragged while scrambling to finish up several projects for the company, and sending out bids for several more. The staff problems they’d had lately had made things tough for everyone.
Due to various issues like unreliability, substance abuse, and mental health reasons, Beckett had been forced to let three employees go over the last month or so. They’d been so busy he hadn’t yet had the time to hire replacements for them, so Aidan and Jase had been helping pick up the slack.
Aidan had been there yesterday when Beckett had a run-in with one former employee, angry at being let go and threatening to sue. They hired veterans whenever possible, and most of their staff were great employees. This one… He had severe mental health issues that needed to be addressed by medical professionals.
Beckett had tried to get him help, but now it was up to the lad to help himself. The whole thing was hardest on Beckett and Jase, because it hit far too close to home after what happened with Carter.
“Perfect, that’s Walter’s dinnertime,” Ella said. She looked over her shoulder at him, frowned as she swept her blond hair out of her face. “Are we gonna tell everyone tonight?”
“Maybe. We’ll see.”
“I think we should tell them.”
He waited until she reached into the cupboard for Tiana’s favorite mug before sneaking one of his favorite chocolate bars from her stash. She caught him just after he’d popped it into his mouth, and her blue eyes narrowed. “Saw that,” she accused. “Next time just ask. It’s not like I won’t share with you.”
Aidan chuckled. The lass was so much like her mother. Feisty. No man would ever push her around, and for that he was grateful. The thought of her becoming a teenager in a few years and then the boys coming to sniff around was enough to double his blood pressure. “Thank you.”
“Can you get the tea bag for me? I can’t reach.”
“Sure.” He crossed to the cupboard and took out a bag of peppermint tea, then resisted the urge to help as Ella poured the boiling water into the mug. She wanted to prove her independence so badly. After the events of the previous summer, letting her have some freedom while trying to make her feel safe and secure proved a constant balancing act for him and Tiana. “Want me to take it to her?”
“No, I can do it.” She walked slowly from the kitchen, concentrating on not spilling the mug. He opened the door for her.
Lying on her side in their bed, Tiana opened her eyes and smiled. “Is that for me?” she said in a sleepy voice.
“Yes. But we need to go soon, so don’t go back to sleep after.”
Tiana grinned. “Wow, so bossy. But thank you, sweetheart.” She sat up, kissed Ella, and took the mug. Smiling past her daughter at him, Aidan felt that familiar tug at his heart. These two lasses were his whole world, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for either of them.
After Tiana showered and changed, they walked up the hill to the old Victorian house together through the chilly but clear November air. Beckett’s family had lived in the house at the top of Salt Spray Lane for generations. It was a bonny place with a spectacular view of the sea below the cliff.
Partway up the lane, the sound of a lawnmower reached them. Ella gasped and took off at a run. “I bet he’s driving Walter!”
“We’re lucky she let us get away with just a cat,” Aidan said to Tiana as Ella raced up the hill.
“I know. If it was up to her, we’d live on an animal sanctuary.”
“Aye.” Aidan smiled at Ella as she raced away, her ponytail bobbing. “I love her big heart.”
“I do too.” Tiana squeezed his hand, her cheeks turning pink from the cold and her red hair blowing in the breeze.
“You just keep getting more beautiful.”
Her cheeks flushed darker. “Whatever. Flatterer.”
“It’s true.” God, he loved her. He was the luckiest man alive.
When they reached the edge of Beckett’s property, Aidan chuckled when Beckett came into view on the ride-on mower. “And to think this is the man who said he never wanted a dog.”
Beckett raised a hand in greeting as he drove toward them, his old rescue basset-cavalier mix Walter riding shotgun on the seat beside him. No one would ever guess it to look at him, but old Walter was an adrenaline junkie.
They’d found out quite by accident that his most favorite thing in the world was riding in the back of a dune buggy with his doggles on and his long, furry ears flapping in the wind. Then he howled like a maniac and begged to go faster.
Standing on the grass, Ella laughed and clapped her hands, hopping up and down in excitement. “Can I ride too, Mr. Beckett?” she called out.
Beckett’s hard features softened in a lopsided grin as he stopped the mower in front of her. “Sure, come on up.” He waited while Ella clambered in and hauled Walter into her lap, then started up the mower and carried on.
“This is definitely going on our Christmas card.” Aidan pulled out his phone and started taking both video and pictures. It was too priceless.
“Come on,” Tiana said with a laugh, and tugged him toward the house.
Everyone else was already there and greeted them with hugs and handshakes. Beckett’s wife Sierra was bustling around the kitchen with Poppy. Poppy’s fiancée Noah, the town sheriff, Sierra’s brother and Beckett’s best friend since childhood, was setting the table. Jase, a former Green Beret who’d served with Beckett, was busy with his wife Molly corralling their eighteen-month-old daughter, Savannah.
Savannah squealed in delight when she saw Tiana, and toddled over. Tiana scooped the little one up and gave her smacking kisses on the side of her neck that made Savannah belly laugh.
The entire scene filled Aidan with warmth. “What can I do to help?” he asked Sierra.
She shoved two platters of chicken breasts at him. “Anywhere on the table. We’re just about ready to eat.”
Ella traipsed in a few minutes later, pink-cheeked and grinning from ear to ear. Walter hobbled after her, looking decidedly less cheerful now, the tips of his ears dragging on the old hardwood boards and his red-rimmed eyes staring up at everyone mournfully.
“We finished the lawn,” Ella announced. “Mr. Beckett said the grass didn’t need mowing, it’s just easier to clean up all the mess the cedar and fir trees leave that way. We should borrow it, Mac. That way we won’t have to rake anymore.”
“Aye, brilliant.” He ruffled her hair. “Now go wash your hands, it’s time to eat.”
Everyone gathered around the long rectangular table. Normally Walter liked to lie beneath it in case something should fall accidentally—or on purpose, in Ella’s case—during the meal, but with Savannah around he chose to hide in his crate beside the fireplace instead, safely out of reach from little hands.
From his seat at the head of the long, rectangular farmhouse table, Beckett raised his glass of beer. “Thanks for coming.” One side of his mouth lifted in a rueful grin as he glanced from Aidan to Jase. “It’s been a helluva week. Couldn’t have done it without you both.”
“You’re right about that,” Aidan agreed, earning grins around the table before he turned his attention to the food. “Looks amazing as always, ladies,” he said to Sierra and Poppy.
“Did you make pancakes, Miss Poppy?” Ella asked
.
Poppy owned a local café/bookshop in town called the Whale’s Tale. She paused in the act of scooping up a spoonful of scalloped potatoes, a chagrined look on her face. “I didn’t, sweetheart, sorry. But next time you come for a sleepover I’ll make you whatever kind of pancakes you want, okay?”
“Okay. Chocolate chips with strawberries, and lots of whipped cream. And that chocolate sauce you make.”
Poppy smiled. “Dark chocolate ganache.”
“Yum,” Ella declared, her expression becoming decidedly less enthusiastic as Tiana began putting salad and vegetables onto her plate for her.
The meal was louder and more boisterous than usual with Savannah adding her shrieks and little noises to the conversation. Jase and Molly took turns wrestling her on their laps, stealing a few bites before passing her over.
“Would’ve brought her high chair, but she hates it,” Molly said, quickly shoving a bite of asparagus into her mouth while Savannah yelled in protest and reached a chubby hand out for the food.
“I’ll take her for a bit.” Ella hopped down from her chair and carefully gathered Savannah up under Molly’s supervision.
“Watch her like a hawk,” Molly told her with a gentle smile. “She’s fast and into everything.”
“I will. Come on, Savannah. We’ll go for a walk.”
Aidan smiled as he watched Ella hold Savannah’s little hands and carefully guide her clumsy steps around the living room.
“She’s a natural little mother already,” Jase said.
“Aye.” He caught Tiana’s eye. And wasn’t that a blessing.
Sierra grabbed her camera to capture shots of the two girls as they made their way around the living room. After the meal was over the adults visited for a while, and Savannah began to start fussing. Ella steered her back to Molly and handed her over with an exhausted sigh that made everyone chuckle. “Man, babies are a lot of work.”
“Aye, they are, and you didn’t even need to change her nappy.”
“She’s just hungry and tired,” Molly said, handing Savannah to Jase while she got out some cut-up fruit for her they’d brought.
“I’m gonna go hang out with Walter for a while now, if that’s okay.” Ella looked at Beckett and Sierra.
“Sure, he’d like that,” Sierra said. “In fact, he’d love it if you took him for a short walk.”
“Okay!”
Beside him, Tiana tensed and opened her mouth to argue, but Aidan squeezed her hand in gentle reprimand and she caught herself before saying anything.
Ella zoomed across the room to get the dog, still hiding in his crate. “Come on, Walter. We’re going for a walkies.”
“Just up the lane,” Tiana told her, anxiety in her eyes. “And take a flashlight with you.”
It took some coaxing, but Ella finally managed to lure the old lad out with a biscuit. Walter waddled through the living room, giving Savannah a wide berth.
“Here, take this with you,” Jase said, taking his grandfather’s WWII leather bomber jacket from the back of his chair and handing it to her. “It’s cold out.”
Ella shrugged it on, the coat swallowing her little frame as Jase did up the zipper for her. She got the leash on Walter, took the flashlight Beckett offered her and opened the door to the porch, then stopped and looked back at her mother and Aidan. “Wait, are we gonna…” She looked pointedly at the others and back to them, raising her eyebrows.
Aidan glanced at Tiana and raised his eyebrows as well. Are we?
Tiana laughed and shook her head. “You’re both so impatient. But all right.” She leaned back in her chair and smiled. “So, we have—”
“I’ll do it! I wanna tell them!” Ella cried, abandoning Walter at the door and rushing to the table. Aidan draped an arm across her shoulders as she squeezed her way in between him and Tiana.
Everyone watched Ella expectantly as they waited for her to speak. She was lapping up the attention, a proud smile on her face as she patted his and Tiana’s shoulders. “We’re havin’ a wee bairn.”
*End Excerpt*
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards, including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, and has been nominated multiple times for the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.
You can visit Kaylea at www.kayleacross.com. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please join her newsletter.
Direct link: http://kayleacross.com/v2/newsletter/
COMPLETE BOOKLIST
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Vengeance Series
Stealing Vengeance
Covert Vengeance
Explosive Vengeance
Toxic Vengeance
Beautiful Vengeance
Crimson Point Series
Fractured Honor
Buried Lies
Shattered Vows
Rocky Ground
Broken Bonds
DEA FAST Series
Falling Fast
Fast Kill
Stand Fast
Strike Fast
Fast Fury
Fast Justice
Fast Vengeance
Colebrook Siblings Trilogy
Brody’s Vow
Wyatt’s Stand
Easton’s Claim
Hostage Rescue Team Series
Marked
Targeted
Hunted
Disavowed
Avenged
Exposed
Seized
Wanted
Betrayed
Reclaimed
Shattered
Guarded
Titanium Security Series
Ignited
Singed
Burned
Extinguished
Rekindled
Blindsided: A Titanium Christmas novella
Bagram Special Ops Series
Deadly Descent
Tactical Strike
Lethal Pursuit
Danger Close
Collateral Damage
Never Surrender (a MacKenzie Family novella)
Suspense Series
Out of Her League
Cover of Darkness
No Turning Back
Relentless
Absolution
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Empowered Series
Darkest Caress
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
The Vacant Chair
EROTIC ROMANCE (writing as Callie Croix)
Deacon’s Touch
Dillon’s Claim
No Holds Barred
Touch Me
Let Me In
Covert Seduction