Act of Blood (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 16)
Page 53
“We saw her in the smoke,” Boone’s father said, grinning widely. “We saw this day coming.”
Boone’s mother made the first move. “Welcome home, Merry. We’re so glad to meet you.”
The pressure was off the second she hugged her. Merry could smell the incense that Boone favored, and it offered peace and calm.
Boone may look like his dad, but he was calm like his mother.
“Thank you for welcoming me into your home.”
She patted her cheek. “Boone loves you, child. That means we love you too.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Boone, when are you marrying her?” his father asked. “She’s having a baby, isn’t she?”
He laughed. “Yeah, Dad, she is, but that’s not why I’m marrying her. She’s my other half.”
That was good enough for them.
“In fact, Merry, will you elope with me?” asked Boone. “We have our witnesses.”
His mother slapped him. “You don’t put a lady on the spot like that, Boone Daniel Savage! You know better.”
Merry laughed.
Yep, she was just like Elizabeth Blackhawk.
This would make the transition that much easier.
“Actually, it’s okay. Yes, Boone, let’s elope,” Merry said. “Let’s make it official. Then I want to find a house, get our nursery ready, and have lots of babies with you, Boone Daniel Savage.”
He grinned.
He’d gotten his job back.
He’d gotten the girl.
And all was right in the world.
Boone’s mother couldn’t contain her excitement. “What are you having?” she asked.
“A boy,” Boone said, grinning at them. “I’m going to have a son. Merry just found out two days ago. We’re naming him Jackson James Savage.”
He told his family how Callen had saved his life when he’d been shot. After his mother hit him again for not telling her, she immediately approved.
“It’s a beautiful name.”
“It felt right picking something from Merry’s family, but don’t worry. We’re going to have more kids,” he offered.
“How many?” Boone’s mother asked.
“A LOT,” they said together.
They all hugged, and the celebration began. That was music to everyone’s ears.
“Let’s stop in ‘The Quarter’ after the courthouse. I’m in the mood for something.”
“What?” Boone asked. He’d give her anything she wanted. All he desired was to make Merry happy.
“Dinner with my new family.”
And that was how he knew they were finally home.
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Fort Whitefox-Blackhawk
Saturday Morning
When he found her, she was in the laundry room weeping. Wyler knew something horrible was wrong.
“Maeve, are you okay?” he asked, hugging her.
She shook her head.
“What’s wrong, honey?” he asked.
She handed him the pregnancy test.
He stared at it.
Wyler had only been handed one a few times in his life, and all of them had been by Elizabeth to tell him he was about to be a grandfather.
“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “I don’t know how this happened. I’m too old to have a baby, right?” she asked. “How did I get pregnant?”
He touched her cheek. “Okay, you have to stop crying before you make yourself sick.”
Wyler was just as freaked out as she was, but what was done, was done.
Right?
He couldn’t undo it, so he had to accept it.
Maeve took a deep breath.
“I didn’t do this on purpose, Wyler.”
He stared into her eyes. “I believe you. I can tell by your aura that you’re scared. We’ll find a way through this. I promise.”
She had to believe him.
“Okay. I’m going to be fine. I was worried about telling you,” she offered.
Only she wasn’t.
Then the tears started again.
Wyler hugged her.
“How am I going to do this?” Maeve asked. “How am I going to work and raise a child? I don’t know what to do.”
He kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll take care of this. I promise. I’ll take care of you.”
She sniffled. “You don’t have to do that, Wyler. I’m a big girl. I should have thought this through. I didn’t do this to trap you,” she offered again.
He was aware. He’d been trapped before.
Charlene, Callen’s mother, had already done that to him. This wasn’t the same thing.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I trust you, Wyler.”
“Then let me handle it,” he said, hugging her. A part of him was scared, but the other part of him wasn’t.
It looked like he was going to have another child.
At his age.
It was kind of amusing.
“What will we do?” she asked, the Irish accent full blown.
He brushed the wild red curls out of her face and he stared into her eyes.
“We need to take a ride.”
What choice did she have?
It looked like Wyler was leading the way.
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Home
Saturday Night
He was late, and he wasn’t answering his cell phone. Ethan and Callen were beginning to get worried. Their father was a creature of habit.
In fact, it was rare he ever left the house. When he did earlier, he’d simply said he had to run some errands. He’d bailed on the day with the kids, and disappeared.
In fact, Maeve went missing too—not that she was supposed to work that weekend, but it seemed odd.
Well, to everyone but Elizabeth.
“I think it’s sweet,” she offered as the men helped her set the dining room table.
“It’s off,” Ethan stated.
“I agree,” Callen added.
“I think you two are simply being paranoid.”
Maybe they were.
As they sat down, getting the kids situated, Ethan began dishing out the spaghetti. It was their favorite meal, and usually ended up in one hell of a mess.
The family began eating, and even the kids were off their game. EJ and CJ weren’t fighting.
Cat wasn’t reporting.
Charlie and Bethe were silently eating pasta.
Chris wasn’t speaking.
The whole world as they knew it was off kilter.
“Something’s coming,” Ethan stated. “I can feel it.”
Elizabeth went to tell him he was crackers when they heard someone coming. Wyler and Maeve entered the room.
“Uh, we thought you headed for the border,” Callen stated.
Wyler grinned. “Never. I won’t leave my grandkids or my children. I’ve made that promise to all of you, and I will keep it until the day I die.”
That said it all.
“Okay, do you want dinner?” Ethan asked, standing up to grab two more dishes from the buffet.
“Actually, we have an announcement and then we’ll join you for dinner.”
Everyone stopped moving.
That didn’t sound good.
“Um, okay what?” Elizabeth asked.
He dropped the bomb, and it was a huge one.
“Today, we got married.”
No one spoke.
They were all caught off guard by that. No one, none of them, had expected that.
“And we’re having a baby.”
Mouths actually dropped open.
Jesus!
There was more?
Callen started choking on his wine.
Ethan stared at his wife, as if saying ‘I told you so.’
Other than that, you could hear a pin drop.
Wyler wasn’t shocked. He knew that he’d told them he wasn�
�t getting married ever again, and a baby…well, that was one hell of a shock to anyone at his age.
Still…
He needed them to say something.
They were his kids, and their opinions mattered.
“Well? Anything you want to say to us?” he asked, focusing on Elizabeth. She was generally the calmest one out of the bunch.
“Sweetheart?” he said.
What was she supposed to say to all of this? Wyler had knocked them all for a loop. Finally, she managed to make her mouth work.
“Ummm…welcome home, Mom?”
Holy bloody Hell.
Wyler, the perpetual bachelor, had gotten hitched.
Without them…
Ethan and Callen were going to have a sibling…again.
This was going to be interesting.
Coming Next:
Dangerous Influence
Book five in the Harcourte Vampyre Society
November 2016
Other books by Morgan Kelley:
Standalone books
The Junction
Serial Sins
The Blood Betrayal
Romance/FBI Thriller Series
Elizabeth, Ethan, and Callen
The Killing Times (book 1)
Sacred Burial Grounds (book 2)
True Love Lost (book 3)
Deep Dark Mire (book 4)
Fire Burns Hot (book 5)
Darkness of Truth (book 6)
Devil Hath Come (book 7)
Consumed by Wrath (book 8)
Redemption is Here (book 9)
Dead Shall Speak (book 10)
Pledging to Die (book 11)
Slay Bells Ring (book 12)
Past will Haunt (13) Flashback Novel
Choices will Destroy (14)
Blood shall Run (15)
Act of Blood (16)
Stalked by the Past (17) Flashback Novel Feb 2017
Secrets are Buried (18) Feb 2017
Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Series
Greyson and Emma Croft
Celestia is Falling (book 1)
Vegas is Dying (book 2)
Christmas is Killing (book 3)
Love is Bleeding (book 4)
Heaven is Weeping (book 5)
Hell is Burning (book 6) September 2015
Justice is Dying (book 7)
The Justice Series
Greyson and Emma Croft spinoff series
Dark Justice (1)
Lost Justice (2) March 2017
The Littlemoon Investigations Series
Julian and Tori Littlemoon
Blood Red Rage (book 1)
Lost & Broken (book 2)
Unthinkable Games (book 3)
Truth is Found (book 4)
Haven of Nightmares (book 5)
Forbidden Secrets (book 6)
The Carter Chronicles Trilogy
Callista, Nathaniel, and Lucas
Sinner Repent (book 1)
Sinner Realized (book 2)
Sinner Reborn (book 3)
The Oracle Chronicles Series
Nathaniel Carter and Avalon Miller
Oracle Rising (book 1)
Oracle Seeing (book 2)
Oracle Saving (book 3) January 2017
Harcourte Vampyre Society
Jolie, Jacques and Flynn
Dangerous Revelations (book 1)
Dangerous Choices (book 2)
Dangerous Misery (book 3)
Dangerous Retaliation (book 4)
Dangerous Influence (book 5)
Dangerous Sacrifice (book 6) Dec 2016
Anthologies
All the couples in one book
Illegal Fantasies-
Behind Closed Doors(1)
Romance Under Arrest- winter 2014
Behind Closed Doors(2)
Holiday Reinforcements-
Behind Closed Doors (3)- winter 2015
Please feel free to visit her at her blog at
www.morgankelley.blogspot.com
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