“She can be,” Ivy said. “In the security business. Or she’d make a great private investigator.”
“Or an attorney, like her mother,” Merlin said.
Ivy grinned. “She can be anything she wants to be. She’s that smart.”
“How’s the child advocacy law going?” Merlin asked.
Ivy’s smile slipped. “Sometimes I wonder how I’ll make it through the next day. Other times, I know I have to. Those kids need someone who gives a damn to defend them.”
Duff slipped an arm around Ivy, his heart swelling. He was a very lucky man to have her in his life. “She’s an amazing attorney and mom.”
She smiled up at him. “Couldn’t do it without you, babe.”
“Merlin, Duff, ladies,” Zip called out, as he and Destiny climbed out of their vehicle and joined them in front of the bar.
Hugs were exchanged all around.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for months,” Destiny said. “Seems like we don’t get together often enough.”
“Jangles and Woof are inside with Nori and Hope,” Merlin said. “We should move this party indoors.”
Inside, they all greeted each other and sat around a large table at the back of the bar. Hope helped the bartender with the drinks, laughing as she carried the heavy tray across the floor. “It’s been a while since I made drinks. They might be a little stiff.”
Once everyone had their drinks in hand, Merlin stood and lifted his beer mug. “To friends.”
“No,” Duff said. “To family.”
Zip chuckled. “Says the guy with the biggest one. What are you up to now?”
“Six, and holding,” Duff said, raising his mug to take that gulp.
Ivy leaned close and murmured low enough so only Duff could hear, “Uh, we need to bump up that number.”
Duff spewed beer. “What?” He spun to face his wife. “Are you—?”
She nodded. “Pregnant.” Ivy bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t want to say anything until I was at least three months along. You know. I didn’t want to worry you if they weren’t viable.”
Duff shook his head, feeling suddenly dizzy. “Wait…what…they?” He gripped her arms. “They?” he said a little louder.
She nodded. “Another set of twins.” She gave him a weak smile. “I know, I’m getting a little old for this, but we didn’t think we could have anymore…and, well…we haven’t been practicing birth control…” She looked up at him, her brow furrowing. “Are you mad?”
“Mad, no. Stunned?” He drew in a deep, shaky breath and turned to his friends, raising his mug. “I’m going to be a daddy!”
Everyone laughed.
With a grin on his face, Merlin said, “Hate to break it to you, but you’ve been one for the past fourteen years. I’d say six kids qualifies.”
Duff shook his head again. “No…I’m going to have two more.” He downed the rest of the beer and dropped hard into his seat. “Eight children.” A grin spread across his face. “I’m having more babies.”
Woof clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to have to up your client list and hire more security agents.”
Gwen left her seat to rush over to Ivy. “I told you he’d take it all right.”
Ivy grimaced. “I’m not so sure. He looks a little pale. Sweetheart, do you need to put your feet up?”
“Yeah, old man. You already had enough children for a basketball team,” Jangles said. “Are you going for a football team?”
A glance at Ivy’s worried face made Duff pull himself together. He stood, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her in front of everybody. “I love you, Ivy. It’s a good thing we put an offer in on that ranch with the big house. We’re going to need it.”
She smiled. “Yes, we are.”
He stepped back and laid a hand across her belly. “I can’t wait to meet the newest members of our clan. They’ll be as beautiful as their mother.”
“Or as handsome as their father,” she said. “Promise me one thing.” She stood before him.
“Anything.” He gathered her close again.
“You’ll love me and all eight of our children for as long as you live.”
“That’s easy,” he said.
“And promise me,” she continued. “That you’ll get snipped before the twins are born.”
He laughed and swung her up in his arms. “Are you sure you don’t want to go for an even dozen?”
“With you…” she smiled down at him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “I’d do it. But I think we’ll have our hands full with eight.”
He kissed her and set her back on her feet. “We’ll love them all, and I’ll make that appointment first thing Monday morning.” He turned to his group of friends. “I guess my mission days are over.”
“No,” Merlin said. “The mission has only changed. Congratulations, old man. You’re a very lucky man.”
With Ivy in the crook of his arm and firmly rooted in his heart, he nodded. “I am…a very lucky man.”
Twenty-five years later…
Beau sat on the edge of his bed and stared down at his wife. It had been a long time since he’d received a middle of the night call-out.
Though they’d been expecting this call.
“Hope, wake up.”
His wife stirred, then sat up so quickly he had to move out of the way or court getting head-butted.
“Did she call?”
Yeah, they’d been expecting the call, and his wife was excited.
“She did.”
“How’d I miss the phone ringing? Don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter. Move, Beau, we have to hurry.”
Hope was practically vibrating with nervous energy. He reached over and clicked on the lamp, bathing the room in a soft glow. What he didn’t do was move so Hope could jump up and get dressed.
“We have plenty of time.”
“No, we—”
“Hope, baby, we do.”
Beau watched as she came up on her knees. The T-shirt she’d worn to bed fell over her hips, the edge of the material skimmed her thighs, and after all these years, he knew better than to fight the urge to take in his beautiful wife. So he didn’t. He allowed his eyes to take her in fully.
So. Damn. Stunning.
Time had done nothing to diminish his desire. His hair had long ago started to gray, but there wasn’t a single silver streak in Hope’s shiny brown. Over the years, she’d changed the style but never the color. Now, her once-long locks were cut into what Hope had called a bouncy bob with lots of texture—whatever the hell that meant. All he knew was it gave him access to her neck without having to brush her hair aside. So, he simply called it sexy.
“Okay, fine. We have time, but I want to be there for Chelsea.”
Twenty-three years ago, Hope had given him the second-best gift he’d ever received. She’d given him three really great ones and since there was no way to decide which one was best, he categorized them in the order Hope had given them. The first was the day she’d married him. The second, the day his daughter was placed in his arms. The third, the day his son had been born.
Three miraculous events. Life-changing moments that he’d never forget.
This would be the fourth-best moment of his life, and he wanted a moment to enjoy it before all hell broke loose. And Beau knew it would. His daughter, Chelsea, was a lot like her mother. She’d take today in stride, but Chelsea’s husband, Hank, was a lot like Beau. Therefore, he would not.
Hank could fly an Apache into enemy territory and not break a sweat, but since the day Chelsea had announced she was pregnant, Hank had gone from the cool, reserved pilot Beau had allowed to marry his daughter to a man possessed, proving to Beau he’d made the right decision giving the Army officer his blessing.
Chelsea had found a man who subscribed to Beau’s brand of love, loyalty, and protection.
“I know you want to be there for our daughter,” he told Hope. “But before we leave for the hospital, I need to tell yo
u something.”
“What? Is Jake okay?”
Damn, that reminded him he needed to call his son to tell him his sister was on her way to the hospital. And he needed to do that soon. Jake had not found a woman to settle down with—not that Beau would expect a young man in his early twenties to tie himself down—but that didn’t mean Jake was ever lonely.
“I’m sure Jake’s fine.”
Hope scowled before she said, “I wish that boy—”
“Baby, he’s twenty-one. He’s smart, he’s happy, he’s safe, he’s got a good job, he pays his bills. He’s living his life, and part of that is him playing the field. You can wish all you want, but when Jake finds what he’s looking for, he’ll know. And when he does, like his old man, he will not let her go.”
“You’re right.”
“I know I am.”
“You know what’s amazing?” Hope groused.
“I know a lot of things that are amazing.”
Hope’s eyes squinted and she shook her head.
“Annoying,” she huffed, and Beau smiled.
“What’s amazing, Hope?”
“That twenty-five years later, I’m still finding things for you to add to the list of stuff you do that irritates me.”
Beau’s deep chuckle filled the room.
“Baby, I threw that list away a long time ago and started a new one.”
“Can we please stop talking about this and get to the hospital?”
“Not until I tell you how grateful I am.” Hope’s face softened like it always did when her husband was being sweet. “You’ve given me a good number of gifts over the years, baby. Three that are at the top of my list, but there are nine-thousand one-hundred and twenty-five that are equally important. Every day with you is a gift. But those three at the top are special. Those are the times when you tipped the scales. When you gave us something I could never balance. And today will be the fourth. The birth of our first grandchild.”
“I think Chelsea’s giving us that,” Hope whispered.
“There is no Chelsea without you. There’s no family without you. There’s no happy times, birthdays, graduations, weddings, Christmases, without you. Chelsea, Jake, and I have all that we have because of you. Thank you, baby. Thank you for giving us you.”
“Beau?”
“Looking right at you, Hope.”
“I know you think that, because you’ve told me and you’ve somehow convinced our kids that’s the truth. But you’re wrong. It’s not me. It’s not even you. It’s us. We did it. We created it. We worked to keep it good. We raised good kids.”
Beau took in a breath and allowed Hope’s argument to settle in. It was not the first time she’d said those exact words or a variation of them. And right then, just like all the other times, he loved that Hope thought that. But she was wrong. Sure, they’d created a beautiful family together, but it was only possible because Hope had found it in her to forgive him.
It was Hope who’d single-handedly given him everything he’d ever wanted.
And there were no words to express that kind of felicity.
“You ready to be a grandpa?” Hope smiled.
Hell, yes, I am.
“Sure am. You ready to be a granny?”
“Um, no. We’ve agreed on Mimi, remember?”
“Right. Mimi.” Beau shook his head in amusement.
“Thank you, Beau. You still never let go.”
Fuck.
That still burned. And nine-thousand one-hundred and twenty-five days had done nothing to lessen the scorch.
“Let’s go meet our grandbaby,” Beau suggested.
Hope pushed off the bed and flew into his arms. She tipped her head and peppered his face with happy kisses.
“I’m so excited.”
“I can see that.”
“We’re gonna be grandparents. Our baby’s having a baby.”
“Yeah, she is.”
Beau was shocked to find he didn’t feel any sadness about his baby growing up and having a family of her own.
He felt nothing but elation.
A feeling he knew well.
On behalf of all of the authors of the Delta Team 3 series, Lori, Becca, Lynne, Elle, and Riley…thank you for reading our books. Working together on this series was a lot of fun, and we loved being a part of Susan Stoker’s world, at least for a little bit.
If you haven’t picked up Shielding Kinley, by Susan, do so! You’ll get to meet Duff, Jangles, Woof, Zip, and Merlin for the first time and see how they interact with Delta Team 2!
Other Books by Riley Edwards
The Red Team
Nightstalker
Protecting Olivia
Redeeming Violet
Recovering Ivy
Rescuing Erin
The Gold Team
Brooks
Thaddeus
Kyle
Maximus
Declan
Delta Team Three
Hope’s Delta
Gemini Group
Nixon’s Promise
Jameson’s Salvation
Weston’s Treasure
Alec’s Dream
Chasin’s Surrender
Holden’s Resurrection
The 707 Freedom Series
Free
Freeing Jasper
Finally Free
Freedom
The Next Generation
Saving Meadow
Chasing Honor
Finding Mercy
Claiming Tuesday
Adoring Delaney
Keeping Quinn
Taking Liberty
Triple Canopy
Damaged
The Masters Collection
The Awakening
The Collective
Unbroken 1 & 2 – Season One
Trust – Season Two
Standalone
Romancing Rayne
About the Author
Riley Edwards is a bestselling multi-genre author, wife, and military mom. Riley was born and raised in Los Angeles but now resides on the east coast with her fantastic husband and children.
Riley writes heart-stopping romance with sexy alpha heroes and even stronger heroines. Riley's favorite genres to write are romantic suspense and military romance.
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Facebook Fan Group
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There are many more books in this fan fiction world than listed here, for an up-to-date list go to www.AcesPress.com
Special Forces: Operation Alpha World
Christie Adams: Charity’s Heart
Denise Agnew: Dangerous to Hold
Shauna Allen: Awakening Aubrey
Brynne Asher: Blackburn
Linzi Baxter: Unlocking Dreams
Jennifer Becker: Hiding Catherine
Alice Bello: Shadowing Milly
Heather Blair: Rescue Me
Anna Blakely: Rescuing Gracelynn
Julia Bright: Saving Lorelei
Cara Carnes: Protecting Mari
Kendra Mei Chailyn: Beast
Melissa Kay Clarke: Rescuing Annabeth
Samantha A. Cole: Handling Haven
Sue Coletta: Hacked
Melissa Combs: Gallant
Anne Conley: Redemption for Misty
KaLyn Cooper: Rescuing Melina
Liz Crowe: Marking Mariah
Sarah Curtis: Securing the Odds
Jordan Dane: Redemption for Avery
Tarina Deaton: Found in the Lost
Aspen Drake, Intense
KL Donn: Unraveling Love
Riley Edwards: Protecting Olivia
PJ Fiala: Defending Sophie
Nicole Flockton: Protecting Maria
Michele Gwynn: Rescuing Emma
Casey Hagen: Shielding Nebraska
Desiree Holt: Protecting Maddie
&
nbsp; Kathy Ivan: Saving Sarah
Kris Jacen, Be With Me
Jesse Jacobson: Protecting Honor
Silver James: Rescue Moon
Becca Jameson: Saving Sofia
Kate Kinsley: Protecting Ava
Heather Long: Securing Arizona
Gennita Low: No Protection
Kirsten Lynn: Joining Forces for Jesse
Margaret Madigan: Bang for the Buck
Kimberly McGath: The Predecessor
Rachel McNeely: The SEAL’s Surprise Baby
KD Michaels: Saving Laura
Lynn Michaels, Rescuing Kyle
Wren Michaels: The Fox & The Hound
Kat Mizera: Protecting Bobbi
Keira Montclair, Wolf and the Wild Scots
Mary B Moore: Force Protection
LeTeisha Newton: Protecting Butterfly
Angela Nicole: Protecting the Donna
MJ Nightingale: Protecting Beauty
Sarah O’Rourke: Saving Liberty
Victoria Paige: Reclaiming Izabel
Anne L. Parks: Mason
Debra Parmley: Protecting Pippa
Lainey Reese: Protecting New York
TL Reeve and Michele Ryan: Extracting Mateo
Elena M. Reyes: Keeping Ava
Angela Rush: Charlotte
Rose Smith: Saving Satin
Jenika Snow: Protecting Lily
Lynne St. James: SEAL’s Spitfire
Dee Stewart: Conner
Harley Stone: Rescuing Mercy
Jen Talty: Burning Desire
Reina Torres, Rescuing Hi’ilani
Savvi V: Loving Lex
Megan Vernon: Protecting Us
Rachel Young: Because of Marissa
Delta Team Three Series
Lori Ryan: Nori’s Delta
Becca Jameson: Destiny’s Delta
Lynne St James, Gwen’s Delta
Elle James: Ivy’s Delta
Riley Edwards: Hope’s Delta
Police and Fire: Operation Alpha World
Hope's Delta (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Delta Team Three Book 5) Page 21