Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Charlie was sitting up in bed, a bundle in her arms. She looked tired, her hair pulled back and her skin a bit pale. She was the most gorgeous woman on the planet. “Sorry, babe. I couldn’t help myself. Do you want to meet Seth? Just Seth. He was a good boy and didn’t multiply in the womb but damn, Taggart. He’s nine pounds. He’s going to outweigh his sisters in no time at all.”
Case moved to the side of her bed, picking up the baby and crossing the space between them.
Ian forced himself to sit up. Charlie was all right. His son was here. His girls were safely stashed away with a whole office of people who loved them.
His boy. He looked down and no matter what Charlie said, he was so damn small. So precious.
How the hell had his father walked out? How did any man walk away from this? He’d been around the world, been powerful in ways most men couldn’t imagine, but this…this was everything.
Seth Jason Taggart yawned as though the whole birthing experience had been a bore. Then his eyes opened and he grinned a little.
And Ian fell in love all over again. In love with his family. In love with the life he’d built.
“He’s beautiful, Charlie.”
“Well,” she said, “he does take after his dad.”
The door opened and they were inundated with family.
* * * *
Long after everyone had been shooed out by doctors and nurses, Ian sat up in bed. His IV had been declared no longer needed and he was only staying overnight because Will Daley was a man who knew how to take advantage of a situation.
Sean and Grace had flown home and they’d come by a few hours earlier, bearing gifts from Top. The Piemaker had heard about Ian’s no good, shitty, horrible, backbreaking best day ever and sent along a plate of lemon squares.
Ian glanced down at the card that had come with it.
When life hands you lemons, I’ll make you some kick-ass lemonade bars.
“Hey, don’t eat them all,” Charlie said, her eyes coming open. She’d been napping, but now seemed like the perfect time to invade her space.
“I’ll save some for you, baby.” His back hurt, but it didn’t matter. Seth was fussing and Ian lifted him from his crib, holding him close as he climbed into Charlie’s bed.
Into their bed. It didn’t matter that they were miles from the house they called home. Her body, her soul—they were home to him. He crawled in next to her and they cuddled close, their son in between.
He looked at the woman who meant more than life itself to him. “Hey, babe. How was your day? Mine was a little up and down.”
The smile that crossed her face lit up his world. “I don’t know. I thought it was memorable.” She looked down at their son, wonder in her eyes. “Welcome to the world, Seth Taggart.”
He cuddled his wife close. “Welcome home, Seth.”
5
Rough Night
Rough Night takes place between At Your Service and Nobody Does It Better.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Charlotte Taggart stared at her husband and then back at the man he’d brought in to handle the night’s responsibilities.
Michael looked scared. Michael Malone was a former Navy SEAL/CIA team member who had worked many dangerous missions with a sure and steady hand. He’d grown up on a cattle ranch and spent much of his time on oil rigs. This was not a man who typically looked like he was going to faint.
“I don’t know,” her husband said in that tone he tended to reserve for the dumbasses in his life. Unfortunately, according to Ian Taggart, there were a lot of dumbasses in his life. “Malone, you think this is a good idea?”
Malone’s jaw squared. “I think I need to stop betting against Hutch.”
Yep, sometimes her husband was right about being surrounded by dumbasses. Although she’d discovered that even the most intelligent of men could be turned into a dumbass when they gathered in large groups and someone—usually Ian—came up with a fun game. His fun games in the past had included using an ATV to jump over the creek at the back of their property, sending exploding glitter dicks to his rivals, and his favorite, pitting his men against each other in the stupidest of contests. She was worried what they’d come up with now. “What did you make Hutch do?”
Ian shrugged one big shoulder. “It was just a little bet. Hutch and another guy were talking some smack about who could eat more tacos. It was taco Tuesday, so I only spent like fifty bucks on a hundred tacos, and I won us this sweet, sweet babysitting gig.”
She should have wondered why there had been cheering and groans of defeat coming from the break room a few days before. She’d been told by Phoebe that if she wanted to keep her belief that their crew had any sense whatsoever, she should avoid that room. Charlie had taken her advice. Now she knew why Hutch had been downing antacids for days. “Who was he up against?”