The Strength of the Pack (Suncoast Society #30)(82)

Laurel was a little miffed that her brother was too little to wear a necklace with their pack tag on it, but Leo mollified her by offering to get him one and hang it on the wall over Kenny’s crib in the master bedroom.

And they were getting him home just in time to celebrate his first Christmas, too.

She heard her phone ring and she rolled over to retrieve it from the side table. She flinched when she saw it was her mother.

She sent it to voice mail and set the phone down.

“Who was it?” Nate asked.

“Mom.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “You haven’t contacted her, have you?”

“No, Sir,” she said. “Last time I talked to her was that morning she called me.”

“Good girl.”

Her phone buzzed—the voice mail alert.

Nate got out of bed, grabbed her phone, and took it into the bathroom where she imagined he was checking the message.

When he returned a moment later, she couldn’t read his expression.

“Lightning? Truck? House fire?”

“Huh?”

“Did he die? Please tell me he’s dead.”

“Ah.” Nate smiled. “No, unfortunately, no.” He returned the phone to where she’d had it. “She wanted to invite us to Christmas dinner at their house.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Would I kid about that?”

“Well, f*ck that shit,” Eva said. “No way in hell.”

“You didn’t hear me call her back, did you?” He returned to bed.

“So we’ll just ignore it then, right?”

“Oh, no. I plan on calling her tomorrow.”

“Why?”

He curled his arms around her. “So I can tell her all about the grandson she’ll never lay eyes on as long as she’s married to that monster.”

She thought he was joking at first, until she realized he was serious. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“Just because I’m not like Tony or Scrye or Kel or some of our friends doesn’t mean I’m not sadistic in my own ways.” He looked at her and gentled his voice. “Do you honestly believe she had no clue?”

What she wanted to believe and what she really thought were two different things. “I honestly don’t know,” she finally said. “There were plenty of times she made shitty comments to me when I was growing up. I don’t know how guilty she really is, but she damn sure isn’t innocent.”

“Exactly,” he said. “She lost all rights of access to this pack years before this pack was even formed.” He closed his eyes. “And all I give a damn about is our pack, not her. We are going to have a house full of friends for Christmas. I’m afraid there’s no room for any of those other people. Jesse said the guest list is already at seventeen, and he’s having to coordinate gifts for the kids because several people almost duplicated things. Our children will have no lack of love and ‘family’ of our choosing. But I refuse to introduce any negativity into their lives. They’ll have enough of that to deal with when they’re older.”

“Did I mention how much I love you?”

“The ring on your finger and bracelet on your wrist told me that.” He smiled. “And I love you, too. Now be a good girl and go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long, busy day.”

“But a good one.”

“Yes, a very good one.”





Chapter Twenty-Nine


So many changes, Eva could barely keep track of them. Kenny had just turned four months old and his latest visit with his pediatrician had been blessedly uneventful. Despite his early birth, he’d quickly caught up to where he should be growth-wise and his pediatrician was satisfied that he shouldn’t have any lasting effects from his early arrival.

He certainly was plowing through formula at a fast pace. Even Eva had to admit that had she been able to breast feed she likely would have been supplementing with formula, and pumping, so that everyone could help feed him.

Jesse and Leo, when they were home, practically hogged time with the baby.

She still felt badly about Jesse not being able to be a biological father, but he told her he wasn’t worried about it. Kenny was “their” son, and he didn’t care who the “legal” father was.

They’d moved into the new house the previous weekend. This weekend, Eva was finally going to make it back to the club for the first time since the night she nearly died. Jesse and Leo and Laurel were on the job tonight with the baby.

Well, Jesse and Leo were on the job. Laurel would likely be sound asleep by nine thirty.

It was nice having the master suites at one end of the house and the kids on the other. The extra doors for the hallways between them helped muffle sounds even more, giving the adults a little extra measure of privacy. The baby monitor for Kenny’s room took care of worrying about hearing him, and both sets of parents had receivers in their rooms, as well as a portable one in the kitchen, so they could hear if he cried.

Eva had bristled when all three men put their collective feet down about her not going back to work until Tilly came up with the perfect solution. They needed someone part-time at their Florida office to help out. Basic office work, answering phones, helping Tilly coordinate schedules between their new office in England, Florida, and LA. No travel involved, either.