by Honor James
“Shut up, Michael,” Cutter said with a glower at his friend.
“Which means you did faint,” Yoshi said, having leaned over to read off of Michael’s screen. “This said you did, which means you did despite all your protests to the contrary.”
Piper’s grin was contagious and Sadie just laughed. Piper leaned into Aeron, whispered something in his ear. When she pulled back, Sadie saw the grin on Aeron’s face and then watched him pale. “Oh shit, he’s going to pass out again,” Sadie said with wide eyes.
“Wait for it,” Timmons said. Everyone waited and watched intently. “Nope, he’s good,” he said with a laugh. Cutter had regained some color. He still looked stunned, but definitely didn’t look like he’d fall out of his chair.
“Close one, I’d say,” Markham commented.
“So, what did you tell him, Pip?”
“The sex of the baby,” the woman said as she continued to eat the pie that she had all but claimed as her own.
“Well, what is it?”
“Not telling,” Piper said with her fork pointing to everyone one at a time. “And there is no trying to get it out of Aeron either or I’m going to be shitty. I want this to be a surprise.” Piper then looked at Aeron, “I mean it. I told you but not anyone else. I mean it.”
“Like I’d tell anyone,” he told her. “Babe, you scare the fuck out of me, no way in hell am I crossing you. Especially when you’re in your current condition,” he said.
“Smart man,” Keagan muttered.
“No one ever said he was an idiot,” Yoshi said. “And Piper scares the hell out of me, too, so I feel where he’s coming from.”
“Only because you refused to make me waffles. I know it was three AM and I was calling you at home, but I had a craving.”
Sadie just snickered, she remembered that. Piper had some of the wildest cravings and she had no issue at all calling any of the men to get her something if she had a craving and Aeron couldn’t satisfy it. “God, I hope that I’m not like that with this one.” She hadn’t been with her first pregnancy so why would she be with this one, right? Oh shit, she realized in that moment she hadn’t said anything to Bryce or Keagan about the test she had taken that morning, realized it when every single pair of eyes in the dining room turned to her and the room went silent.
“Well, that’s like tossing an elephant onto the dining room table,” Connor said. “Care to expand on that a little bit, Sadie? Or maybe a lot given the expressions on Harker and Bradley’s faces right now.”
Sadie was a little pink when she took a deep breath. “Surprise?” Shit, she didn’t know what to say at that moment. It wasn’t like they had been trying, but they hadn’t been exactly practicing full safe sex either. “I missed my period last week so I took a test this morning. So yeah, you two will be daddies in about eight months.”
“I think Harker might go over,” Cutter said.
“I don’t know, it could be a toss-up at this moment. Bradley looks more than a little wobbly in his seat,” Jacobs said with a laugh.
“Pregnant?” Keagan asked a little breathlessly. At her nod, he blinked at her then leaned in to kiss her, hard and fast on the lips.
When she pulled back, she licked her lips and nodded. “Yes, pregnant.” She put her hand over his that was on her stomach. Without looking away from Keagan, she added, “And if Bryce falls over, you guys give him hell. He’s not stabbed, he’s not on morphine, so yes. Give him hell.” She smirked then because she knew what would come next.
Bryce caught her chin in a hand, and tugged her around gently to press a kiss to her lips. “Hardy har har, lady. I’m perfectly fine,” he muttered. “Jesus,” he muttered. “I can’t believe it. I love it, but damn, I’m more than a little stunned right now.”
“First, yes, you are perfectly fine.” She kissed him again and pulled back. “And I was going to tell you both before everyone came over but you guys got called over to Timmons’s for whatever reason, then I got lost in painting and, well, here we are now,” she said with a shrug. “Why did you guys go to Timmons’s place anyway?” she asked this to her guys, and turned to look at Timmons as she spoke.
“Because he got hacked,” Bryce said.
“Again,” Keagan added.
“It should be fucking impossible,” Timmons muttered. “Whoever the fuck is doing it knows shit no one else can know. When I find this motherfucker, and I will, I’m going to break every single bone in their hands, their arms, and both of their fucking legs. They are compromising our systems, which means they are compromising our clients. And that shit gets people killed. But they are in for one hell of a surprise.”
“Only if they are half as good as you think they are,” Jacobs said.
“He devised a nice little trap for the person hacking his system. It’s innocent, unless they break through a certain firewall. If they do then they are basically tagged. A lot like what happens when bank robbers end up getting nailed by the dye. They are marked, and it doesn’t wash out. Only this will be on the virtual plane so it’s completely invisible to anyone but Timmons,” Michael said. “In theory it all sounds good. Unless the person is smarter than him.”
“I didn’t think that there was anyone smarter than he is, with computers, that is,” Sadie asked with a frown. “And this person is scary good, right? I mean, I have no idea who they are but if they are able to get into your systems then they are bloody brilliant. I think you should hire them.”
“I was saying the same thing,” Michael told her. Timmons let out an actual snarl. “As you can tell, it wasn’t a welcome suggestion.” He grinned, and then laughed when Timmons curled his lip up to bare his teeth.
“We have to find this person,” Cutter said. “On sort of the same topic, of hiring folks, I mean, we should think about getting on a couple more guys. Jacobs knows a couple boys who are taking their walking papers soon.”
“I did basic with the three of them, and the one I was assigned to the same unit with for a few years. Good guys all around, solid, willing to go the extra mile and a half,” Jacobs said.
“Those the ones you had Timmons do the workups for?” Michael asked.
“Yup.”
“I’ll take a look, and we can talk about it during our Monday meeting,” he said.
Sadie looked to Timmons and cocked her head to the side. She shook it. There was just something that was bothering him more than he was letting on, but she ignored it. It wasn’t her fight so she was going to remain silent. She looked over the people there and smiled. She had a family. Wasn’t her birth family but so much more than that. They were a family of her heart, people she trusted with her life, and that was a good feeling.
“Someone pass the bread down here,” Bryce called out. Yoshi was the one to send the bowl down their way. “You want some more, love?” he asked her, offering the dish for her to take her pick from.
“Thank you.” She took one of the rolls and opened it up so she could eat the insides. She knew how much it drove her guys crazy, but she just couldn’t eat the crusts or hard parts of any sort of bread. It didn’t matter what kind of bread it was, she only wanted the really soft insides of it. “So are we going to have meals like this often, I hope?” She liked being able to get together with everyone, spend time with them, and knew that they all enjoyed spending time with each other as well.
“Of course we are,” Connor told her. He grinned when she looked his way. “Next weekend it’s over at our place, Markham’s cooking. If the weather behaves we’re doing a huge grilled feast. It’ll be great.”
“The week after it’s over at our place,” Michael told her. “Not quite as elaborate as what those two have planned, but it’ll be good food, and lots of it. Week after is over at Cutter’s unless Piper pops around then. We might have to reschedule a little if the kid decides to come into this world sooner than later.”
That had Sadie grinning and she shook her head. “Ah, the good things that we have to plan for, right? I mean, seriously, woul
dn’t you all be happy campers to have that baby come sooner rather than later?” They would all be pseudo uncles and aunts and it was a fabulous feeling as well. She liked the thought that they would all be part of each other’s lives, for a long time.
“Well, yeah,” Jacobs said. “Especially since we’ve all got stuff on hold that is dependent on the sex of Cutter, Junior. We need to know what to buy for this little tyke. Then there will be a lot of really happy store owners out there.”
“Yeah, well I’m sure that some of it you can get anyway. Just choose neutral colors instead of the typical pinks and blues. Besides, would you really tell a little girl she couldn’t play with GI Joes or tell a little boy he can’t play with Barbies? I didn’t think so.” She was snickering, though. Aeron Cutter still looked like he was ready to fall over in shock.
“Yeah, but we need to know what to have put on the shirts, and the onesies,” Michael said. “It’s important to get the wording right, and once it’s done, it’s done. Then there are the other items we’ll be getting, too. Good thing you have a decent-sized place, Piper. We may have going slightly overboard when shopping.”
“Oh God.” She looked to Piper and grinned. “You poor woman. You are going to be inundated with gifts and goodies. Your baby is going to have a motorcycle before you do.” She was teasing the woman, a little. Although the look on one of the guy’s faces had her saying, “Are you freaking kidding me right now? The kid won’t come out walking, you know.”
“What?” Yoshi asked.
“You didn’t?” Jacobs asked.
“Well, maybe,” he admitted with a blush turning his cheeks pink. “But it was so damn cute! I couldn’t resist. There is a receipt though, I swear it. And to be honest, it’s more of a trike then a bike, with pedals and everything for when Cutter, Junior gets older. It was the last one.”
Sadie just snickered. It was Piper, however, who leaned close to Yoshi and said, “It’s okay, Yosh. I will ride around on it with him or her when they come along and when you come over you can get on it and ride them around. I have a feeling it will be a favorite toy.”
Sighing, he nodded and leaned back in his chair.
“Is it bad I haven’t gone shopping yet?” Keagan asked.
Everyone looked his way. “Hell no,” Cutter said. “Dude, you have been busy healing. Shopping for the kid can wait until you’re good and ready. Besides, it might be a plan to buy stuff for later in the kid’s life, unlike all the stuff I have a feeling this lot has already bought. I get the impression we’ll be able to clothe the kid for the first three months, and then we’re fucked.”
“He’s right, you know. I think that perhaps we should do all of our shopping for when the baby is six or so months old. That way they will have plenty for the babe when he or she gets a bit older.” It made sense to her, actually.
“All right, I can get into that idea,” Keagan said. “Though I have no clue what to get. I can’t remember ever buying for a baby anywhere along the way. No one I’ve known ever had a kid, and I was an only child so it’s not like I had a sibling to get the nieces or nephews out of.”
“That’s why you have me, Keagan. I will help you all that I can, I promise. I will do whatever we need to do so you can get the baby something good, too. I won’t let you fall down, okay?”
“Promise?” he asked, a grin curling his lips slightly. He wiggled his brows next, and she knew he wasn’t talking about shopping any more. Laughing when she smacked him gently, Keagan leaned in to drop a kiss to her lips.
“Oh, hell yeah, I promise.” Her whole body heated, and she got to feeling tingly as well. “Uhm, I love the way that you think,” she whispered against his lips. “Now, we need to finish eating, or I’m going to embarrass myself.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he teased. Leaning away, he brushed a finger to her cheek. “Eat up, darling. You’ll need the energy later, that much I promise.” Reaching out, he grabbed a roll, passed it to her, and took the crusts from the last one to eat himself.
“I know, I’m eating but I’m not super hungry.” Sadie didn’t want to eat a great deal, not when she wanted to do nothing more than curl up and have them heating her body. “For now let’s just enjoy our time with our family and friends?”
“Eat what you can, sweetheart. You do need to. After all, you’re eating for two now,” he pointed out. His face lit up with a huge smile again. “I’m so freaking happy about this.”
“Piper, babe, you planning on eating something besides the pie?” Cutter asked. “If not, I’ll slide that plate out and start a bit of cleanup so Sadie can stay on her tush over there.”
“Nope, just the pie,” Piper said as she pulled the whole pie her way and dared anyone to say anything to her, if the look that she gave everyone was any indication.
Sadie looked up at Bryce and smiled. “Just keep in mind that when I’m all craving stuff, don’t try to take my things. If I tell you that I want something, please make sure that I have it?”
“Damn straight I will,” he said. “Pregnant women are fucking scary as all get out. Especially Piper, she’s got that whole mean streak to her. Pretty sure she’s at the point she’d gladly tear someone’s head off and spit down their necks if they so much as made a move in the general direction of her pie.”
“Good thing we have more than one, huh?” Not that Sadie could blame Piper. Coconut cream pie was so good, especially the meringue on it. “Dammit, now I want pie,” she muttered and stood. “If you will excuse me, I’m going to go and grab a couple of the other ones from the fridge. I just want the meringue, can you handle eating the meaty part, so to speak?”
“Absolutely,” he said.
“Stay sitting,” Cutter told her. “I’ll grab the pies, plates, and some forks. Who all wants some?” he asked the table. A few hands went up, while the others shook their heads and declined. “Right, got it. Anyone want coffee?” Every hand went up for that except for Sadie’s.
Sadie frowned and shook her head. “I will take milk and I will come help you.” She saw the look he gave her and shook her head. “Don’t you dare even think about telling me no, bub. We will argue and I really don’t want to argue with you.”
“That’s ‘cause I’ll win,” Cutter said. He shot her a smirk, then shrugged and took the stack of dishes to the sink. Grabbing up cups, he carried them and the full carafe of coffee to the table, setting everything out for everyone to take as they wanted.
Sadie did, however, trail after Cutter and pulled the pie from the fridge. She took a fork and scooped some of the fluffy topping into her mouth and sighed. “Oh god that’s good.” It tasted fabulous, she was so happy now that she had the sweet confection in her mouth.
“Really?” he asked when he turned to find her standing there. “You couldn’t have waited to sit down, cut it up, and share it? What is it with you women and the pie?” Shaking his head, he pointed to the table. “Go and sit down. Standing and eating is a bad idea.”
“It has to be the fault of you men.” She wasn’t eating the whole pie, just the topping. She did, however, start to walk back to the table, eating as she walked. Settling back between Keagan and Bryce, she blushed at their looks. “Hey, I just needed a serious sugar hit.”
Bryce just shook his head at her. Cutter put the other pie on the table, with a knife to cut it, plates and forks next to it.
“Quick, someone cut into that pie before she decides to peel the meringue off,” Yoshi said. He was grinning as he did, though, and threw her a wink when she glared his way.
“Oh, you are so bad, Yoshi.” Sadie pulled the rest of the meringue off of the pie she had and put it beside the other one. “Good thing that I like you.” She pulled the ham over that she had been eating, too, and took a bite of it, and then the meringue. “Don’t judge.” She wished she could say it was just pregnancy, but the truth was that Sadie had a weird eating habit without the hormones of pregnancy, too.
“Who’s judging?” Connor asked with a horrified look on his fac
e. “I’m not judging, I wouldn’t dare.”
“This is normal,” Keagan said. “Has nothing to do with pregnancy, at least not for Sadie. She’s always had a weird savory, sweet thing she has to do from time to time. I’ve see her dip beef jerky into a honey jar. This doesn’t even faze me.”
“He’s right. I’ve always loved salty-sweet. Oh, bacon dipped in chocolate. When we very first began to date so many years ago, back when, you guys got me chocolate-covered bacon. I think that you should both start to buy me gifts again.”
“You’re just pissed because we never told you where we got that from,” Bryce said with a laugh. “I can take a hint, though. I’ll ensure we get you a couple of boxes. They have a couple new items as well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy them, too.”
Sadie leaned over and kissed Bryce. “You are truly a god among men.” She gave him a nod and patted his thigh before she went back to eating. The conversation once more picked up around them.
Chapter Seventeen
Once the house was quiet, and she’d had her bath with Keagan, they all began to settle for the night. Bryce was shaving while Keagan did his stretches, and she sat watching the play of his skin over his muscles.
“I swear I think sometimes you do those just because you know how much I enjoy watching you doing them.” Sadie was sitting with her knees drawn up and her chin resting on them. “I do, by the way, love watching the way that you move.”
He straightened slowly and gave her a wink. “I definitely don’t do them only for you. While it’s a plus, having you watching me while I do the exercises, that is, I do them so I get the strength back and keep my flexibility. I’m sure you want me to remain versatile in my range of motion, right?”
“Yes, that I do.” She didn’t ever want for him to lock up and not be able to move. “So you keep on doing whatever that it is that you need to do in order to remain flexible and get your movement back as much as you can.”
