“Auntie Karen, I’m gonna throwed the flowers liked I did for Auntie Evie and Auntie Chloe. Only I’m going to do it better this time. I’s practiced now.”
Karen looked down at Bella and smiled. She’d been to Evie’s wedding, not Chloe’s. God knew what was going to happen now that Bella had practiced. She had handed rose petals to the audience members in Evie’s wedding, which resulted in a lot of laughter. Maddie had taped the event so Drake and she could see Chloe’s wedding, so Karen had seen Bella’s performance. She had literally done twirls, which resulted in the basket spewing petals all over the crowd. Karen thought about asking what kind of practicing she had done, but truly, she wanted to be surprised.
“When are you going to start T-Ball?” Finn asked the little girl. “From what I hear you have the arm to be a center fielder.”
Bella’s face scrunched up, but then she brightened. “I’m going to be a quarterback.”
“Damn right,” Evie yelled. “None of that T-Ball shit. You go for the gusto.” Evie opened her purse before her niece could say anything and handed her a dollar for swearing. Bella grinned.
Trenda wandered over to where they were all standing. “Quarterback huh? I think a little girl I know will have to start working some vegetables into her diet along with chocolate if she wants to be quarterback for the Volunteers. But you do realize their uniforms are orange, don’t you?”
Bella’s face scrunched up again. “Vegetables? Orange?” She looked up at Finn. “What’s a center fella?”
Karen walked toward the front of the boat, laughing. She didn’t want to miss a moment of the view as they headed around to Two Harbors. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. In less than thirty-six hours she would be married to Drake. Every dream she’d ever had was coming true.
DRAKE HAD NEVER MET Karen’s brothers or father before. He’d called her dad when he asked for permission to marry her. Not that he was going to take no for an answer. That had been Mason’s idea. It had been an interesting call. Turned out James Eastman was a man after his own heart. Drake still remembered how the man had explained Karen was his little girl and he understood that Drake was a Navy SEAL, so he couldn’t take him in a fair fight, but he was more than willing to hire out a contract on Drake if he ever hurt his daughter. Yep, Drake liked the old guy.
All the Eastman men flew in that afternoon. None of her brothers were married. Jim, the eldest, was the sheriff of a small town outside of Kenai where they were born. Alex, the middle son co-owned a lumber yard, and Leif the youngest worked for the Forestry Department. According to Karen, Leif spent a good deal of his time doing search and rescue and policing illegal hunting.
He had invited the four men over to his house for a barbeque. They had flown into San Diego at one o’clock, and everyone was going to take the early morning boat ride to Catalina in the morning. This was a chance for them to get to know one another before the wedding. Drake had invited his team, and some of the Black Dawn team, since they were coming to the wedding as well.
Jack was bringing the steaks since the good butcher was near his house. He’d forced money on him at the base yesterday, it had been tough. He knew the fucker was going to use the money to buy some kind of wedding present, but at least he’d tried. Then there was Aiden, he made him get the booze because he was such a picky bastard about what he liked to drink. Since he was officially family he’d given up trying to foist money on him. Drake made sure there was every kind of beer imaginable for the eclectic tastes of his friends. It had taken him damn near an hour to find every single brand. He’d even found out from Karen the kind her brothers and Dad drank. It was an Alaskan brand called Berserker. He bought extra, because he knew all the guys would be wanting to try it because of the name.
Drake was firing up the grill when he heard someone beating on his front door.
“Let yourself in,” he yelled.
“Can’t. Open up.”
He jogged to the front door when he heard Mason’s voice. Opening the door, he laughed at what he saw. Mason was holding at least eight pastry boxes. “I thought Sophia was on the island.”
“She baked yesterday.”
“Hey wait, did you kick my door?” Drake peered down at the scuff marks on his door.
“They’ll wash off, Billy does it all the time.”
“Where’s Billy?”
“He’s behind me with the bowls of potato and macaroni salad.”
Drake rubbed his hands together. “Love it, no cooking, only grilling.”
“Potatoes and corn?”
“Already on the grill.” Drake grinned. “They’ll come off when the steaks arrive.”
Mason headed to the dining room table. “You nervous?”
Drake looked around and saw Billy still hadn’t made it through the door. “Maybe a little. Actually, went to three different stores to find the beer they like. Couldn’t believe I did that.”
“Yep, you’re trying to make a good impression. It’s a red letter day.”
“She’s worth it. I want her to be happy. She adores her dad and brothers.”
“Her mother thinks the world of you,” Mason reminded him.
“It’s not the same as the men. They’ll have a whole different yardstick. Remember, I hated Aiden.”
“You liked Zarek.”
“He did wonders for Chloe. What wasn’t to like?”
Mason just shook his head. “Have a brownie and a beer it’ll take the edge off.” He pulled a thickly iced piece of chocolate goodness out of one of the boxes, and Drake took it and went to the fridge. He opted for milk. There was no way he was going to screw with the heaven that was Sophia’s fudge brownies by drinking anything but milk.
“Can I have a glass?” Billy asked.
Drake grinned when he saw that the young man had three brownies in his hand. “You know you should save some for the other guests.”
“You’re kidding right? Sophia made about eighty. Then she made apple brown betty, cherry pie and because it’s December she said there had to be pumpkin pie.”
“What the hell? I thought she was making stuff for the wedding?”
“She did. Remember she has two employees now. My sister is the shiznit. She cranked.” Drake snatched two of the brownies from Billy’s hand. “Go grab more while I pour you some milk.”
Billy grinned. Drake was in the midst of pouring milk when Finn and Dare walked in the front door with Wyatt Leeds. Drake was not surprised to hear Wyatt running his mouth.
“You didn’t eat those,” Billy nodded towards the untouched brownies.
“I was just messing with you. Actually, I’m looking forward to the steak, potatoes and pumpkin pie.”
Billy picked up his milk and started drinking. He was staring at Drake, and he could tell the kid had something on his mind. “Spill it.”
Billy put his now empty glass on the counter and took a surreptitious look around the room. Satisfied that they were alone, he cleared his throat. “It was a good thing what you and Karen did, giving your son Mason as a middle name.” Billy’s eyes were suspiciously bright. Damn, Sophia’s miscarriage and fertility issues had been hard on even Billy.
“Billy, there’s something you need to understand. We did this because Mason is my brother, maybe not by blood, but by every other standard, he’s the man who is my kin. Between you and me, after the wedding Karen and I plan to ask them to be Andrew’s Godparents.”
“That’s righteous.”
Drake laughed. “Schiznit. Righteous. You really are a surfer, aren’t you?”
“Southern California born and raised,” Billy said proudly.
Drake rolled his eyes.
“What’s so funny?” Mason asked.
“You surfer dudes,” Drake said. “That’s what’s funny.”
“You surf now,” Mason said.
“He kind of surfs,” Bill qualified.
“We need to get you two deer hunting,” Drake said laying on his Southern accent.
“Now y
ou’re talking,” Jack said holding armfuls of beef wrapped in white butcher paper. “We need to take them to Texas and get them hunting. My stepdaddy would love to host them at the ranch.”
“That goes out on the deck,” Drake said pointing at the steaks. “Follow me.”
He had the steaks grilling when Clint clapped him on the shoulder. “Your future in-laws just arrived. You better go greet them. I’ll take over your grilling duties.”
Where Wilma and Karen were redheads, the Eastman men were all big blond-haired Vikings. Hell, one of the men was a little bigger than he was.
“Drake!” James Eastman shouted, his smile broad. Well that was a good sign. What wasn’t a good sign was that none of the three younger men standing behind him were smiling. Fuck ‘em.
“Hey James, glad you could make it.” He held out his hand.
James Eastman stepped forward, his limp barely noticeable. “I like your place,” he said as he shook Drake’s hand.
“Can I get you something? Karen told me you drink Berserker, so I have some of that on hand.”
“Well that’s mighty nice of you, isn’t it?” He turned to look at his sons. When he saw their blank expressions, he scowled. “What’s your problem?”
“Besides the fact that he got Karen pregnant before marrying her?”
Drake would bet anything that was the sheriff. He was in his face before he was finished speaking. “That sounds like you’re saying something against your sister. Are you?” Drake growled.
“Absolutely not,” the man growled back. “My sister is a kindergarten teacher. You’re a fucking sailor.”
“I didn’t notice your ass coming down here before you were officially invited. Doesn’t seem to me like you were all that concerned.”
“You absolute―”
“Enough!” Mason and James Eastman shouted at the same moment. Drake and Jim continued to stare at one another.
“Drake, Karen begged my wife to keep the pregnancy from her brothers. It wasn’t until the baby was born that they found out about their nephew.”
Drake and Jim ignored Mr. Eastman. Instead the sheriff continued to talk. “You forced her to give up her teaching career, sell her house and move across the country to where she had no friends, family or support system when she most needed one. You don’t fucking deserve her.”
“Here, here! Can I take the first swing?”
Fucking Aiden.
The Vikings all turned around and basically saw one of their own when they looked at Aiden O’Malley. “Who the hell are you?” Jim Eastman demanded.
“His brother-in-law. The man who had the gall to marry one of his six younger sisters. I’ve had to endure so much crap from this man that it’s a wonder I didn’t end up growing a tree out of my ass.”
Drake heard snickering from behind him. He was pretty sure it was Billy and Wyatt.
“If he has six younger sisters, then he’s a royal dick for doing our sister dirty,” the giant blond said.
“They grow ‘em big up in Alaska, don’t they Mason?” Aiden commented.
“Seem to,” Mason agreed.
“What’s your name?”
“Leif Eastman.”
Aiden held out his hand. “I’m Aiden O’Malley. I married Drake’s middle sister Evie. I totally fucked up with her. She ended up taking a vacation in Turkey and got kidnapped. It was my fault. Drake would have been within his rights to pour gasoline on me and light a match.”
“You fuck up with Evie, and I’ll still do it,” Drake muttered.
“See why I want the first swing?” Aiden said.
“Stay the fuck out of this O’Malley.”
“I can’t. Unfortunately, Evie would have my ass if you didn’t show up at the wedding because you were dead, or even worse, you showed up with a black eye and a broken nose. Apparently, these women set store in wedding pictures.”
“Stay. Out. Of. It.”
“Shut it, you oaf.”
Drake took a step toward Aiden. “I am so sick of being called an oaf.”
“Did you or did you not dye my wife’s foot red?”
A loud whistle pierced the air.
Drake and Aiden stared at the one Eastman brother who hadn’t spoken. “Are you two done?” he asked.
Aiden smiled. “It depends, what’s your name?”
“I’m Alex. Apparently, I’m going to be the voice of reason tonight. Drake, did I hear you bought Berserker for us?”
“Yeah,” Drake said suspiciously.
“Are you the father of the handsome nephew that now has my phone’s memory almost at capacity?”
Drake grinned proudly. “Yep.”
“Jim. Leif. Back the fuck off. Karen is happy. We’re uncles. And I want a beer to toast Andrew.”
Chapter Thirteen
KAREN WOKE UP RESTED and refreshed. Drake had arranged for Trenda and Evie to each take a feeding shift with Andrew with some frozen breast milk. What a boy scout. Okay, maybe not a boy scout, but he sure was a sneaky planner. Hers was the only room with a bathroom connected, the rest were sharing bathrooms. She could hear the sisters laughing in the hallway.
Karen watched with a grin when the doorknob started turning. She had a bet that it was Bella, and when the dark curly head peeked in, she mentally won extra bacon with her breakfast.
“She’s awake!” Bella screeched. “She’s awake!”
“Well if she wasn’t, she is now.”
Maddie tousled her niece’s hair as she walked in with Andrew. “I’ve got niece and nephew duty during breakfast.”
“How’d that happen?”
“This isn’t going to happen for me again for a while. So, I need to take advantage.”
Karen sat up in bed and fluffed her pillows behind her. “You’re finishing your master’s program at the end of the school year, aren’t you?”
Maddie crouched down when Bella tugged on her sleeve. “Yeah, I’ll be done.”
“So, have you considered moving out to California? I know for a fact that Evie has told you she wants you to stay with her and Aiden for a bit.”
Bella placed a delicate kiss on Andrew’s forehead. Could she be any sweeter?
“Right now, California is out of the picture.”
“Why?”
“It’s complicated.” Maddie stood up. “Come on, Sweet pea. Do you want to help me feed Andrew his bottle?”
“Oh, I can handle this feeding. Bring him here.” Karen held out her arms. “You feed Bella, and I’ll get Andrew fed. Then you can take over while I eat. Is it a deal?”
Maddie gave her a thoughtful look, but then nodded. “Deal.”
“I want a deal.” Bella smiled. “Where’s my deal?”
“You get breakfast with me. I think they have chocolate croissants.”
Bella jumped up and down. “That’s my deal, all right. Where are they?”
Karen laughed, and Maddie handed over Andrew. “Follow me, Miss Bella, and I’ll take you to your yummy breakfast. But you have to eat your eggs and fruit too.”
“But I still get chocolate crows, right?”
“Right.” Maddie winked at Karen and guided Bella out of her room.
Andrew blinked lazily up at her. “Are you excited for the big day?” Karen adjusted her nightgown so that Andrew could help himself, and he did. “Dig in. I need to fit into the dress, and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room in the bust.”
Karen started humming the song that she knew would be playing during the wedding. It was going to be a surprise to Drake. He’d actually heard it once, and asked her who was singing. High praise from a man who thought that Toby Keith and Lynyrd Skynyrd were the end all be all.
The ceremony wasn’t due to start until three o’clock. Looking at the antique clock on the wall, that was eight hours from now. It was going to be both the fastest and slowest eight hours of her life. There was so much to get done she didn’t know how she could manage it all in such a short amount of time. But then there was the fact that eight hours s
eemed like an eternity to wait to finally be fully committed to Drake.
Andrew shook his head. She was holding him too tightly.
“I’m sorry, Honey. Mama wasn’t paying attention, was she?” She lifted him to her other breast. Three more hours and the boat would dock. Drake and the men would arrive with the SEAL sisters, the caterers, wait staff and band. The set-up for the wedding was being handled by folks over from Avalon, and they would be coming via bus.
She sat up straighter. Holy hell, they’d figured out the band for the reception, but how were they handling the music for the wedding? Dammit, she wanted that song playing. She had a whole list of songs she wanted played for the wedding. How could she not have thought of this? She’d been so focused on the music for the reception.
“Knock, knock.”
The door opened, and Evie’s face appeared.
“Uh-oh. This doesn’t look like the happy bride. This looks like the stressed-out bride. What, did you find a pimple?”
Evie was shoved from behind and Trenda followed her into the room. “Don’t pay any attention to her. You look beautiful. But we felt a disturbance in the force.”
“I felt a disturbance, you wanted to play with Andrew,” Evie corrected her sister.
“Whatever. We’re here now. What’s wrong?” Trenda asked.
“The music.”
Karen felt herself hyperventilating. Andrew unlatched and pushed against her breast. He let out a yell. It was like he was psychically connected to her. Breathe Eastman. Breathe. Wait, she was going to be Avery. Just thinking that, calmed her. She was going to be Karen Avery tonight.
“She’s gone.”
“Totally. Off in la-la-land.”
“What?”
“You’re thinking sexy thoughts about our brother.” Trenda smirked.
“Carnal thoughts. She’s definitely thinking wedding night thoughts,” Evie corrected.
“Damned C-Section.” Karen sighed. “That’s still off the table.” Shit, had she said that out loud? To Drake’s sisters?
Her Treasured SEAL Page 15
