Sin City Baby

by Rye Hart

  “I’ll go get it,” Levi said.

  “Is there anything else you need?” Logan asked. “Anything at all?”

  I looked over at him with my tired eyes before I switched Leo to my other breast.

  Logan’s lips fell to mine before he smiled against me.

  “You have no fucking idea how wonderful you did,” he said.

  “You and Levi are going to have to watch that language around the baby,” I said.

  “No shit,” Levi said with a grin.

  “It slides now, but once this boy turns a year old, it won’t anymore,” I said.

  “It was just a joke. I’m already working on it,” Levi said as he slid the hat onto Leo’s head.

  “I’ve got tea,” Liam said.

  “You have a pitcher of it,” I said.

  “I figured we could all use a nice drink to celebrate,” Liam said.

  Lauren stopped by to dote on her nephew, and everyone snapped pictures. I wanted to remember all of these moments. All of these precious moments that surrounded our growing family. Lauren kept kissing Leo’s forehead and cooing down at him. Leo even wrapped his finger around hers while she sang lightly to him. I was able to get a quick nap in Liam’s bed while they all looked after the baby, and I woke up to Lauren kissing my cheek.

  “You did so good, sis,” she said smiling at me.

  “Will you come by tomorrow?” I asked.

  “Of course. Todd wants to come with me, too. I think he’s getting baby fever.”

  “Does that mean another family addition is in the works?” I asked.

  “Let’s just say we’ve discarded the pills for now.”

  I wrapped my arms around my best friend and held her close.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said.

  “Now you rest. Don’t let that baby run you ragged. You’ve got four men doting on you. Take advantage of it.”

  “I promise I always do,” I said with a grin.

  Liam helped me out of bed and got me down the stairs. Everyone was on the massive couch specially-made for all of us to lean back into. I sat between all of them and reached for Leo, then brought him quickly to my breast so he could nurse. The television was rolling in the background, but no one was paying attention.

  Everyone had their eyes on the newest addition to our family.

  “I love you so much, Sam,” Luke said.

  “So do I,” Logan said.

  “Me, too,” Liam said.

  “More than I ever have before,” Levi said. “You kicked butt in that tub today.”

  “And I can feel it. My bones still hurt,” I said.

  “Then lean back into this couch and don’t do a thing,” Liam said. “I’ll take care of dinner for the next few weeks, and Logan’s on breakfast watch.”

  “Yep. And I’ve got the cleaning duties. Which means I hired us a maid,” Levi said.

  “And I’m helping you with the nighttime feedings,” Luke said. “In the beginning, I’ll be getting up with you to help in whatever way I can. Then, when your milk comes in, I’ll get you the best pump on the market so we can all interchange the night feedings.”

  “I see someone’s been reading my books,” I said with a grin.

  “Every single one of them,” Luke said.

  Everything felt complete. We were all living together as one happy family underneath a roof that now felt like home. Our son was cradled against my chest, nursing his fill and surrounded by those that loved him. Lauren had finally accepted us as a familial unit and came over all the time to hang out, and I didn’t even feel weird kissing her brothers around her.

  And the best part was that with all my prior bills off my back, I now had enough money to open my online fashion business.

  When the time was right.

  “I love you guys so much,” I said as tears welled in my eyes.

  Each of them kissed me before I placed Leo on my shoulder to burp him.

  “We love you too,” Liam said.

  “All of us,” Levi said.

  “Forever and ever,” Luke said.

  “Until the sun stops rising,” Logan said.

  My boys. My men. The fathers of my child. The apples of my eye and the reasons my heart fluttered in my chest.

  Nothing in my life turned out as I had planned.

  And it was perfect.

  The End

  It’s not over! I love my readers so much that I’ve included a brand new, never before published steamy romance: A Night with the Walker Brothers

  Check it out on the next page…

  Best friends. Lovers. Enemies.

  It's crazy how quickly things change. One minute, you're happy and in love. The next, your whole world is falling apart. I've lost the love of my life twice in my life so far.

  I won't let it happen again.

  I can't help it if I love the Walker boys, all of them. They love me too. They love me enough to give me what I want most in this world - a baby.

  Each one of them wants to claim me, to make me theirs. But I don't want just one of the handsome, sexy Walker boys.

  I want them all.

  EXCLUSIVE: A NIGHT WITH THE WALKER BROTHERS

  CHAPTER ONE

  HADLEY

  “This is where mommy grew up,” I said, my voice soft.

  Raising my hand, I pointed to the fence that divided my family's property from the Walker's.

  Grayson's eyes took everything in, wide and full of curiosity. While he had no memories of his father, he asked about him often. Whenever he asked, I tried to tell him everything I could about his dad. Told him all about the wonderful man I met and fell in love with back when I was just a kid myself. That was why I'd brought him back to the small town of Castle Creek – I wanted him to feel a little bit closer to his father, which also meant being close to the friends I'd left behind.

  The Walker house next door still exactly looked the same as it did all those years ago. Mr. Walker was an architect and he'd designed the home himself. It was more modern than most of the homes in Castle Creek and it stood out. Some people called it gaudy or pretentious, but I always loved and appreciated the uniqueness of it.

  My own house was a beautiful, large cabin. It was a traditional Colorado home for the upper middle-class families of our small, secluded town in the mountains. My family's home was warm and inviting. It was cozy and sort of blended in with the natural surroundings. The Walker's home though, was thoroughly modern. It stood out and had large glass walls that took in the mountain ranges all around us. The design was gorgeous and while maybe not quite as homey, it had a style and appeal all it's own.

  Mr. Walker had long since retired, while Mrs. Walker had always been a stay-at-home mom. When you had three young boys home, it made sense to have somebody there all day, every day. It probably saved a lot on daycare costs too. All the children had grown up though. I imagined it had to be a little lonely to be in such a large place with so few warm bodies running around inside.

  I often wondered about the Walker boys, my best friends and Chris' too. The last I'd seen of them was at the funeral, and that really hadn't been there to play catch up with old friends. We were all grieving over the sudden loss of someone we loved very much and a trip down nostalgia lane was the last thing anybody really wanted or needed.

  Once upon a time, however, it wasn't just Chris and me. It was him, me, and the Walker boys. We were all close and had formed our own little social circle. I missed my best friends. Marrying Chris had caused some tension within our little group – tension we were never really able to get over. After that, our tight-knit social circle sort of splintered and fell apart, everybody going their own separate ways. It hurt me more than I cared to admit, to be honest.

  Maybe now though, things would be different. God, I hoped so. I really did miss my friends.

  I picked my son up off the ground, carrying him up the steps to the front door. This was still my home, technically, but I knocked just the same. My mother was expecting me, and
as soon as my knuckles hit the door, it swung open with a startling quickness and when I saw my mom's smiling face, I laughed.

  “Hadley! Grayson!” she screeched, loud enough that I swear the entire town could have heard the echoes. “Finally! You didn't have to knock, dear. This is your home too.”

  “I know, just didn't want to scare you by barging in unannounced,” I laughed.

  As soon as I stepped inside, I was buffeted by warm, comforting waves, and I instantly felt at peace. A fire was going in the fireplace, and the house smelled of cinnamon. It wasn't that cold outside, but it was still a little bit chilly, so the warmth felt nice on my skin. The mouth-watering aromas coming from the kitchen beckoned me, and I side-eyed mom.

  “I told you not to go to too much trouble,” I said.

  “What?” she countered, taking our jackets and hanging them up. “Cooking dinner and baking my daughter's favorite dessert isn't too much trouble.”

  “Carrot Cake?” I asked, a slow smile stretching across my face.

  My mouth watered at the mere mention of it. My mom's carrot cake was literally the best food, ever, in existence. It was legendary. She made from it scratch, and it wasn't one of those recipes I could easily recreate, no matter how hard I tried. “Of course,” she said, chuckling. “I did say your favorite, right?”

  Mom took Grayson from me, even though my little boy was almost too big to be held these days. He was four now, which I still sometimes found hard to believe. He stared at his grandmother, but then looked back at me with father's brown eyes , tugging at my heart.

  He looked just like Chris – from his eyes to the chestnut color of his hair. They both had the same boyish look to them, no matter how old they were. Chris always looked younger than he was – even at twenty-seven, when he’d died.

  A knot formed in my throat, as if often did when I looked at our son and saw Chris staring back at me. He'd have been so proud of his little boy, and he’d have such a good father. If only there'd been more time, I often thought. Forever wouldn't have been nearly enough time, but still, a few decades more together would have been nice.

  Grayson needed a haircut, his silky brown hair hung over his eyes, which I gently pushed back from his forehead. He knew my mother fairly well since they'd spent some time together, but he was still young and his memory of most of those encounters might not be fresh. He was a little stiff in her arms, a look of uncertainty upon his face.

  “Do you remember Grandma Shirley?” I asked him.

  He nodded, then turned his face to look at my mom. My mother smiled wide at him, that smile reaching her blue eyes and making them sparkle. I took after my mother in many ways, including the large blue eyes. Her rounder face made her look younger than she was, almost making it hard to believe she was a grandmother. With dimples and a soft, friendly smile, she looked like an older version of me. Sometimes, to my dismay, people thought she was my sister instead of my mother. Which, of course, always made her feel good – and hey, at least I knew when I got to be her age, I was going to pass for somebody much younger.

  Her hair had more gray in it these days, though she no longer cared to hide it and it made her even more striking in my opinion. We both had light hair naturally – hers was a darker blonde than mine, while I had hints of red from my father. Like Grayson, I'd lost my dad early in life, but I still had memories of him. I was ten when my dad passed away, Grayson was only two, and it killed me that he wasn't going to have very many memories of the man at all.

  “Of course he remembers me,” my mother said. “I'm the one who gives him cookies whenever he wants.”

  I chuckled and shook my head. My mom loved spoiling her grandson, but since we were going to be staying for a while, I'd have to keep an eye out on the sweets. Once in a while, eating cookies for dinner was allowed – especially when grandma visited. It was a special treat.

  “Alright,” mom said, passing Grayson back to me. “Why don't you two go get settled in. Your rooms are ready. Dinner will be served in about fifteen minutes, so get yourselves all washed up.”

  I put him down on his own feet, and he took my hand in his. He stared at the house around him, not saying a word. My little guy was shy in new situations, that wasn't abnormal for him. I figured it was going to take him a little while to settle in and feel comfortable there.

  “I told you we could share a room.”

  “Nonsense,” my mom said. “If you're going to be staying for any amount of time at all, you need your own space. A woman needs her privacy, after all.”

  “Thanks Mom,” I said, feeling grateful.

  “Plenty of people in town have been asking about you.” She gave me a knowing grin and winked. I felt my cheeks flush slightly and a small grin tug at the corners of my mouth. People were asking about me? I could only assume she meant men, given that little gleam in her eyes. Leave it to my mom to give me a place to stay, ply me with my favorite dessert ever, and find me a new romantic interest within five minutes of setting foot inside the house.

  Once upon a time, I had been a pretty popular girl in town – cheerleader, prom queen, all of that nonsense. That seemed like another lifetime ago though and didn't that would still be the case ten years later.

  “Oh, in fact, I invited the Walkers over for dinner tonight,” she said as she moseyed her way through the living room into the kitchen, which I could see from where I was standing thanks to the open floor plan. “They should be here any minute.”

  “The Walkers?” My throat went dry and my heart started to pound inside of me. “Tonight?”

  “MmmHmm,” mom said, pulling something from the oven. “I ran into Evan, mentioned you were coming home. He seemed excited about it, so it only felt right.”

  “Who's coming exactly?”

  “Oh, I don't know – I imagine all of them. The whole brood,” she said. “But I only spoke to Evan and he said he'd be here and would tell the others. I can't see them all not wanting to come by to welcome you home.”

  I swallowed, hard. The Walker brothers used to be my best friends. I wanted to see them, sure, but it all felt so sudden. Mom poked her head out from the kitchen, a concerned look on her face.

  “Is that alright?” she asked, a note of concern in her voice. “I probably should have asked first, but –”

  “Yeah. It's fine. Really,” I lied. I feigned a smile as I headed toward the stairs with my son's hand in mine. “I just wasn't expecting it, that's all. I need to freshen up a bit before they get here. I look like a mess.”

  “Of course, dear,” she said, waving me on. “Put on something nice.”

  . I knew what my mom was doing. She was trying to push me into looking for a new love interest. And who made more sense than one of the Walker boys? None of the guys would be a bad option. They were all good men, raised by a good family. No one really had anything bad to say about them, which was why I adored them too. They had been the best friends a girl could have ever asked for.

  At least, until I married Chris, the only other non-Walker in the circle.

  ***

  I didn't have much time to get ready. Fifteen minutes, mom had said. No time for a shower, even though I felt like I really needed one. My strawberry blonde hair was still straight and smooth, which meant I didn't have to do much with it. A few months back, I'd cut all my long hair off on a whim, mainly so I had less hair to deal with. My hair was usually thick and wavy, which often meant it took way too much effort to dry and style it all the time. I'd opted to go with a chic bob, and that had done the trick.

  But, I realized I'd missed my longer, feminine hair, and was currently in the process of growing it out. It fell just to my shoulders and curled under my chin. My bangs were long and side-swept, thinning out my round face a bit. I studied my curves in the mirror. Since having a child, I'd lost my waifish figure, and instead had hips and breasts I never had before. It was nice, I couldn't complain, even if my tummy was a little rounder than I'd care for it to be. I couldn't deny that the new curves ma
de me feel sexy.

  I checked myself in the mirror and didn't apply much makeup. My bright, blue eyes popped with mascara, and my lips looked pouty and soft with just a hint of wine-colored lipstick. That's all I had time for, and thankfully, was really all I needed.

  I'd packed a few nice dresses on top of everything else in my suitcase. I pulled out a simple emerald green wrap dress, which hugged my waist in and gave me the perfect hourglass figure, while showcasing a hint of cleavage. It was tasteful and yet still sexy. I slipped on a pair of black heels and I was ready to go.

  Grayson sat on my bed, playing with his Hot Wheels cars. He couldn't care less what mommy wore to dinner or how I looked. I smiled as he ran the cars up and down the striped comforter, pretending the stripes were roads that only he could see. I'd dressed him in khaki pants and a toddler-sized navy blue polo shirt. I gave him a once over, just to make sure he was presentable. He fussed a bit as I smoothed down his hair, making me laugh.

  “Dinner time, little man,” I said, reaching my hand out for him. We'd just reached the landing when I heard voices echoing through the house; familiar voices I hadn't heard in years. My heart beating like I'd just run a marathon, I froze at the bottom of the stairs and took a deep breath, taking a minute to gather myself.

  This was it.

  I turned the corner and headed toward the dining room, which was adjacent to the kitchen. From the living room, I could see our giant dining room table with six people already sitting around it. Most of them men. Most of them with the same chestnut brown hair they had when we were kids. As I walked into the room, my mom stood from the table, a smile on her face as she rushed toward me.

  “Hadley, there you are,” she said.

  At the mention of my name, everyone turned toward me. I was keenly aware of all the eyes on me and immediately felt the heat rushing into my cheeks. The weight of their gazes pressed down on me and I had to fight the urge to turn and run.

  Jared, the youngest of the Walker boys, was the first to catch my eye. He was the one I'd spent the least amount of time with, simply because he'd been younger and was the wilder one of the brothers. He was always known for finding a good time. His hair was shaggy and his face was scruffy. His arms were corded with muscle and colored with tattoos that started beneath the hem of his snug shirt.