Coast (Black Hawk MC Book 6)

by Carson Mackenzie

  I laid my head on his arm, and he pulled me to him and kissed my head.

  “That was just what I needed to go back to sleep,” I said on a yawn and closed my eyes.

  “You’re mi mujer, my woman, I’ll always give you what you need,” was the last thing I heard before sleep claimed me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Coast

  “Tracker! Get up! He came! He came!” Paxton yelled.

  I smiled before I even opened my eyes. And Mac shifted beside me, then buried her head back in her pillow and groaned.

  “Oh my God, I feel like I just fell asleep. What time is it?”

  I glanced over at the clock, then raised my hand to my face and swiped down. It was going to be a long day. “It’s five-forty.”

  I laid there and wondered how long it would be before there was a knock at the bedroom door. I opened my mouth to suggest we better get some clothes on when Mac literally jumped out of the bed.

  “Get up. I don’t want to miss anything with the boys,” she said. After she grabbed some clothes, she darted into the bathroom. I shook my head, threw back the covers, and sat up on the side of the bed. I heard the shower running in the bathroom, and I reached for my cell and texted my dad to let him know everyone was up. He texted back and I grinned. He was bringing Mac’s surprise with him. When I sat the phone back down, the anticipated rap on the bedroom door had me rising.

  “Hold on a sec,” I yelled and walked to the chair and grabbed my jeans. A woman in the house definitely changed things because before when I’d strip for bed, the clothes would be in a pile on the floor.

  Once my jeans were on, I walked to the door and pulled it open to find Tracker and Paxton both in the hall, standing side by side.

  “What’s got you up so early?” I asked, feigning as if I’d forgotten what day it was. The wide-eyed expression on Paxton’s face almost made me laugh.

  “It’s Christmas,” he answered, and the way he said it reminded me of Mac and her excitement from the night before.

  “Yes, it is!” Mac said as she came out of the bathroom dressed and toweling her hair. She had to have broken the world record on shower time. She tossed the towel in the hamper, which was another new item our bedroom had and brushed her hair with her fingers.

  “Santa came like you said he would, Mac. I didn’t think he would, but he did. I didn’t touch anything because there’s a lot, and I didn’t know if it was mine,” Paxton said, barely able to contain himself as he rocked on his heels.

  At Paxton’s a lot, I looked at Mac and lifted a brow. A lot was an understatement. For the last month and a half, every time she came home from work, she had a bag that she’d stash in our closet.

  Mac waved me off and walked to Paxton and knelt in front of him. “Santa doesn’t make mistakes often, so whatever is under the tree is for you and Tracker.”

  Tracker snorted, and I nudged him. He didn’t believe in Santa, which was normal for a twelve-year-old, but not for a five-year-old as he had been when his mother told him there wasn’t a Santa Claus. All because Tracker had cried when he hadn’t gotten anything. I’d never hit a woman, but if that drugged up bitch was still alive, I’d make an exception for her.

  “Mommy said I was naughty, and that’s why Santa never brought me anything,” Pax said, and I gritted my teeth.

  “Mom lied, Pax. One of the elves probably forgot to add your name to Santa’s list,” Tracker said.

  I placed my hand on Tracker’s shoulder and squeezed. One of the first things Mac and I noticed when the boys started living with us, was how Tracker always looked out for Pax.

  “Do you think so?” Pax looked at me and asked with hopeful eyes. Eyes that had probably seen way too much for their seven years.

  “I’m with your brother. Those elves are so busy I bet they lose a lot of names. ‘Cause you are far from naughty, Pax.”

  “Well, I say we forget about the elves past mistakes and go down and check out what Santa brought this year,” Mac stood and said. “What do you think, Paxton?”

  “Yes!” he yelled and jumped up and down.

  “Let me grab a shirt,” I said and walked to the dresser and pulled out a t-shirt. I’d take a shower after everything was opened because I figured if I mentioned it then, there’d be mutiny.

  “What is all the racket? An old man can’t get any sleep around here,” Kiyaya said as he walked out of the extra bedroom.

  “Santa came!” Paxton informed him as if everyone in the house hadn’t heard him earlier.

  “Eh, you don’t say.” Kiyaya smiled down at Paxton, then glanced over at me. “Are we going to stand here or go downstairs and let the boy inspect his bounty?”

  “We’re going. Not like the man in red left your old ass anything.” Mac smacked my arm, and I chuckled.

  “Can you even remember the last time you got something from Santa, Kiyaya?” Tracker said, then looked at me and smiled. I winked at him and grinned. It was good to see that Tracker was starting to become comfortable enough to joke. I couldn’t wait for the day he and Paxton would lose the unsure looks I catch sometimes in their eyes.

  “Stop ganging up on Kiyaya, you two. And are you going to call your dad and let him know we are up? He mentioned doing that yesterday after the club dinner.”

  “Yeah, I already did while you were showering. Didn’t think Paxton and Tracker would want to wait to open presents. Or you for that matter.”

  “Whatever. I’m just excited for the boys. So, let’s get moving,” she said and walked out of the bedroom with Paxton and Tracker on her heels.

  Kiyaya snickered. “Eh, you might have bitten off more than you can chew with that girl. She’s not going to let you boys get by with much.”

  “Kinda like how she handles you, Kiyaya. How was that cupcake?” I asked as we started down the stairs. Then laughed when Kiyaya began mumbling.

  “Look, Emery, I got books, cars, games, and a PlayStation! Santa even brought an Xbox for Tracker!” Paxton said as Kiyaya and I walked into the living room. Pax sat on the floor in front of the tree looking at everything piled up in front of him.

  I looked over at Tracker with his head down as he looked at the gaming system box and the games we’d gotten for it. Or Santa had.

  “Hey, bud, after pops gets here and we open gifts. I’ll help you get that set up.”

  “Okay,” he said, his voice a little rough, and I frowned. When Mac touched my arm, I looked down at her, and she shook her head slightly. I mouthed what, and she nodded toward the kitchen.

  “Kiyaya, you want some coffee? It should be done I hit the switch when I got here. Or would you rather have tea?” she asked over her shoulder as I walked with her to the kitchen.

  “Coffee sounds good, Mackenzie,” Kiyaya answered.

  Once we were out of earshot, I asked again, “What happened?”

  Mac turned, and I was shocked to see moisture in her eyes. “He needed a minute. Oh, Emery. Tracker’s face when Paxton told him the Xbox had his name on it... We know he doesn’t believe in Santa and goes along with it because of Paxton. Hell, I wanted to cry when he bent and picked up that box, then looked over his shoulder at me and mouthed thank you. I mean, he’s twelve, Emery, and it breaks my heart he’s had to spend his own childhood looking after Paxton when he should have been enjoying his own.” I watched Mac’s transformation from being on the brink of tears to a pissed off woman. “If that woman...and I use the word only because I’m trying to be polite...were alive, I’d shake the shit out of her.” Mac turned away and began pouring coffee into cups.

  “Cariño.”

  “I know, I know. I can’t let the stuff get to me. We can only make going forward better for them. Good God, Emery, he barely was able to answer you for being choked up. That’s why I brought you in here. He needed a moment to compose himself.”

  “And maybe you did, too,” I said and ran my hand from the top of her head down until I reached her back and stopped to rub it.

  “Yes, and
now, I’m good. The rest of the morning and day will be spent enjoying and being thankful for what we do have,” Mac said while she placed the coffee cups on a tray to carry.

  When she was finished, I picked the tray up, and we walked into the living room. Tracker was better and now sitting on the floor by the coffee table with Paxton at his side. Kiyaya was on the other side of the coffee table on the couch. I smiled when I saw what sat on the table between them. A checkerboard.

  I went to set the tray down when someone knocked on the door.

  “Why is your dad knocking? He knows we’re expecting him,” Mac said, and I shrugged.

  “I have no idea. Let him in, and then you can ask him,” I answered and set the tray down as she started toward the front door.

  Mac opened the door, and I barely heard her whispered, “Oh my God.”

  As I headed toward her, the boys and Kiyaya turned toward the door to see what was going on.

  “Merry Christmas, sis.” Mac’s brother, Dirk, said as he stood on crutches at the door. He’d barely gotten the words out before she lunged and wrapped her arms around him. Luckily, my dad had been behind Dirk to give him support from the onslaught, or it would have ended with Dirk being taken to the ground.

  “You going to let your brother and Dad in, cariño?”

  Mac held on for a minute longer, then released Dirk and stepped back. “How? When? I thought you weren’t coming?” Mac fired questions at her brother, then she didn’t even give him a chance to answer before she turned to face me. “You did this?”

  I smiled. “I told you, mi hermosa esposa, my beautiful wife. That I’d always give you what you needed.”

  “Evidently, it includes telling your brother that it was time to quit feeling sorry for his damn self and be thankful for the sister who loves him,” Dirk said as he hobbled in on the crutches and my dad followed, shutting the door.

  Mac stared at me, and I didn’t know what to expect, but it sure wasn’t the snort that came from her.

  She continued to look at me as she spoke to Dirk, “Oh please, when did you start holding back on what comes out of your mouth because I know my husband, and he wouldn’t have put that nicely.”

  I chuckled and stuck out my hand. “Nice to meet you, man.”

  Dirk rested his weight on his crutches while he reached out and clasped my hand.

  “Same, man.”

  “Come on, and I’ll introduce you to the boys and Kiyaya. Then you can sit and tell me how your trip here was,” Mac said and led the way into the living room.

  Introductions were made, and after setting my dad and Dirk up with a cup of coffee, the present opening commenced. What had taken Mac hours to get wrapped, was destroyed in no time. Wrapping paper, boxes, clothes, and toys littered the room.

  Later, after the mess had been cleaned up and the tons of food Mac made for dinner was consumed, my brothers had stopped by one by one with their women to meet Mac’s brother.

  Mac and I sat in the living room and watched Tracker and Paxton play video games with Dirk. Kiyaya had gone upstairs to lay down, and my dad had gone to meet with the other dads to share a beer to celebrate the day.

  “He’s lost so much weight,” Mac whispered beside me.

  “He’ll gain it back along with his strength. He’s still recovering, cariño. Give him time. By this time next year, I bet he’s back to the way you remember him.”

  “Not all the way, though.” I knew she referred to his missing leg.

  “He’ll adjust, and so will you.”

  “Something else is on his mind, though. Maybe he’s worried about what he’s going to do after he’s medically discharged.” Mac sighed and laid her head on my shoulder.

  “More than likely,” I answered with no intention of sharing with Mac what I thought it was. I’d noticed, too, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with adjusting to having a prosthetic or being discharged from the military. My guess, it involved a woman.

  “Have I told you today that I love you?” Mac said as she lifted her head and turned to look at me.

  I kissed her, and when I broke the kiss, I leaned my forehead on hers and answered, “Yes, and I hope to hear you say it a lot over the next fifty years.”

  “I’m not sure that’s long enough to love you,” she said, then leaned in and planted a kiss on lips. When she pulled away, she added, “It will probably take me that long to get used to your arrogant ass.”

  I chuckled, then pushed her head back down on my shoulder. I might have said I wanted what my brothers had found, but as I held Mac close and watched Tracker lean over to help Paxton with the controller—I realized I had found much more.

  Epilogue

  Flirt

  I walked into the waiting room on the delivery floor and looked around. My brothers were there with their women and kids. Ally sat between Crusher and Carly, her legs swinging back and forth as she shifted in the seat.

  “How long do babies take?” Ally asked Carly, and I smiled.

  “Well, some come quickly, and others take a while. It depends on how bad they want to come out and meet everyone,” Carly answered her.

  “Well, if they don’t want to come out, why did they go in there first place, Dad?” Paxton looked up at Coast and asked from his seat between Coast and Tracker.

  I sat down beside my brother. “That’s new,” I commented.

  Coast and Mac had filled out adoption papers a month after they started fostering Tracker and Paxton. They didn’t tell the boys, though. My brother didn’t want to jinx it. He’d said that if they shared with the boys and then gotten denied, he feared it would set back the progress they had made with them. After the holidays, they’d gotten the call, and not only had they cleared, they had been given a date for the four of them to go before the judge to make it official.

  Two weeks ago, we all sat in the courtroom as my brother and Mac had become Tracker and Paxton’s parents. The ICWA social worker from the res smiled and congratulated them. She’d been a big supporter of the adoption.

  It hadn’t hurt that the boys had thrived living with Mac and Coast. Tracker’s grades in school were excellent and above average. And Paxton was doing just as well in first grade. It helped that he was at the elementary school where Ally went, and River taught.

  “Yeah, it happened last week. No fanfare or anything. Saturday morning Paxton got up and came downstairs. Mac and I were in the kitchen and he looked at Mac and said, ‘What’s for breakfast, Mommie?’ She spilled her coffee all over the table and while she was wiping it up, trying to hold herself together, Tracker walked in and said, ‘What did you spill, Mom.’ That did it, brother. She handed me the rag and asked me to finish and told the boys she’d be right back. I got the cereal and milk out. Gave the boys each a bowl and spoon, then went to find her. She was in our bedroom crying her eyes out. By that evening, they were calling me dad, and I’m not ashamed to tell you it brought a lump to my throat. Best feeling, brother.”

  “I’m happy for you and glad everything worked out.”

  “Thanks. Can you believe Sami and Luna went into labor on the same day? This shit is crazy,” Coast said and shook his head.

  “It is. Was Mac worried about Luna being early?” I asked. Ghost had lost his first wife and son in a car accident. He joined Black Hawk to work on healing from his loss. I knew my friend had to be worried.

  “She told me on the way here that it isn’t uncommon for twins to come early. She stopped in before you got here and told us both Sami and Luna were doing good. She said the twins were okay, and she didn’t foresee an issue.”

  “Damn, I’m glad.”

  “Dad,” Paxton said, and Coast looked over at the boy.

  “Yeah, Pax.”

  “I asked you why do babies go there if they don’t want to come out?” Paxton asked again since Coast hadn’t answered the first time.

  I chuckled. “Yeah, why do they do it, brother?”

  Coast turned his head back to me and glared. “Seriously
?”

  “You aren’t going to be able to put it off much longer. Not with the way the women are dropping them,” I said and smiled.

  Coast had told us at the shop one day that Paxton asked Mac how she gets the babies out of their mommies. She explained birth so a seven-year-old would understand, but when he followed up and asked how did they get there in the first place, she distracted him with cake and told Coast that was his job. It’d been weeks, and evidently, he still hadn’t sat Paxton down.

  “I’ll get to it. Don’t worry about it,” Coast grumbled and turned back to Paxton.

  “Mommies and daddies get together, and their love puts a baby in the mommy’s belly,” Ally piped in.

  I knew then it was going to go bad. And no sooner than I thought it. It happened.

  “They don’t have to love each other. He just has to stick his dick in—” Tracker stopped before he finished when Coast shoved on his shoulder.

  “You finish that, and I’m going to take the Xbox,” Coast said.

  I put a closed hand to my mouth and feigned a cough to cover my laughter. Devil, Jag, and Crusher, on the other hand, didn’t have a problem laughing out loud.

  River, who sat beside Jag with Poppy on his lap, rubbed her belly, then slapped Jag’s arm. “You won’t think it is funny when Poppy says stuff like that or our son,” she pointed to her stomach.

  Bailey looked at River from her spot. She sat on one side of Neely while Devil sat on the other side of the little girl. “I’d reach over and smack Lance, but we all know the chance this one...” She rubbed her stomach. “...after he is born, not saying or doing inappropriate things is a stretch, and we’d all be in denial.” Every one of us laughed at Devil’s expense.

  “When the babies get here, the boys are going to outnumber the girls five to three. Seven to three once River and Bailey deliver,” I said.

  “That’s cause girls rule, Uncle Flirt,” Neely said.