Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“I like the name Catherine Rodriguez Carter.” Rin squeezed my hand. “Don’t you?”
I grinned down at my girl. “It does have a nice ring to it.”
“I like my name, too!” Cillian crowed. “Cillian Rodriguez Carter!”
Cillian’s name was a mouthful, and he’d butchered it in the cutest way.
“You two are too cute,” Shayne teased.
The two of them jumped up and down, squealing in delight. “Let’s put up our Christmas tree to celebrate!”
I looked over at my wife.
The woman who held so much of my heart. “What do you say, Mama?”
Shayne’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m so happy and sad all at the same time. I hope he’s okay.”
I pulled her into my arms as the kids ran in front of us excitedly. “He’s not okay, honey. I saw the way his eyes filled with pain. But he’s doing what’s good for the kids.”
“I know.” She swallowed hard. “But that doesn’t make it any easier on me.”
“I know,” I repeated her earlier words. “But those kids deserve happiness after the life they’ve lived. And we’ll give it to them.”
“We will,” she promised.
SHAYNE
“Why are you putting up a Christmas tree in July?” Gable asked as he looked around the living room.
My stomach summersaulted at the sight of him.
And the sight of the others who were right on his heels.
Every single child, spouse, and grandchild filed through the door. Some of them were dressed for work, since we’d called them over in an emergency.
Ande was dressed in pajama pants, looking frazzled.
Hell, even Keene had come straight from the circus in his ringmaster getup.
Drawing in a deep breath, I said, “Because as of today, we officially adopted Catherine and Cillian.”
Gable’s mouth dropped open. “You what?”
There was a chorus of cheers.
“The mom gave up her rights. As of four hours ago, we’re their parents,” I said as I stared at my family. “And they said they wanted to celebrate by putting up the tree. So we’re putting up the tree!”
Gable took two large steps in my direction, then threw his arms around me, and squeezed me tight. “This is fucking amazing!”
“Good morning, my sperms,” Germaine said as he came into the room brandishing a box of Christmas stuff. He was the first one we told, hoping he’d be able to smooth the way to get all of the Carters here to celebrate. He’d come through ten-fold. “Time to decorate for the holidays.”
There were groans from every Carter in the room—at least the ones biologically related to him, anyway.
“Gross, Dad,” Ande said. “And there are children here.”
“What are sperms?” Tex asked.
Nobody answered him.
Quinn came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest.
“I’m scared, Soleada.”
I looked up at him over my shoulder and said, “Yeah, but in a good way. In a fantastic, this is a great life, kind of way.”
He dropped his forehead to mine. “Do you want some more good news?”
I turned in his arms so that I could see him more clearly. “Of course.”
He flashed me a grin before saying, “Elliette suffered a traumatic brain injury today.”
My mouth dropped open. “You think that’s good news?”
He shrugged, not even a little bit repentant. “It means that she’s never going to be a problem again. According to the doctors, she tried to fight a woman three times her size and lost. When the woman punched her, she snapped her head back so hard her brain pummeled the inside of her skull. Right now, Elliette is talking like a three-year-old.”
I shook my head. “To be honest, I think it would’ve been better knowing she was in there, fully aware of the hell she deserved to be in.”
“True,” he pouted, then sobered up fast. “But the idea that she’s never going to be able to file an appeal? That makes me fucking ecstatic. In the off chance that she actually won, I didn’t want her getting off any earlier than she deserved.”
When he put it that way…
“Okay,” I teased. “I guess that’s a good thing when you put it like that.”
He winked at me, but his attention was diverted when Rin ran up to him, her arms extended. “Daddy! Swing me!”
Daddy, swing me.
Three words.
But three words that had enough power to simultaneously break my heart, and then repair it.
Costas wouldn’t be here to watch them grow. But they’d know him.
They’d know that, once upon a time, Costas was my savior. My confidant. My everything.
And maybe, just maybe, one day he’d go back to being that person again.
“Let’s go, Mama!” Cillian caught my hand. “We’re gonna go play chicken in the pool. I need a partner.”
Garnett snickered as we all headed out to the pool five minutes later.
“Christmas in July indeed.”
I flashed her a grin.
Then spent time with my newly formed forever family.