“God, I hope so,” I breathed.
“That makes two of us,” Jake replied.
“Three,” Link added.
We all drank to that.
“I don’t want my little niece or nephew to be a bastard,” Link announced as he poured us another round.
“You think I do?” I asked.
“Well, sounds like you need to marry my sister and keep that shit from happening. By the way, Emily’s pregnant. You have two grandkids baking, Pops.”
“She is?” Jake asked, grabbing his shot glass.
“Yeah. We’ve been waiting to announce it until after her first trimester, just in case, but I’ve been drinking this shit since I got back from the pier and I don’t feel like keeping it a secret anymore. Besides, at least my kid won’t be a bastard,” he added, smirking at me.
My kid wouldn’t be a bastard either. I’d damn well find a way to get Naomi to marry me before it was born and make Link eat those words. “You’re an asshole, you know that?” I asked him.
“Takes one to know one.” He tilted his shot glass my direction. “To the luckiest assholes on the planet. How the fuck did we end up with such great women?”
I had to laugh. It was a damn good toast. “To assholes, and the women who put up with us,” I agreed, throwing back my shot.
Jake had gone quiet, his expression thoughtful as he watched me. Finally, he gave me a chin lift. “Link said something about Naomi getting caught in an ambush while on a CSAR.”
I held my hands in the air. “With all due respect, that’s not my story to tell.”
“No,” he agreed. “But she told you. She doesn’t open up to many people, but she talks to you. I know you didn’t want to be on that roof tonight—that you wanted to be there in the thick of things, exacting your revenge—but you put my girl’s safety above your own pride. You brought her home, and I will forever be grateful for that. You’re a good man, Eagle. She could have done a hell of a lot worse.”
It was high praise coming from Jake, and the significance wasn’t lost on me. He was right, Naomi had trusted me with shit she hadn’t told anyone else. She wasn’t afraid to show me her weakness, because she knew I wouldn’t use it against her. “Thank you, sir.”
“But if you hurt her, I’ll break your neck myself.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. I would like to marry Naomi… when she’s ready.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “And when you do, you’ll have my blessing.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“All right,” Link said, setting his shot glass down for a final time and screwing the lid on the Crown Royal. He picked up the duffel bag of cash from the floor and handed it to me. “Here’s your money back, Eagle. My wife’s upstairs waiting for me and she’s a hell of a lot better to look at than you two. I’m gonna head up while I can still stumble up the stairs.”
It had been nice to clear the air with Link and Jake, but I was ready to find Naomi and take her to bed, too, so I said goodnight and headed for the kitchen.
Naomi
IHAD JUST finished stuffing the last bite of a giant sandwich into my face when Eagle appeared in the kitchen with Dad and Link hot on his heels.
“You all okay now?” I asked, unable to hide my concern. I needed the three most important men in my life to be at peace.
They all nodded.
“You worry too much, Squirt,” Link said, pushing past Dad and Eagle to wrap me in a hug. He smelled like he’d marinated himself in whiskey. It had been one hell of a day, and I didn’t blame him at all. If I could drink, I’d be enjoying a bottle, myself. “All this shit’s not good for the baby. Nothing can happen to that little peanut, because I can’t wait to watch you get fat.”
“What does Emily even see in you?” I asked, shoving him off me.
“Well… I did knock her up,” he replied, his eyes twinkling. “So, there’s that. And she’s probably gonna kill me for telling you all without her.”
“Seriously?” I asked. “Emily’s pregnant?”
