The emotion playing over Theo’s face was a beautiful thing to watch.
“I’m glad you’ll handle that.” He winked and glanced back down at Hayden. “You ready to go to bed now?”
He nodded and then looked at me. “Night, Dad. Mom, will you tuck me in?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” I walked him up to his room and watched as he climbed under the covers. “Do you need a story?”
He shook his head. “No, thank you. Are you okay with Uncle Theo being my dad?”
“Yes. He’s a good man. I think you’ve chosen wisely.”
My little boy twisted his lip, reminding me a little of his sperm donor. “Will you choose wisely when he asks you to marry him?”
“What makes you think he’ll ask me to marry him?” I mean, it was what I wanted, but still.
Hayden rolled his eyes. “Please Mom. Dad is not stupid, he knows a good thing when it’s in front of him.”
I let out a laugh and kissed the top of his head. “Good night, sweetheart.”
“Night, Mom.”
I switched off his light and pulled his door on just a little. Theo stood waiting for me in the hallway. “He’s not wrong. I need some time to pull off the logistics, but yes, I know when I have a good thing in front of me.”
CHAPTER 29
Theo - Six weekslater
The humming of that neon sign above the door used to irritate me. But, as I gave it one quick glance and considered all it represented, it shone brighter than before. It didn’t flash unnecessarily and most importantly it was the word itself.OPEN
The little neon sign was just below the brand new lightbox. It featured a woman on a horse, backward with a cowboy hat in her hand. The Reverse Cowgirl was open once more and ready for business.
We’d tried to do as much of the renovations as possible while keeping it open. We’d had nights when only part of the bar area was usable, or only a few tables could be accommodated. It was a testament to the kind of establishment that Maggie ran, that people were in there even when the construction zone bordered on dangerous. Her customers remained loyal, and even the late season tourists were willing to ignore the work that needed to be done.
The night was meant to be part soft launch and part celebration. In order to make sure the kids could celebrate with us, Maggie had closed the bar to the public the night before theofficial opening. For just one night, the bar was only open to our friends and family. And we were lucky that so many of them could make it. Even Dom, who had left the army a few weeks earlier, managed to be there. He was newly recruited by Doctors Without Borders and needed to leave first thing in the morning. Both Waite brothers couldn’t make it, but Aidan and Jason were in town and ready to show their support. Of course, Hunter was around and he’d brought his former teammates. One of whom was Maria’s son-in-law. Her son was also in town.
She was back at work, and happy that Maggie was around.
Cat moved up to me. “Hey big bro.”
“Hey.” I blinked a few times. In all the years that Cat had known about her paternity, it was never something she openly spoke about. I gestured around the bar. “What do you think?”
She twirled around, making sure to take everything in. “I think you did good. Thank you. For taking care of all of my sisters while I had to… I couldn’t spend a lot of time in this town after we found out about your dad. I needed to breathe.”
“I’ll always take care of them… of all of you.” She needed to understand that. “Cat we were friends before we found out we were siblings, I was always meant to love you. But does this mean you’re ready to quit the Navy?”
She looked at me as if I had suddenly grown three heads. “No. I finished SEAL training nearly at the top of my class. I have an IQ of 160, and still I struggle to get those assholes to take me seriously. I have a few more points I need to prove.”
I looked over at Maria’s son. He was apparently Cat’s CO. “That asshole part of the problem?”
“No.” Her lips kicked up. “I mean he’s an asshole because he’s an officer, but he’s not sexist. Now, tell me about the proposal you have planned.”
I frowned down at her. “What makes you think I’m proposing?”
“Please.” She giggled, such a sweet sound for such a badass woman. “You have been patting your pocket every few minutes. And you’ve been cracking your knuckles. You are nervous about something. And considering this place looks amazing and is ready for opening night, it has to be something more personal.”
“Fine. Yes.” I shake my head at her. “But I’ll give her a little more time.”
“You know she wants a private proposal, right?” My sister gave me a knowing smile.
