“You don’t think I haven’t heard Gabby telling you not to make the mud you call coffee?” Patch snapped. “Whoever called it morning sickness needs a swift kick in the ass. It happens all the time. Claire barely gets to sleep before she’s jumping up to run to the bathroom.”
Leo shook his head as he sat down with a handful of folders. “You two act as if they’re the first two women ever to give birth.”
Shadow laughed. “Coming from the man who made us practice every route to the hospital carrying dummy dolls through town.”
“Let’s not forget the man bra,” Taco reminded them.
“No, the city playground for one kid cinches it for me,” Saint called out, laughing.
“Sit down and shut up,” Leo grumbled. “Patch, maybe you can think about ways to help Claire through morning sickness with another week of latrine duty.”
“But I didn’t say anything,” Patch protested. “I made the bacon.”
“Do we see any meat? The proofs in the pudding,” Leo retorted. “I’m tired of you trying to get out of cooking duty.”
Patch scowled and punched Knight in the arm.
Leo didn’t glance up from his paperwork as he called, “Make it two weeks and Knight gets to join you. He can scrub the bathroom with a toothbrush for bellyaching.”
Hannah bit her lip as she sat beside Scarlett, recalling she needed to call her Sparky at work.
“It’s a nice surprise to see you here, Stormy,” Leo continued. “How’s the office coming? If you need anything for it, charge it to my account. Bear sent you a list by email of where we have them set up. We prefer to support our small businesses here in Serenity, but if you can’t find it here, we can get it in Seattle.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind,” she said as Shadow sat beside her.
The other men joined the group as they grabbed their breakfast.
“I’ve sent over the proposal for the contractor job to take down Cole’s boss. We’ll know later this week if we got the job. Bear will return next week full-time. Congratulations to Patch and Knight on their new additions. Can we do anything to help with Claire’s morning sickness, or does Gabby need anything?”
Both men shook their heads and grinned from ear to ear.
“Cole will be at the training facility and the hospital this week. He’s helping Kassie include the seniors in the hospital’s annual Christmas party. It’s our goal to send them home with enough provisions to get them through the winter months. Cole made a list of things he’s noticed, but feel free to chime in if you know something. We’re covering any heating issues they may encounter in the next couple of months. Kassie’s hoping this will cut down on the emergency room visits if they stay warm at home.”
“What did you volunteer us for this year?” Shadow asked.
“You and Ragu will bring the trees to the hospital. Saint and I will deliver the holiday meals Randy made to the community center. Knight and Patch will supervise the teens while they decorate the hospital. No rearranging the stocking holders to say ‘Boobs’ or ‘Poop,’” Leo ordered.
“Why do we get the kids?” Patch said. “You didn’t assign Sparky and Stormy anything.”
“They’ll be helping with secret Santa families and delivering gifts,” Leo explained. “Let’s get into the Christmas Spirit, people. You know how much this means to the kids and veterans. We can’t expect our wives to do all the shopping and wrapping after adding the seniors to the list.”
“I’m happy to do it, boss. The economy has hurt many families here. More families come to the community center for food than in the past years,” Taco spoke up.
“I’ve noticed the seniors dressing in layers because of their heating bill or they don’t have coats,” Cole volunteered.
“All the more reason to get started. We’ll aid as many as we can. Things will slow over the holiday unless we hear from Julio Hernandez on Rebecca’s whereabouts. We’ll finish up our remaining contracts locally and see what we hear from the Middle East regarding the contract. Spend as much time as you can with your family. Team Hawk will spin up first. Alpha Team will follow,” Leo informed them.
With the meeting over, Hannah returned to her office. Cole stepped inside and closed the door. “Did you decide to meet your parents for dinner?”
She frowned. “Yeah. I’m still dreading it. When I did something in my teens, I got a lecture.”
“Why don’t I go with you?” he asked.
She started to say no, but changed her mind. “It’s a great idea,” she said. “I don’t want any outbursts in public. Can we invite them to our cabin?”
“No. Ty’s will work as neutral territory. It’s quiet and relaxing. If you invite them to the cabin, you can’t walk away.”
“Good thinking. Can we take Brody to Ty’s?” she asked.
