“It’s psychological warfare,” Cord reasoned, “think about it. Your mind is playing tricks on you. You’re looking at nothing but worst-case scenarios—all day, every day. Every time you turn on the TV and flip to the news, you see something bad. You need to block all that crap out and focus onAmy.”
At least he hoped it would be, because he sure as hell knew absolutely nothing about being a part of a real, functional family. Ranger stared right through him, his shell-shocked expression mirroring that of a newbie soldier fresh out of his firstgunfight.
The door swung open again, and this time Hoyt Crow staggered into the kitchen, his normally tan face pale. “You leftme.”
Ranger grunted. Cord scooted back, giving Hoyt room to pass him and collapse in his chair. His long curly blonde hair hung ragged around his ears, concealing a few of his scars, and his T-shirt had a huge wet stain on the leftshoulder.
“Spill your drink?” Cordasked.
Hoyt shook his head, his mouth tight. “Hank Junior threw up on me. Evie made me hold him for practice.” Hank Junior was Ranger’s nephew, the toddler son of Hunter James, their teamleader.
Hoyt peeled his shirt off his shoulder, took a big sniff andfrowned.
Cord scooted back a couple of inches, not wanting to get anywhere near the kid’s vomit. “You should have told herno.”
Ranger and Hoyt both looked at him like he’d grown two heads. “Are you serious? Hunter would’ve taken my head off. No one tells his wifeno.”
Cord would have told her no. He’d never held a kid and he didn’t intend to start anytime soon. “Tell me why we’re here again? I thought baby showers were just forchicks.”
Hoyt glared at Ranger, pulling the scar down the left side of his face tight. “Because my fiancée is having a baby. And so isRanger’s.”
“Hey, that’s your fault, not mine,” Cord blurtedout.
Hoyt’s expression hardened, just like Cord had hoped it would. He was sick and tired of all this moping and worrying. Half his entire team had turned into women. They used to go out on the range together, empty a couple of clips into thirteen-gallon jugs just for fun. While Cord had been out of commission, TF-S had only taken one mission. One. That was about a ninety percentdowngrade.
“If you don’t watch your mouth, the two of us are going to kick your ass.” Hoyt crossed his arms, and while they were smaller than Cord’s and Ranger’s, his biceps were no less ripped. “And don’t expect us to take it easy on you because you’ve been in rehabforever.”
Cord grinned at Hoyt, feeling momentarily reassured. This was what he missed—shooting the shit with his teammates, having them treat him like one of the guys, not some brokenthing.
Amy poked her head in through the door. “Hey babe, can you come carry this stroller out on the porch? There’s not enough room for the kids to play with it in the middle of thefloor.”
Before Ranger had time to respond, Cord got to his feet. “I’ll do it. I think Ranger and Hoyt need some bondingtime.”
Amy beamed at him. “Perfect, Mack wanted to talk to you anyway. He’s on the frontporch.”
“Did you open my present yet?” Cord approach the door, the din of squealing growing louder with eachstep.
Amy rolled her eyes. “Number one, I’m not allowed to drink while I’m pregnant orbreastfeeding.”
“The tequila wasn’t for you, it was for this poor guy.” Cord hooked a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing toRanger.
“Well, in that instance, thank you on behalf of both of us.” Amy stepped back and pulled the door open wide. “But your second gift wasn’t muchbetter.”
“I couldn’t buy tequila without buying the lime salt and Margarita mix. What kind of cousin would I be if I only gave you half thedrink?”
He stepped through the door, and Amy surprised him by reaching out and pulling him close as soon as the door shut behind them. “I’ve missedyou.”
Cord awkwardly patted her on the back, unsure how to handle such an outward show of emotion. “You too,cuz.”
“Thank you for being here for Ranger,” she said quietly, “I’ve been worried abouthim.”
Cord’s hesitation melted and he enfolded her in a warm—yet loose—hug. He wasn’t sure if he could actually push on her belly without hurting the baby and he wasn’t taking any chances where that was concerned. “He’ll be okay. Long as you’re there to walk him through it. After all, he’s done all the work so far. Can’t blame the man for being wornout.”
Amy chuckled and punched him in the shoulder. “I can’t wait for the day when you fall in love and start your ownfamily.”
“Then you will be waiting for a long, long time.” Cord tapped her on the nose and entered the chaos in the living room. He had no intention of spreading his father’s genes to any unsuspecting innocent. The thought made his stomachroll.
There were just some people in this world who weren’t made for families and the Carter clan was the primoexample.
