CHAPTER 25
Sunday, Bo spent a good deal of the morning at the SNB offices, while Lucky and Ty cleaned the house, bought groceries, and in general got their home ready for a new arrival.
Lucky’s chest and arm still hurt, but like hell would he let a few injuries slow him down.
Much.
All while chasing Andro across the floor, and dealing with two more teeth coming in. Moose insisted on the attention he didn’t get while kenneled at the vet—and possibly missing Charlotte—while Cat Lucky lay on the back of the couch, in the same position, for a solid six hours, only leaving his perch for the whir of the can opener.
Lucky called Charlotte—again. “Sure I can’t bring you some breakfast or something? Scrambled eggs and black beans?”
“Scrambled eggs and… eww. No. Just… No.” Mumbling in the background, and Charlotte giggled. So, not there alone. Probably Jimmy.
Still, she giggled. How long since she’d been truly happy? He couldn’t begrudge her that. Bo would kill him if he tried.
“I’m sorry, Lucky. I really tried to hold off until your birthday, but once this little girl made her mind up to be born… Whoot! I was only in labor about four hours. Anyhoo, they’re letting us out of here around three. I’ll text when I’m ready for you to come get us.”
At least she didn’t say she’d catch a ride with Jimmy. Lucky had been looking forward to picking them up at the hospital.
The first of many calls from the gate sounded at noon. Oh, great. Here they came.
All bearing gifts. As Rett said,“We missed giving y’all a baby shower.”
Bo’s aunt and uncle arrived first on their Harleys, his brother Drew in tow, followed by Lucky’s mother and father—still not speaking much, but at least riding in the same car. Todd arrived from Clemson with a girlfriend. Chelsea showed up a few minutes later, and the brothers’ girlfriends launched into a giggle fest two minutes after meeting.
While the family hung out in the living room, Lucky wrested Andro away from his pouting mother. “Richmond, I’m his grandma, I can put him down for a nap.”
Lucky patted his mother’s shoulder. “Why don’t you stay out here and socialize, since you don’t get to see Bo’s folks much.” He grabbed his son, hiding a grimace. Like hell would he tell his mother he’d been shot, and have her make an even bigger fuss. Instead, he retreated to the nursery. His chest still ached, but he’d no intention of not holding his boy because of a little pain.
Besides, taking Andro gave him an excuse to escape so many people. He let out a relieved breath and sat in the rocking chair, even knowing that Bo’s aunt and his mother were going to swap Little Lucky and Little Bo stories. While he loved everyone in the room out there—with the exception of the nephews’ girlfriends, who he didn’t know well, he could only take so much chitchat before feeling the need to retreat.
A chorus of “Hey, Bo!” sounded from the living room. Double hallelujah. Now Bo could navigate the socializing.
Ten minutes later, Bo found Lucky holding a sleeping baby in his lap. He bent and gave Lucky a kiss. “Hey, Lucky. What ‘cha doing hiding out in here?”
“Rocking Andro to sleep.”
One side of Bo’s mouth quirked up. “Looks like he’s good and asleep to me.”
“Well, he could always wake up. You know how cranky he is if he doesn’t finish his nap.” Or how cranky Papa got with too many people around.
Bo drew back in mock horror, waving his hands in front of him. “Oh no! Not that!” He chuckled and kissed Lucky again.
“You’re in a good mood.”
The smile fell. “Only because I insist on leaving work at work. Today is for family. Our family. Our friends. We can deal with everything else tomorrow.”
“What happened?”
“Put him down and we’ll talk in the bedroom. Just the highlights though. I’m not going to spoil today.”
“Okay.”
Lucky tucked Andro into his crib and joined Bo on the bed in their room. “What’s up?”
“It’s a mess. Southwestern, Southeastern, and even Northeastern, who we don’t deal with much, all were part of this conspiracy. Forsyth Pharmaceuticals is also under investigation, as well as some other pharma companies. Like you thought, part of the plan involved bringing in cheap raw materials and counterfeit drugs from Mexico.” Bo ran a hand over his face and flopped back on the bed. “I’m afraid it’ll be months before we see the end of this. On the plus side, the ties with Mexico make this case international, so the burden doesn’t fall completely on us.”
“O’Donoghue?”
