Daddy Undercover (Crescent Cove 9)

My fingers tightened on the steering wheel.

No ripples. No waves.

Was I supposed to be thankful that someone like Jared wanted me? It was an instant family for me too. Everything I ever wanted. A woman like me who might not have the chance to have a baby should be grateful.

The bones of my knuckles went white against my skin and the leather squeaked.

Check and check.

He could take his checkboxes and shove them up his butt.

“I’m not a checkbox,” I said to the rearview mirror.

Sami waved a hand at me and let out a peal of laughter.

“Damn right.”

I flipped my signal and turned off at Lakeview Road. Dark came quickly this time of year, but The Mason Jar was a beacon along the shoreline. It was lit up for Christmas with a mix of the traditional lights and the very specific mason jar lights he used for everything from the lamps at the front of the building to the custom hurricane lamps he’d had made for the porch and deck along the back.

There was a new addition of a Christmas tree on the front porch. As we pulled into the parking lot, Sami’s attention was riveted on the lights. Ever curious, she flailed with excitement the closer we came to the front.

They were doing a brisk business, but I found a close spot near the building. Instead of lugging in the portable carseat, I grabbed the baby strap-on carrier. Jared had trained her into loving the face out situation, and while her neck wasn’t quite strong enough to wear her that way, she did love the stimulation of looking around.

I got the various Velcros tightened around us both, grabbed her diaper bag, then gave her an up-close view of the fifteen-foot tree on the porch. The scrabble of nails behind me gave me a quick head’s up of Sadie’s presence before she tried to mow me down.

I crouched down so she couldn’t take me out at the knees. She instantly gave me and the baby a tongue bath before she climbed on my knee to get closer to her baby. Because there was no doubt that in Sadie’s mind, that baby was hers.

Mason leaned in the doorway. So similar to his brother and yet miles different. Where Jared could almost look stiff and overbearing sometimes, Mason exuded a chill vibe about ninety percent of the time. In the kitchen, he was a fair bit different, but he was more of a finishing touches and flourishes kind of guy.

He didn’t want to be the chef. He was the one with the vision and more drive than I’d given him credit for. He was the charmer to Jared’s rigid sense of responsibility.

And that part of Jared was what scared me. Responsibilities were in his actual DNA. I knew he’d never physically leave me. But would he sacrifice a happier life to stay with me?

I wasn’t sure I could risk that. Because while Jared didn’t think he was father material, he was made for it in every way.

Mason straightened up. “Pretty sure Jared’s trainer was a failure when it came to this one. She’s a terror.”

I tucked my face into her fluffy neck. “We like her just as she is, right, Sami?”

Sami excitedly booped the dog’s nose, and Sadie’s tongue lolled out happily. Sami’s delighted laughter made both of us reply in kind.

Mason crouched beside me and tapped a little mason jar hurricane lamp that looked a lot like the ones on the porch. “We added the new munchkin to the tree.”

My eyes misted at Samantha’s name etched in the glass with the glow of a soft pink light behind it. “Oh, Mason, Jared will just love it.”

Mason grunted. “If he notices such things.”

I stood and the baby’s flailing fist found my hair. “Whoosh, you have a grip.”

“She looks so pleased with herself.” Mason touched Sami’s cheek. “None of us were ready for her, but I can’t imagine life without her now.”

The pang turned into a roar of emotion. “I can’t either.”

“Good thing you don’t. My brother is crazy about you. Glad he finally got his head out of his ass.”

“What do you mean?”

“That idiot has been in love with you for years.”