Say It Ain't So (SWAT Generation 2.0 9)

He winked. “Duly noted. I can do things to her. Torture her. We’ll get you the days off.”

“She can be a real bitch, though. You’ll have to gag her to make sure she doesn’t say things to you that are nasty,” I goaded him.

His eyes flared.

And even though he’d just come twenty minutes ago, I knew that he was hard behind those jeans.

“Fuck, they’ve seen us now. Too late to turn around,” he grumbled as he awkwardly shoved his cock into a more comfortable position.

I would’ve laughed had the door not opened seconds later by his sister and father.

And, dear God. His father was gorgeous.

Sweet mother of pearl.

“Holy shit,” I said softly. “Your daddy is hot.”

He pinched my ass for that comment.

“That’s not funny,” he grumbled.

“I’m at that age,” I said softly. “Where the son and the father are both appealing.”

He snorted and directed me to his dad’s open door.

“Dad, Sierra,” Sammy said as he helped guide me up the stairs. “I’d like you to meet Hastings. Hastings,” he said. “This is my dad, Miller. And that’s my sister, Sierra. Blue’s out with friends, and way too important for family right now.”

“Miller.” I tilted my head. “I’m not all that good with beers. I’m more of a whiskey fan myself, but is it Miller Lite?”

He scoffed. “Miller Genuine,” he answered with a wink.

“My sister’s Sierra Nevada.” Sammy placed his hand on my back. “I have another sister named Blue Moon. Y’all gonna back up and let me in?”

“Sure.” Sierra smiled at me, making my heart warm with her openness. “Sammy told me you were a nurse? I have another friend who’s a nurse named Hastings.”

I was led into a rather large room that had very tall ceilings.

And a wall of windows that made my heart yearn to have the same thing.

“Actually,” I said, “I’m not really a nurse. I graduated with my Bachelor of Nursing from UT. Passed the NCLEX and boards and all that fun stuff. But I didn’t actually get a job.” I paused and turned to smile at Mercy who made her way into the room from a hallway. “I never worked as a nurse. My books took off during my third year. It took everything I had to stay in when that happened. It would honestly hurt me at this point to take the time to work as a nurse than to just do what I want to do anyway.”

Sierra’s eyes were wide with wonder. “Mom downloaded all of your books on Kindle. I’ve already made it through your first ten books. You have a lot of talent.”

“Where should I start?” Miller asked.

Sammy snorted and slapped his dad’s arms on the way past him. “Dad, you want a beer?”

Sierra shook her head. “No, I don’t want anything. Thank you for asking. I have wine.”

Mercy snorted. “We have tea, too, Hastings.”

I nodded eagerly.

“I’ll take that.” I looked to Sammy and started to follow him, but he held his hand up. “I got it, baby.”

Sierra went utterly still beside me.

“Did he just call you baby?” she asked in awe.

I frowned. “Yeah, is that bad?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I just never thought I’d see the day that my big brother found a girl to call his own. I gotta tell you, this is amazing.” She eyed me, trailing her gaze down the length of my midriff. “And a baby. I love babies!”

I felt my face flush. “Uhhh, yeah.” I scrunched my nose up. “We have a while, though. I’m only about eight and a half weeks.”

She rubbed her hands together. “Plenty of time to buy all the things!”

All the things.

That made me grin.

“I’m guessing you really love children,” I teased.

She nodded enthusiastically, and it was then that I saw the resemblance between her and her brother.

They both had the same eyes and the same dimples.

“Who the hell can resist you, Spurlocks?” I blurted. “Dimples? Seriously?”

Mercy burst out laughing. “We were surprised, too. None of the other family members have the dimples. Only these two. And when Sammy smiles, all the girls just fall all over themselves. Until he covers it up with that beard.”

Since I’d met him, Sammy hadn’t had a beard long enough to cover them.

But I imagined he’d pull the beard off just as well as he pulled off the dimples.

“So, Mom, you’re going to watch the dog for me while we go this weekend to the river, right?” Sierra interjected.

Sammy came back with my tea, and we headed out to the back yard where the grill was already puffing out smoke, indicating there was food almost ready.

“I already told you I would, loser,” Miller interjected. “Aren’t y’all worried it’s going to be too cold this weekend?”

I had expressed that same question, but Sammy hadn’t seemed too concerned.

“It’s not even October yet. It’s still ninety degrees. It’ll be fine,” Sierra said.