Romanced by the Malones (Haven, Texas) Read online

  “You know that’s the last cookie.”

  “Is it? And that matters because . . .”

  “Come on, darling Mia. Beautiful Mia. Light of my life. Please, give a starving man a cookie.”

  She looked him over. “You’re hardly starving.”

  He placed his hand over his chest with a dramatic gasp. “Wounded. Are you saying I’m fat?” He stood and raised his shirt up, pressing at his impressive set of abs. She rolled her eyes.

  “There’s a pantry full of food and you think I’m gonna give you my cookie?”

  “Pleeease,” he begged.

  There would be few women in the country who could resist a Malone man when they begged.

  Luckily for her she was one of them.

  She lowered the cookie and his face fell.

  “Oh, for goodness sake. Here, we’ll split it.” She broke the cookie in two and handed him half.

  He let out a whoop and jumped to his feet, smacking a kiss on her cheek.

  Fool.

  “There a reason why you’re kissing my wife?”

  She turned at Alec’s bark. He raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Yes! Because she is the best.” Raid stuffed the rest of the cookie in his mouth and raced out while Alec glowered at him.

  He walked over and kissed her. “You’re too lenient on them.”

  “They’re not children.”

  “They’re worse than children,” he muttered. “Our son won’t be that much trouble.”

  “Our daughter could be,” she countered, rubbing her belly. It was an ongoing debate about what sex their child was going to be. Alec wouldn’t even entertain the idea of a daughter. Apparently, the only Malone girl to be born in three generations was Lottie, Alec’s cousin.

  While they’d decided to wait to find out the sex, she had made Doc check several times to ensure that she wasn’t carrying twins. He’d reassured her there was definitely only one baby in there.

  Alec just grunted. “You all right, kitten?”

  “Yeah, just got a bit of a sore back.” She smiled at him. She didn’t want to make too big a deal out of it.

  He frowned. “I’ll rub it for you.”

  She leaned forward and he massaged her lower back. She let out a sigh of satisfaction. That was so good.

  “Maybe you should stay home tonight.”

  “No. No way. Not happening. I want my girls’ night, Alec.” There was a week left until Christmas Day. Then the baby was due on the tenth of January. It might be the last chance she had to have a night out with the girls in a while and she wasn’t giving it up.

  He sighed. “A compromise then.”

  Okay, that surprised her, she felt sure that he was going to order her to stay home. He tapped her nose. “I’m not a complete ogre, kitten.”

  “Of course you’re not. I just thought you might try to put me to bed and keep me there.”

  “I’m going to put you to bed. You can take a nap. There’s a cold front coming in so I’m just going to check on the horses and lock things down. Then I’ll come help you get ready for your girls’ night. You remember all the rules?”

  “I don’t know, there’s a lot of them. I might forget one or two.”

  “You do that, baby, and we might just have to have a repeat of the other night. Did you enjoy having to hold off on your orgasm?”

  “I remember them, I remember them,” she said hastily, ignoring his chuckle.

  Damn. He was gonna be the death of her.

  6

  Mia giggled as Molly held up her latest knitted creation.

  “What is it?” Aspen asked, staring at it sideways.

  “It’s a Christmas sweater for Jake. Isn’t it obvious?”

  The monstrosity was a sort of putrid green and there was a big brown blob at the front. The blob of brown then had bits of red coming off it. Like it was dripping blood.

  “Ooh, is that for one of those ugly sweater contests?” Flick asked.

  Molly sighed and put the sweater down “No, it’s not. Damn it, he’s not going to wear it, is he? No matter how hard I try, I never get any better.”

  Mia leaned over and rubbed her back. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”

  He wouldn’t. That was if he could even get it on, because it looked about two sizes too small for the hunky sheriff, not to mention that one arm was several inches shorter than the other.

  Molly gave her a doubtful look.

  “I still don’t understand what it is,” Aspen said, finishing off her pink cocktail.

  “It’s Rudolf!” Molly explained.

  “Oh, what’s the red stuff? Is he bleeding?” Flick asked innocently.

  “No.” Molly groaned and leaned back against the sofa. Savannah patted her shoulder.

  Mia was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes as her phone went off. With a groan, she dug it out of her handbag.

  “Alec?” Molly asked.

  She read the text message. “Yep.”

  “How many times does that make now?” Flick asked. “Ten?”

  “More like twelve,” Laken said with a grin.

  “Not like you all haven’t had plenty of texts from your men, checking in with you.”

  “He said that one of the mares is sick, so West will pick me up.”

  Flick’s phone went off. “West said he’s on his way. Darn it, do you think I have time for another drink?”

  “Definitely,” Molly drawled. “Make him wait if you’re not finished.”

  “Make him wait? West Malone? Have you met him? Big? Grumpy? Scowly? Is scowly a word?” Flick asked, obviously tipsy.

  “I think so,” Mia said. “If it’s not, it could go in the dictionary with a picture of West beside it.”

  They all giggled at that.

  “I’ll make you another drink, Flick. Mia, another virgin daiquiri before you go?” Laken asked.

  “Ooh, yes please.” They were delicious.

  “Me too,” Aspen added. “Except make mine without the virgin part.” She giggled to herself.

  “Saxon is going to have some fun tonight,” Molly whispered to her with a wink.

  If anyone deserved to let their hair down, it was Aspen. She was a mom to two gorgeous twin boys. And she lived with one of the sexiest, most dominant men Mia had ever met.

  Yep, Saxon was totally gonna have fun with tipsy Aspen tonight.

  Mia and Flick were mostly finished with their drinks before a big, booming knock sounded at the door.

  “That will be my husband-to-be,” Flick said cheerfully.

  Molly got up to open the door. When West walked in, a cheer went up from the women in the room. He narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Seems you’re all having fun.”

  “Take your gear off!” Aspen yelled.

  West’s eyebrows rose as Mia giggled, attempting to stand.

  “Yeah, take it off, baby,” Flick cheered.

  West walked over and held out a hand to Mia, hauling her up out of the sofa. “Saxon is in for an entertaining night,” he said, eyeing the usually quiet Aspen as she danced around on her seat to a beat only she could hear.

  “So are you, my friend.” Mia nodded over at an equally tipsy Flick.

  West’s eyes grew heated as he stared at her. “Hmm, maybe you should have these girls’ nights more often.”

  “I’ve just got to pee. Then I’m ready to go.”

  He nodded.

  When she returned to the room, Flick was protesting about having to leave and was trying to convince West to dance. Oh, that wasn’t going to end well. West was not a dancer.

  Without a word, he crouched and threw Flick over his shoulder.

  “Hey!” She smacked her hands against his back. “West Malone, you set me down right now, you big Neanderthal.”

  “Ready?” he asked Mia.

  She nodded, holding back her laughter as she grabbed her handbag and Flick’s. She quickly said goodnight to everyone. West waited by the front door as she w
addled towards them.

  Flick had her hands on his ass, massaging it. “Ooh, this is so pretty. You have a pretty ass, West.”

  “Your ass is gonna look pretty when I take my hand to it later,” West growled at her.

  “Do you promise?”

  Mia bit her lower lip in amusement as West rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated.

  He opened the door for Mia, then stepped through and shut it behind him before offering her his free arm. She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow.

  “I think she needed this,” West said.

  Flick, who was singing the theme to The Love Boat, wasn’t paying them any attention.

  “She’s been so busy with this wedding shit,” he said. “Wish I’d just chucked her in the truck and driven to Las Vegas to elope.”

  “No, you don’t,” she told him as they reached his truck. He opened the passenger side door for her, helping her up before placing Flick in the back. “Then she’d be miserable.”

  West grunted. “I’m miserable.” He belted Flick in as she now moved on to singing the Gilligan’s Island theme song.

  “Poor baby,” Mia commiserated as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Is wee Westie not getting any action?” She tried to pull the belt over her huge belly. Damn it, why wouldn’t it reach? Why did everything have to be so difficult?

  “There’s nothing wee about any part of me,” he told her as he grabbed the belt and did it up for her. He started up the truck and warm air blasted her.

  “Things will calm down. You didn’t give her a lot of time to get this organized.”

  He grunted. “Figured it would just be a simple affair. Didn’t realize she’d want some sort of Cinderella type wedding. There’s going to be bows on the chairs. Fucking bows on chairs. Who does that?”

  “Flick, apparently.”

  West just grunted. They heard a soft snore from the back seat. Mia smiled and tried to turn on the sound system, but she couldn’t reach the controls.

  West sighed and turned it on for her. “All I want for Christmas” came on and he groaned. Mia started singing along just to annoy him.

  She had to get her kicks where she could.

  “Enough,” he growled, reaching to change the channel once that song finished. Suddenly something jumped out in front of the truck, caught briefly by the headlights. It was brown and huge, with enormous horns.

  “West!” she yelled.

  West turned the truck to the side, slamming on the brakes as the thing jumped away. She was wrenched forward, her breath leaving her in a whoosh. There wasn’t even time to scream as the front of the truck hit a tree.

  Her head hit the door. Then there was nothing.

  7

  The doctor finished examining her head. “All right, I’ve placed some butterfly bandages on the cut. It’s not bad enough for stitches and it shouldn’t scar. It looks like you haven’t got a concussion. Your blood pressure is slightly high, however—”

  “Where the hell is my wife?” a voice roared through the emergency department.

  The doctor who’d been looking after her since she arrived, straightened and glared at the direction of the voice. “Who is that? Why isn’t security dealing with him? He can’t come in yelling like that. Excuse me, dear, I’ll go see what’s going on.”

  “Actually, doctor, you might want to bring him in here, he’s—”

  “Well? Where is she? Mia Malone. I want you to take me to her right now!”

  “My husband,” she finished, giving the doctor a wan smile.

  The doctor’s eyes widened. “Right. I see. Well, let me see if I can go—”

  The curtain was ripped back, and standing there in all his fear-induced fury was Alec. He froze, staring at her, his eyes taking her all in, cataloging every injury.

  She knew he had to be terrified. The nurse said they’d found his contact details on her records since she was registered here for her birth. That same nurse had reassured her that she’d check to see whether Flick and West were all right, although she hadn’t returned yet, which was worrying Mia. What if they were seriously hurt?

  The last thing she remembered before blacking out was something jumping in front of the truck. Then she’d woken up in the back of an ambulance being taken to the hospital in Freestown.

  She’d never been more terrified in her life, completely worried that something was going to happen to the baby. She’d been so relieved when the doctor told her he could hear the baby’s heartbeat that she’d actually cried.

  “Alec, I’m all right.” He turned to the doctor, who was glaring at him.

  “Sir, I get that you’re upset. But there are other patients in the ER, and you’re disturbing them. You need to calm down.”

  “I got a call that my wife, my very pregnant wife, was in the emergency department having been in a car accident. I spent the entire drive here, terrified she was badly injured, that the baby was in trouble. And you expect me to calm down?”

  “Alec, I’m all right. I promise. I just had a hit to the head and I’m a bit bruised. That’s all.”

  “That’s all?” Alec’s face was filled with thunder.

  “She’s right. There’s a small scrape on her forehead. Nothing major. She lost consciousness for a short while, but her pupils look good. Although her blood pressure is slightly elevated. Likely due to the stress of the accident. There’s no vaginal bleeding and the baby’s heartbeat is strong, but we were just about to do an ultrasound to make sure.”

  “You do that,” Alec said.

  “Okay, I’ll go get that ordered. Uh, she should be kept calm and quiet.”

  “Got it.”

  The doctor, who didn’t look any less alarmed, slipped from the room.

  “Alec, I really am okay,” she whispered.

  “Hush. Just, fuck, shit.” He moved towards her and, leaning in, rested his cheek against hers, hugging her gently. “Shit. Fuck. You have got to stop scaring me like this, Mia. I can’t take it.”

  “I’m sorry. I know how scared you must have been getting that call.”

  He drew back, staring down at her. “Only time I’ve ever been that scared is when you were kidnapped.” He brushed some hair off her face, and she noticed his hand was shaking.

  “I’m here, Alec. I’m all right. The baby is too. I promise.”

  He nodded but she could still see fear lingering in his eyes.

  “Mia, fuck, if I lost you . . .”

  “I know,” she whispered. “I know because I feel the same.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment and drew in a breath.

  “Where is she?” a loud voice boomed.

  She winced. Shit. She knew that voice.

  “Where’s our sister?”

  Someone said something in a calm, low voice.

  “No, we won’t wait out in the waiting room,” another Malone yelled.

  “You take us to her right the fuck now!”

  She closed her eyes with a wince. Shit. “I’m not going to be able to give birth here now. I’ll have a black mark against my name. We need to switch to a home birth.”

  “Like fuck. You’re having the baby here where there is equipment and drugs if you need them. And there better damn well not be a black mark against your name or someone will answer to me.”

  “Wait, you can’t just barge in on a patient,” a woman said loudly. “Sir!”

  The curtain was wrenched open once again. In walked Beau, looking stressed. “Shit. Thank fuck. She’s in here!”

  He was quickly followed by Maddox. Then Jaret. Butch pushed Raid aside in his haste to get to her. Tanner followed, frowning.

  “Jeez, Patty’s bar must be empty right now,” she said dryly.

  “Shit. Is she all right? Alec?” Butch asked.

  “She’s got a bandage on her head? Did she hit it?” Raid demanded.

  “What about the baby? Is the baby okay?” Beau asked, reaching out to touch her belly. Alec smacked his hands away.

  “No t
ouching. The doctor said she’s all right. No concussion. Baby’s heartbeat is good. They’re gonna do an ultrasound to be sure.”

  “Also, she’s right here. You could ask her, uh, me,” she said awkwardly.

  “Sorry, sweetheart,” Jaret said with a soft smile. “We’ve just been frantic ever since Alec called us.”

  “Took you long enough,” Alec muttered. “I beat you here.”

  “I had to round up all these idiots,” Jaret defended himself.

  “You really are all right, Mia?” Beau asked in a gentle voice.

  “I am. I promise. I’m worried about West and Flick, though. Could someone go find them?”

  “Fuck,” Alec spat out. “I should have asked at the front desk. Jaret?”

  “On it,” Jaret said. “Butch, Raid, and Tanner you’re with me.”

  They all disappeared out of the cubicle just as the doctor pushed a portable ultrasound machine in.

  “About time,” Alec snapped.

  “Alec, calm down. I’m going to be all right.”

  Alec grumbled something under his breath.

  “You can’t go around intimidating everyone,” she scolded him.

  “Why not?”

  Lord. He really was exasperating.

  The doctor looked over at Beau and Maddox in alarm. “Um, are they staying for this as well? Are they involved?”

  Involved? What did he mean by involved? Her face flamed as it clicked. “They’re my brothers-in-law.”

  “Oh, oh right.” The doctor gave her a flustered look.

  “Who did you think we were?” Beau asked with a cheeky glint in his eyes.

  “Um, well, I . . .”

  “Why, brother, I do believe he thought we were her other men,” Maddox said teasingly.

  “He thought Mia had herself a twin sandwich as well as Big Dog over there,” Beau added.

  The doctor stared at them in horror.

  “Will you two stop?” she asked them with exasperation. “They really are my brothers-in-law.”

  The doctor nodded as he set up the machine. “So, twins run in the family?”

  “What do you mean by that?” she squeaked. “Are you saying that I might be having twins? Alec, tell him that I’m not having twins.”