Louie howled in the background, giving his agreement as well.
Epilogue
They decided not to open the envelope. Not right then, anyway. Later, after they had a chance to talk about everything, they might change their minds, but for now the envelope stayed under the cactus magnet on the fridge.
Lincoln’s entire SEAL Team came over the next night to celebrate. Mary arrived early to supervise the troops and to make sure BB didn’t do too much.
“When did you know I was pregnant?” BB asked as soon as the men left, looking at her friend closely.
Mary laughed, propping her hip against the kitchen counter. Her nose scrunched with guilt. “When we went to get our nails done months ago.”
BB’s mouth dropped open. “No way! That was before I even knew!”
Mary shrugged, tearing the plastic from a cheese block. “I’ve had three kids and I’ve helped more wives than I can count. But I wasn’t going to say anything until you told Lincoln.”
BB hugged her tight. “Thank you for that. I felt like crap not telling you.”
Mary laughed. “Well, you can feel like crap if you want but I understood. I think we should go celebrate and not worry about it.”
Sounded good to her.
When she walked out the door her eyes found Lincoln quickly. He stood with his buddies around the grill, looking dangerous in his faded t-shirt and tan shorts. Actually, all of the men had that look, but Lincoln was the one her heart had fallen in love with.
As if he felt her look he glanced up, the brilliant piercing color of his eyes locking on hers. And he smiled. Only for her. His gaze fell to her baby bump, slightly more visible in the dress she wore today. Then he looked back up and mouthed ‘I love you’. She mouthed it back and was struck with how ridiculously sappy she was any more.
Now that he was home, though, she wouldn’t change anything.
Louie raced down the stairs, chasing one of the many kids in the yard, and BB shook her head. Oh, Louie…
,
Christmas Raine
The first three stories were about previous couples, but this one is about a couple coming soon.
We met Noah in Retribution in the Dogs of War Series. He was a bodyguard going above and beyond to protect Elizabeth Wilkes’ son Blake. I loved him when I wrote him and I knew he would have to be next in the series. He was a true hero.
The Dogs of War are in a state of transition. Aiden, Fontana and Wulfe are building families now that they’ve caught several of the bad guys. They’ve rescued the men from the torture camps and those men are being rehabilitated by the same company that once experimented upon them. Damon Wilkes is dead and his former wife Elizabeth has taken over the care of the men.
…but they’re only beginning to understand what the men can do…
If you’d like to order Catalyst and follow Noah and Raine, follow this link!
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Chapter One
Elizabeth looked up at the knock on her office door. Raine Walters peered around the edge of the jamb.
“Can I steal a minute of your time, Dr. Wilkes?”
“Of course, Raine. I hope you’re settling in okay?”
Raine, ethereally beautiful in spite of her blue nurse scrubs, held her hands clasped in front of herself as she walked in. Her thick blonde hair was pulled back into a low bun, and there was anxiety shadowing in her big luminous eyes, but a broad, beautiful smile split her mouth. Elizabeth had actually worried about hiring Raine because she was so pretty, but the woman’s caring heart had swayed her, as well as her true southern charm. The woman appeared to be the perfect nurse, giving and concerned, almost to a fault, which had made Elizabeth think that she would do a lot for her patients. The attention that these men needed was diverse and sometimes desperate. Raine had never hesitated, though. She’d jumped into the work like she’d always been doing it, even though she was still fairly young and had not a lot of experience. Elizabeth was so grateful that the woman had applied for the job, even though it had meant she had to step out of her comfort zone. Elizabeth didn’t think she’d been to a city of any size before moving here.
“I am, ma’am. Thank you.” Raine sank down into the chair in front of Elizabeth’s desk. “And I wanted to thank you again for the job. I know I didn’t have the same qualifications as some of the others you interviewed, and I appreciate the chance you took on me.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No thanks needed. The patients responded to you and I consider your inexperience an asset, simply because this isn’t a conventional hospital setting and the men require different care. We’re training you our way. I know you’ve seen some… unusual things already.”
Raine grinned and nodded. “Oh, yes, ma’am. Things I would never even believe possible, but once you explained everything I understood.”
Her frown faded.
“What’s up, Raine?”
“Well, in the spirit of what you just said about being unconventional, I wanted to ask your permission for something.”
Elizabeth tilted her head, curious at the woman’s obvious reluctance. “Okay. You seem worried.”
“Well,” Raine started, biting her bottom lip, “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Elizabeth frowned, concern rising. “Okay…”
Raine blinked and leaned forward. “I love Christmas. I mean, I really, really love Christmas. My mama ingrained in us how important it was for a family to celebrate and it’s my all-time favorite holiday, though
