“She’s pissed she didn’t get her pedicure.”
“I’ll work something out. Take care of her, Tins.”
“I will,” Tinsley swore.
“Just look at them. They’re mocking me.” Ellery glared at her toes from her hospital bed.
A nurse was waiting for them at admitting and whisked Ellery up to the maternity floor, leaving Tinsley to handle the registration. They’d gotten Ellery changed into a hospital gown, hooked her up to all these devices, and examined all before Tinsley arrived from the land of endless paperwork. Ellery was five centimeters dilated and had just gotten what she called her happy juice.
The door to the room burst open and Ryker Faulkner was standing there in a thousand-dollar suit with a look of pure panic on his face. “I’m here!”
Tinsley looked at her cousin and tried not to laugh. “That’s nice of you to come support Ellery and Gavin.”
Ryker shook his head and held up a drug store bag. “Gavin called and said it was an emergency. I left a very important and sensitive negotiation to get this to you. He said you couldn’t have the baby without it.”
Tinsley stood up and walked to the door where Ryker seemed stuck. She grabbed the bag and opened it. “This is very nice of you, Ryker.”
“What is it?” Ellery asked.
“It’s nail polish for your toes,” Tinsley said, bringing the bag to the bed. It wasn’t just nail polish—it was a whole collection of nail polish. Ryker had bought one of every color.
“Ryker! You’re amazing!” Ellery said before bursting out into tears.
Ryker’s pale face paled even more. He started to back slowly out of the room, but Ellery motioned for him to come to her bedside. Warring emotions of fear, panic, and Southern manners slid across his face. In the end, manners won and he stepped forward slowly. Ellery reached for his hand and Ryker looked as if he were sticking it in a vat of acid as he tentatively put his hand in hers.
“Thank you so much. I know it’s silly, but it’s important to me.”
“You’re welcome,” Ryker said slowly, still acting as if someone were about to jump out and scare him.
“What color should I do?” Ellery asked as she began going through the bottles.
“This one,” Tinsley said, picking up a bright red. “It’s called Red Hot Mama.”
“Perfect,” Ellery said as she clapped her hands. Ryker tried to sneak out, but Ellery stopped him. “Will you stay for a bit, Ryker?”
“Don’t you need something else? I can run and get you some food or maybe some bourbon. I feel bourbon would be helpful right now.”
Tinsley hid her laugh at her cousin. Ryker had changed so much since that night long ago. His laughter and carefree attitude had vanished in a single moment. Ryker had turned into a stone-cold business tycoon. However, every now and then, flashes of the old Ryker came through.
“Baby!” Ellery cried out suddenly.
“Where?” Ryker jumped up, looking at where Tinsley was painting Ellery’s toes.
“I think she means me,” Gavin said with a laugh as he walked into the room with Ellery’s bag and the biggest smile Tinsley had ever seen. “I guess I’ll need a new term of endearment or it could get confusing.”
“Oh, thank God you’re here,” Ryker said with relief as Gavin hurried to Ellery’s bedside with the rest of the family right behind him.
Tinsley kept right on painting Ellery’s toes as the rest of the Faulkner family entertained Ellery.
Ryker had silently slipped from the room within seconds of their arrival, but now four hours later he was back in the waiting room with the rest of the family. Ellery was progressing, and the family had taken up half of the waiting room.
Tinsley sat next to her brother, Ridge, and his wife, Savannah, and talked to pass the time. Her cousin Wade, and his wife, Darcy, sat talking to Gavin’s sister, Harper, and her husband, Dare. Trent was off to the side talking with Ryker. As the hours passed, people rotated around the room until Tinsley had talked with everyone.
The elevator doors opened and a woman with brown hair and a blood-splattered shirt raced out. “Did I miss it?”
Trent shook his head at his wife, Skye. Skye Jessamine was a famous actress and currently shooting her first action movie in Atlanta. Luckily, the blood on her shirt was fake and part of her costume.
“No, the baby isn’t here yet. You had time to change.” Trent kissed his wife as the other people in the waiting room gaped and rushed to ask if they could take her picture.
Skye agreed to photos then politely, but firmly, disengaged from her fans so she could focus on her family. “Tell me everything.”
“A nurse told us that she’s started pushing,” Trent told her.
They turned as the door to the labor room opened and out came Gavin with a bundle in his arms.
Tinsley gasped and felt tears rush to her eyes. She was a softy and didn’t care who knew it as Gavin showed off the chubby-cheeked baby.
“I’m an auntie,” Harper whispered in quiet wonder as she ran a finger down the baby’s cheek. “How’s Ellery?”
“She’s perfect. She was simply amazing. And this little bundle came out bright-eyed and ready to meet everyone. This is our son, Chase.”
2
The summer heat in Charleston was worse than in Atlanta. Paxton Kendry would never give Charleston the satisfaction of complaining, but the ocean breeze did very little to lower the humidity.
Paxton rubbed his chest where three bullet wounds had healed and scarred over as he looked at his computer in the FBI’s office. Six months ago, he was working deep undercover in Atlanta as second-in-command of the Violent Gang Task Force and now he was stuck sitting behind a desk in a freaking suit looking at art crimes. He’d taken three bullets on the job in Atlanta, but instead of moving up to head the task force when his boss retired, Paxton had been shipped off to Charleston where he was dealing with several complaints about forged paintings. On top of
