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While We Waited (Smuggler’s Hideaway #3) Chapter 20 54%
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Chapter 20

Hellions – four brothers who can’t wait to be uncles

Nova

I wring my hands in my lap as Hudson drives us toward his parents’ house.

“There’s no need to be nervous.” He reaches across the console to squeeze my hand. “My parents are going to love you.”

I hope he’s right since his parents are the sole grandparents our little Sprog will have. I want to have a good relationship with them. I want them to spend time with our baby and me. Not avoid me because they hate me.

“I hope your mom likes the flowers.”

“She’s going to love the flowers. She has five boys. She doesn’t get flowers very often.”

“Your dad doesn’t buy her flowers? My dad bought my mom flowers all the time. My parents were such an adorable couple.”

I sigh. I want to be half of an adorable couple. I glance over at Hudson from beneath my lashes. I want to be an adorable couple with him. I shove those fantasies away. Now is not the time to lament falling in love with my baby daddy who doesn’t want me. Now is the time to freak out about meeting his parents.

“We’re here.” Hudson parks in front of a ranch house. Several cars are blocking the driveway as well as a few bikes laying on their sides in the front lawn. It appears crowded and homey.

He opens my door and lifts me out of the truck onto the ground. He intertwines his fingers with mine as he leads me to the front door. I cling to his hand.

The front door flies open and a young man steps outside. “They’re here!”

“Brace yourself,” Hudson mutters.

“Brace myself? Why do I need to brace myself? You said they’d like me.”

My heart hammers in my chest and I wonder how fast I can run away. I knew I should have driven my own car. But I haven’t driven my car since I’ve been living with Hudson. He growls whenever I pick up my car keys. Is it wrong to enjoy how much he prefers to drive me around?

“My brothers are hellions.”

“Is this her?” the young man on the step asks. Three more boys appear behind him.

Holy smugglers. They’re all tall and have Hudson’s brown eyes and brown hair. If it weren’t for their age differences, they could be quintuplets.

“Stop barring the front door and let them in.” A middle-aged woman pushes her way in between the boys. She’s tiny compared to the rest of them, but she shares their brown eyes.

“Mom.” Hudson greets her with a kiss on the cheek. “This is Nova.”

I smile at her. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Clark. I brought you these.” I shove the pink tulips into her hands. “My mom loved tulips. I thought you might like them as well. Hudson says your boys don’t bring you flowers.”

Mrs. Clark giggles. “Since we’re family now, you can call me Emma.”

Family now? My hand automatically reaches for my stomach. “I didn’t mean to get pregnant. It was an accident.”

Emma winks. “We know all about accidents in this family.” She glares at her boys. “But we use protection to prevent accidents as much as possible.”

One of the boys rolls his eyes. “Yes, Mom. We use condoms.”

Hudson slaps his shoulder. “Knock off the sarcasm.”

Emma motions us further into the house. “Come inside where you can properly meet my boys.”

“Hellions,” Hudson mutters underneath his breath.

“This is Brooks.” She points to the sarcastic boy. “And this is Logan, Owen, and Sawyer.”

“Your baby mamma is hot.”

Owen barely gets the words out before Hudson smacks him on the head. He falls forward and lands on his knees. He bursts into laughter as he rolls around on the floor.

“Boys,” a man grumbles as he enters the living room.

I stick out my hand. “You must be Mr. Clark. I was going to bring you flowers, too, but Hudson said flowers are for women. He’s wrong but I didn’t want to fight with him. I know how to pick my battles and flowers are not a hill I’m willing to die on.”

Mr. Clark chuckles as he shakes my hand. “She’s cute, Hudson.”

Hudson wraps an arm around my shoulders and hauls me near. “She is.”

What is he doing? Do his parents think we’re a couple? Oh no. I’m not prepared. Hudson didn’t warn me. I’m going to kill him later. A former football player can totally drown in his bathtub without it appearing suspicious, right?

“And she’s freaking out,” Logan says.

I gasp. “You’re not supposed to mention if I’m freaking out.”

His cheeks darken. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Logan’s a nerd. He doesn’t understand social cues’.” Owen uses air quotes as if social cues is a made up term. “He prefers to stay home and study rather than go out.”

Sawyer snorts. “Not everyone enjoys jumping out of their bedroom window.”

Owen shrugs. “It’s the first floor. No big deal.”

Emma clears her throat. “Can you all please calm down? I don’t want Nova to think she’s bringing a child into a clan of cave bears.”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “I’m used to the grumpy bear here.”

Sawyer barks out a laugh. “She’s got you pegged.”

Hudson growls at him. “Behave.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll tell everyone how you refused to be potty trained until second grade.”

Sawyer glares at his older brother. “You suck.”

“According to his girlfriend, he doesn’t know how to suck.” Brooks waggles his eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”

“Don’t talk about my girlfriend.” Sawyer launches himself at Brooks and the two fall to the floor where they roll around while trying to get hits in.

I elbow Hudson. “Aren’t you going to stop them?”

He shrugs. “They’ll stop soon enough.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “Is this the kind of dad you’re going to be? You’re going to allow our Sprog to get into fights. Great. I’ll have to be the bad guy who disciplines Sprog. Thanks a lot. You know how I hate to be the bad guy.”

“Hold on. Sprog?” Emma asks. “Do you know the sex of the baby? Is it a boy? I swear the Clark men can’t create girls. But I want a little girl to spoil.”

“Um… we don’t know the sex of the baby. It’s too early. Although the doctor said we can find out at our next appointment.”

She crosses her fingers. “Please be a girl. Please be a girl.”

“You’re not annoyed I got pregnant after a one-night stand with your son?” My eyes widen when I realize what I said. Holy Neptune! I just admitted to having a one-night stand to Hudson’s mom.

Emma bursts into laughter. “Annoyed? I’m relieved Hudson’s the first son to give me a grandchild.” She thumbs her finger at Brooks. “I was sure this one would be the first and he’s still in high school.”

Hudson squeezes my shoulder. “I told you they wouldn’t care.”

Mr. Clark throws an arm around his wife. “I’d be a hypocrite if I was mad since I got her pregnant in high school.” He glares at his four younger sons. “But I expect the lot of you to learn from my mistakes.”

Logan removes his glasses and cleans them with his t-shirt. “Can we please have one conversation in this house that doesn’t involve coitus?”

“Coitus?” Owen snorts. “No wonder you never get any.”

“Perhaps I’m waiting for someone special instead of fornicating with every girl in school.”

“I don’t know if I want your brothers babysitting our baby,” I say.

“I warned you,” Hudson mutters.

“You couldn’t have expected me to believe you. You barely speak, but your brothers are all motor mouths with smooth lines and troublemaker written all over them.”

“Hudson was our responsible child.” Mr. Clark scowls at his other sons. “Whereas the rest of our sons are hellions.”

“I am not a hellion,” Logan declares.

Mr. Clark rolls his eyes. “He thinks because he uses scientific experiments to cause trouble, he’s not a hellion. He’s wrong.”

“He reminds me of Paisley.”

“Who’s Paisley?” Logan asks.

“She’s the brewer of Five Fathoms Brewing. We own the brewery together with three other friends.”

“You own Five Fathoms Brewing ?” Brooks asks.

I wag my finger at him. “I am not allowing you to drink underage.”

“Damn.”

“No cussing,” Emma admonishes. “I swear I did my best to raise them. I promise I’ll be a good grandmother to your little one. You have no need to worry.”

My mouth drops open. “Are you seriously concerned I won’t want you to be around your grandchild?”

Her cheeks darken and she shrugs.

I rush forward to grasp her hands. “I want you around our little Sprog. I want him or her to have a grandmother. I’m relying on you to be their family since I don’t have any.”

Her eyes well with tears but she sniffs to stop them from falling. “Thank you, Nova. I’ll be the best grandmother you could ever imagine.”

“I’m certain you will. But just in case, I hope Sprog’s a girl.” I wink to let her know I’m joking.

“I like her,” she declares. “You chose well, Hudson, my boy.”

I step back. “Oh, we’re not… um… together.” The words burn as I say them. I want to be with Hudson. I want to be part of his crazy, rambunctious family. Now I’m the one fighting tears. “I’ll never deny him access to his child, but we’re not a family.”

Hudson wraps his arm around my waist. “We are a family. We’re not a traditional family. But we’re a family.”

My heart spasms in my chest as I force myself to smile at him. I wish his words were true. But they’re not.

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