Tina Leonard - A Callahan Outlaw's Twins (10 page)

“Or it makes him a
father,
” Ash said. “You’re going to be a dad!”

He hadn’t figured he could keep anything from Ash. She leaped into his arms, not even waiting for him to confirm her suspicions before raining kisses and hugs on him. “My big brother’s going to have a baby!”

The others sat very still. Ash undraped herself from around his neck. “You’re going to be
uncles.
Don’t you have anything to say to Sloan? Or are you just going to sit there and ignore the fact that the Chacon Callahans are starting a new branch of the family tree?”

His brothers appeared blindsided, shell-shocked, dazed.

“Is she right?” Jace asked.

Sloan nodded. “It’s true.”

“Whoa,” Dante said. “We just sent all the kids off, to keep them safe. Now you’ll be the one with the precarious situation, bro. It’s easier to grab a newborn than just about anything, probably. But congratulations, man. Not sure how you did it—or when—but that’s awesome.” Dante slapped him on the back, and everyone else followed suit. But the celebration was just a bit muted.

It was true. Sloan was a loner. He was marrying a woman who’d never been alone, having been surrounded by a loving family and a company that took her around the world. He did resent authority, and Kendall had been right—he was overprotective, overbearing and kind of, well, possessive.

Which wasn’t going to get tamed any if he had a baby to worry about. Sloan’s teeth ground together as he thought about how much everything had changed. Before, he’d only had Kendall to worry about losing. Now, he was going to have something else very important and precious to fear losing, as well. Two parts of his life.

“I’m going out for a while,” he said, hurrying from the library as fast as he could. He had to be alone, needed to think—

No. Ingrained habits were bad. He had to change some of his. He needed to be with Kendall—not be alone with his fears and doubts.

He walked down the hall toward Kendall’s room before he could change his mind.

Chapter Eleven

Kendall looked up at Sloan looming in her doorway. “Change your mind, soldier?”

“No.” He sat in the chair he’d used when her leg was injured. “Maybe we should iron out some details.”

She closed her laptop. “Go for it.”

“I’m possessive.”

“Really. I didn’t know that.”

“Not in a weirdo, freaky way or anything,” he said hurriedly. “More protective, I guess.”

“And I’m really independent.” Kendall waited for him to digest that.

“Yeah.” He scratched his head, then shoved his hand back through his dark hair. “There have been developments since you left. So it’s not like I want to bother your independence, but now there’ll be two of you here.”

She nodded. “I know. I don’t have to stay after we get...married.” It was hard to say that. She didn’t know how to tell her mother, her brothers. Imagining herself as a wife seemed so foreign. “Actually, I have an ultrasound scheduled in a few weeks, so I’d be leaving, anyway.”

“Okay. I just want you to know I’m going to try hard to be...calm. Rational.” Sloan shifted, and Kendall felt surprised by how much it meant to her that he cared enough to battle his own personal demons.

“Thank you. I really can take care of myself.”

“I know.” He backed out of the room, his boots thumping on the rug-covered stairs.

She pulled open the window, staring down in case he went outside. When he appeared below, heading at a good clip for the bunkhouse, she said, “Sloan!”

He glanced up. “Yeah?”

“We don’t have to do this, you know.”

He shrugged. Then he grinned. “Maybe it won’t be as horrible as I think it will be.”

She couldn’t shrug off with a smile something as important as marriage. “Maybe it will, though. Or worse.”

“You’re going to have to decide if you can deal with your own fears. I can handle an opinionated woman. Have you met my sister?”

Kendall supposed she deserved that, after giving him grief about all his faults. “No one’s ever called me opinionated,” she said, fibbing just a bit.

“I doubt that, Barbie,” he said, laughing as he walked away.

The next time she was outside, he was going to get smacked with the snowball of all snowballs.

Especially since he hadn’t even gotten close to kissing her—and she really wished he would.

* * *

A
FTER
HOURS
OF
NOT
BEING
able to sleep, Kendall texted Sloan.
Are you awake?

She got an immediate reply.
Yes. Is something wrong?

Her phone glowed in the darkness, the words mocking her.
You promised you wouldn’t be a worrywart.

Instantly, her phone rang. She hit the answer key. “Can’t a girl just want to talk?”

“I don’t know,” Sloan said. “You’re pregnant. We’re in a house where...”

He stopped. She frowned, wondering what he was keeping from her. “Never mind. I’m not in the mood to talk anymore.”

“I’m new to this,” Sloan said. “You’re going to have to let me ease into this new me slowly.”

“The relaxed you who doesn’t panic every time I text you in the middle of the night?” She heard him on the stairs. “I’m going to remember that you’re like a genie in a bottle. Except always in full panic mode.”

He came into the room. “I’m not panicked. But we’ve had our unique surprises here at Rancho Diablo. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

He pulled off his boots, and she felt his weight sink into the bed. Kendall put her phone on the nightstand. “What are you doing?”

“You wanted to talk. So we’ll talk. Only you’re going to do it very quietly, because I have to be up in about four hours.”

He eased into the bed, bringing a bit of outdoor chilliness into the warm sheets with him. Kendall froze, waiting to see what he would do next. But he flopped over on his side, just as he had the first night, his back to her. “I’m listening.”

Now that he was here, she realized she wanted more than a listening ear. This man was going to be her husband—and yet their relationship was anything but close. “I was wondering what to wear when we get married.”

“You’re lying awake thinking about clothes?” Sloan chuckled. “I don’t care what you wear.”

Silence met his words. Sloan waited for her to continue the conversation, get to the point of what was really on her mind, but when Kendall didn’t speak again, he realized his comment had probably not been taken in the spirit in which he meant it.

Rolling over, he wrapped an arm around her waist. “It’s a fairly simple ceremony. There’ll be some words spoken, maybe some blue cornmeal eaten, depending on who does the ceremony. But there’s no prescribed dress code. It’s different from other cultures, not as elaborate. So you wear whatever makes you happy. You’ll be beautiful no matter what you wear, babe.”

Silence met his words again, and Sloan wondered if he’d erred again. But then she said, “That’s so sweet, Sloan,” and he grinned in the darkness.

“It’s true. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. It hasn’t quite hit me that you’re going to be my wife. My brothers and sister are giving me fits about it.”

“Why? Don’t they think we should get married?”

He rolled her over so he could kiss her, letting his lips linger against hers. “They’re jealous.”

“They’re not,” she said, giggling.

“I’m pretty sure they are. But they lie like rugs. They’d never admit they wish they were getting married and having a family.”

He kissed her again, his heart racing, his body responding, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. Sloan thought he might die of happiness, if she didn’t kill him with worry first.

* * *

T
WO
WEEKS
LATER
, Sloan and Kendall stood under a scraggly mesquite tree, the sun shining lightly on them, chasing the cold away. The canyons made a beautiful backdrop of dusky tans and deep reds, and Sloan couldn’t believe he was marrying the amazing woman beside him. Kendall had resolved her worries about what to wear, settling on a soft, filmy gown of unadorned white that fell straight to her ankles, clinging to her curves on the way down. It was simple and perfect. She’d put her hair up with a turquoise barrette, and wore a fringed white shawl that draped down her back.

He couldn’t stop smiling.

The
hitaathli
who performed the ceremony said a few words, then Sloan and Kendall fed each other some blue cornmeal. They hadn’t invited anyone except her brothers and his family, and Fiona and Burke, yet the small gathering felt perfect to Sloan. He figured the simple ceremony was very different from what Kendall might have envisioned she might one day have. Even the rings were simple: silver bands, hers with tiny pieces of turquoise worked into a flower pattern.

He kissed her, so she’d know he understood if she had reservations. Kendall surprised him by putting her arms around his neck. She whispered, “It was a beautiful ceremony.”

A smile lit his face. He couldn’t help it. How did an outlaw like him end up with a woman who made him smile constantly?

* * *

S
LOAN
WAS
STILL
SMILING
a week later when he took Kendall to her doctor’s appointment. He was really looking forward to the ultrasound.

His bride was nervous. “I hope everything is all right.”

“The baby is fine. Don’t worry.” He wasn’t going to share that he felt so jittery he felt as if he was back in a war zone. He hadn’t had nerves all the time then, but every now and again he’d experienced overwhelming emotions he’d had to work hard to gather in. That was how he felt right now: filled with so many feelings he had to breathe deep, control his thoughts, keep everything tight. “You’re a wonderful mother.”

She smiled. “I hope I will be.”

He nodded. “You will.”

The doctor came in, wearing a smile. “Ready to see your baby?” Dr. Adele asked.

Kendall could barely reply. She was so excited—so anxious, too—she could hardly wait. Sloan squeezed her fingers as they began the procedure.

“Now what you’ll see first,” Dr. Adele said, “if you look right here, are healthy twins. Obviously fraternal, because this is separate from this here. Can you see that?” she asked, glancing at them, her eyes shining.

“Did you say twins?” Kendall said.

“I did.” Dr. Adele laughed. “Congratulations.”

Kendall looked at Sloan—and burst into tears.

He gathered her to him, and Kendall sprouted water like a faucet. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.”

Dr. Adele continued to look at the screen. “Hormones. And the surprise. You’re newlyweds, right?”

Kendall nodded, pulled herself together and off of Sloan’s chest, even if he felt so good she really didn’t want to. He rubbed her back soothingly, and Kendall tried to conduct herself more calmly and less emotionally. “We got married last week.”

“This is an adjustment.” The doctor got up. “Twins are always a surprise, and require more planning than for one baby. I have twins,” Dr. Adele said, smiling. “Identical twins. It’s love times two. But it’s important to keep the lines of communication open between you.”

“We will,” Kendall said, wondering how they’d do that when they were still figuring out how they related to each other.

The obstetrician smiled. “I’ll see you in my office. There’s some information you’ll need for the next few months.”

“Thank you,” Kendall said, and the doctor left.

Sloan sat back. “I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. You’re a twin. Dante and Tighe are twins. We’re lucky we’re not having quadruplets, I suppose.”

Kendall gasped. “Don’t say it!”

He laughed. “This is going to be fun.”

“Fun?” She crooked a brow. “For who?”

“Both of us,” he said. “Maybe me more than you.”

Kendall blew her nose. “I’d better approve those architect plans before I get too big to do anything.”

He laughed. “Only my business-minded wife would worry more about her job than the fact that she’s now going to need two of everything.”

Kendall looked up. “I’m trying not to freak out.” She really was. Where was she going to raise these children? It couldn’t be at Rancho Diablo—not with things the way they were. She was going to have to go back to Hell’s Colony.

Which didn’t seem like the best thing for a blossoming marriage. As Dr. Adele said, communication was important. Sloan was trying to act as though he wasn’t Mr. Panic Attack, but Kendall knew him too well. Yesterday she’d gone for a short, gentle horseback ride by herself and he’d sent Ashlyn to “keep her company.” She wouldn’t have been so suspicious of that except later, when she’d gone for a walk to the end of the road, he’d sent Tighe to “check the roads.” Which just happened to be where she was walking.

“You’re not fooling me,” she said. “I know you’re going to breathe into a paper bag as soon as I turn my back.”

He grinned, a devil in blue jeans. “No. What I’m going to do is go into the doctor’s office, let her tell us everything we need to know about having twins, and then I’m going to ask her if I can still make love to my wife.”

Kendall’s breath caught. “I was going to ask her how long I could make love to my husband.”

He kissed her hand. “Let’s tell Dr. Adele to keep her speech short. We have things to do.”

* * *

S
LOAN
HADN
’
T
BEEN
completely truthful with his wife. Things had been quiet around the ranch, but he and his brothers and Ash had agreed it felt like the calm before the storm. Not one, but two babies would make Kendall a considerable target.

He doubted she’d appreciate his worries, so he kept them to himself. The lovemaking was too sweet for him to do much complaining.

“Hey,” Galen said, walking into the old bunkhouse. “You look grim.”

“I’m having twins. Grim isn’t how I feel. Turned inside out, maybe.”

Galen laughed. “Congratulations. Better you than me.”

“Your turn is coming one day.” Sloan paced to a window, staring out at the icy landscape. “The snow’s getting on my nerves.”

“Spring’s a while off.” Galen kicked back onto the leather sofa, his expression serious. “I probably don’t have to tell you that Kendall shouldn’t be at Rancho Diablo.”

“I know.” Sloan was trying to figure out how to tell her. “Kendall isn’t the kind of woman who takes those types of suggestions with enthusiasm.”

Galen smiled. “I like you falling for a woman who isn’t cowed by your gruff demeanor.”

Sloan grunted. “Did I say I’ve fallen for her?”

“You just worry about her 24/7.”

“It’s a job.”

“Mmm. Keep telling yourself that.” Galen cracked open a beer. “Want one?”

Sloan shook his head. “I’m taking Kendall out to dinner tonight in Diablo. She said she’s going to be on bed rest in a few months, so she doesn’t want to be stuck inside the house all winter.”

Galen walked to a window, staring out. “I don’t blame her. Where is she right now?”

“Taking a nap. Said she wanted beauty sleep before we went out tonight.”

Galen laughed. “That’s what she told you.”

Sloan looked up. “What do you mean?”

“Far be it from me to rat out my beautiful sister-in-law, but I think she just took off.”

Sloan hopped to his feet, staring out the window. “I’ll see you later.”

Galen’s laughter followed him outside.

* * *

S
LOAN
FOLLOWED
the tire tracks of the military jeep at a slow pace, reminding himself that Kendall and he had had this battle before, and she hadn’t appreciated his vigilance.

Maybe she was right. He did tend to overdo on caution. That caution had saved him many times. Special Ops was no place to be without a good dose of second sense.

He figured he knew where she was heading, and sure enough, she went right to the area where the new bunkhouse skeleton had been marked off with wood stakes and small flags. The ground was too frozen now to begin digging the basement Jonas was determined to have. Sloan thought he’d heard Kendall say that phase was slated for March.