Page 115 of S.O.S. Billboard

He responded in kind. “I’m sure, if that were the case, my mother would let you stay in her side of the house until you both convinced me I was an idiot.”

O’Shea grinned through her tears. “That would be nice.”

Yeah.Because Billboard’s matriarch had embraced O’Shea fully, unlike the mother O’Shea had never been able to trust. O’Shea loved spending time with the woman, hearing stories of Billboard’s childhood over cups of tea. They’d shopped together, shared meals a few times a week, and even ganged up on Billboard sometimes. Jokingly, of course. It was all almost too wonderful to be believed.

O’Shea turned her eyes to the small bundle Billboard carried as he nudged her to get her attention. He opened the box.

There, nested within, was a blue sapphire surrounded by small diamonds in a starburst pattern. It was exactly what she would have picked, herself. Something that didn’t stick up and get in the way of her active life. It was gorgeous and perfect.

“I love it, Billboard,” O’Shea breathed, and held out her hand.

Both of them shook as he placed the ring on her finger, then he got up off his knees, gathered her in his arms, and proceeded to kiss every thought out of her head. There was nothing shaky aboutthatdelivery.

“Mmm. Let’s go home,” O’Shea murmured once they came up for air. Not that they hadn’t made love twice already that morning, but O’Shea couldn’t get enough of Billboard, and it seemed the feeling was mutual.

Billboard groaned. “As much as I like that idea, we don’t want to disappoint Ethan and Rory.” Billboard was the voice of reason, but he also had an impish look in his eyes. “I tell you what. We’ll find them quickly, treat them to a late lunch and some ice cream, then we’ll head home and I’ll spend the rest of the day showing you how much I love you.”

O’Shea smiled up at him. “That sounds like an excellent plan.”

Billboard took her hand and practically dragged her into the woods, starting at a point that he told her had been pre-arranged for their hunt.

“Okay.” Billboard paused once they were five feet into the trees. “What do you see?” he asked.

O’Shea had been taking some lessons from Sarge and…herfiancée…! She almost wanted to squeal at the new designation she had for Billboard, but she settled for a quick kiss, then bent to her task. The sooner they found the kids, the faster they could be back at Billboard’s house and strip each other naked. Uh,herhouse, as well. It was taking a little getting used to, but at Billboard’s insistent prompting, O’Shea was starting to have it sink in that what was his was hers, and vice-versa.

But for the moment…

Tracking had never been a big part of what O’Shea had done in New Orleans. Still, she was a quick study, and was fast to spot a broken twig at ankle height. “There,” she pointed.

“Good. And which way does it tell you they went?” Billboard questioned, clearly proud.

She looked at the attitude in which the twig was bent, and with complete confidence, stood straight and pointed ahead and to their left.

“Excellent,” Billboard praised, beaming. “Now let’s see what else we can find.” He indicated that she should go first. “And don’t worry, they promised no boobie traps this time.”

That was good. She didn’t want to end up in a pit or get ankle-lassoed up a tree. Especially since her body could still be a little twingy every now and again from her injuries.

The clues, at first, were a little hard to find, and Billboard had to straighten her out a few times. But after the first ten minutes, the signs started becoming clearer, almost as if the pair were hurrying, and not paying as much attention to cover their tracks.

“Silly of them to have gotten sloppy,” O’Shea snorted, as she spotted an actual footprint in some soft dirt.

“It’s probably because they heard us coming, and know how close we’re getting,” Billboard smirked. “They can’t escape us now,” he said with certainty. “Let’s go.”

This time he trotted off first, with O’Shea right on his heels.

O’Shea grinned. The kids would be disappointed that they hadn’t been able to throw Billboard and O’Shea off the trail, but their mortification would be mitigated once they found out that lunch and ice cream were in their future.

“We’re close,” Billboard called back over his shoulder, keeping up a steady trot. O’Shea was amazed he could stay on the trail while moving so rapidly, but she trusted him to know what he was doing.

He eventually held a hand back toward her, and she took it easily, jogging to keep up. His legs were longer than hers, but she managed. O’Shea had been hitting PT hard over the past two weeks, and had regained most of her stamina.

“Ahh,” O’Shea acknowledged gleefully, seeing a familiar outcropping of rock up ahead. “They’re headed for the clearing. My guess is they’re hoping to confuse us in the grassy area, then reenter the woods somewhere random on the other side to throw us off their trajectory.”

Billboard snickered, agreed, and kept moving.

At this rate they’d spot their quarry in three…two…one…

What the fuck?

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