Page 44 of Can't Take Moore

My head reared back, my brows drawing together as I gaped at her. “Seriously?”

“Think about it. Your family is so…perfect. While mine is a total wreck.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Knowing you have skeletons in your closet like them makes me feel as though we’re on more equal footing.”

“At least they were helpful in some way.”

She tilted her head to the side, curiosity shining from her brown orbs. “What’s the deal with them anyway?”

I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“People can be weird.”

“You’ve got that right,” I agreed, giving her a hug before we headed back toward the waiting room. “But not babies. They’re just adorable.”

“It’s a good thing that you think so. You’ll be welcoming a new one into the family in no time at all.”

19

Vienna

It turned out that I had vastly underestimated how long it would take Skylar to give birth. Four hours later, we were still in the waiting room. I’d gotten a little cat nap by leaning against Dean’s shoulder earlier, but I didn’t think he’d gotten any sleep yet. Stretching my arms above my head, I shivered when he traced his finger across the skin above my knee as the hem of my dress lifted a little.

Dean and I hadn’t had any idea what was in store for us when he suggested a romantic night out. Neither of us had dressed right for spending hours on end in the hospital waiting room while poor Skylar endured the longest labor and delivery. Although it apparently only felt that way…Dean’s mom had volunteered the fact that it had taken her twenty-five hours when he was born. She’d winked at me after sharing the information, leaving me in no doubt that she wouldn’t mind a grandchild of her own sometime soon. And that I was the most likely candidate since her other two sons weren’t in serious relationships.

Needless to say, the night had been quite a surprise, but the very best kind. Even after the little dustup with Baxter's parents. It wasn’t the night I had expected when I put on my little black dress, but I didn't have any complaints. Except maybe for how uncomfortable hospital waiting room chairs were.

But being on baby watch with Dean's family had turned out to be a lot of fun. When his grandfather pulled out the cards an hour ago, Wyatt moved a table into the middle of the room so the guys could put some chairs around it. I had assumed they would play poker, but instead, they had gone with a card game I had never played before, called euchre.

I quickly got the hang of it, thanks to Dean's help, and he'd urged me to take his spot in the current. Although he never left his chair and had me sit on his lap instead. I felt a little awkward at first, wondering what his family thought. But nobody seemed to mind, and his lap was a lot more comfortable than the hard chairs. Except for when he stroked my knee like that, and I felt his semi-hard cock press against my butt while two of his uncles and his grandfather were seated at the table with us.

Scooting forward until I was perched on his knees, I twisted around to look at him. “Do you want to take my place?”

“Hey, no help from the peanut gallery,” Bruce complained.

“Yeah,” Chuck agreed with a nod. “We agreed to play against you, not the card shark who’s doubling as your chair.”

“I thought I taught you boys to lose gracefully,” his grandfather grumbled from his seat across from me. “Quit your complaining and concentrate on your hands. Vienna is turning out to be quite the euchre partner. She’s a natural. We’ll have you beat in no time at all.”

“Shoulda known the boy would bring in a ringer,” Bruce muttered.

We didn’t get the opportunity to see if his grandfather was right about my skills as a euchre player. Right as I had my best hand of the night—including the right and left bower plus the trump ace—Baxter came rushing into the room. “It’s a boy! Six pounds eight ounces, and twenty inches long.”

“Aw, he’s perfect,” Dean’s mom cried, wiping a tear from her cheek.

“What did you name him?” Ryland asked.

Baxter looked at his grandfather as he answered, “Franklin Alan Moore III.”

“You named him after me?” his grandfather rasped.

Baxter nodded. “It was past time to continue the tradition.”

Dean’s mom and aunts jumped from their seats and went over to give Baxter a hug, asking, “When can we see him?”

“They’ll be taking him to the nursery in a little bit while they get Skylar ready to move to the postpartum unit. Then they’ll bring him back to us.”

“Let’s go peek at the babies through the window,” Dean’s mom suggested. “We can see little Franklin when they roll him in.”

The room almost emptied out as several of the men followed them after sharing their congratulations with Baxter. When it was our turn, Dean gave him a long hug, clapping him on the back. “Congratulations, man. I’m so damn happy for you.”

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