“Come on, Navy-bear,” Maverick called over his shoulder to the little girl waddling behind him. Instead of hurrying to catch up, the toddler squatted in the sand and grunted at something.
She was the cutest thing on the planet, and Maverick’s heart swelled with love for her. She looked up at him and pointed one chubby finger at something, babbling away in a language he hadn’t learned yet.
He dropped the beach chairs and abnormally heavy beach bag and retraced his steps, though the sand was hot and wreaking havoc on his bare feet. “What is it, baby?” he asked, getting down on her level. Well, kind of. He had at least five feet on the little girl, and he couldn’t actually fold himself into a smaller package.
Navy pointed again, the sunscreeny smell of her skin meeting Maverick’s nose. Karly had told them to go ahead as she finished loading the cooler. She was almost caught up to them now, as they headed to her family’s end-of-summer picnic. They did one at the beginning of the summer too, and Maverick sure had enjoyed it.
Life with a regular family was new to him, and everything he’d dreamed of having if only about thirty years later than he should’ve gotten it.
“Ma ma ma,” Navy said, and Maverick had no clue how to respond. He couldn’t see anything in the sand either, so he scooped the little girl into his arms and straightened.
“Was it a crab, baby?” Karly asked, joining them and brushing her daughter’s hair out of her face.
“Cab,” Navy echoed, and they both smiled at her.
“Okay, but Grandma’s waiting for us.” Karly pointed down the beach. “Let’s go see her.”
Navy wiggled out of Maverick’s arms and ran as best as a little girl her age could. He chuckled at her and retrieved all the things he’d dropped when he’d gone back to see the mystery crab. “You okay?” he asked Karly, but the cooler had wheels, and she seemed to be faring better than him.
“Great,” she said. “Tell me all the news.”
“Okay.” Maverick took a deep breath. “Mia just announced she’s pregnant and due three days after Declan’s tour ends.” He’d actually heard that one before Karly, even if it was only by five minutes. He couldn’t help it that Declan only had a few friends he considered family and Mia had told her parents first before texting Karly.
“Jon and Cassie are expecting in January. There’s no news from Allegra and Phoenix, or Sami and Andy, but they’ve been acting funny, so we’re going to try to get something out of them while we’re here.” He glanced at Karly. “How’d I do?”
“Sounded a little gossipy there at the end.” She grinned at him. “I liked it.”
He shook his head with a smile. He didn’t care when her siblings had babies or not or if they did at all. He had some news of his own, and if he could just get rid of all these bags and chairs, he could get the diamond from Declan and really make Karly his.
The last five months had been a roller coaster, with huge peaks of happiness and low valleys of setbacks in his recovery. He’d had one more kidney surgery, finally just removing the one that had been damaged too much.
“Hey,” he said, realizing something suddenly. They’d talked about a lot over the last few months, but not if she wanted more kids. Her family waited about fifteen yards away, her mother cheering Navy on as the little girl ran toward her.
“Quick question,” Maverick said, already wishing he’d thought of this before today. “Do you want more kids or not?”
“Is that a real question?” she asked, her eyes sparkling at him from behind those amber-colored lenses.
“Yes,” he said, not sure if she was joking or not. “I mean, I heard fifty is as safe to have a baby as forty. So I’m just….” He had no idea what he just was, so he shut his mouth. He wanted to blurt out that he was going to ask her to marry him, and he should probably know this before he did that. But he wanted the proposal to be a surprise.
“Yeah, Maverick,” she said, dropping the handle of the cooler so it settled in the sand. “Of course I want more kids. Your kids.” She tiptoed her fingers up his chest. “With those gorgeous eyes. I swear, if our kids have my eyes, I’m going to send them back.” She trilled out a laugh, and Maverick joined her.
“All right, then.”
“Was that the right answer?” she asked, stooping to get the handle again.
“There was no right answer,” he said. “I was just wondering, since we’re talking about all of your siblings having kids.” They continued toward the group, and they were the last to arrive. Maverick had learned that Karly usually was to family gatherings such as these. Not so much to Sunday dinners, but definitely for stuff like this.
She liked to make an entrance, which was how he knew he could propose to her blindly today, and she’d be thrilled.
He set up the chairs and accepted a hello kiss from her mother, Olivia. He shook her dad’s hand, and steadfastly refused to remove his T-shirt though every other male there already had. Umbrellas had been set up, and Declan lay on the sand underneath one while his wife lounged in a chair, one hand on her still-flat belly.
“Brother,” Maverick said, and Declan got to his feet. They shook hands and embraced, and Declan held him for an extra moment as he slipped the ring in Maverick’s pocket.
“You ready for this?” the rockstar asked, and a hop, skip, and jump of nerves moved through Maverick’s bloodstream.
But he was ready.
“All right,” Olivia said. “Now that we’re all here, let’s get started.”
Karly exchanged a glance with Maverick, who simply grinned at her. It wasn’t her fault her mom was passive-aggressive with her, and he hadn’t noticed how her mom talked until Karly had pointed it out.
“First, your dad and I have some news.” She looked at Wayne, and Maverick felt all the tension from the Addlers increase. Karly even took a step forward. “Honey?” Olivia prompted.
“I’m retiring at the end of the year,” he said. “Liam will take over then.”
“What?” Liam asked, seemingly as shocked as everyone else. “Really, Dad? Already?” He’d been working with his dad to eventually take over the orchards and resort, but obviously no one had thought it would happen so soon.
“Really,” Wayne said. “Your mother and I would like to travel while we’re still young.”
Sami stepped forward and hugged her mom and dad, and so did everyone else. Maverick marveled at how much this family loved each other, had welcomed in new people—had embraced him, even with all his tattoos and his loud motorcycles.
Navy fussed at his feet, and he picked her up. “Almost time, Navy-bear,” he said, snagging a potato chip for the girl to keep her happy. His eyes met Wayne’s, and Karly’s dad nodded.
Before he could move, though, Cassie said, “We have a bit of news. I mean, I’m obviously pregnant.” She pointed to her big belly, as January was only a few months away. “But Jon and I decided to find out what the gender of the baby is.” She looked at him. “I guess I’m going to have to figure out how to do hair, because—”
“It’s a girl,” Jon said with her, grinning at everyone. “She cried and cried. Said she doesn’t know how to take care of a girl.”
Karly was crying too, and she stepped over to Cassie with the words, “Girl, I’ll help you. I’m as girly as they get.”
More congratulations were in order, and Maverick kept feeding Navy chips until things quieted down again. Before he lost his chance, he turned to Karly and said, “I have some news too.”
Her eyebrows went sky high, but he ignored the panic in her eyes. “You do?”
He shifted Navy to his other hip so he could dig in his pocket. “I sure do. Karly, I’m madly in love with you, and I can’t stand driving you home at night. I hate leaving you and Navy, and I want us to be a family.”
With Navy in his arms, he couldn’t really get down on his knees, and he probably shouldn’t with his still-healing back anyway. But Sami took Navy from him, and he assumed the position. “Will you marry me?”
Karly had both hands pressed to her heart as she looked down at him. “You’re going to hurt yourself,” she said, tears pooling in those beautiful eyes. He wouldn’t mind if all of their children had eyes like hers.
“Then say yes quickly,” he said, getting laughs from the rest of her family.
Sami set down Navy, who came over to Maverick and tried to climb into his lap. Her sister said, “Aw,” and Maverick looked at Navy.
“Tell Mommy to hurry up.”
Navy turned to Karly and said, “Ma Ma Ma up.”
While the family laughed again, Karly swooped Navy into her arms and knelt on the ground with Maverick. “I love you to the moon and back.” She pressed a kiss to his mouth, and he slid the ring on her finger, joy filling him over and over again.
He let her dad help him up, only a slight slip of foolishness moving through him. But he’d learned to accept help when he needed it. First from Geezer all those years ago. Then from his brothers in the club. Now from Karly and her family.
“We love you so much,” Olivia said, pressing her lips to Maverick’s cheek. “You two are perfect for each other.”
“Da Da Dad,” Navy babbled, and he took her from Karly so she could hug her siblings.
“That’s right, Navy-bear,” he said as she laid down on his shoulder and hugged him. “I’m going to be your dad.” And he’d never been happier to be on the beach with this child and the woman he loved.
Read on for a sneak peek of BURN, a brand new sweet motorcycle club romance, and read more about the Sentinels!
I just love Maverick and Karly! If you are too, please leave a review now! They can be as long or as short as you’d like. Even a star rating is fantastic. Thanks!