Sidewinders: Ever After (Las Vegas Sidewinders Book 12) Read online

  Karl watched his wife with curious, assessing eyes. Something was different with his sweet, beautiful Kate and he wished he could figure out what it was. She was laughing in the kitchen with his sister and one of her friends and he could swear she was glowing with happiness. He wondered if it was something he’d done or just her general happy nature.

  “Whatcha lookin’ at?” his best friend and teammate, Drake Riser, glanced in the direction Karl was looking.

  “Nothing.” Karl shrugged, but a smile played on his lips and Drake narrowed his eyes.

  “Nothing? You sure?”

  “Yeah.” Karl grinned. “I’m just hopelessly in love with my wife—that okay with you?”

  Drake chuckled. “My wife almost died two months ago and I didn’t know if I would ever see her smile like this again—so yeah, it’s definitely okay with me.”

  “It feels like things are finally getting back to normal,” Karl said after a moment, his blue eyes darkening slightly. “You know?”

  “Yeah, I know.” Drake nodded.

  It had been a long, hard summer, despite the fact that the hockey team they played for, the Las Vegas Sidewinders, had won their first championship. That same night their starting goalie, Marco, had kidnapped the girlfriend of one of their teammates. He’d blackmailed the team’s head coach and several of Karl’s friends and imprisoned Zakk’s girlfriend in Switzerland. By the time Zakk got her back everyone had been an emotional wreck. They’d thought they would get past it with the celebration of Toli and Tessa’s wedding, but that had turned into another disaster. He didn’t want to think about any of that, though; he was just glad it was over. It felt like the black cloud that had been following them around had finally lifted, and as he continued to stare at his wife, he wondered what was making her eyes twinkle.

  “Stop drooling.” Drake nudged him back to the present. “We’ll be gone in a couple of hours and you’ll be in bed with her.”

  Karl chuckled. “You think I need to wait until everyone leaves? I’ll just take her upstairs now…”

  They laughed and Karl wandered over to his wife, leaning down to kiss her full red lips.

  “What was that for?” she asked, looking up into his bright blue eyes.

  “Because you’re beautiful.” He winked and moved away, leaving her and her friends grinning like teenagers.

  “He’s so romantic,” Erin stage whispered against her ear.

  “He’s so hot!” Molly added, giggling.

  “He totally is,” Kate agreed, wishing she could tell them her secret.

  Getting ready for bed, Kate pulled on a sexy red negligee and fluffed up her hair. She wasn’t sure if she was going to seduce her tall, sexy husband or give him the surprise of his life. They had a healthy, abundant sex life and it was always fun to see what new thing he wanted to try in bed with her. Karl was into bondage and she’d come to love it too, but now they’d begun to dabble in a little spanking as well. He was always gentle and cognizant of her limits, but what had begun as a simple experiment had become so hot she got a little excited just thinking about it.

  “I think someone has restraints on her mind,” Karl spoke behind her and Kate jumped, her hand flying to her chest. “Sorry, babe.” He laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I didn’t mean to scare you—what were you thinking about so intently?”

  “Lots of things.” She turned in his arms and looked up into his handsome face. Tall, blond and Swedish, Karl resembled the Nordic gods that graced the covers of romance novels of the eighties. He was six feet four inches of pure hot Scandinavian deliciousness and sometimes it was hard to breathe when he whispered that he loved her or told her how beautiful she was.

  “Anything you want to share?” He cocked his head. “You’ve been different the last couple of days—is something going on?”

  “Maybe.” She smiled and pulled herself free from his embrace, walking out of the bathroom with him following.

  “Kate.”

  She turned to look at him over her shoulder, so many things running through her mind she wasn’t sure what to do. She’d wanted to wait until tomorrow but obviously her husband knew her well enough to know she was hiding something and wouldn’t easily let it go unless she distracted him.

  “Honey, you’re scaring me.”

  “No.” She reached up to touch his face. “It’s nothing bad—I promise. I was just waiting for the right time to tell you.”

  He frowned. “Whatever it is, I wish you would tell me now—I can tell something is on your mind.”

  “All right.” She made a hasty decision. “I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into their walk-in closet and came out a moment later with something in her hand. “So…remember when I said I’d started looking for a surrogate for us?”

  “Did you find one?” Karl asked carefully, trying to mask his disappointment. He wanted to be a father and adored his wife; if this was the only way it would happen, he would have to come to terms with it but he really disliked the idea of another woman carrying their child.

  “Kind of.” She held out the bag in her hand.

  He frowned. “Is she in the bag?” he asked finally.

  She rolled her eyes. “Open the bag, Karl.”

  He wasn’t sure what was going on, but did as she asked despite being baffled. When he saw the pregnancy tests he was even more confused. “Wait—if she’s already pregnant, how is it my kid?”

  Kate laughed, the sound echoing off the walls as she shook her head. “You are absolutely the sexiest man alive, and I love you more than you’ll ever know, but I do believe you’re a natural blond.”

  He narrowed his eyes, staring down at the tests in his hand and then back at his wife’s beautiful, glowing face. Glowing. His wife was glowing. What the hell…? “Kate?” He took a step forward and looked down at the three tests in his hand.

  “We’re going to have a baby,” she whispered, reaching for him. “We don’t need a surrogate because I’m already pregnant.”

  “You’re pregnant?” He was staring at her in confusion. “Babe? Did you just say…?”

  “I’m pregnant. Your baby—our baby—is growing inside of me.”

  “Kate.” His voice came out in a raspy whisper before he grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe.

  “Babe?” She pressed her lips to his neck. “Are you happy?”

  “Yeah.” His voice broke slightly and she pulled her head back so she could look up into his face.

  “Karl. Oh, baby—I thought you’d be happy?” She wiped the tear that had trickled from one of his eyes and pressed her lips to his.

  “Happy?” His watery eyes focused on hers. “I’m beyond happy—I can’t remember anything making me happier than this. God, I love you so much.” His mouth crashed down on hers, ravaging it, kissing her with as much passion as he’d ever had for her or anyone else. Hearing her say she was having his baby was the best news he’d had in a very long time. She’d always been firm that she had no desire to be pregnant or go through childbirth, and he loved her enough to entertain the idea of a surrogate or adoption. He’d always hoped she would change her mind, and she’d hinted at it a few months ago when they’d been in Switzerland rescuing their friend Tiff, but he hadn’t believed she would do anything this soon. He hadn’t even been aware she’d stopped using birth control, so this was a big surprise.

  “Take me to bed, Karl,” she whispered, running her hands down his strong, muscular back.

  “Yes.” He scooped her up in his arms and carried her, laying her on their bed as gently as a piece of porcelain.

  “I don’t break,” she said softly.

  “I just want to be really, really careful,” he said, stretching out beside her, one big hand resting on her stomach. He was staring at her torso so lovingly she couldn’t help but tilt his chin up, forcing him to look at her.

  “Boy or girl?” she asked softly.

  “Um…” His eyes glazed over. “I think I
want a boy first, but I’ll be okay with a girl.”

  “I think I want a girl,” she admitted with a giggle. “So we can gang up on you.”

  He laughed. “You can gang up on me any time!”

  2

  Four Weeks Later…

  “Is everything okay?” Kate was watching her doctor’s face with concern as the OBGYN performed an ultrasound.

  “Everything is fine…” Dr. Diaz murmured. “I’m trying to figure out why the levels in your bloodwork are so high. We may have the wrong due date.”

  “What does that mean?” Karl asked worriedly, his fingers wrapped tightly about Kate’s.

  “Probably just that you’re more pregnant than we thought and—” Dr. Diaz froze. Then she blinked a few times as a slow smile spread across her face. “Well.”

  “Well what?!” Kate was terrified. She’d been so sick the last couple of weeks she didn’t know what was going on. None of her friends had been this sick when they’d been pregnant and when she’d called, Dr. Diaz had suggested she come in for another ultrasound since her bloodwork had seemed off as well.

  “We’re going to do more tests,” she said softly. “But I think this is going to be something of a surprise.”

  “What is it?” Karl asked, his stomach clenching painfully.

  “I see two babies.”

  “Two?” Kate blinked. “You mean, like, twins?”

  “Exactly.” Dr. Diaz smiled. “Congratulations—you’re having twins.”

  “Are you sure?” Kate whispered, staring at the screen.

  “Oh yes. You can see the two sacs right here…” Dr. Diaz was talking and pointing to things on the screen, explaining the difference between fraternal and identical twins. After a few minutes she paused, staring at both of them cautiously. “You seem a bit shocked, which is perfectly normal. Are you guys okay?”

  “We’re having twins?” Karl spoke for the first time, his voice a little rough. “My brother and sister are fraternal twins.”

  “It runs in the family then.” Dr. Diaz smiled. “I know it’s a bit overwhelming, but I’m going to take good care of both the babies and Kate. In the meantime, I’m sure you have a lot of things on your mind. Twins are always slightly more complicated than a single baby, and we’ll go through all of it.”

  Kate suddenly snickered. “We’re having twins.” She clapped a hand over her mouth to hold back a laugh.

  “Why are you laughing?” Karl asked, staring at her in confusion.

  “Because I never wanted to be pregnant and now not only am I having a baby, I’m having two babies!” She started to laugh in earnest.

  Karl chuckled too, beginning to understand the irony. “So I guess I don’t get to nag you to do this again,” he said.

  “Not hardly.” She looked into his eyes and grinned. “I hope you know how much I love you, Mr. Martensson.”

  “I hope you know how much I love you too, Mrs. Martensson.”

  “We’re having twins!” Kate started to laugh all over again, leaning back on the examination table and holding her stomach.

  “You’re killin’ me, babe,” Karl couldn’t help but laugh too.

  “My mother is going to have a heart attack.”

  “My mother is going to be on the next plane!”

  “Do you have questions for me?” Dr. Diaz interjected lightly.

  “Oh yeah,” Kate nodded. “Except not about twins—I was going to ask regular pregnancy questions like about sex and what to eat and stuff.”

  “I can think of a few that are related to twins,” Karl said.

  “Then let’s get started.”

  “We have to make the announcement a big deal,” Kate said thoughtfully, her hand in Karl’s as they left the office and walked out to his truck.

  “Like what?”

  “A gender reveal party where we have everyone place bets on what it is—maybe we can donate the money to charity or something—and then we’ll release balloons or do the thing where the inside of the cake is pink or blue or whatever. What do you think?”

  “I think,” he said, drawing her against him as they reached his truck, “that for a woman who never wanted to be pregnant, you’re awfully excited.”

  “Like you’re not?” she demanded.

  “Of course I’m excited! It’s killing me not to announce it to the world. If Drake and Toli didn’t already know, I’d be a wreck.”

  “We won’t know if they’re boys or girls or one each for at least another month, so let’s do reveal party around Christmas. What do you think?”

  “But we can tell everyone you’re pregnant and having twins now, right?”

  She frowned. “I’d like to wait until I’m at the end of the first trimester.”

  “Babe, that’s next week. People usually keep pregnancy a secret in case something happens, so they don’t have to tell people and relive it over and over. But I have to be honest; if something happens, I’m not going to be able to hide how upset I am so we would have to tell people anyway. I really want to tell my parents, Coach Barnett, the guys on the team…please?”

  She reached out to touch his face. “If you’re that anxious to share the news, you can tell anyone you want.”

  “You sure? As much as I want to shout it from the rooftops, you have to be on board because you’re the one who’s pregnant.”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “I guess it didn’t occur to me that if something goes wrong we’re going to have to tell people why we’re upset whether they know about the pregnancy or not, so let’s just do it. Keeping it a secret is practically killing Tessa and Erin, so it’s probably time.”

  Karl leaned down to kiss her. “I’m so happy, Kate. Can we call my mom?”

  “Right now?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  She giggled. “Sure. Let’s call your mom.”

  “And then we’ll call my biological dad, my brother and sister and—”

  “Okay, Daddy, how about we call one person at a time?” she laughed. “You’re practically bouncing.”

  “Sorry,” he grinned. “Other than you, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

  She shook her head. “Sure, easy for you to say. You’re not the one carrying them. I’m already starting to show.”

  “You are not.” He leaned over and whispered something in Swedish to her stomach.

  “What did you just say?” she demanded.

  “You’re going to have to learn some Swedish,” he teased.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m incubating not one but two of your children—how about I learn Swedish when I’m not so busy?”

  He pretended to be considering it. “Okay, how about we start lessons when they’re a month old?

  “How about you get in the car and take me to lunch?”

  His eyes met hers with genuine affection and mirth. “Anywhere you want to go, baby.”

  She grinned. “In-N-Out Burger.”

  He made a face; he almost never ate fast food. “Really?”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “You want me to learn Swedish? I need a burger.”

  “O-kay,” he got in the truck and started the engine. “In that case, we probably should start with the curse words.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him.

  Anya’s Turn

  Las Vegas Sidewinders Book 6.3

  1

  Anya Martensson stared out at the bleak, rainy day and thought it reflected her mood. The last two years or so had been difficult. Her marriage had been strained for about the last five years, but she and Wills had grown close again after her breast cancer diagnosis. Then all hell had broken loose and their relationship had deteriorated faster than a speeding bullet. That’s what it felt like anyway.

  Getting up from her favorite chair—an antique she’d inherited from her grandmother that desperately needed to be refurbished—she padded into the master bathroom and switched on the light. Though it was late in the day, it had been raining all day and it was compl
etely dark outside. She was used to the rain, but on a day like today, where she was lonely and sad, she longed for sunshine.

  There’s sunshine in Las Vegas, she thought wistfully. Her oldest child, her son Karl, lived there with his wife and she knew she only had to make a phone call and he would send her a plane ticket. What would she say, though? She didn’t want to tell her son that his father—the man who’d raised him—was suddenly being an ass even though he’d always known he wasn’t Karl’s father. Karl hadn’t known Wills wasn’t his father until a little over a year ago, and Wills had been furious he’d been told. Anya hadn’t been the one to tell him, though—it had been their younger son, Sebastian, who’d apparently found out by eavesdropping on his parents’ private conversations at some point. He’d told his twin, Emilie, but she hadn’t been interested in starting any drama.

  Looking in the mirror, Anya sighed. She’d aged since the cancer. She was 48 now, but she’d held on to her looks for the most part. She’d had very little gray in her hair until it grew back after chemo. Now it was short, above her shoulders, and almost completely white. She was a natural blond, though, so coloring it back to its natural shade didn’t take a lot of work; it was just that she’d never had to do anything like that before she’d gotten sick.

  The lines around her mouth were more pronounced, she realized, and she didn’t know if it was because she’d lost weight or just more of this accelerated aging since the cancer. The laugh lines around her eyes had never bothered her before, but now she just seemed gaunt and unhealthy. Old. Tired. Really, really sad.

  Impulsively, she pulled out her makeup bag and dug through it. She hadn’t worn much makeup in the last year, but maybe it would cheer her up today. Or give her confidence. That was a joke, but it couldn’t hurt to try.