Page 91 of Not Part of the Plan
“Well, congratulations,” Donovan raised his bottle. “If this works out, you’ll be cutting down on my sleepless nights worrying about dumping those two in foster care.”
“I’d appreciate if you all could keep your traps shut about this until we find the mom and see where everything stands,” Jax said, holding up two fingers for cards.
“She’s got to sign over custody,” Beckett explained. “And she may not be willing.”
“Fuck that,” Niko argued. “She abandoned them.”
Beckett finished mopping up Lydia and himself. “The law’s the law. And we need to be on the right side of it when we’re talking about kids and families.”
“What about you, Fitz? You ever regret not having kids?” Jax asked.
Fitz ran his hand down his braided rattail. “I thoroughly enjoy my bachelorhood.”
“I guess a wife and kids would really interfere with your stripping career,” Jax mused.
“You’re going to have a kid in college,” Carter grinned. “How’s that gloating going?”
“Hey, what are you guys all going to do when your daughters start dating?” Evan piped up.
Niko grinned watching the color slowly drain from the Pierce faces.
“Yeah, Reva’s probably already dating,” Donovan said, feeding the beast. “Have you met any of the guys, or do you think she just sneaks out to meet them? You wouldn’t believe the places I find teenagers making out.”
Jax’s knuckles whitened on the neck of his bottle, and Niko got the feeling he was reminiscing about his high school exploits with newfound regret.
“Can you guys imagine when Aurora starts dating?” Evan mused. “She’s barely controlled chaos now.”
“Hell no. I fold. None of them are ever dating,” Beckett decided, shaking his head. “I can’t handle that. I know what guys are like at that age.”
“Weallknow what guys are like at that age. Wewerethose guys,” Carter groaned, tossing his cards on the table.
“They actually start younger now,” Donovan said helpfully.
“Oh yeah, I had to chase off a couple of preteens who were necking behind my dumpster at the store,” Fitz agreed. “Turned the garden hose on ‘em.”
“Maybe we can send them all to a private all-girls school?” Beckett wondered.
Jax pulled out his phone. “I’m out. I gotta see if there’s an all girls college with an equestrian program. No way in hell Reva’s going away to school with slobbering, pimply, walking freshman hard-ons.”
Evan raked in the pot and grinned smugly.
“You’ve got baby barf in your beard,” Carter smirked at Beckett.
“Let’s get back to Fitz’s stripping career,” Niko demanded. “I have a lot of questions.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“I can’t believe you talked me into this.” Emma stared out the train window as upstate New York zipped past. “Three days in the city,” she sighed.
Niko grinned at her. “Excited?”
She dropped her head to his shoulder. “Beyond. I thought it would be harder to get the time off, but Jax told me they were on the verge of forcing me to take a couple of vacation days.”
“You’re family to them,” Niko said, lacing his fingers through hers.
“Funny how that happens. So tell me again everything that’s on the agenda,” she demanded.
“Tonight, we’re having dinner with my father and his wife.”
