Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Fiona chuckled wetly. “Or a hacker trying to matchmake.”
“Whatever gets the job done.” He gave Jake a kiss on the forehead before saying, “Are you ready to live, Fiona?”
She smiled. “I think maybe I am.”
Chapter Eleven
Wyatt
Wyatt sagged with relief when Tanaka said Fiona was with Jake and his Uncle Shawn. Not at the airport. Not crossing the border to Canada.
Not leaving him.
At least, not yet.
“Now that everyone’s feeling like they’ve been trapped in a bad soap opera, how about we focus on some good news instead?” Rory asked the room at large.
There weren’t that many people here. Tasha and Seamus. Noah and Rory. Brady and Ken. All of them now knew that Fiona was pregnant, the baby was his, and Thoreau was somehow okay with it all. That made this a much more informative family meeting than any of them were expecting. And yes, if it weren’t his life, he’d say it was a little like a soap opera.
“Good news works for me,” Wyatt said, distractedly running a hand through his hair.
“Okay, first, they found the little prick who paid to have his building set on fire.”
“They did?” Noah asked with a glower. “Does Younger want to give me some time alone in a locked room with the sonofabitch?”
Rory shook his head. “I already asked, but he says the FBI has jurisdiction. Killjoys.”
Any other day Wyatt would be all over that news, demanding every detail and wondering why no one at the station had called him. But now Fiona was pregnant, Noah was talking to him and he might or might not be attracted to Thoreau Wayne. His plate was already overflowing.
He was going to be a father.
She didn’t want you to know.
He’d almost touched Thor’s hammer.
It looked like he wanted you to.
Was Noah’s Manny gay? Because it almost seemed like he was looking at—
Enough.
Wyatt wasn’t sure what to do with any of that. He was a simple guy. Beer, porn and firefighting. He was the calendar Finn. The sidekick.
The father.
“Maybe we could let Brady and Ken talk?” Seamus suggested. “Since they’re the reason we’re here in the first place. Not that I’m not fascinated by the drama between my cousin, my partner and my bartender.”
Wyatt grimaced and glanced over at Seamus. Sorry. “Yeah. Let’s focus on Ken’s problem.”
Good luck with that, Daddy.
“We’ve got our eyes on a developing situation with a reporter. Not as sexy as a secret baby, but still important or we wouldn’t have called,” Ken offered dryly.
Tasha crossed her arms with a scowl. “Again? You know I’m all for the free press, especially in the world we’re living in now. All hail the fourth estate and amen, but come on. Haven’t we been through enough?”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Thoreau murmured behind Wyatt’s shoulder. “You’d think you were Kardashians, the way they follow you around.”
“We’re better,” Tasha said, sending him a quick smile. “But we don’t need to be in the spotlight just to validate our existence. In fact, we’re a little busy living our best lives. So, who’s in the hot seat this time, Tanaka?”
“Noah, or we wouldn’t be here,” Wyatt guessed. “But what could a reporter possibly have on Noah?”
Ken didn’t give him a direct answer. “A woman has been interviewing your fellow firefighters, witnesses and friends of the family. The questions always start around the subject of the fire, but then they take a more personal turn. Your captain is the one who called to give us a head’s-up, Wyatt. And from the sound of it, she’s put together one heck of a dossier. Most of it is already in the public record.” He paused, taking the time to scan the room with his gaze. “But there are few things that aren’t.”
Brady frowned. “It’s the way questions are being worded and anecdotes compiled that make it seem like this is some sort of—”
“Smear campaign?” Fiona said as she walked into the room, looking as if she’d been crying.
“Fiona.” Wyatt and Thoreau both stepped forward but Fiona shook her head subtly and Wyatt stilled, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Nice of you to join us,” Brady said, glancing at Wyatt before turning back to Fiona. “And yeah. That’s what I’d call it.”
“Stephen has dealt with those before,” Tasha said, her eyes on Fiona’s stomach. “His constituents are thankfully smart enough to know tabloid from the truth.”
“Not exactly like this,” Ken corrected. “And not to blow my own horn, but I’ve managed to keep the worst stuff out of the tabloids. The city’s familiarity with, and love of, the Finn name does the rest. Anyway, I don’t think this particular reporter wants to publish any of her information. She has something else in mind.”
“Wyatt’s right, isn’t he?” Noah shifted with a grimace on the couch. “It’s not my ego talking, though I am still in the papers,” he joked, keeping his head down so his hat hid the scarred part of his face. “But since you’re here, and I used to know a reporter in the biblical sense, I’m assuming...”