Chapter 30

Hunter laced his fingers with Maggie's as they walked into the Bells' backyard. The brick porch was full of people. The pool was filled with kids. Music was playing softly on speakers and the food and drinks were flowing.

"Oh my gosh!" Maggie gasped as she saw Tinsley and Paxton sitting on the couch. In Tinsley's arms was a newborn baby. "You had your baby!"

Tinsley smiled serenely and Hunter instantly saw the content and proud look on Paxton's face. Hunter's gaze turned to watch as Maggie knelt down and ran a finger over the baby's downy hair. That could be them someday. The idea used to make Hunter consider a vasectomy. Now the opposite was true. He could hardly wait to get to his house tonight to start practicing.

"Who is this?" Hunter asked, bending down next to Maggie to see the newborn.

"Tyler Kendry. Ty was born the day after you all left for Italy. He's been a good boy, even if he gets a little fussy sometimes," Tinsley said as Ty began to make that crinkly face meaning he was about to cry.

"May I?" Hunter asked, holding out his hands.

"You want to hold a baby?" Paxton seemed surprised.

"I do have a lot of experience, you know. There are nine of us," Hunter said, nodding his head to where a group of his younger siblings were laughing.

Tinsley slid Ty into his arms and Hunter moved him into position and began to rock. It was crazy how it all came back to him—the hours and hours he'd rocked his younger siblings. The baby's face relaxed instantly. Tinsley looked shocked. Paxton looked relieved. Maggie looked very turned on. Maybe they wouldn't be waiting very long to start a family of their own after all.

After handing a sleeping Ty back to his parents, Hunter took Maggie's hand and escorted her closer to the food.

"Here. Have a plate of the town's favorite barbecue," Earl, the owner of Lowcountry Smokehouse said, handing Maggie a plate of food.

"Here," Darius, the owner of the rival Pink Pig said, shoving a plate at Hunter. "Have a better plate of barbecue."

The two men were famous for competing over whose BBQ was the best. In fact, at church every week, blind samples were put out and donations to the church were put in the basket in front of your favorite barbecue. Whoever had the most was that week's winner and was flooded with after church diners.

"Thank you," Hunter told them. "We'll share them and enjoy them both . . . equally."

Earl, who looked a little like Santa Claus huffed. Darius had long ago shaved his head and was now shaking it. "Youngins," Darius muttered.

"Can't make a decision to save their lives," Earl said as they both walked off.

"Don't mind them," Miss Ruby said. "Darius is my second cousin's brother-in-law. He's always been a grumpy old man, even when he was a teenager."

"And Earl really gets his panties in a twist if you don't instantly praise his food. They'll get over it," Miss Winnie added.

"The important thing is you two finally made the most important decision. When is the wedding?" Miss Ruby asked and suddenly they were overrun by questions from everyone around them.

"She's the event planner," Hunter said, trying to deflect some of the questions.

"Are you really throwing me to the wolves?" Maggie whispered, wide-eyed.

"I sure am, sweetheart. I just love watching you do your job."

Maggie rolled her eyes and then smirked and Hunter's smile faded. Uh-oh. "Hunter wants us to elope."

"Oh, that's mean," Hunter gasped as the wolves turned on him.

Maggie smiled sweetly, gave him a little wave, and sashayed her way to the bar. Oh, he'd make her pay for this tonight in the best possible way. By having her scream his name, begging him for more.

Maggie took a drink from the bartender and laughed to herself as Hunter had his hands up as if defending himself from the matrons of town.

"So, you're going to be my new sister. About time my brother got his head out of his ass and asked you to marry him."

Maggie jumped at the voice coming from behind her at the bar. She turned to find Penelope Townsend, the youngest of the Townsends, sipping a cocktail and staring at Maggie with her grey eyes. She looked very similar to Damon—jet black hair and those smokey eyes that didn't seem to miss anything. However, the biggest difference was Penelope smiled.

"I'm excited to gain two sisters."

"And how excited are you to gain six brothers?"

Maggie laughed. "Well, when you put it that way . . ."

"Penelope!" Hunter called out as he extricated himself from the matrons and swooped his baby sister up in a hug.

Maggie stepped back as all the brothers rushed Penelope and started giving her crap for not letting them know she was coming. Hunter kissed his sister but quickly moved to put his arm around Maggie.

"How is the wedding planning going?" Maggie teased.

Hunter smiled and Maggie's eyes went big as his eyes sparked with mischief. "Great. We're getting married next week."

"What?" Maggie gasped.

"They thought you were serious about me wanting to elope so they bribed me with a quick wedding to convince me to do it here. You better get to wedding dress shopping, sweetheart."

"I don't need to. I'm wearing my grandmother's dress just like my mother did. Are you actually serious?"

"You did say you didn't want to be apart."

Hunter's family stared at them with shock and a little bit of fear. They were waiting for her to go off on Hunter, but instead, Maggie tossed back her head and laughed. "I can't wait. I'd do it tonight if I could."

"No!" her mother screamed. "A week is enough to about kill me. There are flowers and invitations—"

Timmons threw his arm around her mom's shoulder. "Don't worry, Mrs. B. Maggie's dress will drip. She'll slay as a bride and the wedding will be lit, no cap! We understand the assignment and are ready to give off wedding vibes."

Maggie almost laughed at the look of confusion on her mother's face. "Don't worry, Mom. I'm a professional. I'll have it planned in no time."

"I'll help too," Olivia said.

"Me too," Penelope added. "And if it's really next week, I can stay for it."

Maggie was quickly pulled into wedding talk and instead of being overwhelmed, she was so excited she could barely contain herself. Hunter didn't run this time. He stayed with her, his hand on her waist, as he helped as much as he could.

"I'm just saying, having a shooting contest for the wedding guests would be cool," Hunter said.

"I couldn't agree more," her father added. "It's a family tradition, but now I have Hunter on the guys' team. We might finally win one."

"Hey," Gage grumbled for a moment but then reared back and high-fived Hunter. "Yeah, we will!"

* * *

Damon leaned against the bar and watched his family. Hunter kissed the top of Maggie's head and held her close as they teased each other about wedding ideas. They were the great couple Damon knew they would be.

Stone and Natalie joined the conversation to try to help out, but Stone just ended up siding with Maggie and teasing Hunter that he should wear a pink tuxedo. Timmons declared it to be aesthetic AF.

Olivia got in on it too, adding a purple paisley bow tie before high-fiving Maggie. Soon Penelope joined in along with the Bells, and Hunter dished it back to them as best he could, but he was outnumbered. Good. Hunter needed a woman like Maggie to keep him on his toes.

"He looks happy," Kane said, taking a swig of beer as he joined Damon.

"He does. And so do Stone and Liv. I like seeing my family happy and settled," Damon said pointedly.

Kane rolled his eyes. "You're worse than Mom and Dad. They're calling in for a video chat soon, but I get at least two texts a week that some granddaughter or other of one of the retirees is single and a nice young girl."

Damon chuckled. Their parents were in a retirement village in Arizona. It was hard on them to travel, so they whole family had flown out to see them right before Stone's wedding. "You don't need a nice young girl. You need a smart woman who is your intellectual equal. Otherwise, you get bored."

Kane took a sip of beer and shrugged. "True, but it's not as if the perfect woman just falls into your lap like Maggie did for Hunter."

"She didn't fall into his lap. She knocked him upside the head for being a dumbass. The lesson is, don't be a dumbass when you meet the right woman."

"No one has ever accused me of being a dumbass."

Damon looked at his brother and held his eyes. "Even smart guys can do stupid things. You know that better than anyone. Look at how many smart people you've had to rescue."

"And how many spoiled ones?" Kane grumbled. "I've been on a streak lately of kidnapped heirs and heiresses with nothing in their heads except family money."

Kane's phone lit up in his hand and Damon saw it was the office. Kane sighed and set down his drink. "I have to take this."

Damon watched his brother walk off to the corner of the yard and answer the phone. Kane needed someone to settle him down and have him appreciate the good things in life once again. He'd seen too much darkness in the FBI BAU and was now dealing with kidnappers and rescuing people from criminals. There was no brightness in his life. Kane needed a woman who didn't give into the darkness but would help pull him from it.

Damon took another drink and went back to watching his family. He would never have this, but he could make sure his siblings did. Especially Kane. He needed love and soon. The rustling breeze and the feel of someone pinching his ass told him Anne Bonny agreed.

* * *

Kane answered the phone with a sharp, "Yeah?"

"Mr. Townsend, we have a diamond level client who is being held for ransom," his assistant said.

"Who?"

"Tiffany Ambers, heiress to the Ambers Leather Goods company. She and her friends thought going to Africa without telling anyone would be a good idea since the royal family did it. The trouble is they didn't have the royals' protection detail and they flashed their money all over town."

"Who has her?" Kane asked, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Our old pal, Bokamoso."

"Well, that makes it easy. My brother is getting married in a week. Book me on the soonest flight to South Africa and tell the Ambers to have their private jet meet me there. It won't take long to negotiate this. Boka's last two hostages ransomed for a hundred thousand in under three days," Kane told her.

"I'll make the arrangements and text you."

Kane hung up and turned back to the party. Hunter hugged Maggie to his side. The bastard was smiling as if he'd just hit the jackpot. And he had. Maggie was perfect for him.

Kane glanced around and saw Damon walking toward him. He nodded his chin to the group of happily married Townsends and then pointed at Kane as if to say he was next. A cool breeze sent a chill up Kane's spine, but he shook it off as Damon joined him.

"Will you make it back in time?" Damon asked.

"I should. I know who is holding her for ransom. He's easy to work with, treats the hostages well, and isn't overly greedy. Should be in and out."

"Wouldn't it be nice to come home to a woman waiting for you?"

Kane shook his head at Damon. "For a man in his thirties, you sure act like a meddling old lady."

"It'll happen, Kane. If you let it," Damon told him.

"I'm not falling in love with a nineteen year old heiress," Kane said.

Damon's face softened as if he knew something Kane didn't. "Didn't say it was this case, just that you will fall in love if you open your heart . . . or have it pried open by a very determined woman."

"Yeah, that sounds romantic."

"Look at Hunter and Maggie. That wasn't romance. That was a shot to the head."

Kane gave himself one moment to pretend he could be that happy and in love, but then his phone buzzed. His flight was leaving Charleston in an hour. He didn't have time to think about love. He had a damsel in distress to save. Again. Maybe someday he'd have a woman save him. Kane shook his head as he strode toward his car. Damon was getting in his head. There would be no happily ever after for him. He had a job to do.

What happens when Kane falls for a woman he's sent to rescue? Find out in RESCUED when smart and feisty Waverly is kidnapped and Kane is sent to rescue her. What starts off as another job turns into a battle for their lives and their hearts.