The SEAL's Second Chance Baby Read Online Free PDF

convinced than ever that they needed a firm masculine presence in their lives.
    Effie turned from the happy couple to summon her boys.
    The pool had been constructed to resemble a country pond. A pile of boulders at the deep end featured a grotto with a swim-up bar and slide. Country music played from speakers hidden in more rocks, and the sweet scent of petunias blended with suntan lotion and chlorine and lingering smoke from the grill to form the perfect backdrop for a lazy summer afternoon.
    â€œColt! Remington!” she called above the splashing, shifting Cassidy to her other hip. “We need to go!”
    â€œNo!” Colt swooshed his hand through the water, creating a massive wave. “We’re having fun!”
    â€œNow.” Effie walked to the pool’s edge. “If you’re not out of this pool by the time I count to ten, you’re grounded from TV and your friends for the whole first week of school.”
    Cassidy must have sensed the change in her mother’s mood, as she whimpered. “It’s okay, sweetie,” Effie said with a light jiggle. “Mommy’s not mad at you.”
    Remington sloshed to the pool’s edge and hopped out, racing across the sandstone pavers for his towel.
    â€œDon’t run!” she shouted after him.
    Meanwhile, Colt crossed his arms and glared. “I don’t wanna go!”
    â€œOne.” Why was Colt doing this? He never used to talk back when Moody had been around. Was she such a horrible parent that she’d brought out this defiant streak?
    He stood chest-deep in the water, staring.
    â€œTwo.”
    His friends stopped playing keep-away to gawk. Apparently the parental showdown was more entertaining?
    â€œThree.”
    â€œColt, come on,” his brother said. “We gotta pick school stuff.”
    â€œNo!” Colt looked away to swim to the deep end.
    â€œFour.” Effie’s heart pounded. She’d always hated confrontations, and fighting with her son in such a public setting was the worst.
    â€œI’ll get him, Mom.” Bless his little heart, Remington handed her his towel, jumped back in the pool, and swam to his brother. He whispered something in his ear, then Colt slapped the water but eventually turned for the shallow end.
    â€œThanks for your help,” she said when Remington stood beside her while Colt took his time getting his Spider-Man towel.
    â€œYou’re welcome.”
    She wanted to ask Remington what he’d said that had worked such magic but in the end realized she didn’t want to know. What if her youngest boy had told his big brother that if he didn’t come, Mom was going to have a stroke? Or embarrass them even more in front of their friends?
    When Colt finally reached her, Cassidy’s weight had taken a toll on Effie’s lower back. Eager to place the baby in her car seat, she said to both boys, “Go and thank Mr. and Mrs. Crawford, then get dressed. We need to hurry and get to the store.”
    * * *
    T WO HOURS LATER , frazzled didn’t begin to cover Effie’s mood. The school supplies had cost double what she’d budgeted and Colt had insisted on specialty items instead of plain number-two pencils and standard notebooks. She knew she should have told him no, but it was tough when Remington behaved like a saint in the crowded back-to-school aisle and deserved a little something special for the start of first grade.
    She had money tucked away from selling vegetables and eggs at the summer farmer’s market, and every so often Moody did send a check, but she hated needing his money and felt guilty living off Mabel’s generosity. Effie vowed to one day finish nursing school so she’d be able to support herself.
    Last year, Moody had been with her and the boys when they’d shopped for kindergarten supplies. When Colt pitched a fit over wanting the extra-large box of crayons with the built-in sharpener, Moody hefted him over