“I still insist on paying for half of the gardening,” Miranda spoke up, interrupting his thoughts. “We don’t want to take advantage of you.”
Jackson waved a hand. “Don’t even think about it, sugar. I never got to give you a wedding present because you two a-holes decided to elope, so this is my chance to right the wrong.”
She looked ready to argue, but fortunately, two dark-haired tornadoes swirled onto the scene before she could get a word out.
Sophie and Jason, Miranda’s seven-year-old twins, burst out of the sliding door with a degree of energy that made Jackson chuckle. He had no idea how Miranda had managed to raise those two Energizer bunnies on her own for so long. Even Seth, a Navy SEAL who’d had strenuous training in endurance, admitted that there were days he collapsed in bed thanks to the two children he’d officially adopted last year.
“You wanna see my picture?” Sophie bubbled, her brown pigtails swinging around as she hurled herself into Jackson’s lap.
He wrapped an arm around the little girl and peeked at the crumpled piece of blue construction paper in her hands.
“What exactly am I lookin’ at, darlin’?” he said with a laugh.
Sophie pointed to two little stick fingers. “Well, that’s me ’n Jase—see, Jase is wearing his baseball hat. And that’s Mommy in a pretty pink leotard. And that’s Daddy over here. I gave him red eyes because he was really mad this morning because we woke him up by jumping on his head, but I don’t get why he got mad because it was almost noon and nobody should sleep ’til noon—that’s what Mommy always says.”
“Mom always says that,” Jason piped up, nodding vigorously.
Seth made an irritated noise. “I slept until noon because somebody kept me up all night. Maybe you guys should tell Mommy that marathoning crappy TV shows isn’t a productive pastime.”
“I wouldn’t have to marathon it if they didn’t end every episode on a cliffhanger!” Miranda objected. She turned to Jackson and added, “I’m watching Lost on DVD. And yes, I know I’m several years too late but I never had time to watch it when it was on.”
“She stayed up until five a.m.,” Seth grumbled. “I’m lying there trying to sleep and every five minutes she wakes me up to tell me how Sawyer is soooooo hot.”
Miranda smirked. “I can’t help it. I like bad boys.”
Jackson had to laugh. There was no arguing that Miranda had landed herself the biggest bad boy of them all. With his scruffy appearance, tattoos and smartass attitude, Seth was definitely rough around the edges, but the guy had grown up a lot since marrying Miranda and becoming a father to her kids.
“Anyhoo, I should check on dinner,” Miranda said, sliding off Seth’s lap. She glanced at the twins. “Do you guys want to help?”
“Ya!” both kids declared, and then they were gone, scrambling after their mother into the house.
“Soph called you ‘Daddy’,” Jackson remarked when he and his fellow SEAL were alone. “When did that start?”
“A few days ago,” Seth admitted. “Jase introduced me as his dad at his last Little League game, and the rugrats have been calling me that ever since.”
To Jackson’s surprise, Seth looked vaguely embarrassed.
“You totally like it,” he accused, grinning broadly.
His buddy shifted awkwardly, a faint blush on his cheeks. “Kinda.”
If someone had told Jackson two years ago that Seth Masterson, the wiseass he’d met during Hell Week, would marry a single mom with a good head on her shoulders and take on the task of raising her kids, he would have laughed in their faces. But life was funny like that.
“So, you really hit it off with that gardener, huh?” As usual, Seth changed the subject the moment the conversation got a wee too squirmy for his liking.
Jackson sighed, then took a quick sip of his beer. “I did. But she totally shot me down.”
“You think she’s playing hard to get or just not interested?”
“Naah, she was interested. I know when a girl’s into me.”
Seth snickered. “Maybe you’ll come home tonight and find her in your bed wearing nothing but a cowboy hat.”
“And a gun holster,” he said with a frustrated breath. “Don’t forget the holster.”
Now his friend was laughing in earnest. “Fuck, I would have paid to see that. I can’t believe you drew your gun on her.”
“I thought she was a frickin’ burglar.”
“Jesus. That’s pure gold, man.” Seth grinned. “Well, fingers crossed that this gardener you’ve got a hard-on for isn’t bat-shit crazy too. Though I still think you’re nuts for hiring her company to do our yard just so you can talk to her again.” There was a pause. “Does that make her a hooker, you think?”
“I’m not payin’ to sleep with her, asshole. I just want another shot at asking her out.”
Seth arched a dark brow. “Potato, potahto.”