Page 18 of Bad Boy Bakers, Vol. 2

Cash snapped awake, ears straining for the noise that had dragged him from sleep. Was it the dog? Or had Arwen finally figured out how to climb out of the crib?

A glance at the clock and the hints of sunrise out the bedroom window told him that, either way, he wasn’t going back to sleep.

As Hadley slept the blissful sleep of utter exhaustion, he pressed a kiss to the trio of swallows she’d had inked on her shoulder after their daughter was born and carefully eased away from her, smiling as she rolled backward, into the warm spot he’d vacated.

Some things never changed, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Snagging a T-shirt from the chair by the bed, he shut the bedroom door behind him and padded down the hall, straight to his daughter’s room.

He heard her before he saw her, babbling cheerfully to Axel.

The retired military dog lay on his absurdly cushy bed beside the crib, ears alert, tail slowly swishing as he listened to whatever story she told.

Actually, as he caught a word here or there, Cash thought maybe she was narrating her plan for escape.

That big-girl bed might not be too far off.

Arwen herself stood in the crib, hands curled around the bars. Her dark curls haloed her head like Einstein, and her diaper hung somewhere around her knees, but those bright blue eyes were wide awake. “Daddy!”

His favorite two syllables hit him in the chest, as they always did. A quick one-two to the sternum.

“Good morning, Sunshine.”

He scooped her up, giving her a nuzzle as he carried her over to the changing table.

She kept up a running commentary while he took care of the dirty diaper.

In so many ways she was Hadley’s Mini Me, but in this she took after him.

Unconscious to awake in a blink. Given his wife still wasn’t remotely a morning person, he usually took on the start of the day to let her try to sleep.

Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t.

As Arwen got more mobile and more loud, he feared those days of Hadley sleeping in at all were numbered.

But, the least they could do was offer up coffee and food.

“Ready to go make breakfast for Mama?”

“Yeah!”

Axel rose from his bed and stretched before following them down the hall to the kitchen, his tags a quiet jingle.

Cash let the dog out to do his business and consulted with his daughter. “What do you think for this morning?”

“Acimon omeal.” Arwen added a decisive nod for emphasis.

Translating that to apple cinnamon oatmeal, Cash nabbed a saucepan and carried it over to the stove.

At nearly three, Arwen was definitely getting into the idea of doing things herself, so he’d been experimenting with safe ways for her to actually do that.

Knowing she loved this breakfast as much as her mother, he’d peeled and finely diced the apples the night before, storing them in the fridge in a container of lemon water.

He figured Arwen could scoop them out with a slotted spoon without too much trouble.

Their last attempt at this, he’d allowed her to measure the oatmeal.

That had gone… okay. Axel had been happy to lap up the dry oats that had ended up on the floor.

Hearing the sounds of food preparation, the German shepherd came trotting in from the backyard, taking up position close enough to snap any bits that fell or were conveniently dropped by little hands that wanted to share.

“Okay, little bit, what comes first?”

“Coffee!” she chirped.

Cash laughed. “You do know your mama.” He lifted her up to counter height. “Press the button.”

Arwen enthusiastically stabbed the brew button on the coffee pot he’d prepped last night.

“Good job.”

Shifting her to his hip, he gathered up the rest of the ingredients for the oatmeal and carried them to the counter. “Okay, we need four scoops of oatmeal. Can you show me four?”

With a very serious face, Arwen held up four chubby fingers.

“All right!” Cash gave her a high five, then handed over the half cup measuring cup and held the carton of oats so she could dip into it.

They counted the scoops off together. He noted they had a little more than the total two cups Rachel’s recipe called for, but he could accommodate for that in the water.

They went through the process again for the cut apples.

A fair amount of the lemon water ended up on the counter and the dog who lingered below, but the apples themselves made it into the pot.

Mostly. Cash measured the salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg himself, then let Arwen dump the little bowl of spices in.

He poured in the water and gave the whole thing a stir, setting the pot to come to a boil.

Hadley stumbled in about the time the coffee beeped, her jaw cracking on a yawn.

The oversized T-shirt she wore slipped off one shoulder.

Her turquoise streaked hair was braided into two thick pigtails, and she shuffled across the hardwood floors in the duck slippers Arwen had picked out for her birthday earlier in the year. She’d never been more beautiful to him.

“Mama!” Arwen stretched out her chubby little arms.

“Morning, Peanut.” On a sleepy smile, Hadley leaned in to grab her, and Cash stole a kiss.

“Thought you’d sleep later.”

She hummed and lingered, brushing her lips against his again before dropping back to her feet. “That’s much harder to do when the bean decided to tap dance on my bladder. I swear, you planted a whole soccer team in there this time.”

Arwen grabbed Hadley’s face between her hands, squishing her cheeks. “How bean?”

“The bean is good. How are you?” She tickled Arwen’s ribs, and peals of laughter filled the kitchen. The best sound in the world.

Cash pulled them both in, laying a hand over the swell of Hadley’s belly where the bean—which was probably more the size of a banana now—rested. “He’s got your energy.”

“If karma gives me another morning person child, I’m sending in a petition of protest. You already outnumber me.” But her smile was fond as she rubbed the baby bump.

They’d decided together that they wanted to add one more to their brood, waiting until they’d settled into their new life and Hadley’s business had hit a comfortable stride.

She’d gotten creative and adjusted her hours so she didn’t have to give up the art she loved in the name of family.

They’d made it work, and they’d keep making it work when they welcomed their son.

She’d been a lot more chill with this pregnancy.

They’d survived the roller coaster ride of their first relatively unscathed and been gifted with the world’s easiest kid.

Parenthood had come with so many changes, and while they hadn’t loved every minute, it had meant so much to them both to be able to give their child everything they hadn’t had growing up.

All the way down to a house with a yard, a wooden fence, and a dog.

And above everything else, unconditional love.

Choose Your Next Romance

Thank you for reading Hung Up on the Hacker!

I hope you enjoyed Cash and Hadley’s story.

If you were paying attention, I know you caught the hint of what’s to come with Grey and Rebecca.

Their story Caught Up with the Captain is available now, and you won’t want to miss this second chance silver fox romance!

Keep turning the pages for a sneak peek!