ASHFORD (Gray Wolf Security #5) Read Online Free Page A

opened when he pushed a button on a device that looked like a garage door opener. The house was a little way down the drive, a beautiful log-cabin-styled house with long windows along the front.
    Ash pulled the SUV to a stop in the drive and came around to help me out. He took my hand, and I saw the scratches on his wrist, scratches I vaguely remembered putting there when I was in labor.
    “I didn’t ruin your upholstery, did I?”
    “I had it cleaned. Good as new.”
    He carefully pulled me out of the car, conscious of my soreness, which I really appreciated. He didn’t step back, catching me with a hand on my hip as I wobbled a little on my feet. We were so close I could smell the faint scent of the soap he used. I looked up at him, and he was watching me, his hand moving up to my shoulder to steady me.
    “Okay?” he asked, genuine concern in his eyes.
    “I’m good.”
    He hesitated a second, but then he stepped back and gestured for me to get the baby.
    We were halfway to the door when it suddenly opened and these people just flooded out. A middle-aged woman came rushing over, slipping the baby, car seat and all, out of my arms.
    “He’s gorgeous,” she cooed as she uncovered the baby’s face. “All that dark hair! None of my babies had that much hair.”
    “Let me see,” another woman said, waddling down the front path, her wide, swollen belly pushing everyone else out of the way. She peeked at the baby and sighed. “Beautiful.”
    “Don’t worry, mama,” a dark-skinned man said, coming up behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders, “your little person will be just as gorgeous.”
    Ash moved up close behind me, resting his hand lightly on the small of my back. I looked up at him, grateful that he understood how overwhelmed I was. But then another man came over, a tall man who had the same dark hair and green eyes as Ash despite the clear difference in his more slender physique.
    “Brother!” this new man said. “It’s not good enough to be a wealthy business owner with your face plastered all over newsstands all over the city, but now you deliver babies in the middle of the night? Impressive!”
    Ash just shook his head, a slight grin softening his features. He drew me up closer beside him and said, “David, this is Wilhelmina Kaufman.”
    “It’s nice to meet you, Wilhelmina.”
    “Mina, please,” I said, as I accepted his proffered hand.
    “Mina,” David said with a slight bow.
    Then Ash turned me and gestured to the others. “That’s Rose,” he said, gesturing to the middle-aged woman who was still cooing over the baby, “and the pregnant woman is Joss. Behind her is Kirkland, and that’s Mabel beside him.”
    It was all so overwhelming. So many people all staring at my baby and me. I felt out of place in the ill-fitting scrubs. And I needed a shower. My hair was limp and greasy, falling unpleasantly all around my face. I felt like I’d just put in twelve hours of hard labor and stumbled into a formal dinner party.
    There were more people inside. Ash led the way in, and I was a little surprised to see desks scattered among the couches and love seats in the large, open living room. Sitting around one of those sitting areas was a man with a small bandage on his head and a woman with long hair that was pulled back with a heavy clip. They stood as we came inside, the woman coming over to steal a glance at the baby.
    “Oh, he’s beautiful,” she said, smiling at me.
    “Thank you,” I said, unsure what else to say.
    Someone had taken the baby out of his car seat and they were passing him around, admiring him like he was a member of their family and they were trying to identify familiar features. It was sort of surreal because this was what I’d imagined it would have been like when I was kid and I fantasized about having children. But I’d thought my mom would be here to admire my first child and I’d have a faithful, caring husband at my side beaming with pride.
    I was