Saving This (The McCallans #5) (35 page)

Tate was standing nearest to Max at that point, and they just looked at each other in disbelief. What kind of family argues about what to name a trans-gender, dirty-mouthed parrot?

“I guess you guys can call her whatever you want since you do anyway,” Melanie said. “I just thought I’d let you know. And because the kids are getting older… I think I should find her a new home. That’s all I really wanted to say, so if you know of anyone who wants a swearing parrot, let me know.”

Everyone went silent. Melanie had always loved her bird, and no matter how many times Jay told her he wanted to get rid of it, Max knew he secretly loved that bird. It was one-of-a-kind.

“I might know someone who could work with him—
her
,” Max spoke up.

Melanie looked relieved but confused. “Work with her? What do you mean?”

“I know a guy who trains animals for movies, he specializes in birds. Maybe he could work on fixing some of the, uh, language issues.”

“Seriously?” she asked wide-eyed. “That would be great. I don’t know about correcting her language at this point, though. But if he could at least give me an assessment…”

“Doesn’t hurt to ask. And if it’s not something that can be fixed, I’m sure he could help you re-home the bird.”

“Put it in a movie, not even kidding,” Jay muttered.

As the discussion continued about the bird with everyone else, Tate turned to Max and asked, “Speaking of movies… Yours releases in August, right? How are you feeling about it?”

Max slowly bobbed his head. “You know, I’m feeling pretty stoked about it. I’ve been through the process so many times before and know a winner when I see one, and I’m pretty damn sure this will be one. I don’t even care what awards season says early next year; I already achieved what I wanted to achieve by creating it. Hey, I actually cried when I first screened it. It exceeded my expectations. It was surreal.”

“That’s good, man. Oh, and everyone at the tat parlor wanted me to thank you for all you did. You really went above and beyond with dinner and perks that day, they really appreciated it.”

“It was no problem at all. You’ve got a good thing going there. And with Anna,” he added as she joined them.

“What about Anna?” She slid her arms around Max and squeezed him tight. He was betting she was pretty tired after a long day.

“Tate working with you. You guys have a good business.”

“Yes, we do. But Kobe and Tate do all the work. I’m just a name and face.”

“You’re the sales ticket, woman,” Tate joked. “I wouldn’t have the work without you. And looks like my baby is a little pissed.” He excused himself to meet up with Rayne, who was holding a tear-streaked Phoenix. It seemed to be about that time of night where all the kids were getting cranky anyway and were being corralled by their parents.

Chase came out holding Cade’s hand until Melanie got to him. She handed Elias to his dad and knelt down to pick up their toddler. “Thank you so much for looking out for him,” she told Chase, giving him a hug. “He loves you so much. Did you have fun?”

He answered yes and they talked for a minute until Chase came to Max, rubbing his eyes.

“Aww, looks like someone is ready for bed,” Anna spoke softly.

“Hey, buddy, you ready to go?” Max picked him up, and with Chase in one arm and Anna in the other, a feeling of contentment washed over him. He didn’t think he could feel happier than he was in this moment.

Chase wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck and squeezed him tight. “I love you, Daddy,” he whispered.

~The End~

To the reader:

You’ve just finished the final story in the McCallan series. It has been so very hard for me to complete this last book because I have never wanted this family to end! I feel at this time five books is a full set, and I’m extremely happy with this series. When I released Kiss This, I had no idea there would be so much interest and that I would write four more books.

This series has been quite the journey for me. I want to say thank you to every reader who experienced this with me. I wouldn’t have continued the series without your support, and the love (and hate) you’ve had for my characters. Here’s to many more glorious stories, but the McCallans will forever be in my heart. Even as I type this, I’m feeling like a wuss! This is so bittersweet. However, for the past year I’ve been dabbling with the idea of doing a special holiday novella in the near future. I’ve got a few extra McCallan family moments to share, so stick around!

Happy reading to you and many other book adventures in the future. Thank you from every corner of my heart!

Hadley xoxo

Books by Hadley Quinn:

The McCallan series:

Kiss This

Tame This

Only This

Maybe This

Saving This

The Fighter’s Block series:

Donovan, Book One

Cole, Book Two