“Oh, yikes!” Pippa said. “I was abducted.”
Aspen covered Rexy’s ears and said, “I had a really bad neighbor who was his first owner.”
Brooklyn raised her hand. “Ex-boyfriend who hunted me.”
“Stalker here,” Giana shared.
“Do you…” Saylor stopped and glanced at the others. “Do you think that’s why we’re attracted to daddies?”
Giana snorted and laughed. Brooklyn and Aspen joined her. Pippa giggled so hard, she fell backward onto the carpet.
Giana pulled herself together enough to say, “Sorry. We’re not laughing at you. We’ve had this discussion before. I’ll let Pippa tell you what we decided.” Instantly, she snorted and laughed again.
“You keep snorting,” Pippa howled.
Saylor couldn’t stop herself from chuckling. At least she hadn’t insulted them? Or she didn’t think she had?
Brooklyn forced words out of her mouth. “Our daddies are just hot!”
“And we like our butts spanked,” Aspen suggested. “And all the care that comes with it.”
Pippa sobered and blinked away tears. “And they love us with their big daddy hearts.”
“Oh! You’re going to make us all cry. I’m bringing my stuffie next time. That would be okay, wouldn’t it, Saylor?” Aspen asked.
“Of course! Want to meet mine?” Saylor asked.
Yeses sounded around the room.
Opening her bag, Saylor pulled out Tapper. His bright coloring and dancing skills made him an instant hit. Of course, everyone had to show Saylor a picture of their stuffie from their phones. Before the pizza was gone, Saylor had decided she fit well with the group. She wasn’t quite ready to tell them everything yet, but suspected that would come. Having a girl posse was the best thing ever.
CHAPTER 11
Less than twenty-four hours later, the team was back outside Max’s house. After loading up and heading out on the first leg of their trip, diplomacy had triumphed. Their commander canceled the mission and sent them home. That didn’t happen often, but Max had let out a “Hell, yes!” shout when the text had come through.
When the guys had discovered all the women had chosen to spend the night together at Max’s house, the team chose to surprise them together. Hank had insisted they text from the yard instead of going inside unannounced. Something had happened to his last team under similar circumstances. Once Hank warned them, everyone agreed. They didn’t wish to scare their little girls.
“On the count of three,” Jerico said before counting for them.
Everyone but Hank sent a picture of the group standing outside on Max’s lawn. They waited quietly. Who would appear first in the doorway?
“Daddy!” Pippa raced out the door.
Something inside crashed and Rexy led Aspen out a couple of seconds later. Aspen jumped into Jerico’s arms and clung to him as the massive dog bounced around, greeting each team member with the energy of a chihuahua before darting away from everyone to pee on a bush and running back.
“Daddy?” Giana rubbed her eyes, her long hair tousled around her face. Koa walked to her and hugged her close, moving Giana out of the doorway as Brooklyn peeked around her.
“You’re back?” Brooklyn asked in disbelief, as Caden stepped forward.
“Hey, little girl. Can I get a welcome home kiss?” her daddy asked.
“Daddy!” Brooklyn burst into tears and rushed forward to scatter kisses all over his face. He hugged her close as he whirled her around in a happy circle.
Max spotted Saylor hovering just inside. She wore one of his T-shirts, just like the others. The scamps had raided his T-shirt collection. While they were used to all the other men, Saylor had hesitated to appear wrapped only in thin cotton. He walked inside.
“Hi, baby. They canceled our mission. Oof!” Max stabilized them as she smashed into him. He cupped her pretty face and kissed her hard.
“I missed you,” she whispered. “All the girls came over. I hope that’s okay? They wanted to stay with me, and we were having so much fun.”
