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“I’ll help,” Logan—our thirteen-year-old son—piped up as he appeared at West’s side.
Then our youngest son, Micah, jumped up from the table and copied my stance. “Me, too!” he announced, scowling. His attempt at looking intimidating wasn’t as effective at eleven, but I puffed up with pride at the way all of my boys jumped in to protect their sisters.
I had to fight back a grin when Merrick, Deacon, and a few other members of our former team, lined up behind them. Our neighbor, Dillon, also stood with them. He was a former ARMY Ranger, but he’d still become like a brother to me, and treated my kids like his own.
“Mom!” Kambria whined, her eyes wide and panicked as she looked around. “This isn’t fair! How come West can suck face with Amberlee—”
“Watch it, Kam,” West grunted.
“But I can’t have a peck without all the men in the family turning overbearing and unreasonable?”
“Because he's a man, and she’s not my daughter,” I growled.
“Double standard!” Kambria argued, stomping her foot angrily.
“Damn fucking straight,” I grunted at the same time as West.
“For crying out loud, would you two watch your language?” Cora snapped.
“Mom!” Kambria pleaded.
Cora sighed. “I’ll talk to your dad,” she assured her.
“Not with your mouth full,” I murmured, low enough that only she heard me.
Cora’s cheeks turned pink, and she licked her lips, making me fight a grin. It didn’t matter how long we’d been together, the chemistry between us had never dimmed. If anything, it had grown, especially when her body had filled out with curves from having our babies.
Cara cleared her throat and blinked a few times before speaking again. “Go enjoy the party, sweetie,” she said to Kambria. They watched each other for a few seconds, silently communicating like they’d always been able to do.
Kambria finally huffed and turned to Jenika. “Let’s go swim, kiwi.” Jenika burst out of her seat and grabbed Kambria’s hand, dragging her off toward the pool.
“Logan, Micah,” Cora said, nodding at each of the boys. “You run along, too. And don’t bug your sister about this.”
They looked like they wanted to argue, but they ultimately obeyed their mother and jogged off to join the other kids.
I glanced at Merrick. “You got this?”
He nodded and pivoted around, putting his phone to his ear as he walked back over to his wife, Audrey.
Merrick had “contacts,” and he’d known without me specifically voicing the request that I wanted him to find out the identity of the motherfucker who dared to kiss my baby girl.
Before I could return my focus to my wife, Dillon’s seventeen-year-old son, Kane, stepped into my line of sight. “You’re right, Huntley. Not coming forward would be disrespectful to all of you, especially Kambria.”
I was sure I’d misheard him, so I shook my head to clear away the fog and said, “Excuse me?”
“I kissed Kambria last night when I dropped her off after the movie.” Kane swallowed hard and took another step closer, but he stood straight with his shoulders squared, refusing to cower. Which I admired, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to kick his ass. “I wouldn’t have-–it truly was an accident. I would never have touched Kambria without speaking to you first, sir.”
“How the hell do you kiss someone by accident?” I shouted.
Cora put her hand on my shoulder, instantly getting my attention. “Kambria explained it to me. He’s not trying to make an excuse. She slipped and when he tried to catch her, they fell to the ground. Their faces literally smashed together.”
Kane cleared his throat. “However, it doesn’t excuse the second kiss. And I should have come to you first thing this morning.”
I opened my mouth to agree with some very colorful language, but Cora jumped in yet again. “I convinced him not to, Huntley. For the same reason I hadn’t told you yet. He argued something fierce, but he was raised just like our boys, to respect women and fear their wrath when disappointing them.”
I couldn’t argue with that logic, and she knew it.
Dillon rejoined us and from his wary expression, I knew he’d picked up on the situation with his son, and it was clear that he wasn’t happy with Kane’s actions.
