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“I’m sorry, care to repeat that?” Daisy looked across her living room to the women gathered there. Xandra she knew. Her husband Gareth was in the kitchen with the husbands of the other women who were there. Xandra’s cousins. Xaya, Xahara and Xin. Apparently Xandra and Xin were half-sisters. A bunch of confusing shit.
Not made any easier by what she’d just found out.
She, too, had a half-sister. Xaya. Or so they’d just told her.
Xaya tucked some hair behind her ear and sent her a kind smile. The woman was a veterinarian who’d married a man from her childhood, a large, good-natured country boy.
“We’re half-sisters.” Xaya’s brown eyes twinkled. “I’m so excited. Our family keeps growing.”
Daisy shook her head, wishing Iris or Violet could have been here with her for this. Iris was still out of touch and Violet was in Papua New Guinea.
“Do I care to know how you got a hold of my DNA to know this for fact?”
The joy in Xaya’s eyes dimmed a little. Daisy felt bad but she was all out of sorts. They’d been waiting for her when she’d gotten home from New Orleans.
“That would be from me,” Xahara said. “After we found out about Xin, I decided to follow up on all our mothers. With my connections it didn’t take all that much work and we found she had you, married another man, then passed away. That man married again and that woman took you in like she did Iris and Violet. Also Ren, who can I just say, damn, brother is fine as fuck.”
“I hear that a lot.” Which was true, Ren drew a lot of appreciative gazes.
The men brought in food and placed it down on the coffee table before sitting beside their wives. Daisy was the only one without someone at her side.
Xandra patted her hand along Gareth’s thigh. The man picked her hand up and kissed her palm, then the back of her hand and returned it to his leg. “I know we sprang this on you and it’s nearly Christmas. We were on our way to celebrate with Xaya and Colum in Conception when I got the news from Xahara about you and Xaya.” She inched forward on the couch. “I know you just got back from dealing with your last job but if you don’t have plans for the holiday, we would love for you to come with us. We’d love to have Violet and Iris as well.”
Hell, she’d not even unpacked her bags yet. “Violet is out of the country and Iris—” She paused and swallowed. “She’s indisposed.”
Xaya bounced up and hurried to her side. “I’m a hugger,” she said as she sat beside Daisy. “We’re family now.”
Finding herself in the hug, Daisy realized that statement had been her warning of what was to come.
“What about Ren?” Xahara asked. “Is he available?”
“Dove,” Jager growled, placing his hand along the nape of her neck.
She smiled without looking at him. “Not for me, even if he is hot. I was thinking of others in Conception.”
Daisy held up a hand. “I’m sorry, thank you for the invitation but I’m going to have to decline. I took that New Orleans job as a favor to you, Xandra. I have plenty of work to follow up on.”
The woman leaned forward, eyes sparkling with devilish merriment. “Did you have a redo of Seattle?”
All four women in the room with her burst out laughing. The men merely smiled and shook their heads.
Xaya hugged her again. “Family. No secrets.” She inched closer. “I hear Livingston Rhodes is handsome as fuck.”
“Not that the father of your children and your husband would be the slightest bit put out by hearing that,” Colum drawled, stretching his legs out before him.
“Love you, baby. You know that.” Xaya rolled her eyes before she winked at Daisy.
Personally, she felt run over by a fleet of semis.
Colum narrowed his eyes at his wife before he pushed to his feet with ease. “I think,” he said in his slow, unhurried speech, “she would probably like to think about all of this. Let’s give her a bit of time and maybe allow her to sleep on everything you just threw at her.”
All the women converged on her and hugged her. Daisy closed her eyes. They’d been nothing but welcoming and she had no doubt Iris and Violet would love them too.
“We’re a lot but we have your back.” Xandra kissed her cheek. “And if you want me to send Gareth to kick Livingston’s ass, I’m fine doing that.”
“Red, stop giving away my services.”
“She’s family, Gareth. As her older brother you’re obligated to protect her and defend her.”
The tall blond tugged her away from the group hug and into his arms. Whatever he whispered into her ear had Xandra chuckling as she bit her lower lip.
