Page 14 of A Trident Christmas Baby

“Does Santa have room in his sleigh for a castle on top of all the other presents for the other children?” Alex asked. She was having fun with the conversation.

“Santa has room for all the gifts. It’s magical.” Sienna said, picking up a candy cane and holding it up like a lawyer presenting evidence. “And even if he didn’t, the elves can just load the castle on the backup sleigh and bring it.”

“The backup sleigh? I didn’t realize that Santa had more than one sleigh.”

“Aunt Alex, Daddy says you always have to have backups because things break down,” Sienna said, looking at Alex like she had asked the dumbest question. But all it did was make Alex want to laugh harder.

“You know, Sienna, you might just outsmart all of us one day.”

Sienna grinned as she adjusted her tiara. “One day? I already do.”

The room roared with laughter.

Alex then looked at the little girl. She grinned as she shook her head. “I don’t know how your dad survives you and Mr. Whiskers, kiddo. You two are a force of nature.”

Sienna smirked, her tiara slipping slightly as she crossed her arms. “Daddy says we’re his greatest challenge. Plus, he loves me. Santa loves me too, so I know he’ll bring me my princess castle.”

Bailey chuckled, exchanging a knowing glance with Alex and Tenley. “Well, you’ll just have to see what Santa brings, sweetie,” Bailey said with a warm smile.

As Sienna returned to rolling out dough and talking with Alejandra, Bailey leaned in and whispered, “Irish actually got her that castle. It’s massive. That thing will take up like a quarter of the backyard.”

Tenley burst out laughing. “Of course, he did. These guys are total softies for their kids but absolute badass when they’re on a mission.”

Alex’s thoughts drifted to Ace, imagining him with their child, whether a little boy or girl. Would he cave to every adorable request like Irish, or would he play it tough and then secretly spoil them? The thought warmed her heart.

Bailey snapped her out of it with a mischievous grin. “Speaking of Irish and Mr. Whiskers, you’ll never guess what happened yesterday.

“Oh, lord. I can only imagine,” Tenley said.

Bailey grinned. “The cat went crazy and clawed him right in the balls.”

Tenley howled with laughter, nearly dropping the cookie cutter. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious. I personally think the cat got a whiff of too much cat nip because he started off flying around the house like he was high on something. Then, all of a sudden, he jumped on Irish’s lap and laid down.”

“He jumped on Irish?” Alex asked, a shocked expression showing.

“I know, right?” Bailey said and then continued. “Well, when Irish had to get up to change, he tried to move Mr. Whiskers, but apparently, the cat didn’t want to be bothered and literally sunk his claws into Irish’s crotch.”

Alex couldn’t stop laughing, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Poor Irish!”

“Poor Irish?” Bailey repeated. “Poor me! I had to listen to him whining about it until he left to go and meet the team.”

Alex’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh! So, that’s why he didn’t ride with Ace and Potter to the base last night.”

Bailey nodded, trying not to laugh. “Yeah, he had to tend to his wounds. He tried to convince me that kissing it would make it feel better,” she admitted and rolled her eyes.

Tenley snorted a laugh. “Hey, you can’t fault the man for trying to get a little something before he left.”

Alex chuckled.

“The best part was right after Irish patched himself up, he walked out into the living room and stared at the cat. He told him that it was an eye for an eye and that when he got back, he was going personally take Mr. Whiskers to get neutered. Of course, Sienna was standing right there.”

“Oh, no,” Alex said, knowing that Sienna was very inquisitive for a six-year-old. Plus, when Irish was upset about something, his mouth had no filter.

Hearing her name mentioned, Sienna’s little head popped up from the cookie she was decorating.

“Daddy said that Mr. Whiskers was getting his balls chopped off.”

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