Page 193 of Ransom

Kade nods, a grin spreading across his face. "I'm pretty sure this is gonna go really fucking bad. And she may kill you when we get back. You got your shit in order?"

The man is not dumb. I shrug, taking another sip of my beer. "My wife will protect me."

Kade smirks. "My wife's a fucking ninja, dude. She's pretty scary."

"You ever seen my wife swing a pipe wrench?"

He stares at me, then over at Blair, who's helping Noah hold his roasting stick. It catches on fire, and he screams, flailing. Blair loses her grip, and Noah starts whipping the stick in the air, trying to put it out. It flies straight toward Zach, splatting on his shirt. Shit. That could have been bad. Blair's got that wild-eyed look that tells me she knows it too.

Jonas, sitting next to Zach, stares at the marshmallow, and I can almost see his wheels spinning. And I know what's going to happen before Zach does.

Jonas, quick as a snake, darts forward, licking the marshmallow off Zach's shirt. A look of disgust covers Zach's face, but I don't bother watching him anymore because Jonas has a flaming hot marshmallow in his mouth and just fucking realized it. His eyes widen, and he glances down at his daughter, giggling and clapping her chubby hands in his lap, then turns sideways and spits the marshmallow out. He doesn't aim for the ground, though. That would be too logical. No, he spits it straight at Nick.

Nick leaps up, frantically brushing at his shirt while Jonas stares at him, mouth open, deep breathing. "Hot!"

"Why did you spit it at me, you absolute lunatic?"

"The ground was too far away."

"The ground was literally right there!" Nick points down, his face incredulous.

I tune out their bickering, my attention drawn to Blair. She's showing Noah how to hold his roasting stick at just the right height above the flames. Her eyes keep darting to Nick and Jonas, though, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

That smile. It hits different than any I've seen before. There's pure joy there, mixed with a hint of wonder. Like she still can't quite believe this is her life now.

When we first all moved in here, I worried about her and how she'd handle everyone. Would she back away from the chaos? Coming into a new family with wildly different personalities, I wouldn't have blamed her. I get it. Do you jump in? Do you break it up? Is it okay to laugh? Can you tease them? But almost from day one, when she gave Declan shit for stepping on her lawn with a perfectly straight face, she fit.

Now she's right in the middle of everything, all the time.

Whether it's working with Micah on one of his car projects, or convincing my brothers to do something stupid, or showing Noah proper marshmallow technique while my brothers act like children around her. And she's not just tolerating it—she's loving every second.

Janey waddles over to Jonas, heavily pregnant, and smacks him upside the head. "You're teaching terrible habits to our daughter."

She's not wrong. Clara's full-on belly laughing over the marshmallow thing, and I'm pretty sure there's a glint in her eye that's going to be trouble in a year.

Though she's not walking yet. She can. I've seen her do it, but she'd rather her Daddy carry her. And calm, cool, rational Jonas refuses to listen to anyone who tells him he should encourage her to walk. If she wants to be carried, then he'll carry her, and fuck anyone who has an opinion about it.

He's so fucked. She's already in complete control of him. He's going to be just as bad with their second daughter, duebefore the end of the summer. They both wanted their kids close together in age, so they’d always have each other’s back.

Blair catches my eye across the fire, and her smile widens. There's so much love in that smile. And understanding. She gets us. She knows that underneath all the yelling and drama, there's nothing but love.

My chest tightens watching her with Noah. She fits here, like she was always meant to be part of this circus. My family welcomed her instantly, no questions asked. Even Becca, who tests everyone, fell for Blair's quiet strength and dry humor.

She was worth waiting for.

Colton and Evie's front door opens, and they emerge. Their little girl spots them and takes off running across the lawn.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Mia launches herself at them, and Colton scoops her up. Even exhausted, Evie's face lights up at the sight of her daughter.

Evie shuffles over to the fire pit, dropping into an empty chair with a groan. I grab another beer from the cooler and take the chair next to her.

"You look like shit," I say, because there's no point in sugarcoating it. "Are you holding up okay?"

She flips me off without opening her eyes. "The practicum is kicking my ass."

"Can I do anything?"

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