Page 13 of SEAL's Providence
“She’s worried about us?” Doc asked.
“Yeah, she is. She’s been trying to find women to invite to meet you. I told her no matchmaking allowed.”
“For fuck’s sake, really?” Lucky laughed.
“Whatever, you don’t have to be a dick about it,” Ry said. “She’s softer than anyone I ever met, and I refuse to ruin her view of the world. Hell knows she’s been through enough already.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it. Just took me by surprise.” Lucky ran his hand through his hair, making it stand on end.
Tony leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on a boulder at the edge of the fire pit. Watching the guys give each other shit was like being part of a huge family. It reminded him it had been too long since he’d touched base with his brother. He’d need to remedy that soon. Theanniversary of their parent’s death was coming up, and it was always a hard day for Bob.
Cutting into their teasing, Tony said, “I want to hear more about this trouble they get into. How come you’ve never mentioned it before?”
“Eh, it’s usually nothing more than plotting something to give us a hard time. Usually, it backfires on them,” Josh said.
“All fun and games until someone gets demoted?” Tony winked.
“Yeah, something like that. Tempest is usually the voice of reason, unless I’ve pissed her off about something. Her plans are the most devious.” Josh rolled his eyes. “The last time she convinced Pam at the Ready Room to put extra cayenne pepper in our nachos.”
Ry groaned and rubbed his belly. “Yeah, we were fucked. It was a good thing we didn’t deploy that week. I spent most of it shitting my brains out.”
Tony snorted, then drained his beer, setting it down on the patio. "I bet Harmony was upset.”
“Oh yeah. She vowed never to pull another prank with the girls again. That lasted about a month.” Ry laughed and the rest of the guys joined in.
“I could guarantee that if one of us goes into the kitchen, they’ll look guilty as sin,” Lucky said.
“No doubt about it,” Josh added. “It’ll be all over Harmony’s face. The other two will hide it better. Lucky for me, I haven’t pissed off Tempest lately.”
“I wonder what they’ll come up with this time?” Doc mused.
“Who knows, but I’d suggest we be on alert,” Quinn said.
“Probably for the best.” Ry nodded and chuckled.
They were still laughing when the women opened the sliding door and stepped out. Grace was carrying Hope, who started wiggling as soon as she saw Tony. He didn’t know what he’d done to earn the little one’s attention. He enjoyed how it pissed off her father, Lucky.
“What’s so funny?” Grace asked as she handed Hope over to Lucky.
Lucky reached for his squirming daughter and sat her on his lap. “Nothing, love. Just giving each other shi… uh… a hard time.”
Tony loved seeing how the men had softened around their women. It was the same with the Black Eagles and the Gray Hawk teams. Doc was such a clown. Tony didn’t think a woman would ever get him to settle down, but then Murphy, from the Black Eagles, had been the same. Sky tamed himquick enough. Quinn was a different story entirely, and from what he’d said earlier, he wondered if the Red Falcon lead might already have fallen for someone.
Tempest sat on the arm of Josh’s chair, and Harmony did the same to Ry.
“Do you know if you’ve got a mission coming up?” Tempest asked, her gaze rotating between the men and stopping when she came to Tony.
“Nothing pending, but you know how that goes.”
“That’s great,” Grace said.
Lucky smiled. “What’s up? You guys planning your girls’ night?”
“Actually, no, we’re thinking a girls’ afternoon at the salon over on Pacific. But only if you can watch Hope for the afternoon,” Grace added.
“Sounds good. Unless something pops up.”
“Perfect. Now I need to cross my fingers that my schedule stays clear, too,” Tempest said as she glanced at Tony again.
