Page 17 of Lacey's Fight

“Sure, she’s cute now,” Faith Voss said, “but when it gets to around six o’clock tonight, and she’s covered in dinner, cranky, and not wanting a bath, she’s substantially less adorable.”

Lacey merely laughed. “You love every second of being a mom and don’t even try to tell me otherwise.”

Faith gave her daughter an indulgent smile. “Okay, she’s got me and her daddy wrapped around her little finger.”

“You ever think about having more?” Ivory asked.

If anyone had asked Lacey this time last year if she or any of her sisters would ever consider having kids, she would have given a resounding no. But now Ivory and Roman were engaged, and Pearl and Jesse were married, and maybe she would wind up with a couple of nieces and nephews.

“Charlie and I did, but we decided one is enough for us. Indigo’s pregnancy didn’t go smoothly, and I don’t think either of us wants to risk it again. Besides, we think we got things pretty perfect the first time.” Faith reached out a hand and smoothed her palm over the silky blonde hair on Indigo’s head. The baby caught her mom’s hand and stuck a finger in her mouth, making Faith laugh.

“She is pretty perfect,” Lacey agreed.

“Gimme my kid,” Charlie “King” Voss said as he and the other guys entered the conference room. The man swung his daughter up into his arms and lifted her above his head, making Indy squeal in delight.

Was there any better sound than a baby’s laugh?

She was pretty sure there was not.

“You guys have the most beautiful, smart, amazing kiddies,” she said, only a touch of wistfulness in her tone. “I don’t know how you’re all going to survive the teenage years.”

“I don’t even want to think about it yet,” Ryder “Spider” Flynn groaned. He and his wife, Abigail, had a spunky six-year-old son, RJ, who was already determined he was going to be a SEAL when he grew up, and a four-year-old daughter, Talia, who worshipped the ground her big brother walked on.

“At least you have a boy and a girl, I have two girls,” Logan “Shark” Kirk grumbled. The man had gotten his name because of his size and dead, empty eyes. Meeting his now wife Claire and falling in love, then becoming a father to the most adorable set of twins, Mia and Maya, had softened him considerably.

“Your girls are going to have every guy in the neighborhood sniffing around,” Opal teased Shark, making him look faint.

“I will shoot any boy who tries to touch my girls,” Shark vowed, sounding so serious they all laughed. “Don’t know what you’re laughing at, you have a girl too,” Shark told Eric “Night” McNamara. “And so do you,” he added, looking at the leader of their team, Owen “Fox” LeGrand.

Night grimaced. “Anastasia isn’t dating till she’s thirty.” As well as his six-year-old daughter, Night and his wife, Lavender, also had a four-year-old son, Christian.

“Ditto for Sally,” Fox added. Fox and his wife, Evie, also had a son, five-year-old, Sullivan.

“So, the boys are all allowed to date?” Pearl asked. “Cos that’s way sexist.”

“Agreed,” Lacey said, knowing these guys weren’t sexist, just protective of their baby girls. Same way they were protective of her and her sisters. It was just their alpha male way, but it was fun to tease them about it.

Grayson “Chaos” Simpson snickered. “Yeah, you guys are sexist.”

“Hey, just because you and Juliet only have boys, doesn’t mean they’re not going to give you a headache,” Night said.

Two-year-old Blake was a prankster just like his daddy, and she had no doubt that when their second son arrived in a few months he would stick with family tradition and love practical jokes.

“I don’t know how Juliet puts up with you,” Spider said with a roll of his eyes. While some of Chaos’s jokes were funny, some could be downright annoying.

“Aww, I think he’s cute.” Faith gave Grayson’s dark blond locks a ruffle, making her husband growl. “But not as cute as my man,” she added quickly, hiding a laugh behind a cough.

“Better,” King grumbled, but his gray-blue eyes twinkled.

“As much as we all love talking about our kids, we have a mission to discuss,” Fox announced.

“My cue to leave.” Faith took Indigo from King, who wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in so he could kiss her before touching a kiss to his daughter’s forehead.

Once Faith and Indigo had waved goodbye and disappeared, Fox’s face grew serious, and Lacey straightened in her chair.

Something was going on.

She had no idea what and given that she had gotten no sleep last night, plus no release for all the emotions threatening to overwhelm her, she was already stretched taut.

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