Page 247 of Guardian Daddy

Another young man appeared, identical in looks to the first but dressed completely different in a button-up shirt and jeans with polished shoes.

He smiled at Cate. “Hello, you must be Cate. I’m Royal. This is Baron.” He gestured to the first boy. “This is Zippy. Don’t call her Zipporah.”

“We’ve had that conversation,” Ethan said.

“Isn’t she great?” Royal said.

They were obviously besotted with the small girl.

“She starts school on Monday,” Baron said. “We’re going to drop her off.”

“And nobody better mess with her,” Royal said.

“Or else,” Baron added.

The three of them punched their fists into the palms of their hands.

Wow. That was a very coordinated move.

“I can see the three of you are going to give Ink gray hair,” Ethan said with a grin. “I’m here for that.”

“Whoa, the Stone is smiling,” Baron whispered. “That’s weird.”

“How is that weird?” Cate asked. “He smiles a lot.”

Both boys stared at her. Then Royal gave her a strange look. “Maybe he just smiles because he’s around you.”

That was a very nice thing to say.

“Come on in,” Royal said. “We’ll give you the grand tour.”

“Ink, the Stone is here,” Baron yelled out. “And he’s got a pretty girl. Oh, and he smiled.”

These twins were . . . charming.

“Manny Boulder!” someone yelled as they walked into a huge living room with a stone fireplace and large windows that showed the gorgeous view beyond. Trees as far as she could see.

A small woman with dark-blonde hair raced toward Ethan. She stopped in front of him, smiling. “Hey!”

Manny Boulder?

Ethan grinned at her, reaching down to hug her briefly. A dark-haired, attractive man stepped up behind her, tugging her back against him.

“Hey Greer,” Ethan said.

Greer and Hack. Hack was a doctor. Greer was Savage’s sister.

“I’m so glad you’re back. Hi, you must be Cate. Welcome.” Greer didn’t reach out to touch her, just waved instead. But her smile seemed genuine.

Maybe.

The next forty minutes involved whirlwind introductions. Even though she’d researched each person, she still found it overwhelming.

Everyone seemed lovely and no one touched her. But it was still a lot. And after a house tour from the boys, she needed a bit of a break.

“I’m just going to go to the bathroom,” she told Ethan.

“I’ll take you.”

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