Page 80 of Defensive Zone

Did he have them stashed everywhere?

The kids giggled and danced around as the confetti fell.

“Max, really?” his mother admonished.

He grinned. “I had to do at least something.”

“He never changes. You can’t fault his consistency,” Malcolm said, bopping Max on the shoulder with the empty confetti canister.

Max shot her a smirk as he grabbed the dustpan to clean up. And then there was another pop of confetti, with more giggles.

“Max, really?” Gabi said.

“That wasn’t me,” he said innocently.

More giggles.

“Amelia, when did Uncle Max teach you that?” Ava asked.

“We’ve been practicing,” Amelia said.

“It’s all in good fun,” Max said, and the rest of them laughed.

Popping confetti was adorable coming from a four-year-old. Or maybe she was getting used to the unexpected in this house.

“What else did he teach you?” Ava asked.

“Nope. Nothing,” the little girl said.

“Today should be fun,” Gail said, brushing confetti off her sleeve.

The Bastians always had such ease around each other. She’d been jealous of that on more than one occasion growing up.

“Gabi, honey. We’re so happy to see you,” Gail said, walking over to her as Ava moved to hug her dad like everything was normal.

“It’s great that you both made the trip,” Gabi said. “I bet you want to take this little girl,” she said as she rocked Elise in her arm.

Gail wrapped both of them in a hug, and Gabi took in a deep breath. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a mom hug. She’d needed it. It’d been a while since she’d seen her mom, but her mom’s hugs weren’t like Gail’s. Gail always squeezed the hell out of her. Max hugged her the same way.

And now she was thinking about his arms around her when his mother was hugging her. That was wrong on so many levels.

“You don’t know how happy we’ve been, knowing that you were here with Ava and the kids. You’re exactly what they needed, especially since we couldn’t be here to help,” Gail said. “An extension of our family and Ava’s best friend.”

The guilt rose again.

“Thank you. I’m glad I could be here,” Gabi said.

Elise let out a little babble between them and they laughed.

“Oh, am I squishing you, sweet darling? That’s what grandmas do best,” Gail said as Gabi handed the baby over.

“Oh my goodness, FaceTime isn’t enough. Look how big you’re getting already. And you’re already talking?” Gail asked, leaning in to nuzzle Elise’s cheeks. The little girl giggled.

“She’s not talking. She just makes noises, Grandma. She makes lots of noises,” Connor said.

Ava laughed. “You did the same thing, you know?”

“I bet you were louder,” Amelia said.

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