Page 105 of Protector Daddy

I had to laugh so my head didn’t explode. “Mav has the biggest mouth in the county.”

“That’s not a no.”

“I’m not getting her a sex swing.”

“No?” Why did I think Brady sounded disappointed? “I mean, good. That’s my sister, you sicko. But I was just curious what the parameters were.”

“Honey was right you’d be better off watching porn than Lifetime.”

“Look, don’t judge, man. Sometimes when I’m up late with the baby, I end up watching.” He shrugged. “It’s not all bad. There was this one movie ripped from the headlines…”

When a harried Tabitha swept in a half hour later with Honey and Reagan hot on her heels, Brady and I were kicked back at his desk with the baby between us, laughing about parenting crises and the joys of raising a family.

I obviously didn’t know much yet. I wanted to know so much more.

But I felt as if I’d finally been admitted to a secret club I’d always been denied access to in the past. So much so I hadn’t even allowed myself to believe I wanted to be let inside.

“How is she?” Tabitha asked, racing around Brady’s desk to scoop up Presley.

She was only a few months old at this point, so her reactions were limited, but I would’ve sworn she smiled when she saw her mother.

Babies were so smart. And they smelled really good even when they evidently had suffered from bad gas most of the day.

Some parts of this process I was okay with not learning about right away.

“She seems much better. She had a bottle and tummy time and she seemed tuned into Bluey before we came into work.”

Tabitha rocked her daughter back and forth as she looked at each of us in turn. To be fair, we didn’t look as if we were working much. And we really weren’t. But other than my bank mishap and a few minor things Mav and Jimmy had dealt with in the field, it was a quiet Sunday.

Thank God, because I wasn’t exactly focused. At least not on work.

“How did things go at the bakery?” I glanced from Honey to Reagan. “Have a good day?”

“Yeah. We’re finished up now because Van is through with all her business meetings for the day so she’s filling in. Mickey and Tiffany came in too.”

“Mickey is amazing,” Reagan said a little wistfully. “She’s got a belly button piercing. And pierced nipples.”

I hoped to God my face seemed neutral, because my thoughts certainly were not.

“Pierced nipples really hurt,” Honey told Reagan with a quick swipe of her hand over her long hair. “Mickey totally regrets doing it. She told me so about a dozen times. Plus, they can get infected and that absolutely is not a place you want sore, you know?”

“Oh. Yeah. Ick. No way.” Reagan took a tentative look at Brady before coming around the desk to shake his hand. “I’m Reagan. Hi.”

“Hi, Reagan. Nice to meet you. Your dad’s been telling me all about you.”

“He has?” Honey echoed, staring at me as if I’d sprouted an extra pair of heads. “I mean, great!”

I managed to cough into my elbow, so I didn’t laugh at her astonishment. “Time to share her a bit with the important people. Speaking of, I’m done here since Brady arrived, so what say you we get going, ladies? We probably haven’t even missed much of the get-together since everyone was running late.”

Tabitha mimed handing off her daughter to her husband. “I’m ready for the family meet and greet.”

“You wish, Strawberry.” With a grin, Brady tugged her down until she was sitting on one leg and Presley was cradled in his arms. “I’ve got both my girls where I want them.”

“Ick.” Honey rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand and then Reagan’s. “Time to go. I’m officially free until after dinner. Miranda is working the day shift and I’ll be on at night. If I can still move after your mother’s feast, Christian.”

“We’ll see how it goes.”

Now that the moment was here, my good humor was fading into tight shoulders and a dry mouth. What if something went wrong or if Reagan didn’t like my family? Or if Honey didn’t? True, she knew most of them already, but knowing them casually was different than someday marrying into them.

---