“Put me down for two of the boxes, Kelly. I wanna send one to my sister-in-law. Desi will love it.”

“Do you want the same designs?” she asked.

Tori St. John studied the small stained glass catchall box she held in her hands. It was Kelly’s new favorite design—an idea she’d had while watching the sunrise on the morning Roman left.

She recalled how the sky had turned shades of violet and blue. Rippling clouds gave the scene a Van Gogh quality. Low on the horizon, strips of gold intersected with shards of light as the sun came up. A tall cactus framed against the beauty was an image she had to capture.

Nodding to answer the question, Tori added, “You’re very talented.”

Kelly crossed her eyes and made a goofy face. “How much did he promise to pay you for fluffing my ego?”

Tori roared with laughter. “Honey! I am nobody’s fluffer. Well, maybe for that arrogant snotbag I married. It’s the only way I can get at his money.”

The women’s laughter forced her to admit that if she made a funny, she didn’t know why. Her confession got quite a reaction. Tori put the box down and gaped at her. Angie and Meghan stopped what they were doing too and moved closer.

“Calling a time-out,” Tori drawled with a hand motion. The other two closed in, and the three women formed a semi-circle around her. It felt like an interrogation.

Under different circumstances, she might feel threatened, but every person she’d met since coming to Justice had been nothing but welcoming. The ladies she spent most of her time with were the real deal. She found a lot to like with the whole bunch.

Snickering, she pulled her hair from the ponytail band and gave her head a shake. “I’m going to be embarrassed, aren’t I?”

Meghan waggled her hand. “Eh, maybe yes, maybe no.”

Angie regarded her as if she was a science experiment.

It was Tori who asked for clarification. “Sooo, you don’t know what a fluffer is?”

“Well, the first thing that comes to mind is fluffernutter.” Three blank stares looked at her, so she continued. “Fluffernutter? You know! Like the sandwich.”

“Oh, my god,” they all said in a comical round robin of reactions.

“Girl,” Angie quipped. “You gotta expand your Tumblr reach.”

Kelly paused. “That’s an internet thing, right?”

They nodded their heads and kind of openly gawked. She figured some explaining about life in the woods was in order.

“Here’s the thing. We didn’t do the internet. At all. Until a couple of years ago,” she informed them with a shrug. “I only use it now for my business, and even then, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Do I understand that,” Meghan exclaimed with an empty hands gesture. “Well, that you’re, um, unpolluted from a world wide web and social media standpoint?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “Shit. I just figured out YouTube a couple of months ago. Great how-to resource.”

The three women exchanged looks. “How-to resource,” Angie muttered.

Kelly could feel that they wanted to ask something specific but were hesitating.

“All right,” she snarled. “What? Just say it. Or ask whatever it is that’s making you look at me like I have a third eyeball.”

“I like this one.” Tori snickered. “She’s small but mighty.”

Meghan chuckled and waved the two women to silence. “I got this.”

Kelly waited.

“So when you say it’s a how-to resource, are you talking about changing the oil in the car or something more personal?”

“Personal like what?” she asked. “Makeup tips and stuff like that?”

Angie started to laugh. “I think she means more personal than that.”

Tori tsked and shook her head. “Straight to the point—personal things like blowjobs or …”

“Oh, my god,” Kelly shrieked. “Hell, no!”

“Holy shit,” Meghan murmured.

It didn’t come as a surprise when Angie cut to the chase. She had a directness that Kelly found fascinating.

“Hon, you’re going to have to map this out for us, or we’ll be here all day. So this Roman Bishop? He’s as alpha as the day is long, and believe me, Kelly, we know.”

The Justice women smacked hands and chuckled.

Angie continued, “Can we assume that you're a blank slate with men like him?”

“Men like him?” She sniggered. “Try all men. Not a big dating pool in the middle of nowhere.”

“It’s all making sense now.” Meghan chortled.

“Ladies,” Tori drawled, “I do believe we have an elusive and very rare blank slate in our midst.”

“What’s that mean?” she asked. “You mean stuff like movies and TV?”

Tori regarded her with clear amusement. “Oh, hon. We mean everything. Did you have magazine subscriptions growing up? Ever read Cosmo?”

She rolled her eyes. “Life in the woods was a seven days a week, sun up to sun down proposition. Magazines and TV didn’t have a place.”

“Ever read any trashy books?”

“My mom had a stack of old paperbacks. Racy stuff. Why?”

Angie looked bemused. “That’s it?” she asked. “Old paperbacks? Aren’t you curious?”

“Oh,” she murmured. “I get it now. This is about sex.” Kelly looked at the women and felt totally at ease. She could tell them anything.

“You’re right. Roman took me by storm. I had no idea and still don’t. But I decided right away that I didn’t care what I didn’t know. He’ll teach me when the time is right, and I don’t want other people’s stupid noise in my head. I don’t want to know what the latest kink is or fall prey to judgment. Now I’ll admit, I looked once before Roman came along. Curiosity got me one night, but it took less than ten seconds to realize I was in over my head. And I didn’t like the way seeing that stuff made me feel.”

“You are truly unique and one of a kind, Kelly James. Roman is a lucky man.” Angie offered a hug that she warmly accepted. It felt good to be one of the cool kids. “No wonder he fell so hard and so fast.”

When she spoke, Kelly looked at Meghan who was smiling broadly. “Your Roman is a lot like the Major. Innocence challenges men like them.”

“Indeed,” Angie agreed.

“And you know what?” Tori said in a happy chirp. “We’re here if you ever have questions.”

“Thanks. My, uh, brother’s fiancée has been helpful.”

The heavily pregnant redhead smirked at her. “You said that like admitting you have a brother is a bummer.”

Kelly understood why they called Meghan Lady Mama. She was very direct and an in-control person. Perfect matriarch material.

“I’ve had this older brother for only a couple of months, and frankly, girls, I think he’s a jerk. But let’s not discuss him. I was saying something about my sister-in-law. Rhiann. She told me you guys know her sister, Charlie.”

“Oh my god, that’s right,” Tori exclaimed. “I keep forgetting you’re connected. I effing love Charlize Baron-Wilde. Have you two met yet? She’s an artist too!”

In a dozen ways, this conversation and the fact that it took place in Arizona was mind-blowing for Kelly. “You know, at the new year, I was thinking about all the ways I hoped my life would change. I was aiming for an apartment near a town, where Matty could go to school and I could focus on my business. I never saw any of this.”

“It was that way for all of us. Some knew they were at a crossroads, but most didn’t.” Tori looked off with a dreamy expression. “We were all looking for change.”

Angie nodded. “And I’d be remiss in my rock and roll groupie duties if I didn’t remind everyone of the words of the great John Lennon. Life is what happens while we’re busy making plans.”

“I’m real glad we came here,” she told them. “It’s been so good for Matty. And for me.”

Meghan studied her until Kelly felt like squirming and asked, “Are you worried about Roman?”

“Not really,” she said. “It’s hard to explain, but I just know everything will be all right.”

“I feel the same way,” Tori added. “I’m always nervous when Draegyn goes away, but I’m not worried. And I’m not stupid. Or naïve. They plan to balls-out walk in, kick ass, steal shit, and walk out. Danger is a given. But in here,” she said with a hand on her heart. “In here, I know that Justice is the best. And in this case, it’s Original Justice. These guys know their shit. Now, to be blunt, I do expect people to die. But not any of the white hats. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do.”

Meghan let out a long, shaky sigh.

“Hey,” Kelly murmured. She touched Meghan’s arm and smiled. “It’s okay to be scared. You’re being scared for three, so of course, it’s going to be intense.”

“Eat for three,” Meghan grumbled. “Worry for three, be scared for three.”

The sadness in the woman’s voice touched Kelly. It must be damn hard to be carrying twins and have your husband strap on a bunch of guns and march off to go use them while so much was at stake.

But she really did have a strong gut feeling that everything would work out. And she’d learned during the hard times to trust her instinct and allow her inner voice free rein. Right now, her instinct was that she had something to offer this group of unconventional women—something to bring to the table.

Optimism. And hope.

Roman was a smart guy. He articulated the things she couldn’t. Before he left, they had a long, serious conversation. He lamented the timing of the Justice situation but also explained that getting bent out of shape over things he couldn’t control sapped his mojo. When he put it into words like that, she understood. If they didn’t know what the fuck they were doing, not one of them would have agreed to the mission.

He believed in their abilities and spelled out in sometimes uncomfortable detail the unusual and, for some, deadly skills that Team Justice brought in a big way. If that was the only consideration, optimism was a given. It wasn’t Team Justice in peril at all. From Kelly’s perspective, it was the assholes fucking with them who were the ones in jeopardy.

With a thunderbolt of inspiration, she knew where to push the conversation. “You know who’s probably shitting with worry?”

Tori looked at her, nodded, and smiled. She knew where Kelly was headed.

“What’s that term the guys use? Bad actors? Yeah. Them. Anyone in the Justice bull’s-eye is about to learn a difficult lesson.”

Angie perked up and wrapped her arm through Meghan’s. Kelly liked the way these ladies supported each other. The newlywed must be the group’s designated agent provocateur because the things that came out of her mouth!

“Hey. Did anyone else see the new guy?” She mimicked an entertaining head-to-toe shudder-shimmy. “Oh, my dear sweet baby Jesus.”

Meghan asked, “Good or bad?”

Angie’s mischief-maker giggle got everyone’s attention. “My jaw hit the dirt. It was embarrassing. Thank god, my husband didn’t see, or I wouldn’t be able to sit down for a month.”

Tori bent over and smacked her butt with a gleeful smirk on her face. “So Parker is a Spanky McSpankerson?”

“Shut up.” Angie laughed. “You’re just jealous.”

Kelly wondered what she meant.

Meghan laughed. “She’s got a red room, the bitch.”

“Red room?” Kelly asked. “You lost me.”

Silence answered her so loudly, she reared back and studied the slack-jawed women staring at her.

“Uh.” Angie croaked. “Red room of pain not ringing a bell?”

Kelly shook her head. “Oh, that.” She shrugged. “Eh.”

Tori jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Can we keep her? Please? Pleeeaase?”

The redhead exhaled an exasperated sigh. “Girls, come on. Stay focused. The new guy, remember? Angie—please continue.”

“Right, right, right,” Angie drawled. “Focus. Anyway, the new guy. Picture this,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Taller than Alex and Parker so I’m guessing a generous six-foot-six.”

Tori nodded and looked impressed. “Whoa.”

“Sun’s out, guns out in a big, big way. He’s friggin’ huge, ladies. Like superhero huge. Monstrous shoulders and a trim waist. Thighs like tree stumps. Oh yeah, and he’s bald.”

“Holy cow,” Meghan muttered.

“Wait, it gets better,” Angie shot back. She looked at Tori. “007 has competition in the shoulder-holster pinup category.”

“Really?” Tori asked with clearly piqued interest.

“Yep, yep. He came strolling toward me and took up so much air space that I almost stepped off the walkway to give him room. He had the holster and gun thing going on and was wearing a pair of those tactical pants with the pockets and zippers. Shit stomping boots—his bald head gleaming in the sunlight.” In a low murmur that had them all leaning in, she told them, “And he had an earring. Like Sinbad or something. I froze.”

“His Team Justice handle is Muscle,” Kelly told them.

Angie snickered. “I can see why. Here’s the icing, though. When I turned into a speechless twit? He smiled and oh my god. Hang onto your knickers. Dimples.”

“No,” Meghan barked.

“That’s right,” Angie declared with a preacher’s hand in the air. “Swear to goodness. Actual dimples. He called me ma’am, and I giggled.”

Tori had a good laugh. “Oh, so in other words, you made a great first impression.”

The snarky smirk Angie fixed the other woman with made Kelly laugh. “Double-dog dare you not to have the same reaction.”

“Domineau was not pleased by his arrival,” she said offhandedly. “I asked Roman what that was about, and he said they had a prior beef. Whatever the hell that means.”

“Cam dislikes this guy,” Meghan informed them.

Tori gasped. “I heard that too! What the hell? Cam gets along with everyone. Well”—she sniffed—“anyone with brains enough to know they should walk softly and kiss his ass.”

“I’m guessing Mr. Muscle isn’t much for ass kissing.” Angie chortled. “How’s Lacey doing, by the way? I haven’t had much free time between my mom and Aunt Wendy taking my vitals five times a day.”

Tori said, “My mom is with her a lot. And Heather. Everyone is in love with Lily, and Dylan is being such a sweetie.”

Kelly chimed in with her two cents. “I like Heather. She’s awesome. And Bella? Oh, dear lord. Matty talks about the girl nonstop.”

“Where are they, by the way?” Tori asked. “Bella and Matty?”

With a broad grin, she told them about the scene at Brody and Heather’s house when Kelly was waiting for Angie to pick her up as she swung through town before heading to the Villa.

“Well, the treehouse had its debut. Drae arranged for a couple of guys to finish what he had started,” she told Tori with a wink. “Brody and the two kids spent the afternoon taking stuff into the little house. They rigged a pulley system to haul everything instead of climbing the ladder. When I left, they were putting cushions on the deck and had plans to sky watch. Brody had a couple of high beam flashlights that they plan to light up the moon with.”

“That is so awesome,” Tori murmured. “The boys would get a kick out of shining flashlights at the moon. We def have to try that.”

Meghan’s smile was wide. “Brody Jensen turned out to be one helluva guy.”

“And a helluva dad,” she added in agreement. “He has a way with Bella that I find compelling.”

“Oh my god, Meghan,” Kelly cried out. “Is your belly moving?”

Meghan framed her large bump with both hands. She wore a stretchy dress that clung. Ripples and bumps came and went as Kelly stared.

“It’s getting tight in there,” she told them. “I’m not sure if they’re fighting for room, or if one shifts around to give the other some space.”

“What do they look like on the ultrasound?” she asked.

Meghan sighed and a soft, dreamy smile lit up her face. “Last month, we saw them cuddled together. It was so sweet. Alex got real emotional.”

She rubbed her stomach and beamed. “Seeing our baby humans up close like that was incredible.”

Kelly felt nothing but awe. “Do you know what you’re having?”

“The doctor does, but we asked everyone not to let it slip. We don’t want to know. A multiple pregnancy is so intensely medical. Does that make sense?” she asked with a glance at everyone. “It’s constant. The tests and measurements and evaluations. And sometimes it feels a little impersonal.”

She sighed, and Tori murmured, “Amen.”

“If there’s anything that should feel personal, it’s having a baby. How could giving birth not be personal? So we opted for as natural an end to the pregnancy as we could get away with. Not knowing until they’re born is the one thing we felt we could control. Everything else is up to our medical team.”

Tori jumped in. “We’re doing the same thing. I don’t want to know.”

Meghan applauded. “She’s having a blissful pregnancy this time. Danny was a shitshow, wasn’t he?”

They hooted with laughter when Victoria St. John and her cute baby bump started tap dancing across the hardwood floors.

“My mother is an ex-beauty queen,” she yelled over the loud tapping. “As a pageant coordinator, she did it all.” Executing a series of pageant flourishes, she laughed. “I could tap dance before I could read.”

Suddenly stopping, she bent over with her hands on her knees and grunted, “Whew!”

Meghan laughed. “Last time? She could barely walk across the room. We pushed her around on rolling chairs.”

“Got a house elevator out of the deal,” she told them with a vampy purr.

“Hanging out with you is like going to school,” Kelly told them. “I’m serious,” she yelped when they sneered. “I learn so much.”

Angie whipped out her phone and told everyone to gather for a selfie. Meghan and her bump sat in the middle. Kelly dropped to a knee on the floor in front of her while Angie and Tori pressed in from the sides.

“Say Justice,” she quipped while holding the phone at an awkward arm stretching angle.

“Okay,” Tori said to her and Angie. “You two had better get a move on. I’m staying here with Red.” She put her hand up to her mouth like a secret was coming and mock-snickered, “She’s making me scrapbook. I shit you not,” she joked when Angie gasped.

“I’m so sorry,” the agitator-in-chief giggle-laughed to Tori. Meghan swatted her sister-in-law’s arm playfully.

Angie swatted her back with a laugh. “But look at it this way—this is stuff she made Alex do, so when you think about it, knowing he’s had to scrapbook and spend seven hours picking out paint colors makes it worthwhile.”

As she and Angie left the house and strolled the main walkway, Kelly enjoyed the Villa’s old-world charm. The place radiated a unique energy, and she sensed echoes of the past all around them.

An unusually warm few days made for glorious nights. Inhaling the rich, sweet scents of blooming flowers on the pleasant evening breeze, Kelly marveled at how different the Southwest was from what she knew. Oklahoma was nothing like this and New York City—not even close.

Matty certainly liked the place. Maybe she’d talk to Roman about getting a small place here. Like that very cool casita where they could have vacations and getaways. She was too much of a mountains and woods girl to give it up full time. In fact, she was excited about the house they were searching for back east.

But this whole experience showed her that the world was enormous, and you never knew what would happen next. She liked these people. Matty had his first BFF with Bella Jensen. And dammit, she really dug the energy here. It was magical.

Mind made up, she slid into Angie’s car and belted in for the ride back to town. Arizona and Family Justice were imprinted inside her. This place made her feel free—she could breathe again.

Plus, she didn’t think getting Roman to agree would be all that hard. He obviously enjoyed being with his friends

Yeah, she thought. Arizona. Part-time.

A smile spread inside her. Things were working out great.

* * *

Stephanie cradled Lily Rose against her chest and gently swayed. She loved the way babies smelled.

Shouts and laughter from the backyard drew her to the sliding glass walls that extended the main living room onto the patio when opened. It was another beautiful spring day and Lacey preferred being outdoors, so that was where she took Dylan and Daniel while Stephanie watched Lily.

Right now, the presence of Finn and Lady FiFi helped the backyard antics. As the little pup ran in circles, Raven playfully chased her while Dylan and Danny toddled behind. Lacey and Finn sat on chairs to the side, laughing at the foolishness.

Finn and Ria, with Carmen coordinating, were competing for who could deliver the best meals. Stephanie thought it was hilarious. The two kitchen masters were locked in a never-ending duel that benefitted everyone.

Hell. She’d had Finn scoring loads of avocados at ridiculously low prices to satisfy her number one pregnancy craving. If she’d wanted Chicago hot dogs, one or both of them would have figured out how to procure them.

Maybe with Captain Sawyer’s help, she thought with a chuckle. When she questioned her husband about the good Captain’s mystery background, he’d been reluctant at first until she informed him that she knew the man’s first name.

Disbelieving, he’d spurned her attempt until she’d whispered, “Bentley,” into his ear. Shocked beyond words, he gave up everything he knew after an ironclad vow from her that she’d never tell a soul what she knew.

Yes, he was military but no, not a pilot. According to Calder, Sawyer was what was called a fixer. He was the guy you went to for everything and anything that wasn’t military issue or by the book.

Need a box of contraband cigars? Sawyer.

Forgot to send the wife back home anniversary flowers? Again, Sawyer.

Fuck up big time on R&R and need bailing out? Also Sawyer.

One hell of a story had to exist there like how he ended up being Alex’s personal pilot and why he stayed completely apart from Family Justice.

Lily squeaked and squirmed, and Stephanie gently rubbed her back. Helping out was no chore for her. Babies were some of life’s sweetest magic. It wasn’t all that long ago that Danny was a newborn, and in a few weeks, she’d have a newborn of her own.

“There’s my wayward wife,” she heard Calder gently call out as he came through the front door.

She smiled. God, he was so handsome and sexy.

He quickly crossed the room and kissed her cheek. “My turn.” He chuckled, scooped the baby right out of her arms, and started snoodling the pink bundle.

“How’s Princess Lily Rose today?” He kissed her head and touched her face gently.

Stephanie loved seeing him with the kids. He took to being Danny’s Pop Pop with his usual charm and wit. Sometimes, she wondered if Danny and Dyl were her husband’s BFFs. And now with Lily, he was a big old squishy huggy bear. She couldn’t wait to give him a healthy baby—and she hoped it was in time for his birthday.

The commotion outside got his attention, and he instantly scowled. “Ah, shit. Is that fucker here?”

She sighed. He’d seen Finn. Didn’t matter how much water flowed beneath the bridge, it wasn’t enough to get those two in the same chapter much less on the same page. The only reason they were even sharing a book was because the women, and Bella, forced the issue.

“Be nice, please. He’s been a real help with meals for everyone—not just Lacey.”

Stephanie caught the wavering in his expression but didn’t press. He had to get there on his own. She was surprised, though, when he rolled a shoulder and confessed that he liked the guy’s dog. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

“I don’t want some big lumbering beast with a zip code or an attitude. FiFi is cute—don’t you think?”

She sighed. Why in the world did he think now was a good time to continue the dog discussion? He knew they were having a baby soon, right?

“I thought we were waiting on that,” she asked totally bemused.

“Yolo,” he said with a laugh.

She grinned and put her hands at a waist she no longer had. “Did you really just yolo me?”

“It’s true, Duchess. You only live once. So why not make it memorable? Think about it. The chaos of a newborn and a puppy? Get it all under control in one fell swoop?”

He chuckled and nodded. “Now, come on. I see it in your eyes. You feel me. Don’t pretend.”

The man was too damn cute for his own good. Didn’t he know she’d agree to pet dinosaurs if that was what he wanted? Men were so clueless. She wondered if it was a genetic marker of some kind.

Would Danny be oblivious too? Probably—the truth was most men lost whatever sense the good Lord gave them right about the time puberty set in.

Since she would give in anyway, Stephanie watched his love fest with Lily and weighed her choices. Without pause, she seized option number one and ran with it.

“Tell you what, Moondoggie. I will take your wishes under advisement if you do something for me.”

The jerk actually snickered! “Under advisement translates to we’re getting a dog.”

“Then you won’t have any problems taking that victory lap out on the patio. Being nice to Finn.”

“Stephanie Dane! You harridan. Only you could turn bossy and belligerent into an irresistible challenge.”

“Eh, pfft,” she barked with a dismissive wave. “I just know that you see a kid, a dog, and a white picket fence inside your head. You’re going to get what you want so why not aim for an extra helping of positive and do something that’ll make your wife happy?”

He kissed the baby and handed her back.

“I’m going out there to see my grandson. If Finn happens to be in the vicinity, I will attempt not to smash his smug face.”

“Calder,” she warned with a somber growl.

“Okay, fine. I’ll say hello. Is that enough or do you want me to ask him on a date?”

“You aren’t his type. He likes them petite and dark-haired not scruffy and sporting an enviable penis.”

He gasped with feigned outrage. “Did you just say the P word? You filthy mouthed she-devil! I love it when you talk dirty.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Go! And be nice. I’m watching.”

After a dozen steps onto the patio, he announced his arrival by loudly booming, “Hey! D Squared. What’re you guys up to?”

Danny hollered with joy when his Pop Pop made an entrance. She thought the D Square nickname for the two boys was clever and aptly described them.

Stephanie kept a close eye on Calder as he crossed the extra-wide patio and started down the stairs. Finn and Lacey were in chairs near the bottom of the steps. As he approached, Finn stood. Manners or smart defense?

Calder Dane, the sexiest man alive, earned a glorious shitload of extra points by walking straight for him with his hand out in greeting.

She was definitely giving him a world-class blowjob later.

FiFi ran over, and Calder scooped her up. It appeared that he and Finn had an actual conversation—probably about the dog. It wasn’t much, hardly even a start, but it was something. And he’d shown, yet again, that her feelings mattered.

“I think that’s enough fresh air for now. Let’s get you freshened up, little miss. Mommy will be wanting to hold her baby Lily.”

Glancing outside one more time, she walked away confident that they were making headway. Sooner or later, something would bring the two men together. It was inevitable. Finn wasn’t anything like the rabble-rousing, obstinate prick he once was. And Calder prided himself on being open-minded and fair. Eventually, those two truths would intersect.

She hoped.