“What if Dania’s just being a kid and acting out?”
Beck shrugged. “Then no harm, no foul.” He stopped for a red light and looked at her over the top of his sunglasses. “And regardless, I finally get to meet more of my extended family.” He smiled.
“Poor Lu’ana. With me and Dewi and Tamsin there today, I just know Imani’s gonna be after her to give her another grandbaby.”
“I don’t think Imani gets much say in the matter, hon.”
“You know what I mean. Pushy. Not in bad way, a loving way, but I know Reggie’s not ready for another one yet.”
“And just how do you know that?”
“Malyah told me. Joaquin told her. Joaquin and Reggie got to talking the other day, I guess, when Malyah and Joaquin went over there for a visit.”
The light turned green and Beck shook his head as he hit the gas. “Glad I lived to see the day you don’t hate Joaquin.”
“I neverhatedhim. Not really.”
He arched an eyebrow at her over the top of his shades. “Seriously? I recall some disturbingly graphic and specific threats you leveled at him in Idaho when he and Malyah revealed they were mated. It took every last ounce of strength I had to hold on to you to keep you from killing him.” One corner of his mouth had turned up in the slightest of smirks that always melted her.
“I can be angry at someone and still love them. Besides, Joaquin’s redeemed himself. Case in point, Da’von made it to adulthood without me strangling that boy.” She sighed. “And, yes, I love him now, all right? He’s not that bad. Joaquin, I mean. Although, I suppose that could also apply to Da’von. And Joaquin is family. He loves Malyah and takes good care of her. He treats her like a princess. And I know he won’t step out on her. I can’t ask for more than that.”
“Did you put Reggie through that kind of treatment?”
“Not quite. I’ll admit I was a momma hen, though.”
“Was?”
She snorted. “Hey, I raised those kids. They might be my siblings, but they aremykids. It’s hard to let go. I want better for all of them than Momma got with our no-good father.”
Nami hated eventhinkingabout that man. Obviously, it wasn’t all men who were like that. Nami knew that. In the luck of the genetic draw, she and her siblings had managed to be fathered by a dud.
Beck reached over and squeezed her hand. “If it means anything, baby, I think you did an amazing job raising them. They all turned out fantastic. And Reggie is a wonderful guy. I’m glad he’s in our pack even if he doesn’t know he is.”
Heat filled her cheeks, and not just from Beck’s touch. Sometimes she still wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She had the family of her dreams now, a large extended family who showed up for her and her siblings, and after so many years of focusing on survival and shouldering the burden alone so her siblings wouldn’t have to, it almost felt like a sinful luxury to be recognized and validated for her years of work and sacrifice and struggle.
He cocked his head as he studied her. “If you want, I could ask Dewi, Badger, or Duncan to give Imani a gentle suggestion to back off on the baby-pushing efforts with Lu’ana and Reggie.”
Nami considered it. “I’ll let you know. Let me see how bad she is today. I mean, please don’t get me wrong, I love her to death. Her and her husband both. And Igetit. I might even be cheering her on and adding my own two cents if I was still clueless and didn’t know everything I do now.” She snorted. “But could youimagine? If the worst happens and Bebeisa shifter, and then Reggie’s dealing with a baby on the wayandknowing that about Bebe?” She gasped. “And what if they have two of them who are shifters?”
“Again, we can help out with that, hon. That’s the plus side of having three Primes in our immediate family living close by. Not to mention trusted babysitters or daycare won’t be an issue for any of us.”
Imani and Davis Starkey owned five acres east of Brandon. Once farmland and orange groves, their rural neighborhood was surrounded by other properties of several acres each, and an eclectic mix of older, modest homes all the way up to new McMansions. Their house looked like it’d been built back in the 50s, but had been added onto throughout the years and was now large and sprawling. The pole barn looked relatively new, however, with a large, newish Class A RV parked under one end of it, and four horses grazed in the pasture.
“Wow,” Beck said.
“Right? They picked it up as a property tax foreclosure about twenty years ago. He did most of the additions and other work himself. He used to be a contractor. Retired now.”
“Are those their horses?”
“One belongs to a cousin, I think, two are theirs, and I’m not sure if the other is family or a boarder.”
There were at least twenty cars parked in the yard in front of the house, including Reggie’s, Joaquin’s, and Da’von’s, with plenty of room for more. Nami knew everyone would be out on the lanai around the pool or in the backyard, so she led Beck through the gate in the wooden privacy fence while he carried the casserole she’d made and their present for Reggie.
Nami opened the door to the screened lanai for Beck, since his hands were full. He was just stepping through it when they heard Da’von call out. “Look out, Beck! Incoming!”
“Unca Beck!” Bebe happily shrieked as she streaked across the lanai and tackled him around the legs.
Nami managed to snag the casserole dish so Beck didn’t drop it as others who’d witnessed the toddler mauling started laughing.
