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Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

" A gain!" Miles snapped like a drill sergeant.

Cady pulled her arm back and whipped it forward. The knife flew from her fingers and lodged itself into the wood target the Davies brothers had erected. Sweat ran down her face and trickled down her spine.

George and Ginny sat in the sun and watched as Joey and Harlan cheered her on.

"Good!" Cade said, clapping his hands. "Now, put on the gloves. It's time to learn how to fight."

Cady wanted to groan and lie down in the sun with the cats. She was tired and every inch of her was sore. "I've shot arrows, guns, and thrown knives. Did something with a spoon, and now you want me to fight?"

"You want to marry my son?" Cade asked bluntly.

"No one is talking about marriage yet. We just started dating." The brothers all snickered and gave each other knowing looks. "What?"

"A Davies doesn't bring a significant other to family dinner unless marriage is on the table. This is the deciding factor," Cade told her.

"If you make it through dinner, you're in the family," Marshall added.

"It's better than an engagement ring," Pierce said.

"If you can make it," Cy said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't understand," Cady told them. "Why? Why do all this and make it so hard to get into your family? I really have to fight the women of the family to prove myself?"

"It's family bonding," Miles said simply as if that answered the question. Although, this was like an extreme version of summer camp, so maybe he had a point.

"The dates who do it show they want to belong to the family and will put in the work for their relationship," Cade told her.

"But Colton didn't invite me to family dinner. Annie did," Cady pointed out.

Cade help up his finger for her to wait and pulled out his phone. The next moment it was on speaker and was ringing. "Hey, Dad," Colton answered.

"I was just thinking," Cade said casually, putting his finger to his mouth to stop her from talking. "Since you're not serious about Cady, we could totally get her out of family dinner."

"No," the answer was immediate. "I'll work with her tonight and tomorrow as much as I can to prepare her. Cassidy is the hardest nut to crack and she has vanished, so there might be a chance of no bloodshed."

"Son, you know what it means to have Cady at family dinner, right? Are you ready for that?" Cade asked, keeping his eyes on Cady as he did so.

"Yeah, I know. And yeah, I'm ready. You and the uncles are the only ones not realizing how serious I am about Cady. Cady is different. I'm different. I want more, even if that's hard for you to believe."

Cady's heart was pounding so loudly she thought she might fall down. She knew he loved her—he had told her that. But to declare it to his dad? All her fears vanished. Not that she had many left, but when Jasmine would wink at him or when she'd hear the Belles talking about how he'd be back on the market soon, it did make her insecure. Not anymore.

"I'll believe it when you put a ring on it," Cade said sarcastically while grinning at Cady.

Colton made a noise as if he found his dad amusing. "How many times has Uncle Pierce said family dinner is better than an engagement ring? I thought you'd be excited. Why are you giving me such a hard time?" Cady felt bad. She could hear Colton's frustration.

"I'm only giving you a hard time because I like Cady and don't want to see her get hurt," Cade told his son. "We'll see how dinner goes. Like I said, you've said a lot about not wanting to get married before, so actions will speak louder than words for me, son."

"I guess you'll find out in sixty-one days. I gotta go. Love you."

Cade was grinning. "Love you, too." Cade hung up the phone. He and his brothers all wore a similar smirk. "Now do you understand family dinner?"

Yeah, she did. It wasn't about the physical acts or about winning. It was about proving she wanted Colton enough to attempt them. A pair of boxing gloves hit her in the chest.

"Then let's see what you got," Cy said before grabbing his own pair.

Colton had called Cady and asked if she wanted to meet at the café for dinner. She'd been out of breath and sounded exhausted. He felt horrible asking her into town, but when he told her it was because the rumor was Aniyah and DeAndre were going to stop by having just been released from the hospital, she instantly said yes.

It had been a long day for Colton. He was tired, his shoulder was sore, and he'd discovered the cause of the fire was damaged electrical wiring that had been eaten by a rodent and sparked the hay. The barn was a total loss, but all the horses and the groom had been saved.

The whole town must have heard about the babies because the café was packed when Colton arrived. Poppy and Zinnia looked ready to collapse as they rushed around the café, taking orders and cooking as fast as they could. Their husbands, Talon and Lucas, two brawny FBI hostage rescue agents, were in aprons assisting their wives.

"You might need to squeeze in with someone," Poppy said, rushing by him.

"I'm meeting Cady here," Colton said as Poppy rushed by him, going in the opposite direction this time.

"Hey, Colton," Talon called out. "I made you a table."

Colton laughed. There were two buckets overturned on either side of an empty wooden crate. Lucas placed a small vase with a flower in the middle and grinned.

"Perfect. Thanks, guys." Colton took off his jacket and placed it on the bucket so Cady's seat would be softer.

The room was buzzing as they waited for Aniyah and DeAndre. Colton looked around and saw his mother and aunts but didn't see his father or uncles. They must be off doing something at the training facility. They'd started the Keeneston Training Center years ago along with their best friend, Ahmed. Ahmed's wife, Bridget, also taught dog handling there. They offered week long courses to law enforcement and the military on cutting edge training and courses such as explosives, new technology, and cybercrimes. Of course, there was also a healthy dose of physical training at its best.

So much so that Colton's cousin, Greer, was using the center as the base of operations for the president's black ops team she led. If there was a particularly talented individual at the camp, Colton's family would notify Greer, who would see about poaching them for the President's Guard. Although, soon, the future of her team would be up in the air. There was a presidential election in a couple of years and Greer didn't know if the incoming president would continue to fund this off the books group.

The door opened and his father and all his uncles walked in. They looked as if they'd just finished working out. No surprise. Most dads their age had dad bods, were watching sports, drinking beer, and talking about joining the AARP. Not that his dad and uncles didn't do that, but they also lifted weights, boxed, and ran military level obstacle courses for fun.

They glanced around the café and noted who was there, where the exits were, and if there was any trouble brewing. It was a habit they taught all their children. His father gave him a little wave and joined the big round table filled with the Davies women.

Finally, the door opened again and Cady came in. It looked as if she was fresh from the shower, but he hated the darkness under her eyes. She hadn't slept much last night because of him and obviously had a long day. Now he was going to make her have a long night. He wished the long night was because he was making love to her, but instead he needed to get her ready for family dinner.

She looked around and when she found him sitting on the bucket she grinned. "Really going for romance tonight, huh?" she asked as she joined him.

"I did pad your bucket," he joked as she took a seat, their knees awkwardly hitting the crate.

"I can't wait to meet the babies and hear how Aniyah is doing," Cady said to him before she and Colton placed their orders with Talon.

"What's this about a lawsuit?" Colton asked her when Talon headed back into the kitchen.

"How did you know? Ah, your mom told you." Cady was getting the hang of it. There were very few secrets in Keeneston and even fewer in the Davies family.

"It's bullshit, but at least my uncle won't charge me an arm and a leg defending it." Cady's phone vibrated and she looked at it. "Uh, it's Uncle Ollie. He's my lawyer. Do you mind if I get this? I sent him the paperwork this morning." Colton gestured for her to answer the phone. "How bad is it, Uncle Ollie?" Cady asked as a way of answering.

Her eyes went to Colton's and he saw her forehead furrow. "What do you mean by mystery evidence ?" Colton smiled then. He knew what this was about. "Someone sent you what ?"

Colton glanced around the room and caught his parents' eyes. He smiled. His father winked and his mother gave him a thumbs up. They might not have found the evidence, but they got Bruce's name to the right people. Kale Mueez and his wife, Delaney—also a computer whiz—probably being two of them. Nash was also really good at finding out dirt on people.

"Do you think we should use it?" Cady asked and Colton frowned. Of course, they should use whatever information they had to get this case dismissed. "Isn't that blackmail?" Colton was liking Uncle Ollie more and more. He might fit right in here in Keeneston. "I trust you. Do whatever you think is best and whatever keeps Bruce and Jordan far away from me and my recipes."

A ripple of noise went through the café. The door opened and DeAndre came in carrying two car seats.

"I gotta go, Uncle Ollie. The babies are here. No, not my babies. Yes, I will make you a great uncle someday, but not right now." Cady paused and Colton wished he could hear. However the café had exploded in hushed excitement so as not to wake the babies. "I, um, have a boyfriend." Colton's attention came back to Cady. "His name is Colton Davies. He's the chief of the fire department here. You want to meet him? No, tomorrow we're at his grandparents' house for dinner. I really have to go, but I promise to call back soon and answer all your questions about him. Love you too."

"Uncle Ollie sounds great," Colton said as DeAndre pulled a sleeping baby from the carrier and placed him in Miss Lily's arms. Aniyah similarly placed the little girl in Miss Daisy's arms. It didn't take long for Miss Violet to demand one of her sisters turn over a baby to her right now.

"How are you feeling?" Gemma, Cy's wife, asked Aniyah as she got up to let the new mom sit down.

"Tired and sore, but so happy. The hospital might have spoiled us with nighttime nursery, but I sure did need that sleep to recover from their birth. And I loved y'all visiting every day." Aniyah held out her hand to Riley and her mother, Gemma, and several of the other women of Keeneston.

"And to the guys who kept me sane, telling me I was doing a good job," DeAndre said, giving Cy, Ahmed, and several of the other newer dads a smile.

"We're so glad you're home," Cassidy said.

"Where did you come from? You've been MIA," her older sister, Piper, asked.

Cassidy shrugged. "Around. Now, what does Auntie Cass call them?"

Aniyah held out her hand as everyone passed her babies around. DeAndre took her hand and smiled down at her. "We're hosting a naming ceremony tomorrow at two. I hope you can all make it. Ahmed has offered to host. We'll announce their names and ask the people we hope will hold a special place in our babies' lives to join us in a blessing." Aniyah told them.

The babies finally made it around to Colton and Cady. DeAndre placed the little girl in Colton's arms and the boy in Cady's. Colton looked down at the most adorable little face with a poof of black hair sticking out under her pink knit hat. "She's putting on weight well." He remembered the way her lips had been blue when he'd started CPR on her. Now they were healthy as she blinked up at him.

"She's here because of you and Jace. You saved my little girl, bruh. That makes us fam forever," DeAndre told him.

"I thought we already were," Colton said, running his finger over the baby's cheek.

"We want you up with us when we hold their blessing. You, Jace, Matt, Cy, Ahmed, Gemma, Bridget, Riley, Sydney, and Evie. And of course, the Rose sisters. In the ceremony we'll announce the babies' names and ask for blessings upon them and those who will be our village, guiding and supporting them. Would you consider standing up with us?" DeAndre asked.

"Of course." Colton didn't have to even think about it. "I'm honored."

"You saved her, Colton. Someday when you hold your baby in your arms, you'll know that feeling of giving your whole life for someone so little. It's the best feeling, man. The best. Maybe you'll experience it in twenty-eight months."

Cady snorted and then Colton realized why. "You're placing a bet on me having a baby already? Shouldn't I get married first?" Colton glanced over to Cady. She was smiling down at the baby and making funny faces. It about did him in. What would she be like with their baby?

"Yeah, we heard Cady's going to family dinner tomorrow. You're as good as married. Congrats! We couldn't be happier for you two," Aniyah said with a huge smile.

Colton looked over to see how Cady was reacting to this, but she was simply smiling serenely at the baby boy in her arms. Damn. She was going to get destroyed tomorrow, especially since Cassidy was suddenly back. Speaking of whom...

"Give them over to Auntie Cass," Cassidy said, swooping in and picking up both babies at once. "That's right. I'm the one who will babysit you when everyone suddenly disappears. Your parents will crawl out the door, leap out a window, and shimmy down the side of the house at one point to get alone time. But not me. Your Auntie Cass will always be here for you two."

"And where was Auntie Cass this past week?" Colton asked sweetly.

Cassidy rolled her eyes. "Okay, so I'll be here as much as possible." Then she turned and looked at Cady. "Why'd you have to pick him? I like you, but family dinner... there's nothing I can do."

"Cassidy, you can take it easy on her," Colton pointed out.

"Did you take it easy on Nash? On Walker? Deacon? Matt? Carter? Aiden? Or Sebastian?" Cassidy asked sweetly since they both already knew the answer. No. He hadn't gone easy on any of them, even though he'd known some of them before they started dating his sister and cousins. "Exactly."

"I'll remember this, Cassidy. I pity the man you bring home."

Cassidy didn't seem worried. Well, she should be. Very worried.

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