Chapter Eleven

By the time Saturday night rolled around again, Daisy wasn't so sure.

"You haven't heard from Uncle Li at all?" Devi asked, sitting back and watching the kids as they ran around the big playroom like the whirling dervishes of complete chaos they were.

Daisy always felt way more comfortable around them. Six-year-olds were her peak people. She could spend all day with a bunch of kids and come out of it feeling energized. So it was good she was on kid-care duty this evening since she was worried about her father. He'd been gone for a solid week. "Nope. Brody's kept in touch with Nate and Steph, and I'm pretty sure Da's been calling Mom, but she's trying to keep it from me. Probably so I don't feel bad. Have you heard anything?"

If her da needed backup, he would call the Taggarts, especially Erin Taggart.

"Mom's talked to him a couple of times, but I think she's mostly helping with research," Devi admitted. "She asked if he needed her but he says he and Brody have it handled. If it helps at all, I know he told her he's been rethinking his position."

"About me? Yeah, I got that."

Devi's red hair shook. "I think he meant about Nate."

Brianna walked in from the quiet room where the babies were sleeping. "I finally got Lily down. I checked the sleeping bags for when we're brave enough to try to get the big kids to sleep. I swear, give me infants any day of the week."

"Nah, infants don't do all the weird things kids do." Daisy genuinely enjoyed working with kids. Babies were cute, but they had nothing on a truly weird six- to ten-year-old. Though she had to admit Michael and Vanessa Malone's daughter, Lily, was adorable. "They mostly sleep and eat. I find it far more interesting to watch Rand and Slater try to build a fort out of random objects they find. The girls are too smart to go in because they understand physics and stuff. But I admire the boys for their optimism."

Rand Hawthorne and Slater Murphy were constantly pushing the envelope when it came to their architectural endeavors.

All in all, tonight they had nine kids they were watching, though it was getting late and the babies and toddlers were all in bed. Wrangling the older kids was always a fun time.

She wondered what Nate was thinking about. She also wondered if he wanted kids. It was pretty early in the relationship to even consider a family with him, but this was a part of being all in.

Was her sex drive starting to annoy him? He looked tired this afternoon, and she'd caught him yawning. Was she asking too much of him?

Devi frowned. "Maybe I should go check on them."

Daisy shrugged. "If it's dangerous, Rani will come and get us. Or she'll fix it herself and pretend like the boys are doing a good job."

"See, I tried to explain to her that's she's propping up the patriarchy when she lets the boys think they're smarter than they are but then she smiles and starts talking about math and my brain goes fuzzy. Then I wonder if I'm the one propping up the patriarchy," Brianna admitted. "Weird kid."

Rani was on the weird side but she was also pretty much a genius. Rani was part of the Murphy clan, which consisted of two chaotic boys and Rani, who was seven going on forty-year-old college professor.

Of course the actual college professor's kid was currently sleeping beside his cousin. Tate Hawthorne was four, and he wasn't hard to get down at all. He was a sweet kid who wanted a bedtime story. Luckily stories worked on Diana Hawthorne, too.

Diana's brother, however, was one of what Daisy liked to call the wild boys, two of whom were approaching.

"Hey, Daisy, could you tell Slater our parents are at a game night?" Rand was eight, the same age as his best friend. He was an adorable moppet of a kid, with his mom's eyes and dad's jawline.

"Uh, we're allowed at game night." Slater Murphy looked like a carbon copy of his dad.

Devi grimaced, and her voice went low. "This is what I always fear when we work here. How did the others handle it when we asked?"

The talk. The moment when they stopped simply being thrilled they're at a fun night with their friends and wondered what the hell their parents were doing.

And then they figure it out and the world becomes kind of gross but also wonderful because hey, your parents are regular old people who love you and make you grilled cheeses and also, one might like to tie the other one up and spank her until she can't see straight. It was actually beautiful when she thought about it.

"Uh, it's kind of a special game night," Brianna began.

Daisy didn't think it would work with these two. They needed a more interesting explanation to glom on to.

Rand's eyes narrowed as his young brain started working through the problem. "Slater's right. I would be allowed at a special game night," Rand insisted. "My parents let me play all the games. Even the hard ones."

"I told you what they're doing," Slater said in a whisper that wasn't all that quiet. But the kid was trying.

Unlike her besties, she knew this conversation was an inevitability and one they could run with. She'd be more worried they'd figured it out if she was dealing with the girls. What she'd learned was boys had spectacular imaginations at this age. There were days when she thanked the universe the twins hadn't procreated yet. She'd learned the truth far too early because Kala Taggart couldn't let it all be a mystery. No. She had to figure out how to get into the air ducts. There had been pictures Daisy couldn't unsee. She was pretty sure Slater hadn't done anything close. "Oooo, what are they doing, Slate?"

Slater looked around and then leaned in. "I think our parents are in a secret society."

Actually, he was pretty close. Daisy nodded. It was time for a misdirect. She wished someone had misdirected her. "I think you're right. Now the question is are they good or evil."

Rand gasped. "They would be good, of course."

Daisy shrugged. "I don't know. It could be fun to have supervillains for parents."

Supervillains at this age would be way easier for them to deal with than normal, actual sexually active parents.

Rand seemed to think through the problem. "My mom does a lot of stuff with a computer my dad says is ambiguous morally. I don't know what that means, but it could be supervillain stuff. Also, my dad's watched The Joker like fifty times."

It meant Kyle Hawthorne needed to watch more movies, and MaeBe Hawthorne was a badass hacker, though her talents were used for good. However, the goal this evening was to stave off the inevitable moment when these kids figured out their parents were total pervs. "See. There you go. Tonight is secret society business. One day you'll be a part of it, too. You should probably get some rest. After all, there will be missions involved."

Rand's eyes lit up. "That's so cool."

Slater grinned. "We should practice. Let's get the guys together."

The boys ran off.

Devi shook her head. "Great. Now they think their parents are supervillains."

Brianna sighed and sat down. "Well, it's better than knowing. I found out way too early what was going on. Of course I also kind of grew up surrounded by sex positive stuff. That's what happens when your mom's known for a series called Soldiers and Doms. I'm thinking about writing Amish romance. It could be my rebellion."

"Nope. Your mom would simply read it and tell you how proud she is of you," Daisy said with a sigh. The Dean-Miles clan wasn't big on shame of any kind. "And my da would say why can't you be more like Brianna. Look, she's writing books about love without a penis in sight. Just a man and a woman and a cornfield like God intended ."

"Well, the rest of us have spent all our lives hearing Uncle Li say"—Devi went into a fairly serviceable Irish accent—" Thank the heavens my Daisy would never do that ."

Daisy frowned. "It wasn't like I encouraged him."

"You didn't exactly fess up either because let me tell you every time he said it, you had done it," Brianna countered. "So now you have to deal with the fact that your father knows you're as imperfect as the rest of us. The question is, was it worth it."

"Was he worth it?" Devi countered. "That's the real heart of the matter. You've been with Nate for over a week now. Are you getting bored? Because you get bored easily."

Bored? With the hottest man she'd ever met? With the sweetest guy in the world? It was more like she was obsessed with the man. She thought about him all day and dreamed about him at night. It was weirdly exciting to do normal things with Nate. And having the moms around wasn't as awkward as she'd thought it would be. They had meals together and watched movies, and the moms pretended they didn't notice how often she dragged Nate into a privacy room. The things they'd done in the princess castle… "No. I'm not bored. We've been together pretty much twenty-four seven for over a week and I miss him. I wonder what he 's doing."

"He's sitting in the other room watching a bank of security cameras," Brianna pointed out.

"Yes. He's too far away." She knew the fire would fade. They'd pretty much gone at it three times a day. The sex was phenomenal, but it was the soft times in between that made her know she was in love with him. Real love. Real, never-look-at-another-man-again love.

"I never thought I would see the day when Daisy O'Donnell got that look on her face for a man," Devi said with wonder.

"I knew it would happen eventually." Brianna stretched and hid a yawn. "I like him. He's nice to her and her friends. I wholeheartedly approve and look forward to your wedding if we all survive."

"Why wouldn't we?" Daisy asked. Everyone was treating this like some horrific, dangerous thing. Like a ball of violence rolling inevitably her way. It was one dude who deserved every bit of prison time the law could throw at him. "Da is handling it."

She had all the faith in the world when it came to her father saving her. He would never allow anything bad to happen if he could fix it. It was what her da did. He fixed things.

"Yeah, well, my father is worried your father is currently starting a cartel war, and we might all get caught in the middle of it," Brianna confessed.

"Da will be very careful." Of that Daisy was sure. Uncle Adam was on the dramatic side. It was why her short stint at Miles-Dean, Weston, and Murdoch hadn't worked out. A girl hit one little delete button and it was like the world ended. It hadn't been the world. It had been a kind of mean-girl AI assistant, and Aunt Chelsea had sent her a cookie bouquet. Not that it had saved her job.

"I'm not so sure about that. You are your father's precious baby girl. He's got to be panicking," Brianna said. "He'll do a lot to protect you. I mean he and your brother apparently scared off all the Doms at The Hideout for years. I can't believe we didn't catch that."

"I knew something was up. I mean when we walk into a bar all eyes go straight to Daisy's chest, and that's the women, too." Devi cupped her own boobs, looking down at them. "I wish you'd grown more. Damn my athletic build. I have my mom's boobs."

"You have fashion model boobs," Bri countered. "You can actually wear the clothes you design."

Daisy was confident in her boobs. Nate liked her boobs. He talked about them all the time.

"I don't design for skinny chicks. I design for all of womankind," Devi explained. "Wait until you see the bridesmaids dresses I made for Carys's wedding. They're beautiful, but the twins and Tash are in the bridal party, so there is definite cleavage. Daisy, tell her. You look gorgeous in yours."

Would she be allowed out for Carys's wedding? "They're stunning and very boob forward." She loved it when Nate laid his head on her chest and snuggled. Was he thinking about weddings? They could go to Vegas and spend all the money they would have spent on a wedding on an amazing suite. Or she could use it to fix up her house so they had somewhere lovely to live. A vision of Nate helping her paint and hang curtains floated through her head. She wanted to go grocery shopping with him. "I think I'm in love."

Brianna's eyes rolled. "Of course you are. You've been half in love with him since you were a kid. I knew what would happen the minute you said he was coming to Dallas. I knew you would see him again and it would be over."

"Over?" It didn't feel over. It felt like life was just beginning.

"The flirting. The crazy nights," Bri said, a little wistful. "I miss our crazy nights, but I also know you two are moving on with your lives. You're going into another stage."

"I'm not moving on," Devi replied with a shake of her head. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm completely single over here. I'm still one of the nuns of The Hideout."

"But you are," Brianna insisted. "You're completely into a guy. It doesn't matter if he can't love you back. You feel something for him. Something I haven't ever felt. I grew up around this amazing love, and it wasn't only about my parents. I watched my brother. Tristan's loved Carys all of his life. I don't know what he's doing, but I know he still loves Carys and he still wants to share her with Aidan. I've never wanted anyone like that. Like Daisy wants Nate. Like you want Zach."

Zach Reed. From what Daisy had put together, he was the military liaison for the CIA team. She was fairly certain someone had explained it to her, but it was a lot of acronyms. He'd come to The Hideout with Cooper for the first time a year and a half before, and Devi had very quietly lost her mind over the handsome captain.

Not that she'd told him. She'd made Daisy and Bri promise not to say a word. They were a sisterhood within a sisterhood, and neither she nor Bri would ever break a confidence.

"I can want Zach all day, but we know who he wants," Devi said.

"She's engaged." Daisy knew what Devi thought. She' d watched Zach, and his eyes always followed Tasha Taggart. A month before they'd overheard Kenz and Kala talking about how Zach had admitted he was in love with their sister. "Tash is happy with Dare. Zach is a single man."

"And Tasha is his type. Not me," Devi replied. "So while I might have these feelings, I'm not going to act on them. I'm not going to make a fool of myself."

"Did I?" Daisy mused. She thought her friend was missing the point.

Devi neatly ducked as a pillow was thrown her way. A sorry was yelled out, and one of the boys ran to reclaim it. "I didn't say you were a fool. It obviously worked out for you and Nate."

"I wouldn't have known if I hadn't tried. I think it might be more foolish to have these feelings and never give them a shot. Even if he doesn't want you. At least you know. And if you're too scared to be forthright, there's always masquerade night. But you should probably wear a better disguise. Apparently mine wasn't great." She reached out to her friend. "I know how it feels to want someone you think you can't have. I also know what Bri is saying. When we were in college we were an unstoppable party, wreaking havoc and fun everywhere we went. Now we have degrees and we spend our weekends sitting in the locker room at a sex club trying to figure out what to do with our lives."

"I think you know what you want to do with yours," Devi chided.

She was wrong about that. "I know who I want to spend it with. I'm not sure what I want to do. A psych degree sounded like a real thing at the time. Turns out there's not a lot of call for it. Maybe I should give real estate another shot."

Bri groaned. "Or you should go back and get your master's and become a therapist for children. Just don't tell them about the supervillain thing you so recently convinced poor Rand of."

"I thought we were going to let her come to that conclusion on her own," Devi pointed out.

The idea played around in her head. She did spend a lot of her time talking to kids, and most of it was helping them with their problems. When she thought about it… It was…brilliant. "I would be good at that. I would enjoy it."

"Yes, you would. And you're welcome." Bri smiled. "Devi's got a real shot at becoming a designer. I was with her in New York a couple of weeks ago and they loved her work."

"But they haven't called me back." Devi stood.

"There's still time." Brianna was always an optimist.

"Sure. I'm going to go check on the babies. I'll be in there if anyone needs me." Devi turned when she got to the hallway that would lead her to the nursery. "And Daisy, I'm happy for you. If your dad can't be… Well, then he isn't the Uncle Li I know. He'll figure this out and then he'll be all team Daisy again. He'll go from my daughter is a saint of a girl to my daughter can drink you all under the table . Now, if you love me, you'll remind us all Bri has written three books and never lets anyone read them."

Brianna gasped. "She already knows that." Bri looked her way. "You know that."

"Yes," Daisy agreed. "I know, and I think what Devi is pointing out is time works the same way for all of us. It's going by, and you need to figure your shit out, sister. Be brave. Let us read them. Then let your mom read them."

Bri went a pasty white. "Absolutely not. Maybe someday. When she's old and can't see. Hey, Hunter." Bri smiled, her weird thank god something is saving me smile. "Daisy, Hunter is here."

He was. And he wasn't alone. Gabriel Lodge was with him, and they'd brought Lucas Taggart along. Gabe and Lucas were both a bit older than her crew. They'd been a couple of years ahead of Daisy, but Hunter had always hung around them.

"I thought y'all would be at The Hideout. Also, I thought we were locked in." They hadn't even given her the security code. Which was probably good because she wasn't great at remembering random numbers. Nate had let them in, and he'd watched as she'd greeted all the kids. When Michael and Vanessa Malone had brought in way too much stuff for their infant, Nate had held the tiny girl while Daisy had helped them set up. He'd looked so hot. A big muscular man rocking this tiny infant. He'd even hummed. He hadn't looked freaked out or anything.

Because he was a man who could handle some chaos.

Lucas winked her way. He was a gorgeous man in his mid-twenties, but he couldn't hold a candle to her Nate. She'd seen him holding a baby, and he'd just frowned the whole time. Admittedly the baby was his cousin, and he'd needed a diaper change. She rather thought Nate would have simply done it.

"My dad kind of owns the building," Lucas pointed out.

"He doesn't," Bri countered. "Your dad and Uncle Ian donated the money for the building, but Kai owns it. Have you thought about coming in for a session or two?"

Bri was kind of being a bitch, and Daisy supported her. Lucas could be a heartbreaker, and he was a little full of himself. The Ferguson Clinic was housed in the building next to Sanctum. They'd grown over the years from it being run by Kai Ferguson and specializing in PTSD issues to having family therapists and specialists in domestic violence and marriage counseling. What they didn't have was a child psychologist.

"He knows the code because he caters the group sessions they have sometimes," Bri continued. "Why are you acting like…like you? You do remember who we are, right?"

Lucas gave them both a big smile. "Yeah, you're my little cousin and Daisy is… Well, we're not related, Daisy and I."

"Actually, neither are we. Like no blood between us." Bri gasped when she looked over at the indoor playground. "AJ, you cannot hit him with a chair. This is not wrestling."

She ran off to save Wyatt Murphy from Armie Hutchins, who apparently had been watching wrestling with his dad. Or maybe his grandpa had been in town. She looked back at the guys who'd invaded her space. "What do you need? Did you leave something behind? The kitchen's in the back."

Gabriel Lodge wore jeans and a button-down that he'd buttoned down to show off a good portion of his cut chest. He had longish jet-black hair he normally pulled back in a queue, but tonight he'd left it down. "We just wanted to come by and see if you needed some company."

Hunter grinned. "Yeah, The Hideout feels boring without you, Dais."

She wasn't sure why. "I almost never play in the dungeon because I can't find a play partner. Actually, the last time I was in the dungeon you told me I should leave."

The last bit was said to Gabriel, who held up a hand.

"Hey, baby, I did not put it in those words. I asked if your brother knew where you were," Gabe corrected. "You have to understand, your father is extremely scary. I'm not sure the man is well half the time. When he gathered the tops and told us he would murder anyone who tried to tempt you, I believed him."

"Aidan was pretty clear, too," Lucas admitted. "But he has rescinded his order."

Daisy felt her jaw drop. "I'm sorry. You're here because you think now that my brother has stopped pretending I'm a virgin in need of protection, you can… What? What do you think is going to happen tonight?"

Hunter squared his shoulders like he was going into battle. "Look, Daisy, we think you should pick. You're a sub and we're all tops, and the three of us are all open to exploring a D/s relationship with you. "

"You are?" She wasn't going to laugh at them. Nope. They had tender male feelings, and she would have to check the part of her that really wanted to guffaw.

"You're gorgeous," Gabe said with a sigh. "I mean, stunning. I know you grew up with these two, but we didn't meet until later, which means you can see me as a man and not a boy."

"I assure you, I don't see you as a little girl," Lucas proclaimed.

"No, you see me as another notch on your overly crowded belt." This was kind of fun. "I should know because I have a belt of my own. A player can see right through another player, Lucas. So I'll have to say flattered but no. Hunter, you're like a brother to me. Eww."

Hunter's face fell. "Well, that's rude."

"You know what's rude? Treating a woman like she's a child in need of guidance, especially when she's been through way more shit than you," Daisy pointed out. "I'd like to see you handle some of the things I've been through. And Gabe…"

His lips curled up like he thought he'd won. "Yeah?"

"If you had wanted me, you would have been man enough to stand up to my father and my brother. I suspect one day you'll meet the woman who inspires that kind of courage in you, and I'll wish you both well. Now, I have a Dom, and we'll be playing at The Hideout as soon as my da gets the drug cartel off my ass. You'll be able to watch me and wonder what could have been because my player stage is done, boys. I found a man, and I'm sticking with him."

A slow clap came from Daisy's right, and she glanced over.

Her da was standing there with Nate and Nate's dad. They took up so much space. She was going to have the biggest babies ever.

Lucas winced. "Hey, Uncle Li. Uhm, how's it going?"

"Well, I'm thinking about how you're going to cook with broken hands, son," her da said with a chuckle. "Oh, don't you worry. It won't be me. My Daisy's found a keeper. Do you need an introduction?"

Nate moved in beside her. "We've met. But perhaps I should make myself plain. She's mine, and before someone asks how it's different, I'll explain it to you. Her da and brother were wrong to treat her like she couldn't make a decision."

"Well, in my defense, I did have to save her from a cult once," her da said, but his eyes were warm on her.

"I thought it was a self-help group, but it turned out to be a sex cult," Daisy admitted. "There's a Netflix documentary coming out. I look good in it."

"You do, me darling girl." Her father nodded Nate's way. "Continue, Nathan. You should explain what you'll do to anyone who even looks your girl's way."

A big arm caught her around her waist and hauled her back against Nate's chest. She felt him kiss the top of her head.

"They can look all they like," Nate began.

She glanced her father's way. "Da, Nate's about to say sexy things."

Her father winced and covered his ears. "Tell me when it's over, Brody. Or at least when he gets to the threats of violence."

Nate's dad snorted. "I'll be sure to let you know."

If Nate was thrown off by the banter, he didn't show it. "Like I said, I'll show my gorgeous sub off in the club. I won't get pissed if some guy does a double take as she walks by because she's so beautiful, how could they help themselves? But I will take apart anyone who thinks to touch her. She's mine. I'm giving her everything she needs, and honestly, I don't think the three of you put together could handle her. Stamina. A man needs serious stamina to keep up with Daisy O'Donnell."

Her father started to hum.

"You missed your shot with her and now she's with me, and I'm not letting her go," Nate explained, and his arm tightened around her. "So if you don't like your insides on the outside, you'll heed the one and only warning I'm going to give you. Otherwise, you'll be a science project for these kiddos."

"Like anatomy?" Rani asked, her eyes wide.

When had she snuck up? Daisy gently disentangled herself and got to one knee. "The guys are just playing around, sweetie."

Rani shook her head. "No, I think your boyfriend is having a come to Jesus with the other guys who want to be your boyfriend. That's what my mom would call it. She's going to think this is funny."

Gabe reached out a hand to Nate. "Message received, man."

Nate shook it. "Just respect my rights and we'll be fine."

Daisy picked up Rani, who was starting to yawn. It was almost eleven o'clock, and it was definitely time to start getting these kiddos to bed.

Her da was here, and he wasn't looking at her like he was ashamed.

"You can listen in now, Da. He's threatened them all with evisceration," she said.

Her da frowned and brought his hands down. "I wanted to hear that part."

Lucas let out a long sigh. "Well, it was very threatening."

"What's evisceration?" AJ asked .

Bri winced. "Sorry, he got away from me. I'll go grab Devi and we'll start bedtime rituals."

"It means Daisy's boyfriend is going to remove Lucas's bowels," Rani explained.

Daisy winced.

"I think he probably needs those," AJ countered. "But it would also be cool."

"Hey, I'm not the only one." Lucas seemed to realize all the kids were now looking at him.

"My mom says you're a walking venral disease," Rand proclaimed. "What does that mean?"

Gabe snorted. "It's venereal, and it's accurate."

"Dude, you could show some support." Lucas sent his friend a "what the hell, man" look.

Hunter was chuckling. "Hey, Dais, hope I didn't weird you out. I mostly came to watch them make idiots of themselves. Although you should know you look good, girl."

"Do you want to keep your eyeballs in their sockets, boy?" Her da had his hands on his hips, righteous indignation on his face. "Nate might be okay with you looking at her, but I'm not."

Nate grinned. "Which is why I'm okay with it."

Men. Daisy sighed and turned to her charges. "Boys, it's time for teeth brushing. If you're good, I'll let my da tell you a story about how he started a small land war in Africa once."

Things were going to be okay. Daisy carried Rani through the hallway toward the nursery. The older boys had sleeping bags they would lay out in the playroom, but she still put Rani in the nursery. She told her it was so she could watch over the littles, but it was mostly because Rani would talk all night to the boys about insect invasions and how bread was yeast and it was also an animal so it might eat them from the inside.

Weird kid.

Sweet kid.

Rani laid her head on Daisy's shoulder. The nursery was illuminated with night-lights, giving the place a glow.

Bri stood in the middle of the room. "I can't find Devi."

Daisy sighed and set Rani on her feet. "Hey, sweetie. You get into your PJs with Miss Bri and I'll be back to read you a story." She gave Rani a hug before turning back to Bri. "She's probably sitting on the back step regretting all of her life decisions. She thinks if she'd gone into the Army instead of college she might be in a better place. That better place being closer to Zach. You know she feels like the odd one out in her family even though Aunt Erin was thrilled she went to college."

"Talk to her," Bri said, holding Rani's hand. "I'll get Rani ready and then make us all some tea. I'll look around to see if I can feed the Aussies. They can eat."

They definitely could, and she might need something heartier than tea because she felt like she and her da were about to have a long overdue conversation.

She started for the back door when her cell buzzed in her pocket.

She glanced over at the security system and sure enough, it was off.

But Devi would have turned it off to open the door and back on when she closed it. She would never have left the alarm off. Devi was good with random numbers.

What Devi wouldn't have done was walked away from the door. She couldn't see her sitting on the steps where she sometimes took a break. Devi wouldn't have left that door unattended. Not ever. If she had to leave, she would have informed someone.

A chill went through her, and she backed up.

Something was wrong. She just knew it.

She raced back to the men she cared about most, eager to put this all in their hands.