Page 41 of Rescuing Erin (Red Team #5)

I found that highly unlikely. Lincoln Parker was all man. Not that I’d say that to my husband, who was all alpha male himself, but there was no questioning Linc’s manhood.

“If you’ll grab Lexi, I’ll get the presents,” he continued.

Careful not to wake our daughter, I took the car seat out of the back and waited for Colin before walking to the house.

“Do you think you got them enough toys?” he asked, carrying a stack of boxes and had gift bags hanging from his fingers. “They’re only two.”

“You mean, we ? And yes, we got them enough.”

Colin was still shaking his head when we walked through the door. Thankfully, Lexi was a good sleeper because the house was utter chaos. Kids and toys were strewn about, adults weaved around the little ones, and laughter filled the space.

Nothing better.

“There you two are,” Livie greeted. “Bummer, she’s sleeping,” she added when she peeked at Lexi.

“Sorry we’re late. She went down for her nap early today.”

“Oh.” Liv laughed. “I see. ”

“The only thing you see is I was able to take a shower today without a bouncy seat in the bathroom with me.”

Colin deposited our gifts next to the huge pile and was back at my side, taking the car seat from me.

“Where’s Giorgia?” I asked about Leo and Olivia’s first-born daughter.

“Already running around out back with Robby and Asher.”

“Here, let me hold Francesca.” I held my hands out and waited for Liv to pass me the baby she’d been cradling.

“Ready for another one?” Colin leaned down and whispered.

“Lexi is three months old. You’re crazy,” Liv answered for me.

“Who’s crazy, tesorino?” Leo asked, joining us .

“Colin. He wants another baby.”

“And? I’m ready to put another one in you. As a matter of fact, I think it happened last night.”

“Nice.” Olivia rolled her eyes. “We’re done for a while. Giorgia runs me all day and now with Francesca here ... just no. Don’t even think about it, Leo.”

“Yo!” Zane bellowed from the floor, his one-year-old son lying in front of him, struggling to roll over while Zane worked hard to keep him on his back.

Ivy, Jasmin, and Violet were nowhere to be seen. I was getting ready to ask where they were when Jaxon and Linc joined our huddle.

“The girls ran to the store,” Linc said.

“And they left all the kids here with you guys?” I asked.

“Nope. That’s why I stayed,” Liv cut in.

“You do realize what we do for living, right?” Linc chuckled. “We hunt terrorists. We’ve survived in the worst conditions. I think we can handle seven children.”

“Christ, what does your mother feed you?” Zane complained. “How is it possible baby shit can be purple?”

Olivia and I had matching raised eyebrows in answer.

“All right, I’ll give you Zane, he’s a little squeamish when it comes to diaper changing,” Linc admitted. “But the rest of us can handle—"

“Daddy!” One of the twins ran in the house covered in mud. “Robby pushed me.”

“Shit. Where’s your Uncle Jax? He was supposed to be watching you.”

“Mason fell down. Dirt in his mouth,” Asher explained why Jax wasn’t watching him and his brother. Mason was Jax and Vi’s son. “I got the hose.”

“The hose. Shit. Is your brother wet?”

“Yes.” Asher smiled.

Jaxon came in the back door holding a dirty Mason. A soaking wet Robby followed.

“Jasmin’s gonna kill me,” Linc muttered.

“So, seven kids, huh?”

Robby took off across the living room, dripping water as he went.

“Shit.”

“I don’t know how you do two. I’m done. One is plenty.” Jax still hadn’t moved from the doorway.

“Where’s Gia?” Leo asked.

“Here,” a cute little girl called out from the kitchen.

“Come here, tesoro .”

Giorgia came into the living room and seven adults all muttered a collective oh, fuck. Gia’s face was covered in what I assumed was icing from Robert and Asher’s birthday cake.

Olivia and I broke out in a round of laughter.

“It’s not funny,” Linc growled.

“It kinda is,” Liv barely choked out the words.

“Jasmin’s going to kill me.”

“No, she won’t.” I tried to assure him .

“Yes. She is. It’s the twins’ birthday.”

“Is anyone hurt?” I asked.

“No.”

“Then she won’t care. Shit happens. Life happens. The only thing Jas cares about is that we’re all together and her sons are smiling. Who the hell cares if they’re a little dirty.”

“Or wet,” Liv answered. “For a group who’s used to adapting and regrouping, you all sure looked panicked.”

“Mission shift, boys. Kids out back, hose them off, and we’ll clean up the kitchen,” I called out. When I glanced at Colin, his lips were twitching. “What?”

“You’re goddamn sexy when you’re bossy.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. And, tonight, I’m going to show you how hot I think it is.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“I love you, sunshine.”

“Love you.” I rolled up to my tiptoes and gave Colin a peck.

Sadly, it was not the way I wanted to kiss my husband.

One thing was for sure, over the last couple of years, even while pregnant and right after, our need and passion for one another had not waned.

I wanted him now just as much as I did the first time I saw him.

I kept my promise and loved him everyday like it was our last. Colin was a good man, a great husband, but an even better father.

He loved Lexi beyond measure. Both of them filled me with so much love and joy I was busting at the seams.

The men left the house with all the kids minus a still sleeping Lexi and Olivia, and I went to the kitchen.

“You know he’s gonna try to knock you up tonight, right?” Liv asked. “They’re sneaky, all of them. It starts with a tough guy act, then they throw in the sexy smirk, they make their voices rumbly, and bam , panties drop. Careful, friend, don’t fall for his tricks. ”

“I’m counting on it.”

“Counting on it?” Liv laughed.

“We’re working on giving Colin’s mom the eighteen grandkids she wants.”

“Your poor vagina.”

“Mine? You’ve already popped out two. Leo walks by you in the hall and you wind up pregnant.”

“He does more than walk by, trust and believe that.”

The two of us laughed and cleaned up the crumbs and icing off the floor and counter. Luckily, most of the cake was intact. But even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered. We were all together, the kids were happy, and life was good.

Sixteen years later

Zane

“Eric, why is your sister crying?” I asked my son.

“I don’t know, Dad. I guess she’s still mad at me.”

I looked at my son doing his homework and thought for the five-hundredth time how happy I was my boy was born first and he’d gotten my genes.

He was tall, as much as it cost us keeping him in pants and shoes it was well worth it.

He watched over his sister and it was necessary.

My girl may’ve only been fifteen, but she was a knockout and looked like she was eighteen.

I blamed it on Ivy, but my wife said it was my fault because Rose got my blue eyes.

I had to disagree, they weren’t mine, they were bluer and they sparkled like Ivy’s when she smiled.

Except, my girl wasn’t smiling now. Something was making her cry.

“Why is your sister mad at you?”

With a heavy sigh, Eric put down his pencil and looked up at me. “Today after practice Rose was walking by the field and this asshole said it was a shame she didn’t put out because she’s the hottest girl in school.”

My blood pressure spiked and, not for the first time, I wanted to kick a teenage boy’s ass. I was going to have to talk to Ivy about this shit. I didn’t want little pissants talking shit about my little girl.

“What’d you do?”

“Put him on his ass and told him if he ever talked about my sister like that again he’d be walking away with more than a bruised ego.”

“Good man.” I was damn proud of how my son handled the situation. “So why’s she mad?”

“She has a crush on him. I guess that’s why she was hanging out after practice ‘waiting for me.’ She wanted him to ask her to the dance.”

“You tell her what he said about her?”

“Yes. And I told her, the last thing she wanted was to go anywhere with Pete. He’s a douche and even if she doesn’t put out, he’ll tell everyone she did. I tried to tell her she doesn’t want that kind of reputation.”

“Not tracking why’s she angry at you.”

“Because I told her she was too good for asshole football players. And I’ve already put the word out if anyone dares to touch her, they’ll be dealing with me, Asher, Rob, and Mason. Now she’s really pissed and says she’s going to be the only girl to graduate high school without a boy kissing her.”

“I see no problem with that,” I told my son.

“Neither do I. I don’t want my friends talking about banging my sister.” The growl that slipped out was unintentional. “Sorry, Dad, you know what I’m saying.”

“You did good today. You straight? School going well?”

“Five by five. Counting down to summer.”

With a pat on my son’s back, I walked into the living room and went to the couch where Rose was crying .

“Sugar plum, look at me.”

My fifteen-year-old did what teenager daughters did best and rolled her eyes. She hated the silly nickname I’d given her when she was a baby, but that was too bad, I wasn’t stopping.

“I know you’re pissed at your brother right now, but he’s doing what he’s supposed to do.

” I put my hand up to stop her rebuttal.

“I want you to know your mom and I are so proud of the young woman you’re becoming.

You’re smart and funny. And so damn independent you drive your old man nuts.

You are also beautiful. I know you want a boyfriend.

The only thing I ask is before you let any boy place his lips on yours, ask yourself if he’s worth it.

Is he worthy of your time, your affection, and the gift of you? If your answer is yes, proceed.”

“How will I know?”

“You’ll know. And the fact that you’re asking, means you haven’t met him yet. Because when you do, deep in your bones, you’ll know he’s the right one. Until then, you focus on you.”