“You’re family,” Kate said.
“Owen Baker is most definitely in custody.” Clint Parrish came into the room and nodded at everyone. Ian guessed the man was known by the entire family, and the way he made his way over to put a kiss on the cheeks of not only Aunt Samantha but also Grandma Kate told him Clint was a regular in Lusty. I bet Kate Benedict considers him one of her grandsons, too.
“He’s also singing like a canary.” Clint accepted a beer from Jordan and then looked around the room. “Apparently, Mr. Baker took a loan from an organization that wanted to be repaid in a coin other than cash. He was expected to secure a thriving business and set up some connections to facilitate the business of smuggling—people, guns, whatever it was the little crime group he became entangled with wanted smuggled. Unfortunately, the business he finally bought was already under scrutiny by the DEA, the FBI, and ICE for suspected connections to another organized crime group.”
“Oh, now that is just too much.” Ken laughed. “I’m still looking up those stats on dumb criminals, Grandpa,” Ken said. “I’m betting there are a lot of them.”
“Oh, there are,” Clint said. “Some are evil—without a shred of remorse and are the ones we tend to really worry about because they also tend to be of above average intelligence. But the more common ‘bad guy’ is not very bright and incredibly lazy.”
“Because if they weren’t, they likely wouldn’t be criminals in the first place?” Alice asked.
“Exactly.” Then he focused on Alice. “After interviewing David Davidson, I have to say, Miss Benedict, you certainly played Baker just right. You have good instincts. Have you given any thought to perhaps becoming a cop? I think the FBI, and I know the State Police, could certainly use someone of your calibre.”
It was on the tip of Ian’s tongue to shout out “no” in the strongest, most emphatic voice possible. A very quick glance around the room found he wasn’t alone, as not only Ken but practically every man present—other than Clint, that bastard—was about to do the same thing.
“That’s very kind of you, Sergeant Parrish. But I’m going to be far too busy helping to build Edger’s, Waco with Ian and Ken over the next few years.”
As he watched, Ian saw her trade glances with not only Aunt Samantha but Grandma Kate, too. Then she turned her attention back to Clint Parrish. Her smile, Ian thought, was as beguiling as that of the famed Mona Lisa’s. “Thank you for the suggestion, though. A woman always likes to know that she has…options.”
Grandpa Noah laughed right out loud. Then he used his glass of sweet tea to salute Alice. He turned to Ian. “You’ve picked the perfect woman for the two of you. Alice is just the woman to keep you both on your toes.”
“She is,” Ken said, “absolutely the perfect woman for us.”
Ian grinned. There was only one thing to say to that. “Amen, cousin. Amen.”
Chapter Twenty
The sound of the door closing firmly behind them meant they were all alone, just the three of them, and that was how Alice liked it best.
She turned to look at Ian and Ken and sensed their waiting. And she understood, in that moment, they were waiting for a signal from her.
She inhaled deeply then let it out. Folding her arms in front of her chest, she nodded once. “It’s been one hell of a day.”
“It sure as hell has been one for the record books,” Ken agreed.
“The most amazing thing in the world is that you both see me as I am, understand me as I am, and love me anyway.”
“Because I looked over at you and knew it was time for us to say goodbye to everyone at the New House and get you home?” Ian’s expression, a combination of tenderness and sobriety, settled over her and felt like home.
“You knew I was going to shatter before I did.” Alice felt the tear slide down her left cheek.
“You know, baby…” Ian held out his hand to her. When she took it, he drew her into his arms. “You’re going to have to get used to the fact that we see you and know you and love you completely. To us, you’re the most remarkable and amazing woman in the world.”
“What he said.” Ken braced her back, and together, the two of them, just that quickly, took her to her happiest of happy places.
“Do you think you’ll do that soon? Accept that we do?” Ken’s words brushed her ear.
Alice sighed. “Oh, I do accept it. But I don’t ever want to get over embracing the miracle of your love. Not if I live to be a hundred and twenty.” She melted into Ian and felt Ken melt into her.
“I need you. I need you both so badly.”
“We need you, too, Alice. Let’s go to bed and hold each other for a bit, okay?”
“Perfect.”
She didn’t know if she could put into words everything she was feeling just then. But there was no question that nothing appealed to her more in that moment than being naked and cocooned between her equally naked lovers.
She’d read once that a newborn baby’s happy place was to be naked against the body of its mother—or father. That it filled a need—the need to feel belonging, to feel secure.
She believed that completely, and as she sighed, and as bare male flesh held her close, she understood it.
Alice had no idea how long they lay there, in bed, her the filling in a man sandwich. More than mere minutes but long enough for them all to begin to deal with the day they’d had.
“I was terrified and furious,” Ken said. “Even when I realized Baker hadn’t taken the safety off, I was terrified and furious in
