Wicked Ever After (Wicked & Devoted #2) - Shayla Black Page 0,33
a beefy arm.
“Sir. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Hi, Walker. You’re actually coming at a good time. Here.” He thrust the child into his arms. “See if you can get Macy in her high chair. I’ve got to round up Mandy.”
Before he could object, the colonel turned away to chase another little one shrieking across the living room.
One-Mile peered down at the cherubic face of the girl in his arms. Her wide blue eyes, just like her father’s, looked as startled as he felt. The swish of dark curls, her tiny button nose, and baby-powder scent made her seem so innocent. But the pout on her little mouth said trouble was brewing.
Sure enough, she belted out an ear-splitting wail and tried to lurch out of his arms.
He held her firmly and raced her to the kitchen. “Look, cutie, we’re stuck with each other for a few minutes. Why don’t you sit down and chill?”
But when he tried to maneuver her into her high chair, the little hellion bowed her back, kicked her legs, and howled like she was on fire.
One-Mile shook his head. “I see you have your daddy’s temper.”
Caleb entered with a laugh, holding another screaming bundle. “You have no idea. And she’s the easy one. Mandy here is the real troublemaker. Aren’t you, baby girl?”
She paused to grin at her grandfather and flash a pair of dimples, as if she liked the idea of being a rabble-rouser from hell. Macy watched. And when Caleb cooed at her, she mimicked her sister’s angelic expression. Well, if he didn’t count her crazy eyes.
Logan was going to hate his life in about fifteen years. One-Mile almost felt sorry for the bastard.
The colonel took advantage of that moment to put Mandy in her high chair and shove a cracker in her hand. One-Mile managed to do the same with Macy as the other man slammed a sippy cup full of water on each tray.
Finally, other than the sounds of babies munching and slurping, silence reigned.
Caleb sagged against the nearby kitchen counter. “Tonight reminds me why having babies is a young man’s game.”
One-Mile couldn’t hold in a laugh. “You a little ragged, Grandpa?”
The colonel leveled him a quelling glare. “Well, this old man has two words for you. They start with an F and a you.”
That only made him laugh harder. “You babysitting tonight so Logan and Tara could go out?”
That would suck…but that’s the way his luck was running these days.
“No. If I’d willingly signed up for that insanity, I would have come prepared. This was a last-minute emergency.” Caleb grabbed a couple of jars of baby food from the cabinet and a pair of tiny spoons from a drawer before swiping two bibs off the counter. “Logan thought it would be a great idea to test out the Razor scooter he bought—strictly for Tyler Murphy’s boys, of course.” His accompanying eye roll called bullshit on Logan’s claim. “Did I mention there are three of them, all under the age of five?”
That made One-Mile grin. “So you’re saying they didn’t need one, and Logan took it out for a spin himself?”
“Yep.” Caleb opened a jar of sweet potatoes and shoved it in his hand, along with a little spoon. “So about ten minutes later, Tara had to take him to the ER. He’s got a broken finger, a sprained knee, and he’s waiting for stitches.” The older man bent to Mandy. “Sometimes I wonder about your daddy, princess. I think war scrambled his brains.”
The little girl giggled and shrieked in happiness, flashing her dimples again. Her twin’s expression was identical.
“Did Carlotta come with you?”
He nodded. “She’s in the girls’ room, trying to clean up the Chernobyl-like disaster of toys they made in three minutes flat. When my kids were young, I wasn’t home a lot, so I missed most of this day-to-day craziness. When I was around, I’d take the boys outside with a ball and chase them to exhaustion. Kimber…” He shook his head. “She always wanted to have fashion shows and paint my nails—at least until the boys teased the girliness out of her. But I never knew how to entertain her, so I can only imagine these two are going to keep Logan on his toes for a couple of decades. Isn’t that right, princesses?” he asked them with a big smile.
Clearly, the colonel loved his granddaughters.
“Hey, see if you can get Macy to eat, would you?” The older man shoved a jar of food in his hands.