Laces and Lace (Assassins #6) Read online

He shrugged one shoulder, a grin pulling at his luscious lips. “I try.”

  He held out his hand and she took it, beaming up at him and knowing that whatever was going on downstairs wouldn’t matter or faze her a bit with this man at her side.

  “Are we going to try to talk him into staying?” he asked, cupping the back of her neck.

  She shrugged. “It would be best since I don’t want them to be flying home on Thanksgiving.”

  He nodded. “Then let’s go talk them into staying, and then I need to put my father in time-out for hitting.”

  Lacey giggled as they left the room and made their way to the kitchen where eight adults stood in tense silence. Zander and Flynn were watching TV, but as soon as they saw Lacey, Zander said, “So, they are trying to leave because someone hit someone. I don’t know. I want to stay.”

  “I got you, buddy,” Karson said with a thumbs-up. “And then we’ll go out and play some ball.”

  “Cool,” Zander said with a grin.

  Flynn then chimed in, “Can we play hockey instead?”

  “I like the way you think,” Karson said with a wink before they made it into the kitchen. When they entered, all eyes fell on them and Lacey took in a deep breath.

  This was going to be interesting.

  “Lacey Arielle, we are leaving,” her father said with his booming voice. “This was a bad idea to put us all together.”

  “Yeah, it was. Fucking douche, your dad is,” Karl said back. “But we love you, Lacey.”

  “No one is going anywhere, and no more name-calling,” Karson said, holding his hands out.

  “Who are you to tell me anything?” Nate barked, but before Karson or even Karl could say anything, Lacey set him with a look.

  “He is my husband and this is his family, Dad,” she said with her hands on her hips. “This is my first Thanksgiving as a married woman. I am making a damn turkey and you are going to stay, and all of you are going to get along, and we are going to enjoy this damn holiday. If anyone has a problem with that, I don’t freaking care. You will deal because you are dealing for me! Don’t ruin my holiday,” she said, meeting everyone’s gaze.

  “Damnnnnn, your wife is mean,” JT loud-whispered to Karson, but when Lacey met his gaze, he was grinning.

  “Nah, she is spectacular.”

  With her lips curved up, she met her dad’s gaze. “Now, there are soup and sandwiches if JT didn’t eat them all.”

  “I left some,” he piped in but she ignored him.

  “While you guys get something to eat, Karson will go put your stuff in your rooms. Then after lunch, I’ll show you around and we can enjoy this holiday. Got it?”

  Nate’s eyes narrowed as Sabrina’s protest filled the room. “I don’t want to stay, Nate. I want to leave. I don’t trust these people.”

  “These people are my family,” Lacey said sharply. “Yeah, they are rough around the edges, but they are good people as long as you are good to them. So get off your damn high horse, take a damn sandwich, and relax, okay?”

  “I have never—”

  “Yeah, I don’t care. Now eat,” she said, pointing to the food. Sabrina looked at Nate and Nate looked at Lacey. “Is that okay with you, Daddy?” she asked, her tone stern.

  His nose was the size of Texas with little pieces of tissue coming out of each nostril. She wanted to laugh at how silly he looked, but she knew that would only cause more problems. She fully expected him to walk right out the door he had entered, but to her surprise, he didn’t. He nodded as his hand met the small of Sabrina’s back. “We came to spend Thanksgiving with Lacey.”

  “But how can you trust these people?” she screeched, putting Lacey’s nerves on edge.

  “We can’t, but again, we are here for Lacey, not them.”

  “Nothing else will happen,” Lacey promised before looking back at where Karl stood with Regina. “Right?”

  Karl nodded. “Oh, I got my lick in. I’m good.”

  “He will be on his best behavior,” Regina promised.

  Lacey made a face of disbelief, and Regina laughed as Kacey said, “I was thinking the same thing,”

  She giggled as her husband’s arms came around her waist. “So let’s let go of the past and just enjoy dinner. Celebrate our beautiful marriage and our togetherness,” he said, kissing her cheek.

  “I swear to God, it’s your fault he’s a pussy,” Karl muttered and Lacey couldn’t stop her grin if she tried.

  “Dad! Not in front of them,” Karson complained, but Karl didn’t seem to care.

  Grady laughed as he shook his head. “Karson, I’ll help you take the suitcases to the rooms. Rach, get the boys fed.”

  “You want to stay?” she asked incredulously and Grady nodded.

  “We were staying, no matter what,” he said simply as he came to Lacey. “Way to stand up for yourself,” he whispered before he kissed her temple.

  She smiled as she nodded. “Thanks for coming.”

  “Anytime. Come on, King.”

  As she watched her brother and husband carry the bags of her family in order for them to stay, she almost couldn’t believe it. Everyone was staying and they were going to have dinner as a family.

  She was slowly but surely getting everything she wanted.

  It had been a tense afternoon, but Karson didn’t care.

  Lacey was beaming.

  She was so happy it was insane. She was basically bouncing through the house, making sure everyone was good, cleaning and cooking like Betty fucking Crocker. It was cute, and he was pleased that she was happy. He wanted to say it was because he’d made her come at least twice while they were upstairs, but he knew it was because everyone was getting along.

  For the most part.

  His father hadn’t said anything to Nate, and he hadn’t said anything to his father, which was probably for the best. They all sat in the same room, but it was pretty easy to assume who liked whom. It was the Kings on one side, the Martins on the other, while JT sat in the middle with a bowl of popcorn in his lap waiting for something to happen. He had been grinning like a kid in a candy store since Karl had almost broken Nate’s nose, and it irritated Karson to no end. Or maybe it was because he kept giving Kacey eyes. Karson wasn’t sure, but JT was lucky he was immobile or Karson would kick him the hell out.

  While he wanted nothing more than for Nate, Sabrina, and Rachel to disappear, he had to admit that hanging with Grady was turning out to be like old times. He never thought he would be sitting outside with a beer in hand while a fire burned in front of him and Grady sitting at his left, but he was. And the best part was Lacey was tucked up under his arm, her arms wrapped around him tightly as her head rested against his shoulder.

  JT sat across from them with Kacey to his left. The seat beside her was Rachel’s, but she was inside putting the boys to bed. Thankfully, his parents and Nate and his fiancée were already in bed. Karson had decided that Sabrina could fall off the face of the earth and he wouldn’t miss her a bit. She was a terrible woman. But what bothered him the most was that when Lacey was in the room, Rachel was sweet as honey, but as soon as she left, she was glaring at Karson.

  She was up to no good, and there was no way he wasn’t going to keep his eye on her. He wouldn’t let her ruin what he had, which was everything he could have ever dreamed of. Looking down at Lacey’s profile as she grinned over at whatever the hell Kacey was running off at the mouth about, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. She felt so good against him. So perfect and life was good with her in it.

  “Zander is going places. Kid’s got a mean wrist shot,” Grady said, taking Karson’s attention away from his beautiful wife.

  “Yeah, he got me in the shin earlier,” Karson laughed and Grady grinned.

  “He reminds me a little of your game. He’s vicious, hungry, while I was always the laid-back one.”

  Karson scoffed as he shook his head. “No, you were the nervous one, but it worked for both of us. He’ll be great.”