Then she unpressed her lips and whispered, “You never do.”

“I like this guy less,” Mitch informed her.

Mara’s shoulders started shaking as her eyes continued dancing and she pressed her lips together again.

“And also, you need to have a word with her about those f**kin’ shorts,” Mitch went on.

Mara’s entire body started shaking.

“I’m not jokin’,” he whispered.

“You never are,” she whispered back.

No, he never was. When Billie hit fifteen what Mara called The Battle of Skin commenced. Mitch thought Billie exposed too much. Billie disagreed. Mara waded in explaining to Mitch that he was overprotective. Mitch explained to Mara that was his job. Mara told Mitch to relax. Mitch told Mara it wasn’t his job to relax; it was his job not to let his girl leave the house exposing too much skin seeing as he was a guy and he knew what guys had in their heads. Especially at fifteen. And sixteen. And, like Billie’s most recent, twenty-one.

Mitch lost a lot. Women, he found, since his f**king house was full of them, ganged up on you. They also had staying power. It was worth the effort but it wasn’t worth the headache you got in the long run. So he always gave the effort but he usually gave in.

Billie was nineteen, he got that. But his girl would be forty and he’d always give a shit.

About everything.

“We’re here!” Billie cried then sat her ass down in the empty seat beside Mara while whatever-the-fuck-his-name-was (Mitch didn’t trouble himself with remembering them, he’d learned that early) sat next to her. His girl’s eyes came right to him. “And, Mitch, it wasn’t Ridge’s fault we were late. It was mine.”

Ridge.

Right. The kid’s name was Ridge.

Fuck.

Who named their kid Ridge?

“Dad! Mom! Shift! I wanna sit by Billie!”

Mitch turned to his daughter who was sitting next to him.

His ten year old Faith was Billie cloned. Lots of energy. Lots of smiles. Lots of laughter. Lots of love. In five years, Mitch would hit a new level of hell when she realized she was beautiful, had a fantastic figure and the power to toy with men at her whim.

“Good, I wanna sit by Daddy,” he heard this said softly and his eyes moved from the dark-haired, blue-eyed Faith to the seat next to her where his eight year old, dark-haired, brown-eyed Marcie sat.

Marcie looked like her father but she acted like her mother. Sweet. Shy. Smart. Quiet. Loyal. Unconsciously funny. And clueless to just how beautiful she was and how much love she provoked.

He loved his Faith but Faith grew up two years ago.

Marcie was his little girl and always would be.

They shifted and Faith got her spot by her adored Billie. They immediately commenced conniving, heads close and Mitch figured Billie was sharing how to break men’s hearts. A skill, incidentally, she’d been honing also since she was fifteen.

The only hope Mitch had was that Ridge’s days were numbered.

They always were.

Mitch sighed and put his arm around Marcie.

Her eyes were on the field.

“It’s gonna start soon,” she whispered.

Her excitement was in her long legs which were swinging. It was also in her voice.

Faith was Billie’s.

Marcie was Bud’s.

The sun rose and set for Marcie through her brother. This was also true about her father. Marcie adored the men in her life beyond reason.

Again, just like her Mom.

“Yeah, baby, it’s gonna start soon,” Mitch murmured.

She tipped her brown eyes to his and grinned a wonky grin.

Fuck, but he loved seeing his wife’s grin on his daughter’s face.

Mitch grinned back.

Then he felt Mara’s fingers on his hand moving to lace through his. They curled tight and his returned the gesture as his eyes went to his wife.

Her eyes were on the field.

Mitch followed her gaze.

Warm ups.

Bud was smiling.

Mitch smiled too.

* * * * *

Forty-five minutes later…

They were standing, all of them. Everyone. The entirety of Coors Field. The vast space was filled with applause and the roar of the crowd as the announcer excitedly announced, “His first at bat for the Rockies, Hometown Bud Lawson hits a two-run homerun! What a welcome home!”

Mitch watched Bud jog the bases and he felt Mara’s weight pressed into his side.

He heard the hitch of her breath over the ovation their boy was getting.

She was crying.

Mitch stopped clapping and wrapped an arm around her shoulders but he didn’t take his eyes from Bud.

He jogged down the third baseline to home, his cleat hitting home plate, the crowd still wild.

He accepted the high fives, low fives and fist bumps from his teammates as he walked to the dugout.

Five feet from the steps, he stopped dead, looked over the roof of the dugout and right at his family.

Then he lifted his arm, pointed at them and grinned.

That was when he heard four females’ loud hitched breaths.

They weren’t far away and Bud saw it. He dropped his arm, caught Mitch’s eyes and shook his head.

He, too, until recently, lived his life in a houseful of women. He knew Mitch’s pain.

Then his grin faded. He held Mitch’s eyes and thumped his fist to his chest over his heart.

Mitch lifted his chin to his boy.

Mara’s body bucked with her sob against his side. Mitch’s arm tightened around her as she shifted so her front was pressed to his side and both her arms were around his middle.

Then Bud jogged to the dugout and disappeared.

“Daddy,” Marcie called, her fingers in his tee yanking and he looked down at her. “Bud got a homerun his first time at bat!” she cried excitedly.

His Marcie always got excited when Bud got a homerun even though she’d seen it often. They flew to Tucson as much as they could to watch Bud play for the Wildcats at the University of Arizona.

“I know, baby,” Mitch replied. “I saw.”

“And he pointed at us!” Faith cried from their other side and Mitch looked to her to see her head tipped back and her arm pointed up. “Look! We’re on the big screen!”

Mitch didn’t look. This was because he caught sight of Billie and saw her eyes on him. They were bright.

Mara’s eyes, filled with love and trust.

He grinned at her.

Her grin was wonky when she grinned back.