Tank and Zeke were right behind them, Tank’s serious gaze tracking the girls’ every step. Zeke was shaking his head with an easy smile. At six four with thick dark hair and a beard to match, Tank was tattooed from neck to ankles, with piercings in his nostril and ears. He was the biggest, gruffest, and most intimidating of Madigan’s cousins, but he was all heart with his family. Zeke was the calm to everyone’s chaos. Like all the men in their family, he was also a big guy at six one or two. He had a few tattoos and bright blue eyes that could go from amicable to deadly in a single second if the situation called for it.

Junie skidded to a stop beside Leah. “We found tweasure maps!” Her hand shot out, showing Leah the map.

“Wow. A real treasure map.” Leah shared a knowing smile with Tank and Zeke.

“Gingy! Connie! Look!” Rosie scampered onto Conroy’s lap, thrusting a map into his face.

“Careful, baby girl,” Reba said gently. “You almost gave Grandpa Con a black eye.”

“Papa Tank said if we find tweasure, we can keep it,” Junie exclaimed.

Rosie nodded enthusiastically. “We gonna find it!”

Junie put her hand on Leah’s stomach and lowered her face closer. “I’m gonna find some for you, baby.”

There was a collective “Aw.”

Leah ran a hand down Junie’s back. “I think the baby would like that.”

“Attagirl, Twitch.” Tank ruffled Junie’s hair, and Junie beamed at the nickname he’d bestowed upon her. He winked and set a serious gaze on Leah. “You doing okay, Lee? Can I get you anything?”

“Just a kiss,” Leah said sweetly. “Unless you can figure out a way to carry and birth this baby for me.”

“I would if I could.” He leaned down to kiss her.

“I have no doubt you would,” Zeke announced. “You need to have a serious talk with this guy, Leah. He’s so protective of Junie and Rosie, he was staring down the little boys that wanted to dig in the sand with them.”

“Tank…?” Leah shook her head.

“What? They were getting too close,” Tank grumbled.

“They were little kids, trying to see into the holes they’d dug, not into their”—Zeke glanced at Junie and Rosie—“P-A-N-T-S.”

Everyone cracked up, and Rosie said, “Papa Tank’s funny.”

“He says boys shouldn’t get too close, because if you give ’em an inch, they’ll make it a mile,” Junie explained, brows knitted. “But sometimes I like to play with boys and we have to be close.”

“Benson Wicked,” Ginger said sharply, catching Tank’s attention with his given name. “You need to give these girls room to grow up.”

“They’ll grow up just fine,” Tank grumbled.