With JJ gone, Caz had helped his daughter braid her long brown hair up and out of danger. The girl had scrapes on her hands where she’d fallen into the brush on a fishing expedition this morning. Her nose was sunburned. Her red sweatshirt had a picture of Leia with a blaster, saying, Don’t mess with a princess.

Bull grinned. Feistiest niece ever.

The rest of his family made appreciative noises as she set the platter of burgers and sausages on the long picnic table.

Not that they were starving, since Hawk had brought raw veggies and crab dip to munch on while Bull and Regan grilled.

Being a firm believer in the importance of vegetables, Caz had raided the greenhouse to make a salad of baby greens.

Gabe and Audrey had contributed cheesy scalloped potatoes and a chocolate cake. From the smears of frosting on Regan’s cheek, she’d helped bake.

“Dig in, people.” Bull said—and grinned as they did.

Yeah, there was nothing as great as feeding people. He watched Audrey try a testing nibble of the caribou—aka reindeer—sausage. Surprise filled her face, then she handed a small chunk to Regan. “It’s really good. Try it.”

Regan sampled. “Huh. Like a really spicy hot dog.” Making a hungry sound, she grabbed a sausage for herself and wrapped it in a bun.

Laughing, Bull passed her the catsup before taking some burgers for himself. Feeling something rub his shin, he pulled off a piece of meat and dropped it to the ground.

Sirius’s tufted ears pricked forward, and the cat batted at the tidbit experimentally with a big paw, before deciding the offering was adequate.

The long-haired stray had filled out nicely after a few months of regular meals. The beast was descended from monster-cats—Caz thought it had Siberian Forest cat genes—and was big enough the hawks wouldn’t bother him.

Having Gryff around would help, too. The canine had taken up watchdog duties with all the enthusiasm of a new SEAL team member. Turning and seeing the big brown eyes, Bull tossed a piece of burger, and the dog snapped it out of the air.

The introduction of cat and dog had gone well, and a tentative peace had already been established. On first spotting Sirius, the dog had stalked forward…and Regan burst into tears. Gryff had flattened to the ground in obvious worry he’d screwed up. Sensitive guy, Gryff was. Bull turned and fondled the soft ears. “You’re a good dog.”

Over the next hour, the conversation ran around the table, adhering to the sarge’s protocol for meals where each person shared the high and lows of their day.

Hawk had flown a busted-up guy to the Soldotna hospital. The man had swerved his car around a moose in the road, skidded on ice, and hit a tree instead.