Page 101 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

I turned the machine back on and watched as he hit the shit out of the next few balls. He definitely had his father’s athletic ability, even though we’d wondered if he had an athletic bone in his body only a few weeks ago.

He paused and danced around in celebration when he hit the last ball so hard it slammed into the net. Nash had been working hard with him, and it showed.

He caught me off guard when he started wheezing, and I reached into my pocket for the inhaler Nash had given me for emergencies. We’d recently found out that Cutler had exercise-induced asthma, but I hadn’t seen him react like this just from hitting balls and dancing around before now.

I bent down and shook the inhaler, and he breathed in two puffs like a pro. I walked him over to the bench and insisted he sit for a few minutes.

“You all right?”

“Yeah. I’m good, Uncle King.”

I sent a quick text to Nash to let him know we used the inhaler. I knew he was concerned that it seemed to be happening more often, and he was keeping track of the number of times he used it.

“So, you want to head over to the bridal shower?”

“Demi said it’s no boys allowed, except for you and me. ‘Cause we’re cool boys. Right, Uncle King?”

“The coolest. Of course, they bent the rules for us.” He took a sip of his Gatorade after I unscrewed the top and handed it to him. “That’s why I wore this tracksuit. Orange is my girl Demi’s favorite color.”

“How many girls you got now?” I asked, as I reached for his hand, and we walked toward my truck.

“Well, I’ve got Demi and Saylor and Ruby and Peyton. And now I’ve got my own girl at school. Her name is Eloise, and she’s the smartest girl in the class.”

I helped him into his booster seat and buckled him up before making my way around to the driver’s side.

“It’s always good to surround yourself with smart people. Those are some special ladies you got right there.”

“Do you ever want to have just one girl, Uncle King?”

I chuckled and pulled down the road toward Demi’s parents’ ranch. “Yeah, I think if you find the right girl, that’s when you decide you want to just settle down with one person.”

And I’ve found the right girl. She’s always been the only girl for me.

“I think Saylor should be your girl. You’re always laughing with her, and she seems like she’d want to be your girl. And she’s the best, you know? She’s smart, and she reads lots of books, and she can ride horses, and she’s real pretty and the nicest. That’s how Eloise is.”

“Beefcake, are you trying to matchmake me?” I barked out a laugh as I put the truck in park.

“Well, I think you like her.”

For fuck’s sake. Does anyone not think I like her? We’ve clearly done a shit job of hiding it.

“I think she’s the best. But she’s Uncle Hayes’s sister, so we’ll have to see how that goes.”

His eyebrows pinched together, and he shrugged. “Uncle Hayes loves you, and he loves Saylor. He’d be real happy if you two were happy together.”

If only life were that simple. But this kid sure did have it figured out.

“You know, brothers are protective of their little sisters. I understand that. So, Saylor and I are just friends for now, okay?” I didn’t want to risk him running home and telling Nash I said differently. The first person I needed to talk to was Hayes. I’d already done things backward, and I should have gone to him from the start. I’d fucked up, and I’d eat crow and own it.

But he was the first person I needed to talk to moving forward, and he’d be home tomorrow. I’d planned to meet him at his house and pull this bandage off immediately.

Saylor agreed to let me talk to him first. I needed to have a man-to-man talk with him. Let him see my face and show him how serious I was about this.

“I don’t know about that, Uncle King.” I helped him out of the truck, and he pulled his jacket back on and asked me to grab his fedora out of the back. The dude had his own style, and he rocked it. I took his hand, and we made our way up the driveway.

“You don’t know about what, buddy?”

“You know how you tell me not to worry about things that I shouldn’t worry about?” he asked.

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