Page 91 of In Spades

Hunter took his and pocketed it before I could blink.

Logan stood there with his eyebrows in his hairline. “Really?” he asked skeptically.

I nodded. “Yeah. Last week I asked y’all if you’d help me move the couches, and you did.”

He tentatively took it from me. “Are you sure?”

I chuckled. “I’m sure. You earned it.”

Logan cracked a smile and pocketed the money. “You got any more jobs you need help with?”

I grinned. “Actually, yeah. That last storm we had knocked a lot of branches down in my yard. If Kris is okay with it, I could use an extra set of hands sometime.”

He looked ready to jump on the offer, but pulled back. “You live in New Bern, though... It’s kinda far.”

“Like I said, if Kris is cool with it, I could use the help. I can come pick you up and bring you back.”

Kylie popped her head out the front door. “Kris cooled down a little. She might not kill you now. You wanna come in and see it with the pillows?”

“Of course,” I said as I headed up the steps and into the house.

The new couch looked great, and the pillows accented it perfectly. The lady at the furniture store had thrown them in with the purchase. Kylie had draped a blanket over the corner, and there was a scented candle burning on the end table.

Kristin leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the couch.

“You ready to go, Sunshine?” I asked.

Kristin raised a bone-chilling eyebrow. “You’re just going to pretend like you didn’t do this without asking me?”

I leaned down and pecked her lips, but she stood as still as a statue. “It’s called a surprise.”

“I hate surprises.”

I grinned. “I know. That’s why I sent Kylie pictures to see which one she thought you would like.”

Kristin leveled a heated glare at her sister. “You knew about this?” She turned to add Logan and Hunter into the mix. “All y’all knew about this?”

The kids grinned.

I wrapped my arms around her, hoping to sooth a little bit of the tension in her shoulders. “Don’t be mad at them. They just helped.”

“You and I will talk about this later,” she clipped. Her tone was harsh, but a smile flickered at the corner of her mouth.

“One more surprise, sweetheart.” I stood behind Kristin and wrapped my arms around her waist. Looking at the kids, I said, “Show her the best part.”

Zoey ran up to me with gimme hands. I picked her up with one arm and perched her on my hip.

Kylie tossed the pillows and cushions aside. Hunter moved the trunk Kristin used as a dresser out of the way. Finally, Logan grabbed the handle of the metal frame and pulled out the folding bed.

“Will—” Kristin covered her mouth when she saw the queen bed.

Kylie held up the bag that I had put the throw pillows in. “There are new sheets to fit it, too. I told Will to get white ones because I know you like those best.”

Kristin tried to blink away her tears, but it was useless. One after the other, they rolled down her cheeks. She turned into my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Zoey on my hip was cumbersome, but I managed to lean down and kiss the top of Kristin’s head.

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