Page 22 of Wood You Knot

The little boy stretched his arms out toward me. “Do you want to see Uncle Nix?” Tabitha asked him, and he started bouncing with excitement in her arms.

“Come here, little guy,” I said, taking my nephew from her. Bryson put his little hands on either side of my cheeks and pushed, squishing them together. I made a funny sound, letting the air leave my cheeks like a deflating balloon, and Bryson laughed with delight.

Tabitha had a few groceries to take in, so I carried Bryson with one arm and grabbed a couple of bags for her, bringing them into the kitchen. I set them down on the counter.

“The parentals wanted me to let you and Parker know they expect us all for dinner Sunday night,” I told her.

“I know,” she said, putting groceries away. She sent a wry grin my way. “Laurel called me today.”

“Of course she did.” I smirked. My mom wouldn’t leave it up to my dad to spread the word, even if she tasked him with that very job.

Opening the sliding door, I stepped out onto the patio with Bryson and walked over to the table, sitting in one of the chairs facing the yard and plunking him down on the tabletop.

I could hear the girls in the playhouse. Brielle was giving instructions for the game. “Okay, you be the daddy, Daphne, and I’ll be the mommy, and Bella, you can be our baby.”

“I don’t want to be the daddy,” I overheard Daphne reply. She sounded a little sad. “Can I just be the aunt or something?”

There was a pause, then Bella said, “Okay,” and the three girls went about their game.

Tabitha came out about ten minutes later with a plate of cut-up watermelon. She put the plate down on the table. “Girls, come have a snack!” She scooped Bryson off the table and sat down across from me with him in her lap, grabbing one of the finer-cut pieces to offer him.

Bella and Brielle came out of the playhouse and raced across the lawn. Daphne followed behind them looking a little uncertain. I didn’t know her very well, but I could tell something was off. Bella and Brielle grabbed their pieces of watermelon.

Daphne waited until the twins had selected their pieces before grabbing one of her own.

“Hey, Daph,” I said to her, and she turned to look at me. “How can you tell the ocean is friendly?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her little brow furrowing.

“It waves.”

Daphne blinked at me, then reluctantly smiled. “That’s a pretty lame joke,” she told me before taking a bite of watermelon.

“Uncle Nix always tells lame jokes,” Bella warned her. “We’re used to it, though. Just laugh politely and he’ll stop.”

“Hey,” I exclaimed, bringing a hand to my heart as if my niece’s sassy words had offended me. “I do not tell lame jokes.”

“Sorry, Nix.” Tabitha smirked. “Your jokes are pretty lame.”

I ignored Tabitha and looked back at Daphne. “Why did the leaf go to the doctor?”

“Why?” Daphne asked skeptically.

“It was feeling green!”

This time, I almost got a laugh out of her. But the twins rolled their eyes in unison. They’d had their fill of watermelon and wanted to get back to playing their game.

“Come on, let’s go,” Bella said, grabbing Daphne’s hand. They raced back to the playhouse, leaving Tabitha to grill me.

“So?” she said, looking at me expectantly with a clandestine smile.

“So what?”

“I know you’re hanging around with hopes of seeing a certain someone,” Tabitha called me out. I frowned.

“That’s not true,” I tried. Tabitha sent me a pointed look. “Okay, maybe it’s a little true.”

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” Tabitha rolled her eyes.

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