Page 63 of Holiday Hire

"Seriously, you all need to stop," Alexander orders.

"Oh no. I think I have to know this story now," I claim, glancing again at his torso even though his shirt is over it. My butterflies flutter harder.

He says, "It was just something stupid I did."

Mason announces, "He was drunk. Well, we were all drunk. Might not have been our best moment."

Amused, I question, "Oh? Do you have a stallion tattoo with a rope and arrows?"

"Ugh, it sounds so bad," Alexander mumbles.

Mason squares his shoulders and shakes his head. "Nah, my tattoos are legit."

Alexander moans. "Please, shut up."

"Kids, go play another round of pine cone bowling," Ruby orders, and points toward the game.

"We already played that," Emma whines.

"Yeah, play it again. The winner gets another prize."

It does the trick, and the kids run over to it.

Sebastian urges, "You might as well just tell her. It's probably better coming from you than us."

Alexander's face turns redder. He shakes his head at his family. "You all don't know when to stop."

"Aw, come on now, brother. You're inked for life. Be proud of it," Sebastian taunts, his grin widening more.

A new wave of embarrassment fills Alexander's expression. He claims, "There's nothing to tell. We were out. We were young. We were drinking. It was a bad mistake."

Jagger mocks, "Oh? So you're admitting you're not a stallion."

"You wish you had my skills," Alexander retorts.

My blood heats further.

Mason teases, "You sure about that? There's probably a lot of women who would claim differently."

Alexander shakes his head. "Time to change the subject."

Jagger continues, "So, are you or are you not a stallion?"

"Jagger," Ruby reprimands.

He puts his hands in the air. "What? It's fair to ask him to clarify that."

Jacob chuckles hard, chiming in, "If a man's going to tattoo that on himself, he might as well be positive that that's what he is."

Alexander's mortification amplifies as the taunting continues.

I finally decide to help him out. I say, "I'm glad we cleared that up. I think it's time to check on the hobo dinner. Alexander, can you help me get the can off the fire?"

"Please," he says, as if relieved to be let off the hook.

When we get to the fire pit, he puts on gloves, takes the can off the fire, and opens the lid.

"Can you take the corn out for a moment?" I ask.

---