Page 17 of Calamity Rayne Knocked Up

I ate earlier, but I was always a little extra ravenous this time of the month, so I leaned forward and opened my mouth like a good little carnivore.

“Mmm.” It was even good reheated. Maybe I had an iron deficiency. “How was your day?”

“Same old.” He sliced off another bite and fed it to me. “Yours?”

“I caught up on school stuff.” I dipped my finger into his mashed potatoes and sucked it clean.

“I can get you a fork.”

That reminded me… “I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something.”

He glanced at me, swallowing his food before responding. “Sounds serious.”

“Not really.” I didn’t want to make too big of a deal out of it. “Elara had a bit of a meltdown today over a stamp on her hand.”

He frowned. “Who put a stamp on her hand?”

I should have known he’d see her side first. “The petting zoo.”

“What year are they living in? Haven’t they heard of bracelets?”

“Hale, you’re missing the point. She flipped out because there was a mark on her skin.”

“A mark made of ink that could trigger an allergic reaction. Not to mention the transfer of pathogens from repeated use.”

I rolled my eyes. “Forget I said anything.”

He caught my hand and stilled when he noticed the faded heart. “Is that what this is about?”

“My cootie mark, yes. I was trying to make a point, but I can see I failed.”

He traced his thumb over the faded heart. “You shouldn’t draw on yourself.”

“Why? Has ink poisoning and pen pathogens become a leading cause of death?” I teased.

“Because it’s not right to mark a work of art.”

I shoved him affectionately. “You’re sweet.” I blushed, then I licked my finger and smudged my saliva over the mark. “It comes right off.”

“Oh, God.” He looked away in disgust.

I laughed. “Suddenly, my saliva’s gross to you?”

He reeled in the germaphobia and hid his aversion to my natural disorderly conduct. “What’s the point here, Rayne? Are you afraid Elara’s like me?”

There was no doubt she was her father’s daughter. Sometimes, I forgot she wasn’t his biological child. While they still shared a genealogical link through Remington, chances were this was more environmental than anything else. “I just think it would do her good to get a little dirty now and then.”

“Why?”

“Because dirt’s healthy, Hale. There are all kinds of studies about the benefits of soil and good bacteria.”

“Good bacteria?”

“I’m sure there’s a more scientific explanation than I can offer, but my point is, she needs to be okay with a littledisorder in life.”

“She knows how to make a mess.”

“Hale,” I pleaded. “Do I need to spell it out?”

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