Page 36 of Knot That Delicate

"I can’t say I’ve ever had a mud fight before." He laughed.

"What can I say? It’s fun," I admitted with a shrug, taking my mud-covered hand and wiping it along his neck, leaving a big streak of mud behind.

"You know you’re asking for it.”

"Oh no, how terrible. You’re just a sore loser," I teased.

"Stop being a brat, or I will dunk you in the river," he threatened playfully.

"There’s no river for miles." I laughed. "Nice try, though."

He cocked his eyebrows. "There’s a river just behind the cabin."

I raised my eyebrows "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, come on, I’ll show you. We kind of need to clean up, anyway." He laughed, looking down at our bodies. We were both caked in thick, dark mud, but for some reason, it was the happiest I’d felt in years. My heart felt light, almost airy in a way.

"Okay," I said. "But if you try to dunk me in the river against my will, I will put a ball of dirt in your underwear," I replied confidently.

Carter glared at me playfully. "I wouldn’t put that past you. How are you not freaking out right now? You’re absolutely caked in mud."

I shrugged. "It’s kind of fun. I don’t feel dirty—I just feel kind ofhappy."

Carter nodded. "Okay, so, mud fights make Juniper happy?"

I grinned. "Apparently so."

There was no tension as we walked together to the small stream that I hadn’t even realised was there. As we both washed our hands and wiped the worst of the dirt off, we gave each other quick glances and smirks.

"We’re both going to need a shower," Carter said, looking at his hands. "I think I’ve got dirt in places dirt should never dirt."

I laughed. "If only we couldsharethe shower," I said with a pout.

Carter’s eyes widened, and he looked at me in utter surprise. "Erm, no, why? No way in hell. No, No!” he said firmly, glaring at me “You need to learn to behave yourself. You’re trouble," he said firmly.

I shrugged. "I may be trouble, but I’m trouble you’ve got to deal with until those landslides clear."

Carter closed his eyes with a grimace. "I am fucked six ways to Sunday, aren’t I?"

"Yep." I nodded. "But you’re going to enjoy every minute of it."

The sun was just starting to set as the pair returned, drenched in mud. Juniper sported a massive grin as she told me excitedly, “I shoved Carter in the mud!” before wandering off to take a shower. I shot my pack mate a questioning look, and he just shrugged.

“I probably deserved it,” he said with a small grin before disappearing into another part of the cabin to clean up. Thankfully, we had multiple bathrooms.

I turned to look at Asher as our pack mate vanished. "What the hell happened between them?"

"I don’t know, but they seem oddly happy about it. I wouldn’t be happy ifIwas shoved over in the mud. Though, to be fair,Juniper would only shove him over if she had a good reason," he added thoughtfully.

I nodded. "This winter is turning out to be a very weird one," I said as I meandered my way to the kitchen. "Can we try and make dinner with a bit more protein tonight? Juniper’s been working out more, and she’s going to be exhausted.”

I’d been pushing her harder and harder in the gym. I got the impression that she wanted to be strong, for her own reasons, and I wanted that for her. I wanted her to be able to defend herself, but before I could start teaching her how to defend herself, she needed something that resembled strength. When she first got here, she had all the strength of a wet noodle.

“How about a chicken chilli?” Asher suggested.

With all the extra beans, that would be a good protein punch. “That sounds like a great idea,” I said, thankful. “I would have cooked myself, but…well…”

Asher grimaced. “Yeah, let’s never let you cook again. As much as I love you, man, your skills are making protein shakes and lifting heavy things,” he teased with a laugh. It was total bullshit, Carter was worse than me.

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