Page 117 of Starry with a Chance of Nightshade

Stratton grabbed for his discarded pants and hurried into them, hopping several times to get everything back where it should be before he zipped and buttoned them. He put his hands up. “I can explain.”

Torid plopped onto his stomach and grinned like he couldn’t wait to hear Stratton try to talk his way out of this one.

I made a move to get out of bed, wanting to run to my uncle, but remembered I wasn’t wearing anything. I yanked the covers up to my neck. “It’s me, Uncle Drest. Astria.”

Surprise lit on his face a second before he looked from the bed to Stratton. Drest was on him in an instant, knocking him backward before taking a swing at him.

Torid nodded, clearly rooting for Drest.

I wrapped the cover around me as tight as I could and tried to get out of the bed. I looked like a beached mermaid with as much blanket as I was trying to maneuver. I pretty much just flopped on the bed. “Uncle Drest, stop!”

Stratton ducked and weaved, somehow managing to avoid being struck. He had his hands up. “Drest, let me explain.”

“You slept with my niece! What else is there to explain?” demanded Drest, his voice booming.

“Hey, I supported you when I found out you’d claimed Rachael,” said Stratton.

Drest lunged at him again but drew up short, shock on his face. “You claimed Astria? She’s your mate?”

I gave up trying to get out of the bed. “Yes. Please stop fighting.”

Drest’s gaze moved to me, and he teared up. “I gave up hope of ever seeing you again. Rachael? Is she in town too?”

Stratton sighed and came back to the bed. He found the discarded photo and turned to face his cousin. “Drest, here. This is your daughter. Her name is Demi.”

Drest took the photo and stared down at it with nothing short of amazement on his face.

Stratton pushed him back toward the door. “Can you go downstairs and let us get dressed?”

He looked at Stratton and began to cry silent tears. “I have a daughter.”

“You do,” said Stratton, drawing the man into a hug before nodding to the hall. “We can talk in a minute, okay?”

Nodding, Drest went to the hall.

Stratton looked down at Torid. “You too, troublemaker.”

Torid stood and farted near Stratton before huffing and following Drest to the hall.

Stratton shut the door and looked to me. A second later, he was laughing loudly.

I groaned and tried to stand only to get tangled in the bedspread and flop forward.

He caught me, breaking my fall, still laughing. “Let’s get you undone and dressed. Then we can talk more to Drest. Astria, I understand that you haven’t spoken to your aunt or cousin in a long time, but he needs hope.”

I nodded. “I get it.”

He kissed my lips quickly. “I love you.”

I froze. Guess saying “I love you” was more of a first date thing than I’d thought.

Stratton’s cell dinged and he went to the desk and grabbed it. Another snort came from him. “Dave wants us to know Torid took off. That information would have been handybeforehe showed up here with my cousin in tow.”

ChapterThirty-Eight

Astria

I sat nextto my uncle on the sofa while Stratton sat in a chair across from us. He’d tried to stay close to me when we’d come downstairs only to find Drest grabbing him by the back of his shirt and dragging him away from me. The two seemed fairly evenly matched in height and skill, but I didn’t want them fighting to find out who would or wouldn’t win.

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