Page 56 of Home: Posy 5

"The ocean can be dangerous," Mason murmured. "Let's stay in the shallows from now on, okay?"

"Definitely. I have no desire to do that again."

Once they calmed down and released me, I took a step toward Cole while knotting my fingers together.

"Are you mad at me?" I whispered, staring at his knees.

"No, honey. I— I was afraid Ash had drowned you."

"Dude!" Ash yelped. "I wouldn't do that!"

"Not on purpose, idiot!" Cole barked. Then he slid his hands in my armpits and lifted me up until we were face-to-face. "Look at me, Posy."

Taking a deep breath, I did as he asked and winced to see the sheen of tears in his fern-green eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay," I assured him. "Just got a good scare and scraped my forehead. The sand is rough! But Lark already healed it."

"Thank the Goddess," he breathed and closed his eyes.

I cupped his face in my hands and kissed his soft lips over and over until I felt his big body relax against mine. Then I wrapped my legs around his torso and my arms around his neck and squeezed him as hard as I could.

"And here we find a baby koala in its native habitat," Wyatt said in a deep, slow voice with a funny accent that made me smile. "See how she clings to her tree for safety. What an adorable sight."

"Oh!Oooh!Wait a sec!" Ash scampered off and came back seconds later with a clump of long, greenish-brown leaves that still dripped water. "Put this in your mouth, cupcake! It'll look like you're eating a eucalyptus leaf!"

"Are youinsane?!" Cole covered the back of my head protectively with one arm and tried to push my face in the crook of his neck, but I wanted to see what Ash was holding. "Get that crap away from her!"

"Ash, why are you the way you are?" Mason sighed.

And Jayden and Wyatt cracked up.

"What is it, anyway?" I asked.

"Seaweed. You can eat it!" he chirped. "It's uber healthy!"

"It looks disgusting." Cole took another step away from Ash as he shook the seaweed at me. "I know you like rabbit food, honey, but I'm not sure it's safe to eat kelp right out of the ocean."

"It is so!" Ash argued with a scowl. "I'll prove it to you when we go inside. I can show you on the internet. I wouldn't give it to her if I wasn't sure it was safe and healthy!"

"Um, I'm not really hungry right now, Ash," I murmured to avoid a fight. And I wasnoteating that. "I'm still full from dinner."

"Oh." He dropped his hand with a little pout.

"Maybe tomorrow." I smiled at him, which made him brighten up again. "Have you eaten it before?"

"Nope! I don't eat green food!" he stated proudly and tossed the seaweed over his shoulder. "Well, unless you force me to. Butonlyyou. I won't do it even for Mom and Mama."

"You hypocrite!" Cole snarled. "You're there telling her it's so healthy and good, and you've never even tried it? Grr!"

Setting me down on my feet, he looked like he was about to throat-punch Ash, so I grabbed his hand and threaded my fingers through his.

"Will you help me build a sandcastle now?" I asked, rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand.

"Of course, honey. Anything you want. Just ... don't leave our sight for a while."

"Let's head back to the cabana," Mason suggested. "That's where I left the bag of sandcastle supplies."

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