Page 66 of Chasing Shelter

Duncan chuckled. “Okay, I can take a hint. I’ll keep my distance.” He turned his smile to me. “You haven’t been in to get started on that butterfly garden.”

“I know. Things have been a little hectic getting settled in the new house,” I admitted.

“Because she almost blew it up,” Fallon said on a choked laugh.

Duncan’s eyes widened. “Are you okay?”

I sent Fallon a glare. “She lies.”

Duncan looked between the two of us. “Somehow, I feel like there’s more to this story.”

“We’ll never tell,” Thea singsonged.

“A true friend,” I praised.

“Hey!” Fallon protested.

I just grinned at her. “Snitches get stitches.”

Duncan scrubbed a hand over his beard. “You three scare me a little.”

“Oh, we should,” I told him.

He laughed. “Do you guys need anything, or are you just here to give me nightmares?”

“I need two pots of mums. Can I pay for them now but pick them up later?” I asked.

“Sure,” Duncan agreed. “What color?”

I scanned the options. “I’m thinking these deep burgundy ones. What do you think, Fal? Will your mom like this color?”

“She’ll love them. She’s more of a pink than an orange girl.”

“Perfect.” I peeled off thirty dollars and handed it to Duncan. “I’ll be back to grab these.”

“Take your time,” he called as we headed down the row again.

“Hey,” I said, turning toward Fallon as we walked. “Kye’s MMA gym…”

She nodded. “Haven?”

“Yeah. Do they do any beginner training for women or self-defense classes?”

Fallon’s brows rose. “They do both. And some of the instructors do one-on-one lessons, too.”

One-on-one sounded good. Then, I wouldn’t have to be as embarrassed with my lack of coordination in front of a big group. “Kye did Arden’s training, right?”

She nodded, but an expression I couldn’t quite pin down flashed over her face. “He does it for a lot of people.”

I glanced at Thea, looking for a clue as to what I wasn’t picking up on.

Thea shook her head. “Fal’s annoyed that Kye won’t train her.”

That surprised me. The two of them seemed like peas in a pod. They were always laughing and giving each other a hard time. But Kye was especially protective of her. “He doesn’t want you to get into the MMA world?” I asked.

Fallon let out a sound of frustration. “He always makes up some excuse for why he can’t teach me. Or tries to pawn me off on one of the other trainers. It’s like he thinks I’m too weak or something.”

“I know that’s not the case,” I argued. I hadn’t known them all that long, but it was clear that Kye thought Fallon hung the moon.

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