Page 138 of Chasing Shelter

“Eeeewwwwww,” Keely screeched from the doorway.

Ellie and I pulled apart, and I had the urge to let another curse free. This was not how I’d imagined Keely finding out about Ellie and me. I’d wanted to sit her down, explain things. Give her a chance to express anything she was feeling. But, apparently, my kid didn’t have any issues doing that here and now.

Keely’s hands went to her hips. “I hope you know you both have cooties now. Don’t even try to share my drink.” And with that, she took off for the kitchen, Grem on her heels.

A laugh bubbled out of Ellie. “Did we just get burned by a six-year-old?”

“She’s brutal. Gets it from Auntie Arden,” I admitted.

Ellie stretched up on her toes, her lips hovering just over mine. “Worth it.”

41

ELLIE

“Here’syour secondary alarm panel. It has a panic button, in addition to the others strategically placed around the house,” Holt Hartley instructed.

“You mean the dozen over-the-top buttons I’ll likely hit by mistake and bring every emergency response team in a sixty-mile radius to my door?” I asked.

His lips twitched. “You have to hold it down for five seconds to activate, so don’t worry about accidentally bumping anything.”

I wasn’t sure what I’d expected when the silent partner of Anchor Security showed up at my house yesterday morning along with a team from their Seattle office. Maybe a man in a suit and sunglasses with a gun at his hip? Instead, Holt had arrived in jeans, boots, and a Cedar Ridge Search & Rescue T-shirt, looking like he should be on the cover of some outdoorsy men’s magazine.

Trace’s arm came around me, pulling me to him and squeezing. “It’s not overkill.”

I looked up at him and rolled my eyes. “You put a sensor on a window that only Gremlin could fit through.”

My dog barked at his name being uttered and danced in a circle.

Holt chuckled. “That dog is something.”

Grem ran over to the security expert, and Holt picked him up, scratching his belly.

Trace scowled. “Why does that dog like everyone but me?”

“Good taste?” Holt suggested.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

The front door to my house opened, and Lolli appeared, carrying what looked like a wrapped piece of art and wearing a tie-dyed workout set covered in countless bedazzled pot leaves. “Oooooh, goody! I didn’t miss the hottie brigade.”

Holt chuckled. “I’d never miss saying hello to you, Miss Lolli.”

I swore Lolli blushed. “You are a sweet-talker, Holt.”

“I speak the truth,” he said.

“I’m gonna tell Wren you were hitting on my grandma,” Trace clipped.

Holt just grinned wider. “She’d understand.”

From the little Anson and Trace had shared, Holt and his wife, Wren, had an epic love story. One that spanned decades and had its share of heartache and strife mixed in. But they’d found their way back to each other, and I doubted anything on this Earth could separate them again.

Lolli giggled and offered me the wrapped piece in her hands. “For you. I’ve been working ‘round the clock to get it finished.”

A smile spread across my face. “Really?”

“I think it’ll go perfect in your living room.”

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