Page 99 of Over the Moon

My nephew was one of the cutest kids I’d ever met; the only one that matched him on cuteness was Melody.

“Do I gots the muscles, Unc-ee?” Melody asked, looking down at her arms.

“Eloise is the physical therapist. She would be the one to ask about your muscles,” I said, as the four of us sat at my kitchen table eating cupcakes.

Melody was on Eloise’s lap, and Cutler was sitting in the chair beside me. Tonight was the night that Easton was proposing to Henley, so Emerson, Nash, and Cutler were in town under the ruse of being here for the annual Rosewood River Pumpkin Patch opening this weekend.

“Lolo, do I gots the big muscles?” she asked.

“You both do,” Eloise said, stroking the hair back from Melody’s face. Archer had to work today, and Emerson and my mother had gone shopping with Henley to keep her distracted.

Easton, Lulu, Rafe, and Nash were setting up whatever surprise Easton had planned for Henley tonight. He hadn’t shared the details, just told us to meet at Bridger’s barn at 7:00 p.m. I was just happy that I got to have the kids with me today.

“You really do,” Eloise said as Melody took a bite of her cupcake.

“Eloise, are you Uncle Clark’s girl?” Cutler asked, and I barked out a laugh because Eloise looked panicked about the question.

“Relax. He doesn’t work for the press. He’s my nephew.” I rumpled the top of his head. “Weeze is my friend, and we like to spend time together, so if that makes her my girl, then so be it.”

“Well, if you’re Uncle Clark’s girl, then you’re my girl, too. And that means you can call me Beefcake. That’s what my family calls me.”

“I heard about your handle from Lulu and Henley. That’s a very cool name,” she said, smiling at him.

“Oh, man, Lulu and Henley are my girls, too. Do you have a handle?”

“I call her Weeze. It’s short for Eloise.” I chuckled.

“Easy, breezy Weezy,” Cutler said before he whistled.

“She’s my Lolo.” Melody snuggled against Eloise, her chubby little hand resting on her shoulder.

“I like that name, Mel. It’s a good one.” Cutler looked up at Eloise. “Man, your girl is real pretty, Uncle Clark.”

“She sure is,” I said. “And she’s real smart and funny, and she thinks she can swim faster than me.”

“What is this? An episode ofThe Bachelor? I’m sitting right here. And for the record, Beefcake, I can swim faster than him if we actually start at the same time,” she said.

“Oh, man, Weezy is throwing the shade.” Cutler’s head fell back in laughter. “I think I’d put my money on her.”

“What are you, a gambler now, Beefcake? And you just jumped ship just because she’s pretty.” I barked out a laugh.

“Maybe he jumped ship because he recognizes a winning horse when he sees one.” Eloise arched a brow.

“I love horsies,” Melody said.

“Yeah, that’s why I thought we’d take you out to Uncle Axel’s ranch and go for a ride this afternoon,” I said.

“Do you ride, Weezy?” Cutler asked.

“I do. I love riding.”

“Me, too. That’s why I wore my cowboy boots today,” my nephew said. “And Mel can ride with Uncle Clark.”

“Yep. We’ll take the horses out for a little bit, and then it’ll be time to see what Easton has planned for us.”

We finished up our cupcakes and made our way over to Axel’s house, as it was a short walk. I scooped up Melody, and Cutler slipped his hand into Eloise’s because he was a smart little dude, and we made our way out to Bridger’s ranch.

Once we were all saddled up, and I settled Melody on the horse right in front of me, keeping one arm wrapped around her, we took off for the river.

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