Page 100 of Down Knot Out
Blake nods, wiping horseradish from his beard with one of the napkins.
While they talk shop, I walk around the tables with Quinn, offering cups of iced tea, and the workers all praise Quinn for being such a good helper. She beams under all the compliments, and I can already see the farmyard-chic turning into construction boss. We’ll have to buy her little flannel shirts and everything.
Footsteps crunch on wood shavings, and Nathaniel appears at the edge of the tent, his tablet tucked away in favor of joining his crew for lunch.
When he settles at the table with Blake and Emily, I bring him a lemon muffin. “Holden made these for you.”
He takes it and wraps an arm around my waist, his skin hot through the sweater I wear. “Thank you for bringing down food.”
“Hey, it’s the least I can do.” I lean against him. “This is crunch time, after all. When I'm under deadline, I always neglect myself.”
A rumble rises from his chest. “You’ll be doing none of that from now on.”
“Oh, my darling Alpha, you haven't even met goblin Chloe yet.” I tickle him under the chin. “Just you wait. You’ll have to hose me off and pry the cookies from my claws.”
Easy camaraderie settles around us, conversations flowing between bites of food and sips of cold tea. Workers swap progress updates, Emily answers a quick measurement question, and Quinn continues her tea rounds with unwavering focus.
This is what happiness feels like. Shared sandwiches, sun-warmed shoulders, and the quiet joy of building something that matters.
Eventually, containers run empty, and I stack them back into the basket for the return trip homeas the crew returns to their jobs. I help Quinn collect the last of our supplies and hook the much lighter basket over the crook of my arm.
I give Blake and Nathaniel pecks on their dirty cheeks and turn to Quinn. “Ready to head back?”
She bolts ahead. “I’ll race you home!”
“Little cheat,” Blake grumbles.
“Wait for me!” I yell, running after her but already accepting her win. I don’t have the stamina to keep up with a six-year-old.
A sharp crack splits the air, so suddenly that my body reacts before my brain processes what’s happening. Quinn’s laughter cuts off mid-note as she freezes, her head whipping toward the stack of lumber braced on the hill as it buckles with a screech of tortured metal.
The basket falls from my arm. “Quinn! Get out of the way!”
For one suspended heartbeat, the massive beams shudder before gravity takes hold.
I lunge forward and seize Quinn’s wrist, her small body fragile in my grip as I yank her backward, away from the path and the thunderous avalanche of lumber coming down the hill.
The lumber crashes down where Quinn stood moments ago, hitting hard enough to rattle the ground beneath us. The impact shatters theafternoon’s calm, splintering wood, crushing undergrowth, and sending a jolt through my body sharp enough to rattle my teeth.
I throw myself over Quinn, my arms and legs wrapping around her small frame as debris erupts in all directions. Wood chips and sawdust whirl through the air in a choking cloud, and I bury my face in her curls to keep from breathing it in.
Debris bounces off my shoulders, and I curl tighter around Quinn, my body the only shield between her and the destruction raining down around us.
The roar fades to settling crashes, then to the whisper of wood chips drifting through tree branches, and finally to an awful silence broken only by our ragged breathing.
“Count off!” Emily’s shout cuts through the dust and destruction. “Nobody moves until everyone is accounted for!”
“Blake here!” The response comes from somewhere to our left, closer than I expected.
“Nathaniel, accounted for!”
“Emily, obviously!”
Other voices join the roll call, workers scattered across the construction site confirming they’re unharmed. The litany of names forms a lifeline in the chaos, proof that the worst hasn’t happened.
I lift my head cautiously, blinking through the haze left in the air. Quinn lies beneath me, still except for the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Her pale brown eyes stare up at me, shocked but clear.
“Are you hurt?” I run my hands over her small body, checking for injuries.
