Page 134 of Down Knot Out
Chloe wraps her arms around his waist, resting her cheek over his heart. “Whatever happens, she doesn’t get to hurt either of you again.”
Blake relaxes into Chloe and Holden’s embrace.
“Let’s start with arrivals.” My finger rests poised over my phone screen. “Blake, where do you want this meeting to happen?”
As we begin mapping out tomorrow’s visit, minute by minute, contingency by contingency, the bond between us strengthens.
The horn of the golf cart toots from outside, followed by Sprinkles’s loud bark, and the conversation about Sadie halts mid-sentence, our heads turning toward the front windows.
Chloe tumbles from her stool, Blake’s T-shirt sliding off one shoulder to reveal my claim mark. She stares down at her bare legs, then our bare chests, and turns bright pink. “Oh my goodness! They’re back, and we’re naked!”
Dominic laughs and slides off his stool. “You need to look up the definition ofnaked.”
From the laundry basket he left by the door, he pulls out a pair of leggings and tosses them to her. I catch the T-shirt he throws at me next and yank it over my head as the front door bangs open.
“Uncle Blake!” Quinn shrieks at the top of her lungs, accompanied by the scramble of dog clawson hardwood. “Uncle Nat, Uncle Dom, Uncle Holden, Aunt Chloe!”
Holden puts on his shirt backward in his haste, the tag poking at the underside of his chin before he spins it around.
“Where are you guys?” Quinn’s feet race toward the kitchen.
Chloe yanks on her leggings, feet kicking. She yanks them up, and Dominic slides on his shirt, getting one button fastened before Quinn shoves open the door in a whirlwind of energy and noise.
Her curls are tangled with what appears to be seaweed, her pink rubber boots leaving muddy prints across the floor, her face flushed with excitement.
“We caught a fish this big!” She flings out her arms to show the size and almost punches Dominic in the groin.
He dances out of the danger zone, half turning away as he works on the rest of his buttons.
In her excitement, Quinn doesn’t notice. “Uncle Kyle let me reel it in all by myself!”
Chloe yanks the collar of her shirt back into place. “That sounds amazing! What kind of fish was it?”
“A salmon!” Quinn’s near-screech echoes in thekitchen. “And Grady screamed when it flopped in the boat!”
The door pushes open wider as Grady himself appears, a cane clutched in his hand. His pristine appearance has suffered a severe downgrade, with mud splattered on his designer jeans and hair sticking up at odd angles.
“I d-did not ssscream,” he corrects. “I expressed reasonable sssurprise at an unexpected movement.”
“You screamed like a little girl,” Kyle counters, hauling in a heavy cooler to thunk down on the counter. “Loud enough to scare away every fish in the lake.”
Quinn spins in a circle, arms still extended. “And then we caught another one, but it was only this big.” She brings her hands closer together, though the distance would still indicate an impressive catch.
Blake crosses the room and scoops her up, ignoring the mud transferring to his clothes. “Sounds like you had quite the adventure, princess.”
She throws her arms around his neck, leaving a streak of dirt across his cheek. “Uncle Kyle says I’m a natural! And Sprinkles tried to swim after a duck, but Grady grabbed his collar, and then he fell in thewater and his phone got all wet and he said bad words.”
Grady clears his throat. “Perhaps we could focus on the positive aspects of the trip?”
“Like the fish?” Dominic moves to inspect the cooler.
“Like how Quinn didn’t fall in the water once, unlikesomeadults already mentioned.” Kyle takes off his cap to rub his sunburnt pate as he smirks at Grady.
Quinn wiggles out of Blake’s arms and races to Chloe. “Aunt Chloe! I wrote a story about the fish in my notebook! Wanna see?”
“I would love to see your story,” Chloe says with such genuine enthusiasm that Quinn vibrates with happiness.
“It’s in my backpack. And I drew pictures!” Quinn spins around, searching for her bag. “Uncle Kyle, where’s my backpack?”
