Page 72 of Players and Pages
"And if we are?" Cy shouted back.
"We'll join," Jackson added as he poked his head in and his face fell in disappointment. "You got my hopes up."
Dani shook her head. “We were discussing a granny militia, actually.”
“Don’t let them hear,” Jackson countered, though he still looked disappointed, a small pout on his lips.
"Aww, Jackson. There will be time for that tonight," I promised as Cy and I broke apart and headed into the living room. "Do you guys have time to walk me to the bookstore? I think the fresh air is just what I need."
"Of course, we have time. They can't start camp without us," Griff reminded me, handing over my phone and opening the front door.
"Thank you," I told him as we headed out into the warm sunlight. Maybe tomorrow we could spend some time just hanging out by the lake. "What do you think about a cookout with Bea and Taryn’s family tomorrow?"
"Whatever you want, princess," Jackson said as the other two agreed.
The walk was nice. A soft breeze was blowing, the sun was rising and being this close to them was perfect.
I couldn’t imagine ever being alone again. They were part of me now.
We said our goodbyes outside so my friends didn’t have to witness the sappy moment. Not one of us truly wanted to part ways but we couldn’t stop living our lives because one asshole threatened me.
Taryn and Bea were already waiting inside, Mathias sitting in the corner. There wasn’t tension waiting for me, which was nice.
“Sorry about last night, guys,” I started but Bea’s head snapped up quick enough my voice cut off.
“Don’t you dare apologize for that twisted little boy,” Bea growled. “Plus, security systems are always a good idea.”
“I agree,” Mathias tacked on. “We’re all family here. We protect each other. Don’t overthink it, Dani.”
“Thanks, Mathias,” I said. It was nice to know they viewed us as family. I felt the same way about them.
It was also nice that none of our packs were the jealous type. There was no attraction to anyone but my men and I knew Taryn felt the same way.
“So, it’s finally the weekend tomorrow,” I said as I tucked my purse under the counter. “I was thinking maybe a cookout by the lake? My place?”
“Count us in. It’s going to be hot and I’m dying to try out this new bikini I got,” Bea said. “Maybe I’ll snag me a pack.”
“Holt’s parents all but demanded to babysit for us, so we’re kid free. We could definitely come,” Taryn said, her face lighting up. “I hate being away, but they’d be close, and I could use some fun.”
“Then it’s settled,” I said as I grabbed the scanner to log the new books we got in. “I’ll snag some steak and chicken for the grill.”
“We’ll all handle sides,” Taryn said while Bea nodded along.
They started to walk away but I stopped them.
“I have to leave a little early tonight. The guys have a game and I’ve got a VIP seat with my name on it,” I said quickly.
Taryn nodded, tapping her chin.
“We might need to hire someone to help run the counter full time now that our lives are getting a bit busier,” she said. I winced, but she held up a hand. “I mean that in the sense that we all are busy. We threw ourselves into this, but having help a few times a week would be nice. Otherwise, how will we marry Bea off? Plus, I want to actually spend time with my pack, not just on weekends. We could even rotate so one of us is always here.”
“No marrying me off, asshole,” Bea snorted, throwing a wadded up paper at Taryn.
Taryn was right. It was easy to spend every second in my shop before them. Now, she’s bringing her babies constantly and I’m missing games. We’re more than busy enough to hire some afternoon help, especially during baseball season.
Not to mention, profits were definitely doing well. Between videos, our online store, and the book boxes, we were golden.
“Okay, you might be right,” I agreed. “Maybe another part-timer besides Megan at first to get through the busier seasons.”
