Page 31 of No One Wants That (Blitzen Bay)

BUTCH

“Is Kit okay?”

Nash walks out onto the inn’s patio where we’re barbecuing, but Kit and Elle aren’t with him.

“I think she’s okay.” He grabs a beer out of the cooler. “She’s taking a shower. I’ll bring them some food in a few minutes.”

“If you want to make the plates, Raine and I will take it up there,” Millie says. “Raine can check her out. She has medical training.”

“I’m happy to look at her,” Raine says. “Butch, tell me again what happened to her.”

“She fell into the lake and hit some rocks. I think she hurt her tailbone. And she was shaking pretty hard. I thought maybe she was getting hypothermic.”

“Not likely,” Raine says. “It’s too warm out. Maybe she was getting low blood sugar. Do you know when she ate last?”

“She ate right before she started the hike,” Nash says. “But she was hungover. She might have been getting dehydrated.”

Raine gives Alex a kiss and then heads toward the inn. “I’ll check her out. Mills, will you bring the food? I’ll get my first-aid kit and meet you upstairs.”

“I tried to get her take water on the hike,” Nash says as he starts making their plates, “but she’s not the most compliant person.”

“Not at all compliant,” I say, looking at Nash. “She fought me on every little thing.”

“Yep,” Nash says, nodding. “That sounds like Kit.”

“I’ll feel better when Raine gives her a clean bill of health,” I say. “Then I can wash my hands of the entire incident.”

“Incident?” Millie locks her eyes with mine, a slight smile coming to her face. “What exactly happened?”

“Stop looking at me, witch,” I say as I quickly break eye contact with her. I can tell she’s already onto me.

Mason looks over at me, starting to stand up. “What did you call my wife?”

“Witch with a w. Sit down.” He eases back into his chair, but he’s still glaring at me. “You know how freaky she gets when she stares into my eyes. She puts some kind of hex on me and starts reading my mind.”

Millie scoots her chair next to mine. “I only put hexes on you when you try to hide things from me.”

I sigh loudly. “I’m not hiding anything from you, Agent Marsh.”

“Her last name’s Davis now,” Mason says. “I think you know that.”

“And how would I know that?” I say, trying to change the subject. “I wasn’t even invited to the wedding.”

Millie forms a two with her fingers and pushes them into my face. “Two years, Butch. We’ve almost been married for two years. When are you going to get over that?”

“Never,” I say, pushing her hand away. “How are you going to have any kind of party and not invite me?”

“For the hundredth time,” she says, starting to count out the reasons on her fingers, “you were still active when we got married, you were stationed across the country, and we had a quickie wedding in our backyard. Only Dad, Mariel, and Chase were there. You know that. It wasn’t a party.”

“You should have waited until I could come out.”

“Yes, my husband is patient like that. He’s all about waiting,” she says, looking over at Mason. “You know how he gets probably better than I do. You’ve known him for about twenty years.”

“Feels more like a hundred,” I say, taking a long drink of my beer. “And by the way, I thought you weren’t using Davis professionally. Aren’t you still officially, Agent Marsh?”

“We’re not in a professional setting right now.”

“Really? Because from the look in your eyes, I can tell I’m about to get interrogated.”

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