Page 176 of Knot That Serious

“Having fun?” she asked him.

His smile was lopsided. “I love meeting your family. Seeing all the little pieces of you in them, where you grew up. It’s lovely.”

“That’s so sweet,” Beckett said. “Don’t even ask me; I can’t top that,” he chuckled, and Eli grinned down at her feet, trying to pace her steps with Raj’s, then grabbed Beckett’s hand. He smiled over at her as the grass turned into asphalt and they crossed the street.

“So, where are we going?” Beckett asked.

“A treehouse,” Jack answered. “It belonged to some family who used to live in this real nice house.”

“But it got burned down,” Eli interjected. “It was empty for a while, so, naturally, we used to walk over and play in their treehouse.”

“It wasn’t damaged by the fire?” Raj asked.

“Nope, it’s set too far back in the woods. You’ll see,” she said.

It was a short walk, shorter now that she wasn’t making the trek on kid-sized legs. In just a few moments she spied…

A soft glow through the trees?

Eli hummed in her throat. “Did someone move in?”

“Let’s find out,” Jack said, and walked a bit faster, pulling Beckett along, who pulled her and Raj.

Eli was surprised what was left of the home was still standing. Greenery covered most of the remaining charred wood, the grass had grown high, and vines curled around whatever they could reach.

She didn’t remember much of the story besides the wail of sirens and standing on the lawn with Jack while their parents exchanged hushed whispers.

Her parents would probably pass out if she told them she and Jack used to come explore the remains.

But the house had never been her favorite part.

Eli kept walking, following Jack around the dilapidated remains and through the overgrown pathway to the treehouse that was tucked on the edge of the property. It was still standing.

And now she knew what the glow was about.

The entire tree house was wrapped in string lights, and from her adult-sized height she could easily see through the small doorway at the blankets lining the bottom of it.

“Oh my god, when did this happen?” Eli asked, her gaze trailing from the treehouse to her alphas and back again.

Jack had the proudest grin on his face. “Earlier. Raj helped.”

Raj’s cheeks were darkening in a flush when she turned on him. “This is so sweet,” she cried, and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly.

With an oof he hugged her back and pressed the top of his head to hers. “It was Jack’s idea. I just helped him string some lights up.”

“No, no. The string lights were his idea, because he said something about your first date,” Jack argued.

Raj shrugged as Eli pulled away to hug Jack, both of their scents swirling around her. She’d loved the look of string lights on the roof that night.

Affection swirled through her chest so hard she couldn’t take a breath, and then she hugged Beckett for good measure. “I didn’t do anything but keep you distracted,” he said, but his arms curled around her, too.

“Do you think it can hold all of us?” Eli asked.

“Only one way to find out,” Jack said, which was a very Jack answer.

One of the chains for the double swings had snapped, and it hung lifelessly above the ground. The rest of the structure, however, was in decent shape.

The little wooden ladder was still resting against the door. It seemed so much smaller now. When they were kids, climbing the ladder always felt like such an adventure.

---